Week 36 and 37 appointments

Welp, baby boy is full term now! I keep saying that he is just freeloading now. I will give him until Thursday, then he gets his eviction warning. One more week and it's an eviction NOTICE. His current location will be closing for renovations and he's gonna have to get OUT!

I've been behind blogging so I'll start with my 36 week appointment. This one didn't' go as smoothly as some of the others. First, they took my BP and it was high, which they know happens. Then my doctor came in and said that I needed to get one more blood draw for some random reason. Now I was sure I'd already had all the blood draws I needed, so this instantly put me on edge. It's like I needed some time to get used to the idea of having my arm pricked! So by the time the appointment was over, I was on edge. They were sending me to the lap (which is at my clinic) and they weren't quite ready so I headed to the waiting room. While I was there, my nurse came out and said "Oh, let me take your blood pressure again to make sure it went down!" Well that's crazy to take it right before a blood draw! It was way way way up, still.

At the lab, the phlebotomist asked why I was there and I said that my doctor told me I needed another blood draw for a test (it was for HIV/Hep B, which I'd already been cleared on and had opted out of a second test!) The lady said that insurance would pay for another one if I wanted it, and I said, honestly I don't care either way, but can we just get on with it? So they went ahead and did it. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated. But then the nurse wanted to take my bp AGAIN and it was still high!

And here's the thing about blood pressure -- there are only a few things that can naturally bring it down and one of those is not being stressed, but when youre' stressed about bringing it down,it's going to stay up. See? So that was the story of my life for about 24 hours after that appointment. They said if it stayed high that I should go to Labor & Delivery to have it monitored. Well, I'm thinking to myself, no WAY I'm going to L&D and letting them take my baby out of me at 36 weeks..I wasn't ready! All this happened Tuesday, but by that evening it was still high but only marginally so. In the morning it was back up. I took it a time or two more and by the afternoon decided to just go to L&D. They checked me in and put me in a triage room. I just kept my regular clothes on and they hooked me up to a BP monitor, contraction monitor and fetal heartbeat monitor. It was so nice hearing his little strong heart. I didn't have any contractions and over the course of 2 hours or so, my bp ended up going down so low that Kelsey wasn't sure if I was still alive ;)  They let me go home and said everything else looked normal, so I didn't need to worry if it was up slightly next time unless I had headaches or vomiting.

Then to the 37 week appointment. This was last Tuesday and I was determined to have Kelsey there so I could avoid another situation. Well it worked because my BP was down lower than it had been the whole pregnancy at an appointment! Everything was fine and normal. She kept saying, "could be any day!" but didn't have any insight into when it would be. They have no idea! She said he felt like he had dropped more. His heart beat was great and he was moving around slightly, as usual. Love that little guy!

So tomorrow will be 38 weeks and my last appointment (keeping in mind that my X week appointment falls two days before I am the next week pregnant, so this means I'll be 39 weeks on Thursday). She will be doing an exam this time to see if I have dialated further (I had dialated to 1). I think Kelsey is going with me again, so hoping I will stay calm!

Now, on to how I'm feeling. Within the past few days I've started feeling really uncomfortable all the time. I feel like I'm blessed with this because a lot of women get this way FAR earlier in their pregnancies. The worst is when I'm sleeping. It's so hard to turn over anymore. I have to lug my big belly right with me! And no matter what side I'm on, I hurt. My hips hurt and my hands are swollen. They are also very, very stiff. I can barely bend them, especially after I first wake up. Because he's dropped some, he's laying more on my hips/pelvis so I feel him just pinching all the time when I'm up and moving. It does feel good to get up and take walks, etc. but then I'm ready to sit back down again. I'm using my balance ball because sometimes it's more comfortable than the couch...never thought I'd say that! But the end is in sight!

35 week appointment

Yesterday was my 35 week appointment and it was a good one. Kelsey was able to go with me, and that always improves my blood pressure, even though the day started out stressful with a call from work. I really thought going into it that my blood pressure would be SKY high. I even told the nurse that it might be high and to keep that in mind, but it was only 126/71, which is great for me! That just proves that having Kelsey there makes things better..he calms me down!

So then they did the exam. They had to do a swab for Group B which I still have no idea what it is, but it's not harmful at all for Mommys but is very harmful to babies, so if I have it, I just have to take antibiotics. The things I've learned....then she did an internal exam to see where he was sitting and if he had dropped. The first thing she said was, "He's facing the right direction!!" And then she said he had a nice, hard head. I said he gets that from his Daddy, and Kelsey said he gets it from BOTH of us, which is so totally true. Then she said he had dropped a little bit, but not completely. WE're getting closer!

I have to say, I really love my midwife. I was reading an article the other day that said of women who saw a doctor for their prenatal care, 65% said they were satisfied with it, whereas women who saw a midwife/nurse practitioner reported a 85% satisfaction rate. I think it's because midwives have more time to sit down with their patients and answer questions, and they answer them in a more relaxed way than doctors do. I know I've had problems with doctors before who seem too busy or "uppity" to care about my concerns. Sharon, our midwife, sat down and just talked to us about our concerns, and always tells me how well I'm doing. Of course I love that. :)

With all that being said, I'm really excited about his arrival. It's funny, I'm a little bit torn between loving my baby belly so much that I'll miss it, and him being here. Now , this doesn't mean that I'll be wanting to pop out another little one as soon as he's out, but there is something really cool and comforting about him being in my belly moving around...it feels like I can control that situation. But I'm also really looking forward to holding him and hugging him and seeing Kelsey do the same (and of course, Aunt Sis, Grammie, Grumpa, and the rest of the crew). Everytime I see one of his little onesies or diapers I just wish he was here now. It's a good place to be in. I wouldn't want extremes either way (like, devastated that I wont' be pregnant anymore or begging for him to get here soon). Knowing that he could really come anytime in the next 4 weeks is so exciting!


Mom and Dad are leaving today to drive down for the weekend, my shower at work is today and we're doing maternity pictures this weekend! So it should be an exciting week!


Here is my 36 week picture:

Bladders behind my eyes

At my doc appointment the other day I was telling my doctor about how emotional I've been getting lately and she said, "It's like you have bladders behind your eyes!" I hadn't heard that before but it's so true. Everything makes me cry, but not always in sad way. Sometimes the tears just come and I can't control it! The other day I cried because someone said something mean to Kelsey. It's not even pretty tears either -- it's big, fat, ugly sobs and contorted facial features. They only last for a couple minutes, but sometimes I'll get the "blues" for a couple hours after.

One night we were watching Mythbusters and they were doing a myth about how far a tree could bend before it broke. They broke several trees  and I just got so emotional about those darn trees!

The other day I was driving home from work and a new Brad Paisley song came on. I hadn't heard it, so I listened to the words, and that was  HUGE mistake. It was a song about him having a son. Here it is and here are the lyrics:

•  
• I remember sayin' I don't care either way
  Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm ok
  Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
  And said "Ya see that thing right there well ya know what that means"
  
  And I started wondering who he was going to be
  And I thought heaven help us if hes anything like me
  He'll probably climb a tree to tall and ride hes bike to fast
  End up every summer wearin something in a cast
  Hes gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street
  Hes gonna get in trouble oh hes gonna get in fights
  Im gonna lose my temper and some sleep
  It safe to say that im gonna get my pay back if hes anything like me
  
  I can see him right now knees all skinned up
  With a magnifying glass tryin to melt the Tonka truck
  Wont he be a sight with his football helmet on
  That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
  He'll get his heart broke by the time hes in his teens
  And heaven help him if hes anything like me
  
  He'll probably stay out to late and drive his car to fast
  Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
  Hes gonna get caught skippin class and be ground for a week
  Hes gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
  Im gonna lose my temper and some sleep
  Its safe to say that im gonna get my pay back if hes anything like me
  
  Hes gonna love me and hate me along the way
  Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day
  Hes gonna hug hes momma hes gonna shake my hand
  Hes gonna act like he cant wait to leave
  But as he drives out he'll cry hes eyes out
  If hes anything like me,
  There's worse folks to be like,
  Aw he'll be alright if hes anything like me  

Well that last little bit really threw me over the edge. I started BAWLING right there on the main road from work. I could not help it, I just sobbed for a mile. Kelsey called and was worried -- he asked what was wrong and I told him about the song. He sort of giggled and said, "aw, baby that's sweet." He's been really good about trying to calm me down and sooth me even when I am being crazy and irrational. It comes with the territory I guess!