38 weeks
Emma and I went to our 38-week prenatal appointment yesterday at 3:30. I had to wake Emma from her nap early and we were running late. I was lucky to find a parking spot outside the front door instead of having to go to the parking garage and walk through two attached buildings to get to Dr. Webb's office. Since we were running late, I didn't bring the stroller or any books or snacks for Emma. Usually these appointments are less than 10 minutes long and I never need any of those things anyway.
Of course the day I chose not to bring those things, we end up staying for a good hour! It was a great appointment though and Emma did a fantastic job of being patient and keeping herself occupied. I haven't gained any weight since last week and my BP was 110/62, a tad higher than normal but I also had just carried a 23-pound toddler across a parking lot at lickety-split speed (um, lickety-split for a huge pregnant lady) and was worried about showing up late (we ended up being right on time).
Kasey's heartbeat was 130 BPM, which was lower than it had been all pregnancy! I asked if that was okay and Dr. Webb said that normal is anywhere from 110-160 BPM at this point. She then asked if he was still moving around a bunch and I told her how crazy he was at night but that he wasn't very active during the day at all. She asked if I was doing kick counts and I said no (I haven't been worried about this this time around for some reason ... maybe I'm finally learning to trust God and His protection over us?). She reminded me that I should feel 10 kicks/movements in an hour and that it was a good idea to do this at least once a day. So she opted to have us hooked up to a monitor for a half hour to check his heart rate and his movements.
She checked me and said I was 50% effaced but not dilated at all yet. Sounds just like how things progressed with Emma. She did say, "His head is way down there." She said he was really low and that might be why in the evenings I'm having so much pressure pain. He's just so low. I wish I would have asked her if that meant that things would go quickly once labor actually started. If he's that low and positioned properly, doesn't it seem like it'd go faster? As long as my body cooperates and my cervix dilates the way it's supposed to, it could go quickly -- and I'm not sure I want it to go THAT quickly! My nightmare is being stuck in the car on the freeway with my toddler while my son is crowning. Oh my gosh, makes me nauseous just picturing it. So I'll stop that scenario from unfolding in my head ...
Anyway, we went to a different room and I hopped up on the bed. Emma was a little unsure of this new room at first, with all the beeping and the big monitor machine thing. But then the nurse gave her cheddar crackers and a juice box (and some for me, to see if the sugar in the juice would get Kasey going) and she was fine. She had her Dubdee bear (duh, he goes everywhere with us) and holy cow, that girl dropped him on the floor like 60 times while we were in there. I had to wipe him down with Clorox wipes when we got home b/c I was worried about the germs he picked up in there. And then he smelled so strongly of disinfectant that I had to switch him out with our back-up Dubdee (yes, we have two for JUST this purpose) for night-night time. Okay, off-track. Tangent.
Of COURSE in the first half hour, Kasey did not move more than ONCE. His heart rate was fine. But movements were pretty much non-existent. Dr. Webb came in and she wanted to see more so we stayed longer. They had me laying on my left side and I really felt that if I laid on my back, propped up, that he would move more. I haven't been able to sleep/lay on my side for the past month b/c the arm I lay on goes numb after 5 minutes and it's just really not comfortable. So after that first half hour, they let me switch positions. Dr. Webb came in and Kasey around in my belly a little bit to wake him up (that was funny to me, for some reason). A nurse came in a few times and tapped the monitor attached to my belly to make noise (it sounded like when you tap on a stethoscope) to try to wake him up too. After all that, he moved much better (though very, very lightly ... nothing like his normal strong punches, rolls and kicks).
Emma did a great job with waiting. She ate her crackers, drank her juice box (and mine) and talked with the nurses and Dr. Webb, when they came in.
I should note that two different times, Dr. Webb said, "She's really getting pretty," about Emma. She noted how much she's changed since just even the start of this pregnancy. It's true -- she's growing up so much.
So that's pretty much it for our appointment yesterday. I was in a lot of pressure pain last night and felt totally wiped out. I totally hobbled around the house and couldn't walk at all sometimes. It's so painful, this weird sharp pressure. I can't even describe it accurately, but it's pretty bad. James kept telling me to go to sleep, and I really wanted to, but I didn't know if labor was coming on or not and I was just so focused on trying to get at least MOST of our bags packed and things ready to go. I knew if things progressed that I was already struggling with getting around and wouldn't be able to do much so I forced myself to try to take a few breaks in between gathering all of our necessities.
I have to admit that it's been hard to pack this time around because I'm not quite sure what we need and what we don't. With Emma's birth, we ended up needing SO MUCH because we all stayed there for three full days plus then Emma was there for seven more in the NICU and I didn't go home at all that entire time (I stayed with my parents once I was discharged from the Birth Center). So this time, as we're not anticipating any NICU stays, I know we need a lot less but I can't remember what we need to supply and what the hospital supplies. Like, do I need to bring my own Lansinoh and nursing pads or does the hospital give me some? Do I need to bring newborn diapers and sensitive wipes? I need our Boppy pillow but I probably don't need pacifiers, right? Did we swaddle Emma in SwaddleMe blankets right away or just use regular receiving/swaddling blankets? How many outfits should we bring for Kasey? Emma had to wear clothes supplied by the NICU while she was there (they were cute, regular baby clothes but not our own).
James packed all of our electronics (speakers for the iPod, digital camera and other cords, etc.) and all of his clothing last night. I packed the books I want to bring, a few magazines, two seasons of my Friends DVDs (the season where Rachel finds out she's pregnant and the season where she has Emma as a newborn, of course!), Kasey's baby book, my charge cords for phone and laptop ... all of that fun stuff. I also packed a bunch of clothes (again, no idea what I'm going to want to wear ... maternity jeans and a top or comfy pants and sweatshirts?) and all of my necessities. I decided that I'd rather live out of bags here at home, putting my toothbrush back into my hospital bag each time I use it, instead of rushing around trying to remember what to add to the bag once labor gets here.
So ... I have a few more freezer meals I want to make today. And we need some groceries. We're out of most of our fruit, yogurt and paper towels. But we're totally just taking it easy and doing tasks here at home. I have to find ways to entertain Emma but she's so good with going with the flow right now (except when it involves bedtime -- we've had all-out BATTLES with her the past three nights, involving blood-curdling SCREAMS and tantrums and kicking and gagging and red faces). So maybe she and I will both try to take a good, long nap this afternoon. Heaven knows I need it to prepare for my nightly dates with this ouchy pressure pain and contractions!
Of course the day I chose not to bring those things, we end up staying for a good hour! It was a great appointment though and Emma did a fantastic job of being patient and keeping herself occupied. I haven't gained any weight since last week and my BP was 110/62, a tad higher than normal but I also had just carried a 23-pound toddler across a parking lot at lickety-split speed (um, lickety-split for a huge pregnant lady) and was worried about showing up late (we ended up being right on time).
Kasey's heartbeat was 130 BPM, which was lower than it had been all pregnancy! I asked if that was okay and Dr. Webb said that normal is anywhere from 110-160 BPM at this point. She then asked if he was still moving around a bunch and I told her how crazy he was at night but that he wasn't very active during the day at all. She asked if I was doing kick counts and I said no (I haven't been worried about this this time around for some reason ... maybe I'm finally learning to trust God and His protection over us?). She reminded me that I should feel 10 kicks/movements in an hour and that it was a good idea to do this at least once a day. So she opted to have us hooked up to a monitor for a half hour to check his heart rate and his movements.
She checked me and said I was 50% effaced but not dilated at all yet. Sounds just like how things progressed with Emma. She did say, "His head is way down there." She said he was really low and that might be why in the evenings I'm having so much pressure pain. He's just so low. I wish I would have asked her if that meant that things would go quickly once labor actually started. If he's that low and positioned properly, doesn't it seem like it'd go faster? As long as my body cooperates and my cervix dilates the way it's supposed to, it could go quickly -- and I'm not sure I want it to go THAT quickly! My nightmare is being stuck in the car on the freeway with my toddler while my son is crowning. Oh my gosh, makes me nauseous just picturing it. So I'll stop that scenario from unfolding in my head ...
Anyway, we went to a different room and I hopped up on the bed. Emma was a little unsure of this new room at first, with all the beeping and the big monitor machine thing. But then the nurse gave her cheddar crackers and a juice box (and some for me, to see if the sugar in the juice would get Kasey going) and she was fine. She had her Dubdee bear (duh, he goes everywhere with us) and holy cow, that girl dropped him on the floor like 60 times while we were in there. I had to wipe him down with Clorox wipes when we got home b/c I was worried about the germs he picked up in there. And then he smelled so strongly of disinfectant that I had to switch him out with our back-up Dubdee (yes, we have two for JUST this purpose) for night-night time. Okay, off-track. Tangent.
Of COURSE in the first half hour, Kasey did not move more than ONCE. His heart rate was fine. But movements were pretty much non-existent. Dr. Webb came in and she wanted to see more so we stayed longer. They had me laying on my left side and I really felt that if I laid on my back, propped up, that he would move more. I haven't been able to sleep/lay on my side for the past month b/c the arm I lay on goes numb after 5 minutes and it's just really not comfortable. So after that first half hour, they let me switch positions. Dr. Webb came in and Kasey around in my belly a little bit to wake him up (that was funny to me, for some reason). A nurse came in a few times and tapped the monitor attached to my belly to make noise (it sounded like when you tap on a stethoscope) to try to wake him up too. After all that, he moved much better (though very, very lightly ... nothing like his normal strong punches, rolls and kicks).
Emma did a great job with waiting. She ate her crackers, drank her juice box (and mine) and talked with the nurses and Dr. Webb, when they came in.
I should note that two different times, Dr. Webb said, "She's really getting pretty," about Emma. She noted how much she's changed since just even the start of this pregnancy. It's true -- she's growing up so much.
So that's pretty much it for our appointment yesterday. I was in a lot of pressure pain last night and felt totally wiped out. I totally hobbled around the house and couldn't walk at all sometimes. It's so painful, this weird sharp pressure. I can't even describe it accurately, but it's pretty bad. James kept telling me to go to sleep, and I really wanted to, but I didn't know if labor was coming on or not and I was just so focused on trying to get at least MOST of our bags packed and things ready to go. I knew if things progressed that I was already struggling with getting around and wouldn't be able to do much so I forced myself to try to take a few breaks in between gathering all of our necessities.
I have to admit that it's been hard to pack this time around because I'm not quite sure what we need and what we don't. With Emma's birth, we ended up needing SO MUCH because we all stayed there for three full days plus then Emma was there for seven more in the NICU and I didn't go home at all that entire time (I stayed with my parents once I was discharged from the Birth Center). So this time, as we're not anticipating any NICU stays, I know we need a lot less but I can't remember what we need to supply and what the hospital supplies. Like, do I need to bring my own Lansinoh and nursing pads or does the hospital give me some? Do I need to bring newborn diapers and sensitive wipes? I need our Boppy pillow but I probably don't need pacifiers, right? Did we swaddle Emma in SwaddleMe blankets right away or just use regular receiving/swaddling blankets? How many outfits should we bring for Kasey? Emma had to wear clothes supplied by the NICU while she was there (they were cute, regular baby clothes but not our own).
James packed all of our electronics (speakers for the iPod, digital camera and other cords, etc.) and all of his clothing last night. I packed the books I want to bring, a few magazines, two seasons of my Friends DVDs (the season where Rachel finds out she's pregnant and the season where she has Emma as a newborn, of course!), Kasey's baby book, my charge cords for phone and laptop ... all of that fun stuff. I also packed a bunch of clothes (again, no idea what I'm going to want to wear ... maternity jeans and a top or comfy pants and sweatshirts?) and all of my necessities. I decided that I'd rather live out of bags here at home, putting my toothbrush back into my hospital bag each time I use it, instead of rushing around trying to remember what to add to the bag once labor gets here.
So ... I have a few more freezer meals I want to make today. And we need some groceries. We're out of most of our fruit, yogurt and paper towels. But we're totally just taking it easy and doing tasks here at home. I have to find ways to entertain Emma but she's so good with going with the flow right now (except when it involves bedtime -- we've had all-out BATTLES with her the past three nights, involving blood-curdling SCREAMS and tantrums and kicking and gagging and red faces). So maybe she and I will both try to take a good, long nap this afternoon. Heaven knows I need it to prepare for my nightly dates with this ouchy pressure pain and contractions!
Comments
Enjoy these last few days!!
see you thrusday??