41 Weeks - Induction This Weekend!

I cannot believe I made it to 41 weeks! I spent so much time concerned about delivering early like I’ve heard a lot of CFers do, and now I am staring at my belly chanting, “Get Out!” ;)

But, this little girl is just too comfortable in there. I had another OB appointment yesterday and I was still stuck at 1 cm dilated, so it’s looking like I am going to need an induction L I am scheduled to go in tomorrow evening for Cervidil, and then they will start Pitocin the following morning. Between my lack of progress and the baby's estimated size, I am extremely nervous that I am going to end up with a c-section! I really don't want one because I've heard it's hard to cough after a c-section, and I need to be able to cough and keep my lungs clear! I am trying to concentrate on the positive induction stories I’ve heard, though.

Thankfully, the baby seems to doing well. My OB ran an NST and the results were great. Sitting there listening to her heart beat and her movements made me feel so loving and protective towards her. I can’t imagine what it is going to be like once she is here!

Today I got acupuncture for the first time to see if that would help. I figured it couldn’t hurt and my insurance covered it, so why not give it a try? The baby was moving around like crazy the entire time! I must admit that some of those needles hurt when they first went in, but after that it was very relaxing and I just had to take a nap when I got home.

In other news, the past week was pretty rough. I came down with a killer sinus infection over the weekend - my whole body ached and I was soooo tired and spent five days in a row lying on the couch. I was getting extremely nervous that I wasn’t going to have the energy for L&D! Thankfully, my ENT had written me a refill for my antibiotics (Ceftin) because I get sinus infections several times a year, so I was able to start taking them over the weekend and started feeling better yesterday. I did have a moment of freaking out when I read “Do Not Take While Breastfeeding” on the prescription insert, but my OB and my CF doctor confirmed that it was just a CYA statement and the medication was perfectly safe to take while breastfeeding.

I also got another migraine yesterday! I hadn’t gotten one in 2-1/2 years and then I got two within a week! Craziness. Luckily, this one happened at home and I was able to sleep through it.

So, tomorrow is the big day! I must admit that it is kind of nice to know when we are going to go to the hospital! I am such a planner, so I’ve managed to forget about my disappointment by creating and working through a “to-do” list. Plus, it’s so close now, I can’t NOT be excited (and terrified)! Squeeeeee!

Grumpy

Me = Grumpy.

The mold count won't give me a break, which means I have been coughing up gunk for about two weeks now. The past few days I've been on the couch because I am so tired and feel like crap. And this morning I woke up unable to breath out of one nostril and feeling like someone had punched me in the face. I am crying uncle and getting my Ceftin refilled as soon as Walgreen's opens! I'm so glad my ENT decided to let me order refills instead of making me call him every time I have a sinus infection.

In pregnancy news, we had an ultrasound on Friday morning and the baby is looks great. Her estimated weight is now 8-1/2 pounds, which makes sense because it was 7-1/2 pounds two weeks ago. This girl is getting pretty darn heavy! I need to put a pillow under my belly when I sleep and I can’t sit with my legs closed anymore. I think it’s time for her to come out ;)

Other than that, I feel like I am back in the 2WW! I'm analyzing every symptom, wondering if it could possibly be a sign of labor. Is that another Braxton Hicks or a real contraction? Is my stomach upset because labor is starting? Was that my water breaking, or did I just pee myself again? ( :/ ) If there was such a thing as labor-prediction pee sticks, I'm sure I would be POAS five times a day. I even have a little bit of that sad, left-out feeling as I see other people having their babies.

Greg is also on labor-watch. He said that every time I make a sound of discomfort, he wonders if I am in labor. Yesterday morning I opened the door to ask him if he wanted some coffee, and he turned to me and said, "Are you in labor??"

My dad is convinced she is waiting for his 60th birthday on the 26th to make an appearance. Greg "has a feeling about Tuesday." And I am wondering if she is waiting for the Lost finale (tonight), because I made a comment a long time ago about how I wanted to baby to wait until after Lost finale so I could watch it :P

At least I know it won’t be more than a week!

40 Weeks & Yesterday's Misadventure

Wow, the date we've had circled on the calendar for nine months is here! I really can't believe it.

I am feeling better since I posted yesterday - I've basically put myself in the mindset that she isn't coming until next weekend so I won't keep waking up everyday wondering "Is today the day??" and then being disappointed. (But I will still be trying some of those OWTs!).

I did have a bit of a misadventure yesterday afternoon. After my appointment, I went into work and everyone was coming up to me and commenting, "You are still pregnant??" "Still here, huh?" "When are you gonna have that baby?" Considering I was already upset from my appointment, I pretty much lost it and started biting people's head's off. I was one step away from screaming, "Thanks Captain Obvious! I hadn't noticed I was still pregnant!"

Anywho, after I managed to calm down a bit, WAHM! I got hit with migraine. It literally came out of nowhere. And I get aura with migraines, so they really suck. One second I was eating yogurt and working, and the next second I couldn't see my monitor because there was a blank spot in my vision. So, I had to call Greg to have him come pick me up.

While I was waiting for him, I called my OB's office to find out what medicine I could take, (and I had to ask my coworker to tell me their # because I couldn't read my cell phone!), and they told me to go to Walgreens and have my blood pressure checked because visual disturbances could mean pre-eclampsia. Then my coworker had to walk me to my car to wait for Greg.

While we were on the way to Walgreens, the next phased kicked in and I started feeling sick and my hand and face went numb. And, as I mentioned on here before, I am TERRIFIED of throwing up. I took two Zofran, and it was still all I could do to not throw up - the car ride was killing me. By the time we got to Walgreens, the confusion part of the aura had set in and I couldn't remember why we were there and Greg had to talk for me. And, they didn't have a blood pressure monitor. So, instead of going home, we had to go to the doctor and I wanted to cry because I felt so sick and was about to completely freak out. I managed to get through it by reminding myself that I would rather throw up than have something bad happen to the baby.

Everyone at the doctor's office was like "WHOA" when I walked in because I had just been there four hours earlier and was fine, and suddenly I looked like crap. They were even like, "Are you going to throw up???" and then led me to an exam room and had me lay down w/ the lights off while they took my blood pressure. My blood pressure was fine, thankfully, and the baby was kicking a ton, so she was okay, and I finally got to go home and lie down!

Lying down made me feel so much better and the aura wore off after another hour, and then the headache kicked it. Luckily, it was an extremely minor headache and I managed to power through it without taking any medication. And now I am feeling much better!

Fun times!

Le Sigh

I just got back from my 39w6d OB appointment. I went in very hopeful that I had progressed because I've been having more contractions lately. But noooooo, not a damn thing had changed :P My OB is talking induction now, and I am scheduled to go in next Friday evening for cervical ripening and be induced the following day at 41w2d. So it may be another week and a half until we get to meet our little girl, and my OB seemed to think that it most likely would be the case. I am feeling extremely frustrated right now, but I am also mad at myself for feeling this way because I should just be thankful we are about to have a baby!

In the meantime, I am going to be trying every OWT in the book, (except castor oil).

39 Weeks!

We made it to our goal! My OB said the baby benefits from staying cozy inside me until 39 weeks, so that was our ultimate goal for this pregnancy. I can't believe it's here. I am soooo ready to have an outside baby now, but Greg wants her to stay in until at least Sunday evening so he can catch up on sleep this weekend ;)

I only had very slight progress at my OB appointment yesterday. I was still 50% effaced and at station -2, but I was slightly more dilated, however, not enough to call it 2 cm. My OB could see the disappointment on my face and reminded me that progress would just be "icing on the cake," but lack of progress doesn't mean that I'm not going into labor anytime soon.

In CF-related news, the mold count has skyrocketed here in Austin, which means I've been feeling like crap! I've been exhausted, achy, coughing up green phlegm, needing my albuterol more often, and I can only breathe out of one nostril most of the time. Yuck. I really don't want to get sick right when the baby comes! So, I called in sick today and slept 11 hours last night. Ahhhhh....

38 Week Appointments (And More Pictures)

I saw my regular and high risk OBs this week. Everything is still going well. I gained a ton of weight last week, 4lbs, (not sure what is up with that), so my total weight gain is now over 40 lbs :/ I hope it's a lot of water! My cervix made no further progress, which I was a little bummed about, but I keep reminding myself it doesn't mean much as far as when I will go into labor. As of three days ago, I was 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby was at station -2. I am getting anxious for the big day to be here, although I know it's good for her to stay put for one more week. Baby Girl's estimated weight is now 7lbs 7oz. Here are pictures from what was most likely our final ultrasound:

And here are a few belly shots: