confessions of the pastor's wife.

go.

We're off!  Checked into the hospital at 7:57 am this morning to begin the induction process... had a few small contractions of my own (without even realizing it) & was told by the OB that she thought I'd have to start off with Cytotec to jumpstart contractions, then progress to Pitocin to get them really continuous.  The student-midwife & on-call midwife's checks, however, revealed that since last Tuesday, I've progressed to 4 cm dilated & 75-80% effaced, so they opted to skip the Cytotec & go straight to Pitocin!  Hooray!  Also informed me that I have a "very favorable" Bishop's score of 8, which means the likelihood of a vaginal birth is much more likely... just need to get that big ol' noggin to descend a bit from its current (& long-standing) -3 station & we'll be good to go.

6.28.10 = the bairn's birthday, perhaps?

thirty-nine.

How far along? - 39 weeks.
Total weight gain? - Holding steady at 29 lbs gained.
How big is baby? - A watermelon (over 20" from head to toe & 7+ lbs).
Symptoms? - Food aversions, swelling feet/ankles, carpal tunnel, insomnia, nesting, cramping, & Braxton Hicks contractions on a fairly regular basis.
Maternity clothes? - All maternity today... but still a mix of old things, maternity clothes, & clothes that are just one size bigger than my usual.
Stretch marks? - Miraculously still clear!
Sleep? - I've become a pregnant insomniac.  I cannot fall asleep, stay asleep, or sleep in much at all anymore.  I'm also up at least 2-3 times per night to pee.  Blah.
Best moment this week? -  Continuing to make progress & finding out that the OB was guesstimating the bairn to be "at least 8 lbs" at last week's appointment (although... maybe that shouldn't be on the "best" side, considering I have to get that out of my body?).
Movement? - Same as all recent updates - pushing, shoving, random body parts bulging out, hiccuping... you get the idea.  It HURTS though.  My right ribs will be very pleased to see the end of this pregnancy.
Gender? - Still say boy.  Husband still says girl.  I say we need a bet for the delivery room, complete with prize for the winner.
Labor signs? - Cramping, BH contractions, & what I believed to be "real" contractions last night - started in my lower back, wrapped around to the front, & were timeable for a while at about 20 minutes apart.  By last Tuesday, I'd also progressed to 3 cm dilated & a "good" 60% effaced.
Cravings? - All things fruit & fruit-flavored.
Aversions? - Beef - the tomato-based aversion may be lessening.  I ate a small piece of pizza two weeks ago, & managed to get a piece of lasagna down last night (admittedly picking out all of the ground beef in it).  Yay!
Belly button in or out? - Still hasn't popped totally.
What I'm looking forward to? - Tomorrow. :)
What I miss? - Feeling like myself.  I'm ready for my body back, to have an outside baby, to share this little person with the husband... etc.
Weekly wisdom? - Just trust - there's no use in worrying, because it won't help anything.
Weekly joy? - Hearing that I'd continued to make progress... & that because of that progress, the doctor was willing to go for an induction tomorrow.  Perhaps there will be a BABY to update the blog with sooner than next Sunday??? :)

thirty-eight.

How far along? - 38 weeks (& time just feels like it's crawling...)
Total weight gain? - Well, despite eating miserably over the past week, according to our home scale yesterday, I was down 3 lbs, putting me at 26 lbs gained (although I am wondering how much of that can be attributed to being less swollen!).  We'll see what the office's scale says on Tuesday.
How big is baby? - A leek (over 19.5" from head to toe & 6+ lbs).
Symptoms? - Food aversions, swelling feet/ankles, exhaustion, heartburn, carpal tunnel, & Braxton Hicks contractions on a fairly regular basis.
Maternity clothes? - I'm currently rocking a nonmaternity tank & sweatpants... needless to say, their limits are being tested. :)
Stretch marks? - Nothing that I've found.
Sleep? - Oh, we're going to go THERE, are we?  Well, I've had at least three nights this week wherein I was awake more than I was asleep, including last night, which featured what seemed to be contractions for quite a while around 3 am.  Other than that, I'm either a.) hot, b.) in need of yet another bathroom trip, or c.) trying to find a comfortable position around the husband & dogs.  Yeah.  I'll be really glad to reclaim my body, although I'm not exactly expecting much more sleep once the little one is here!
Best moment this week? -  Finding out at Tuesday's checkup that I had made progress!!!  I was beyond thrilled & in fact high-fived the husband after the doctor left the room.  I'm apparently THAT much of a nerd. :)
Movement? - Same as last week - pushing, shoving, sliding, & hiccups.  Definitely heading south, however slowly that may be.  & it's PAINFUL at times!
Gender? - At this point, I.don't.care.  Just get this kid out so I can meet him/her & know what I've been carrying around for the past nine months!
Labor signs? - Still have the menstrual-like cramping & Braxton Hicks contractions... & *drumroll please* according to my second internal check last Tuesday at 37w2d, I was 2 cm dilated & 50% effaced, which the doctor was VERY pleased about!  Hooray!!!
Cravings? - All things fruit & fruit-flavored, & a random craving for mint chocolate chip ice cream the other night.
Aversions? - Beef & tomato-based things - although I DID manage to eat a slice of pizza (admittedly, it was tiny, but whatever, it's the tomato sauce that counts!) on Friday night.  I was ridiculously proud of myself & have hopes that maybe, just maybe, my normal eating habits WILL return eventually.
Belly button in or out? - Haven't popped yet - the top will occasionally protrude a tiny bit, but definitely not out totally.
What I'm looking forward to? - Tuesday's checkup & hearing what the doctor has to say.
What I miss? - Sleep, which isn't exactly going to get better once the baby's here, but at least it won't be so miserable anymore, either.
Weekly wisdom? - Just trust - there's no use in worrying, because it won't help anything.
Weekly joy? - Finding out that my body is already hard at work, getting us to the point of meeting the bairn, & knowing that we're SO close.

thirty-seven.

How far along? - 37 weeks & officially FULL-TERM!!!
Total weight gain? - I seem to have miscalculated... I was back up that .5 lb at my checkup last Tuesday, so in three weeks, I was basically holding steady, but I'm holding steady at a 29 lb gain, not 25 like I had originally calculated.  Oops!
How big is baby? - A swiss chard (over 19" from head to toe & 6+ lbs).
Symptoms? - Food aversions, swelling feet/ankles, exhaustion, heartburn, & carpal tunnel.
Maternity clothes? - Mixing things up depending on the article of clothing... I am VERY ready to go back to my regular clothes, though!
Stretch marks? - Still in the clear.
Sleep? - I stagger to the bathroom at least once a night, can't sleep in past 8 am or so, & I'm napping more frequently.  Thank goodness I'm done with work now though!
Best moment this week? -  Finishing out the school year!!!  It felt like more of an accomplishment than usual, thanks to the fact that I spent all but 2 months of this year pregnant & had a tough class on top of that!
Movement? - Pushing, shoving, sliding, & hiccups.  Definitely heading south, however slowly that may be.  & it's PAINFUL at times!
Gender? - Convinced the bairn is a boy... I catch myself referring to the baby as "he/him" all the time.
Labor signs? - We're full-term - BRING ON THE LABOR SIGNS!!!  Some menstrual-like cramping & Braxton-Hicks contractions here & there, but nothing too regular.  Lots of increasing pressure, too, which is hopefully indicative of this baby dropping!
Cravings? - All things fruit & fruit-flavored.
Aversions? - Beef & tomato-based things.
Belly button in or out? - Still an innie, although approaching flat status.
What I'm looking forward to? - The checkup, as usual.  Still of the belief that nothing beats hearing a strong heartbeat!
What I miss? - A normal right hand... my index & middle fingers have been numb for days, & it is BEYOND IRRITATING.
Weekly wisdom? - Just trust - there's no use in worrying, because it won't help anything.
Weekly joy? - FULL-TERM TODAY!!!  Can't believe we're already here, but we are SO ready to meet this little one.

ETA:  Per Tuesday's checkup... HOUSTON, WE HAVE PROGRESS!!!  I am still holding steady at the same weight (up 29 lbs since 33 weeks), BP is 120/60 (my "new normal" for the past 3 appointments), baby's heart rate looks good, & I'm 2 cm dilated/50% effaced!!!  Maybe we really DO have a shot at meeting this baby in June!!! :)

thirty-six.

How far along? - 36 weeks - hello, month 9!
Total weight gain? - I was down .5 lb at my checkup on Tuesday... when I checked it on our home scale on Friday night, I was down another lb from that.  We'll see, but it seems to be somewhere around 25 lbs.
How big is baby? - A crenshaw melon (over 18.5" from head to toe & more than 6 lbs).
Symptoms? - Food aversions, swelling feet/ankles, exhaustion, heartburn, & carpal tunnel (primarily in my right wrist).
Maternity clothes? - Well, I'm currently testing the limits of a nonmaternity t-shirt... but the nonmaternity lounge capris I'm sporting fit just fine. :)  & the dress in the belly pic below is also nonmaternity!
Stretch marks? - Still nothing new.
Sleep? - Still struggling with sleep because of all the head congestion I've got, & I wake frequently.  I'm also unbelievably grateful that this is my last week of work, because the littlest things are exhausting me anymore!
Best moment this week? -  Hearing straight from the OB's mouth that "there is a very good chance we'll meet this little one in June," which, coupled with her decision to NOT have me book an appointment for 2 days after my due date, was enough to send me practically skipping from her office this week. :)
Movement? - Just the usual pushing, shoving, & hiccups.  Feet occasionally slide along my right side, which is a really bizarre sensation.  The good news is that all of this seems to be getting progressively LOWER = baby dropping, perhaps?!
Gender? - Still say boy, & apparently the bairn is determined to keep people guessing, because we're constantly getting conflicting guesses based on how I'm carrying, the belly, etc.  The truth will reveal itself soon, at least!
Labor signs? - None, & let's keep it that way for at least another week. (& um, I remember when this said "another 32 weeks" - how did we possibly get to ONE WEEK FROM FULL-TERM so fast?)
Cravings? - Just fruit - particularly watermelon.
Aversions? - Beef & tomato-based things.
Belly button in or out? - Innie, although depending on how I'm standing, the top of it looks like it's popping out at times.  I can't decide if it'll totally pop out or not before the bairn's arrival.
What I'm looking forward to? - Full-term next week & hearing what the doctor has to say at this week's checkup.
What I miss? - My energy.
Weekly wisdom? - Just trust - there's no use in worrying, because it won't help anything.
Weekly joy? - Continuing to make progress on having things ready - I'm slowly making a dent in the HUGE PILE of baby stuff in our foyer.  & the baby shower that my coworkers threw for me, which was so sweet (& featured the CUTEST penguin cake I've ever seen!).

And to mark the start of the ninth month - a belly picture!  The rest can be seen here.

6.6.10 (36w)