Final OB checkup

Today I had my last OB checkup of this pregnancy. While I’m extremely thrilled and ready for Liam to arrive, I am a bit sad that this phase is ending. Although the last few weeks haven’t been without a few discomforts, and while pregnancy after loss can be very emotionally taxing, and while I’m very ready to get my normal-sized body back, I do love pregnancy, and I’m going to miss it.

Anyway, today the big news is that Liam is now fully engaged in my pelvis! I’m hoping this means there is still a chance I could go into labor on my own before Friday. Babies generally engage several weeks in advance in first pregnancies. But, in subsequent pregnancies, they usually don’t engage until much closer to labor. So while I’m still only at 1.5 cm dilated, and I’m not further effaced, I am encouraged by the fact that he has dropped!!

I am feeling such a wide array of emotions and would love to be able to sift through them and attempt to find words for them. But I won’t be doing that tonight. Tonight we have a few final things to do. Tomorrow night we’re staying in a hotel closer to the hospital. And then Friday we’ll be in the hospital. The next night I spend in my bed after tonight will be with a baby sleeping in a bassinet next to me. It’s hard for me to grasp that this really is happening. Once I get home and settled into my maternity leave, I hope to find the time to write a blog post to share everything, because I need to remember it all.

I probably won’t post again until we’re headed to the hospital! I will try to update as much as I can while there, but it all depends on how I feel. I will definitely let everyone know as soon as Liam is here!

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I’m still here!

It seems my blogging has reached an all time low in terms of volume this month. Between renovations, getting our house organized, the holidays, weekly appointments, and trying to finalize several big projects at work, I’ve had little time or energy left for blogging beyond my weekly post-appointment updates.

I continue to hope Liam will decide to make his entrance into the outside world before my induction date this Friday. However, he seems very content to stay where he is. Every now and then I’ll have a series of contractions that cause me to think “maybe”, but then they leave as quickly as they come. Some have even been painful enough to wake me from my sleep at night. While none of them have led to labor, I do take comfort knowing they are preparing my body for the big day, and every little bit of progress made between now and Friday will make my induction that much easier.

My next OB appointment is tomorrow, and I hope to hear I have made more progress since last week.

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Progress!

I had my 39 week OB checkup today, and I made progress! I am completely effaced and softened, and my OB said he could feel my bag of waters bulging and ready to break at any time!! He said he wouldn’t be surprised to see me tonight, or it could still be another week. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict such things. However, at this point it sounds like my body is ready for labor to begin.

I’m 1.5 cm dilated, up .5 cm from last week. It doesn’t seem like much, but I know once labor begins dilation can happen very quickly. Last time, I stayed at less than a cm until the very end of my labor, and then I moved very quickly to being fully dilated.

My OB asked how I wanted to approach induction. He said if I wanted to schedule an induction we could, but that the choice was mine. I told him I was torn. Part of me wants to avoid induction if at all possible, both for my own comfort and because I want to be sure Liam’s lungs are ready for the world. But the other part of me is terrified of going late – I know it can become risky for the baby, especially after 41 weeks. Plus, since Liam is a big baby, I don’t want to end up in a c-section.

After hearing my feelings on the matter, my OB told me he is on call next week-end, so if I wanted, we could go ahead and schedule something for then. That gives me another week and a half to have the baby on my own, and it also puts me at nearly 41 weeks for my induction, so Liam should definitely be fully “baked” by then! Even if my original due date is considered, I would be past 39 weeks by that point so, again, I wouldn’t need to worry about his development.

So, if Liam doesn’t come on his own, I will be induced on December 31! However, I am hoping he comes before then!

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Not much change…

I had my weekly OB appointment today, but not much had changed since last week. I’m 1 cm dilated, 70-80% effaced, and the baby is still at a -2 station. My OB said he doesn’t expect the baby to drop much until I’m actually in labor. He also said that while I’m effaced, my cervix is still hard, and I won’t see much more dilation until that softens a bit more.

He stripped my membranes and did some more stretching in an attempt to help things along. I’ve been having some mildly painful contractions since then, but nothing to lead me to believe labor is imminent. He gave me some other tips of things I can do to help soften my cervix as well, so I’ll try them this week and see if they help.

Although not much had changed, my OB said I’m still right on track for a Christmas baby. I could have less than 10 days until Liam’s arrival!

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On another note, if you get a chance, stop by Longing, Living, Loving! She is doing many giveaways between now and Christmas. I won a book from here that I can’t wait to read!

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1 cm dilated & 70% effaced

I had my weekly OB checkup today. I’ve progressed from .5 cm dilated last week to 1 full cm this week. I’m also 70% effaced, so my body is definitely preparing to deliver this baby! The only thing that hasn’t progressed since last week is Liam’s position: he is at a -2 station, which means he has begun his descent, but still has some dropping to do. My OB did some internal stretching in an attempt to help this process along.

When I entered the examination room, the nurse said “I see you are 37 weeks and 3 days along”. I looked at her strangely, thinking she must have reviewed the wrong chart, and told her I was only 36 weeks. Well, apparently they changed my due date to 12/26 at some point because of all of the ultrasounds I’ve had showing a late December due date. I was surprised by this official change in my due date, since IVF is something of an exact science. However, I think their reasoning is due primarily to his size. Of course, ultrasounds can be wrong about size. But he has grown very consistently with how they have measured him all along, so that leads me to believe they are probably right about size in this case. In any event, my OB continues to expect I will have this baby around Christmas time, so it doesn’t really matter when they set my due date.

So, it sounds like Liam will likely be here in 2-3 weeks! It’s exciting, scary, and very hard to believe!!

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Our final ultrasound

Today we had our final ultrasound of this pregnancy. It’s a bit sad in a way, but it also means the next time we see our little guy, it will be after he is born! It’s hard to believe I’ll be full-term next week. However, I doubt he’ll make his appearance for another 2-3 weeks. I’m anxious to know if I’ve dilated further since last week! I’ll find out tomorrow.

Anyway, baby was measuring right on track compared to all previous ultrasounds. He is at the 69th percentile for size and the 65th percentile for weight at 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Thankfully, his head is not particularly big, so that should make it easier to push him out when the time comes. But, if I go all the way to 40 weeks, we are likely to have a nearly 9 pound baby.

At our last ultrasound, my amniotic fluid levels were slightly on the high end of normal. This time, there was no more concern about that. Normal is between 5 and 25 cm, and I have around 18 cm of it.

It was difficult to get a good picture of the baby today, as he is very much crammed in my uterus. However, here is what we did get!

His face

His profile

And a foot!

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Some more maternity photos

The pictures below were taken at 34 weeks by Robin Frisella Photography. She brought her studio to our house, and did an amazing job! Unfortunately, I had been sick all week, and was still feeling unwell the day these were taken, and I think it shows in the pictures that have my face in them. So, my favorites are the ones of just my belly, and that’s what I’m going to share here!

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35 week checkup

Today I had the first of my weekly OB appointments, and the first cervical check for this pregnancy.

According to my OB, I’m starting to thin and am 1/2 cm dilated. Liam has started to drop a little as well, but still has more dropping to do. My OB says he expects a late December baby!! I know 1/2 cm isn’t a lot, but it is something! The true test of progress will be to see how much more I dilate, if any, between this week and next week.

The thought of a baby THIS MONTH is exciting, but also scary when I consider how long our to-do list is! We have several things left to do in our house including painting and decorating the nursery, and putting together the crib, dresser, and chest. I hope we can finish the nursery by the end of next week! I’ll definitely post pictures when it is done.

I gained a pound since 2 weeks ago, and my blood pressure was a tad bit higher than usual at 122/80; however they weren’t at all concerned about it. I had not had much to drink today, so I wonder if that affected it.

I asked my doctor about red raspberry leaf tea and evening primose oil, both of which are rumored to assist one’s body in the labor process. He said he wasn’t sure how much it would actually help, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt anything either, so he said to “go for it”. So, I guess I’ll give them a try.

I also shared my birth “wish list” (I don’t like the idea of a birth “plan”, because there is no way to truly plan a birth!) with him, and he said everything I listed sounded reasonable. I’m pasting my very simple wish list below:

I would like…
• my spouse and doula present throughout the entire labor process;
• as few internal exams as possible;
• to eat and drink as approved by my doctor; and
• to avoid episiotomy if at all possible. I would prefer to try alternative methods, such as massage and warm compresses before episiotomy is deemed necessary.

After the baby arrives…
• I would like to breastfeed as soon as possible.
• I would like skin-to-skin time with baby.
• Please do not give baby pacifiers or bottles.
• We would like circumcision to be performed, and we would like our son to be given an anesthetic for pain.

That’s all there is to it! My OB says sometimes he sees some very crazy birth plans, but he was happy with mine. He has even had patients say they don’t want a c-section, even if their baby’s life is in danger!

Next week I have an ultrasound on Tuesday, and my next OB checkup on Wednesday. I can’t wait to see our baby boy again!

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This past week, my rib cage has become a new favorite place for him to hang out. Sometimes it gets really painful! Usually if I stretch or start pushing on him, I can get him to move to a more comfortable spot, at least for a little while!

His movements have also changed in the past couple of weeks. He is moving as frequently as ever, but I feel more stretching, twisting, and squirming than kicking and jerking. He must be getting crammed in there!

Other than that, things seem to be about the same. I’ve been able to stay comfortable for the most part, and I’m glad of that! Of course, every single bit of discomfort, no matter how mild or how severe, is worth it to me for this wonderful baby boy. I find the joys of pregnancy far outweigh the inconveniences. I’d definitely endure much worse for my children!

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