Last Friday, I had my 39 week checkup with my doctor. She says that baby is happy and doing well, I was 50% effaced, and Luke's station was -1 (he needs to be at a 0 station to be fully engaged in my pelvis). So, she did a little procedure to try to get a jump start on things. C'mon Luke... mommy and daddy want to meet you! Going back to Friday, here's how the day panned out.
Normally in the mornings, Luke is very active throughout breakfast time. He's normally flipping around and kicking so much that you can see my stomach move from across the room. So Friday morning, when Luke was very still, I began getting a little concerned. I tried moving him, but he didn't budge. I drank caffeinated coffee and had two waffles with peanut butter and syrup (protein and sugar) but he still didn't move. So, I started yelling at my belly and that got him stirring...slightly. His kicks were far less than they should've been, so I brought my concern up to my doctor. When she had done the little kick-start procedure, she said that would aggravate baby and he would probably start moving momentarily. Well, he did not. I was getting pretty concerned so we waited for a few minutes and told the doctor that he was still not moving. She said I should head over to Labor and Delivery in the hospital and have them monitor his movements. She said they would keep me for 20 minutes or so, and make sure baby is happy and not in distress. So, I called Carl and updated him. I was in the process of explaining what the doctor told me and I said "So, she's sending me to labor and delivery" and wouldn't you know as I spoke those words, the call failed. So, last thing Carl heard was "They are sending me to labor and delivery." I didn't want to get his hopes up so I immediately called him back and finished explaining that they are sending me there just to check on Luke and make sure he isn't in distress.
My mom and I arrived at the hospital, and the nurses were very sweet. They said we absolutely did the right thing to come in and check on our little boy. They hooked me up to some monitors and immediately found his heartbeat. Every nurse that came by kept saying "Baby is very happy!" One nurse said that looking at his heart rate, he wasn't just "ho hum" but more like "Weeee!" and he was doing great. That was good to hear (although I'm not sure how much of that was her just trying to make me happy... but I'll take it!).
The machine she hooked me up to monitored Luke's heart rate, my heart rate, and any contractions I might be having. After a few minutes, the nurse asked if I was feeling contractions because the machine was showing I had one. I told her I felt a little tightening but nothing significant so she said it was most likely just a chuckle that showed up as a contraction. So, we waited. We watched Luke's little heart beat for a while and I felt more and more tightening up in my abdomen. This tightening felt pretty much like Braxton Hicks contractions, but they were getting a little stronger each time, and lasting a little longer. Pretty soon, they started coming at regular intervals. I was having contractions every 5 to 6 minutes. They continued coming regularly, causing the nurses to keep me for about three hours instead of the estimated twenty minutes. The contractions continued coming at regular intervals of every 5 to 6 minutes, and they got more and more uncomfortable. The nurses checked me and said I was only between 0 and 1cm dilated, but they all determined I was in early labor. They let me go home in order to do a few last minute things and pack a bag to come to the hospital. As we were leaving, the nurses all said "See you soon!"
I was very excited to be having this baby, although I have to say it was an emotional roller coaster thinking I would most likely not be pregnant the following day. I have loved feeling my little baby kick and roll around for the past several months, so the thought of this stage coming to an end made me pretty sad. I continued having contractions for fourteen hours straight, and they continued getting stronger and stronger. I even had a few contractions near the end of the day that made me double over and stop talking. I was so excited to be making progress! My mom and I ran errands around town, came home and packed a hospital bag, and then we all watched a little television. I went to bed unusually early that night because I knew it was important to conserve my energy for the hard labor that should be coming within the next day or so. And, I knew I most likely wouldn't get a whole lot of sleep since I was still contracting regularly. I contracted all throughout the night and I was constantly awoken by the uncomfortableness... but I was excited. In the morning I would be that much closer to holding my baby boy in my arms.
That next morning, I came downstairs and informed my mom that the contractions completely stopped in the past couple of hours. I was very bummed, to say the least.
Since Luke's station on Friday was -1, I decided I would spend some time on the birthing ball (our pilates ball). Rocking back and forth and left and right is supposed to help loosen my pelvis so that Luke's head can drop a little more and he can be completely engaged (once he's completely engaged, his head pushing down will help the effacement and dilation to get this party started!). I rocked and rocked on the ball, and worked on Luke's room more throughout the day. By the afternoon, I was pretty exhausted so I napped for a while. We missed dinner at our friend's house (where we go almost every Saturday) because I was just too worn out. Of course all of our friends understood and encouraged me to stay home and rest. The following morning, we were a few minutes late for church (causing everyone to think we were not coming because I was in labor). As I walked in, my friend turned around and saw me and made a face that was like "What are you doing here, you're supposed to be having a baby!" I mouthed "No baby!" to her and took a seat. Halfway through services, another one of my friends casually turned around and did a double take when she saw me in church. She held her arms out in a questioning gesture and I just shrugged. She later told me she just KNEW I was in the hospital already holding my baby. By time evening church rolled around, people were coming up and saying that my belly looked much smaller since Luke has dropped. It's almost like he was laying out flatter (and much lower)... my mom compared my stomach to a hill and said it used to be a mountain. Haha :)
So anyway, here we are, at 39 weeks and a few days... still cookin' a baby. I'll probably end up being late since he's my first baby... but I can't wait to meet him. I'm going to try to just soak in and enjoy these last days with him in my belly. Maybe Luke is waiting on his grandpa to get here before he makes his big debut... if that is the case, we have 8 days left!
Here's the slightly flatter 39 week baby bump.
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