Yep, still here
I am taking this morning at home because we initially anticipated lots of freezing rain/ice accumulation overnight. I did not feel comfortable driving in any sort of not-ideal conditions at this stage. Luckily, the temperatures did not drop as much as predicted and it just seems to be wet outside!
39 1/2 weeks.
I am still pregnant. I feel like a whale. Yesterday I had lots and lots of BH contractions and cervix stabs and overall just yucky feelings, so I thought something was happening! It all petered out overnight, and thankfully I was able to get some good rest.
Kate and Connie were by last night for my weekly appointment. It was just a quick checkup, as we're at the 'hurry-up-and-wait' stage of the game. Everything is assembled; everything is ready to go. We're just waiting for the baby to finish up development of their frontal cortex and lungs and we can get this show on the road! :-)
Kate spent a lot of time belly mapping last night. She told me, "I'm sorry, but there's just no more room for baby in there. It has officially run out of space." I could only laugh. She then spent a long, LONG time feeling around my belly (much more so than usual) and listened to the heart beat from multiple places on my belly. She was so intent and focused and quiet that eventually Connie said "Kate, secrets don't make friends."
The heart rate was Little Bee's usual: 128 (it's wavered between 120 and 150 through the entire pregnancy, depending on if we were listening during an active time or not). S/he is definitely head down, but Kate was feeling an odd sharp lump by my left hip that she couldn't extend into a full arm. She got a little concerned that LB had turned posterior, but couldn't say for sure. So she spent lots of time tracing the spine and feeling for the little feet and then listened with the doppler in several areas. Depending on what she heard, she could determine if she was hearing the heart directly through the ribcage or, if there was an echo-y sound, if she was hearing it through amniotic fluid. It's pretty awesome that she knows how to do that and is great that she likes to explain what she's doing to me and why she's concluded what she did.
She looked at me during the belly mapping with a glint in her eyes and said "It's twins!". I said "What?!?! It can't be!!" She laughed. "Just kidding!" I mean, we know it's not twins, I'm definitely not big enough to be carrying two, we had the ultrasound that definitively showed ONE baby, etc etc. It was still a scary millisecond, though.
Kate eventually concluded that baby is ROA and the sharp bump she was feeling was a little elbow sticking out like a chicken wing. So LB has his/her hands tucked up by their mouth or under the chin and at the time Kate felt around was doing a little chicken dance. Kate wasn't able to trace the rest of the arm along the spine because the arm is still around by my back. That was good news. She still wants me to spend some time on hands and knees and doing my positioning techniques just to make sure.
Ben was super interested again when Kate pulled out the doppler and came to stand by my shoulder to listen.
He helped Kate listen to the heartbeat and gave the baby many kisses.
One of the many upsides to having a homebirth: Ben gets accustomed to the midwives and part of the pregnancy tracking.
Kate and Connie are working on an updated website, so we'll pass along the first photo for them to use. I think the rest that Jake took are too underexposed to be of any use. I might try converting them to black & white to see if it helps at all.
Kate took my blood pressure at the end (98/62) and I finally 'passed' the urine test with a specific gravity of 1.00 (not dehydrated!). We made our next appointment for Monday 3/28, unless I give her a call before then. She's sleeping with her phone next to the bed just in case (Ben's care provider has also been sleeping with her cell phone). So it could be a matter of hours or I could go a week or little longer. Whatever happens, I'm ready. I'm looking forward to that first contraction (or maybe the 10th contraction so I know it's the real thing) just to have the knowledge that 'this is it' and get out of this holding pattern.
39 1/2 weeks.
I am still pregnant. I feel like a whale. Yesterday I had lots and lots of BH contractions and cervix stabs and overall just yucky feelings, so I thought something was happening! It all petered out overnight, and thankfully I was able to get some good rest.
Kate and Connie were by last night for my weekly appointment. It was just a quick checkup, as we're at the 'hurry-up-and-wait' stage of the game. Everything is assembled; everything is ready to go. We're just waiting for the baby to finish up development of their frontal cortex and lungs and we can get this show on the road! :-)
Kate spent a lot of time belly mapping last night. She told me, "I'm sorry, but there's just no more room for baby in there. It has officially run out of space." I could only laugh. She then spent a long, LONG time feeling around my belly (much more so than usual) and listened to the heart beat from multiple places on my belly. She was so intent and focused and quiet that eventually Connie said "Kate, secrets don't make friends."
The heart rate was Little Bee's usual: 128 (it's wavered between 120 and 150 through the entire pregnancy, depending on if we were listening during an active time or not). S/he is definitely head down, but Kate was feeling an odd sharp lump by my left hip that she couldn't extend into a full arm. She got a little concerned that LB had turned posterior, but couldn't say for sure. So she spent lots of time tracing the spine and feeling for the little feet and then listened with the doppler in several areas. Depending on what she heard, she could determine if she was hearing the heart directly through the ribcage or, if there was an echo-y sound, if she was hearing it through amniotic fluid. It's pretty awesome that she knows how to do that and is great that she likes to explain what she's doing to me and why she's concluded what she did.
She looked at me during the belly mapping with a glint in her eyes and said "It's twins!". I said "What?!?! It can't be!!" She laughed. "Just kidding!" I mean, we know it's not twins, I'm definitely not big enough to be carrying two, we had the ultrasound that definitively showed ONE baby, etc etc. It was still a scary millisecond, though.
Kate eventually concluded that baby is ROA and the sharp bump she was feeling was a little elbow sticking out like a chicken wing. So LB has his/her hands tucked up by their mouth or under the chin and at the time Kate felt around was doing a little chicken dance. Kate wasn't able to trace the rest of the arm along the spine because the arm is still around by my back. That was good news. She still wants me to spend some time on hands and knees and doing my positioning techniques just to make sure.
Ben was super interested again when Kate pulled out the doppler and came to stand by my shoulder to listen.
He helped Kate listen to the heartbeat and gave the baby many kisses.
One of the many upsides to having a homebirth: Ben gets accustomed to the midwives and part of the pregnancy tracking.
Kate and Connie are working on an updated website, so we'll pass along the first photo for them to use. I think the rest that Jake took are too underexposed to be of any use. I might try converting them to black & white to see if it helps at all.
Kate took my blood pressure at the end (98/62) and I finally 'passed' the urine test with a specific gravity of 1.00 (not dehydrated!). We made our next appointment for Monday 3/28, unless I give her a call before then. She's sleeping with her phone next to the bed just in case (Ben's care provider has also been sleeping with her cell phone). So it could be a matter of hours or I could go a week or little longer. Whatever happens, I'm ready. I'm looking forward to that first contraction (or maybe the 10th contraction so I know it's the real thing) just to have the knowledge that 'this is it' and get out of this holding pattern.