#38w2d

[theunstuffedpepper]

Ready. I have no idea what to call this “theme”, if you can even call it that, but we’re ready.

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

I just don’t know when to have my mom come...I really need her here for the birth so that she can stay with my son, or else my husband probably won’t be able to go with me to the hospital (we did hire a doula in the end, but she’s not a replacement for him). But she’s planning to sleep on our couch (to be able to help with the baby at night once it’s born, and because it’s hard to book an airbnb/hotel for unpredictable dates leading up to that), and for both her sake and ours I really don’t want her that up in our space for a bunch of extra time before the birth. She keeps asking me if there’s any “progress” and it’s like...I don’t know what to tell you. My midwives don’t do routine cervical checks before labor, and I would decline if they did because they’re totally pointless. I was 0 cm dilated 3.5 days into prodromal/early labor and 10 hours before my son was born, so like..... 

I have no idea if I’ll have prodromal labor again this time or not, the first contraction(s) could mean we’re days out or hours out, how am I supposed to gauge this? I never noticed any signs of impending labor last time prior to the start of the actual contractions. 

[losingitinjersey]

Kevin’s officially out of isolation!  Wooooo!  And he’s already back at work. Boooo.  It was nice to see him without a mask and be able to be closer, but I’m weirded out to kiss him.  Doesn’t feel safe even though I’m sure it is.  

Had an OB appointment yesterday and currently am 1.5cm dilated so we’re on our way!  I don’t feel ready to pop or ready to tear this kid out of me, but I didn’t last time either so I don’t have much to go on.  Sure, I’m uncomfortable and it’s hard to get around but I’m doing a lot of resting while I can.  Weird that I potentially could be pregnant for another two weeks though.  Feels both extremely short and extremely long.  

Still so strange that at any moment life as we know it will change and our new chapter with a newborn and a toddler will begin!  

Our current debate is what to do when I’m at the hospital.  The hospital allows me to have THREE visitors which seems like way too many for a pandemic.  So Kevin really wants Erp to meet her sister for the first time at the hospital.  I feel like they should meet for the first time at home, both to keep Erp out of the germ-filled hospital and to make it a more comfortable experience for her.   He said he remembers meeting his siblings in the hospital when they were born and he wants Erp to have that same experience, though I’m sure she’ll be too young to remember.  Also, he thinks her not seeing me at all while I’m at the hospital will be too long to be apart but I think it’ll be more traumatic for her to see me then to leave without me.  

It seems to be pretty important to him that she visit the hospital and I don’t feel extremely strong one way or another so I’m sure that’s how it’ll go, but feel free to chime in with your experiences or input!  

[theunstuffedpepper]

Last night we thought maybe something would be happening, so we finished packing our “go bags” and I spoke with a doctor in my L&D unit. Things started slowing down, so we opted to stay home and wait it out. I was so exhausted. I laid down and ended up getting a full night of much needed sleep. It felt so good.

Waking up this morning, I’m not feeling any contractions just yet. I’m torn between bouncing around to try and get them going again and just laying low and letting my body naturally do what it’s gotta do on its own time. The most stressful part of this for me (us) is childcare for pep; my parents are helping my brother move into a new apartment tomorrow and then my MIL is moving into the second house here in town on Sunday. So, our primary caretaking resources will largely be busy all weekend. Alas, I’m trying to just stay focused and trust that we’ll make it work when the time comes. Either way, here’s hoping we meet this new baby boy this weekend sometime.

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

Me: “Wow, it sure is nice not to be so easily nauseated like I was in the 1st trimester!”

Also me: *gets a bite of yogurt that contains a small bit with a slightly different texture than normal and almost throws up*

[growing-skylar]

Exciting news, and questions!

So today I had my 38 week checkup, and I got checked for dilation. She said I’m 1 cm dilated, and 75% effaced. She seemed pretty excited about the effacement and said that’s the “more important” part. She then stripped my membranes which I wasn’t expecting but I was gonna ask her to anyways so that was okay. Afterwards, she said there is a 2/3 chance that I’ll go into labor within the next three days! I’m pretty excited, but I noticed as I was walking to my car from the appointment, that I started bleeding kind of a lot? Anyone else had this happen after getting their membranes stripped? I’m kind of thrown off that she didn’t mention I would immediately start bleeding afterwards. Thanks ladies!

[littlefingers-littletoes]

If I'm not in labor 👏why 👏do 👏I 👏 hurt👏so 👏 badly. The worse pelvic pressure everrrr and bouncing on the birth ball did not help at all it actually made it worse. My hips are killing me and the only thing that's helping is sitting in the butterfly position. I just need him to make up his mind because this is no fun

[littlefingers-littletoes]

So I'm having an ultrasound done tomorrow

They want to know how big he is since I'm not growing anymore. This doctor talked of possible induction next week which is super exciting. I'm still 100% engaged, cervix is superrrr thin, and I'm 1.5-2 cm dilated. Hopefully this is my last week pregnant, I want my little boy in my arms