Doctor

I haven't been posting a lot this week because I've just been sitting around bored on maternity leave waiting on this baby. Also, I've reached the point in pregnancy where I'm annoyed at everything, so I figured it was better to not be grumpy on the Internet.

Anyway, I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Labban this morning. Blood pressure, urine, everything still looked good. He did actually check my cervix today. And holy crap that was a terrible experience and now I'm really glad he didn't do it last week. No one told me it was going to hurt so bad. Anyway, there is some progress going on at least. I'm 1-2 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and the baby's head is at a -1 station. Dr. Labban said he could feel the head and he's hopeful we'll be having a baby this weekend. But just in case he doesn't come this weekend, we did schedule a non-stress test for Tuesday and an ultrasound for Wednesday.

But here's to hoping he'll come right on time on his due date, tomorrow.

Doctor

Weekly doctor's appointment this morning. Everything still looking good. For some reason I thought they were going to check my cervix, but I was wrong so I got half naked for nothing. Apparently Dr. Labban doesn't check until your due date (although I still think that he said 39 weeks last week and that he'd check it today). He would have checked it if I asked, but I don't really care because it doesn't really mean anything.

In other news, this baby is so low my maternity shirts don't really keep him covered anymore. So I'm super sexy walking around with the bottom pointy part of my stretch-marked belly hanging out. Oh, yeah.

Also, for weeks I have been saying I thought our little one would come early and I thought he would be born on January 23rd. I guess my mother's intuition was wrong on that one. Still right about him being a boy though! Although the odds may have been in my favor on that "guess."

Anyway, for now we're sitting tight trying to convince the baby that birthdays are fun and he wants to have one. So far, no takers...

Leave

Maternity Leave Day 2

I'm so thankful I'm in a position to take maternity leave. Especially a generous 18-week one that started two weeks before my due date.

But....

I am so bored. Normally I'm happy for days off, but I feel restless and ready to have a baby. So sitting around waiting for him to pop out is... frustrating? I'm not sure what the right word is. All I know is I've already cleaned everything, packed the bag, tweezed my eyebrows, almost completed another pair of baby pants, and there's only so much Netflix one can take.

I might have to take myself to the movies tomorrow or something. Here's to hoping Baby Madren comes sooner rather than later before I drive myself nuts.

Bump Watch 38 weeks

How far along: 38 weeks
Baby is the size of a: giant leek (~6.8 pounds and >19.5 inches)
News: I'm now on maternity leave!

Cup

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my earlier post!

So every OB visit starts with peeing in a cup. I hate peeing in cups. Always have. And pretty much until I became pregnant, I think my body was incapable of doing it.

So I went in today and headed to the restroom to leave my sample. Which I've gotten used to, even though I don't like doing it, but now that I'm extremely pregnant it has become quite difficult as I can't see what I'm doing down there. So I'm peeing (mostly) in the cup this morning and then all of a sudden... I drop the cup in the toilet! Argh! I managed to stop midstream, grab another cup, and manage to get enough in there for them to test, but I'm sure the lab worker was wondering what was going on since I was laughing at the whole ordeal and I'm positive she could hear it on the other side of the little window. And then I had to fish the cup I dropped out of the bowl because I'm pretty sure those aren't flushable. So, yeah... That was pretty awesome.

Doctor and Doula

We had our weekly visit to Dr. Labban this morning. Everything is still looking good. Apparently our little one is so far down that Mark could only feel shoulders and not his head. I'm hopeful that means he's coming next week. Because I think I'm reaching the "Get this baby out of me" threshold. I still maintain that I will endure whatever he thinks is necessary, but I'm hoping he chooses to make his arrival sooner rather than later.

We also had our prenatal appointment with our doula, Barbara Lehr, last night. That went well. I'm actually feeling fairly prepared for this whole labor thing and I've not really been scared or anxious about it at all. I just have this weird confidence that everything will be fine. I feel like that's probably not normal, but whatever. I'm glad I'm not scared or worried. And I'm glad we've enlisted some experienced help. Because as awesome as Seth is (seriously I owe a post on this topic, but it's hard for me to think about without getting overwhelmed with love and gratitude and tearing up... he's been that amazing), I'm really glad to have someone who gets it and can help in ways he, by no fault of his own, can't. Especially if there comes a point when I may not be able to articulate what I need.

Dedication and Godparent

Seth and I have attended First United Church here in Bloomington our entire marriage. We decided we wanted to have the baby dedicated or baptized there before we move back to North Carolina.

After talking to our pastors and each other about our beliefs regarding baptism, we decided to dedicate the baby instead of having him actually baptized with water.

We didn't really have a specific time frame in mind originally, but my parents indicated that they'd like to be there for it, as did Seth's parents, so now the plan is to do it rather quickly after he is born! Mostly for the travel convenience for grandparents.

So, our little one will be dedicated at First United on the second Sunday of his life (hopefully). For example, if he arrives next Wednesday, January 23rd, his dedication with be Sunday, February 3rd.

We're posting this so that friends and family who would like to witness this event can somewhat plan accordingly once he actually arrives. We want everyone to know they are more than welcome to attend, but also to not feel obligated to do so. We don't want to exclude anyone or worry about official invitations and just didn't realize there would be so much interest in going.

Also, we hadn't announced it on the blog yet, but we did choose to designate a godparent for Baby Madren. While we were home in October, we asked Seth's cousin Suzanne to be his godparent and she was happy to say yes. We're really happy as well, as we think Suzanne will be an excellent godparent (clearly).

Group B Strep Test

was negative! No antibiotics during labor for me!

Now I can print out our birth plan (and do a post on it!), meet with our doula tomorrow, and have a baby!

Bump Watch 37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks
Baby is the size of a: stalk of swiss chard (~6.3 pounds and ~19 inches)
News: Baby is full term! And doesn't he look lower?

Jobs

Seth had a couple job interviews this week, both of which went well. I'm hopeful he'll get a job for after he graduates soon and that will be one less thing we have to worry about.

Also, I had been planning to work until this baby pops out, but now I'm thinking that may have been a little ambitious. I'm now planning to be all wrapped up by the end of next week and start my maternity leave on the 21st, which should hopefully give me at least a few days of rest. I have this weird feeling the baby is coming early (specifically I'm thinking the 23rd, but I have absolutely nothing to base that on). Of course, he could hang in there until Valentine's Day, but I'm hoping that won't be the case.

Doctor

We had a doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is looking great. I have been swelling a lot more, especially in my feet and ankles at the end of the day, but my blood pressure is still great and the baby's heartbeat was great, so we're not worried about it. They did tell me I could try wearing my compression socks to see if that helps. I really miss running so maybe breaking out the compression socks will make me feel better about that too. :)

I also had to do the Group B strep test today. It's really not a bad test in theory, just a cotton swab at the vaginal opening and at the rectum, but for some reason it was really not pleasant. I'm experiencing a lot of pressure down there anyway and generally don't really want that general area messed with, so it wasn't happy to be swabbed. In fact, it was over an hour ago and I've felt pretty miserable every since.

Although I'm generally feeling uncomfortable these days anyway. I'm refraining from saying I feel miserable, but I definitely don't feel great. Really I think I can only say I feel 9 months pregnant.

heart

Ultrasound

We had our position ultrasound this morning, after having to reschedule it due to snowpocalypse 2012. Everything looked great! Baby Madren was head down (YAY!), and in fact was in a great position in general. His heartbeat was good, about 180 beats per minute (fast, but not too fast). His lungs looked good and the ultrasound tech said he was practicing breathing, which is good. You could see his little belly move as if he were breathing. We saw his feet, and he wiggled his little toes at us, which was adorable. We couldn't really see his face though. His head is pretty far down there. My placenta looked good and is sort of hanging out on my left side and the amniotic fluid level was good. So he pretty much passed with flying colors.

I did ask if she could tell how big he is, but she said Dr. Labban didn't order measurements so she couldn't tell. But she said that since he didn't ask for them, the baby must be fairly normal sized.

Also, she only gave us one picture and it was pretty much just a penis shot. He really likes to show that thing off in ultrasounds, but hopefully it will be a few years before pictures of it are on the internet... (And by a few years I mean I hope we raise a kid that knows better than that...)

Bump Watch 36 weeks

How far along: 36 weeks
Baby is the size of a: crenshaw melon (about >18.5 inches and approximately 6 pounds)
Gender:  Boy
Total weight gain/loss: ~40 pounds
Maternity clothes: I feel like I've almost outgrown them.
Sleep: Not so much.
Best moment this week: Ultrasound this morning was excellent! 
Food cravings: I feel like eating healthy stuff. But no real cravings lately.   
Food aversions: Not lately
Movement: Tons. He sometimes will kick me back when I'm rubbing him. 
Symptoms: I'm ginormous. 
Labor Signs: A few more Braxton Hicks in the last few days. 
Stretch Marks: Yep. In fact, I think I'm getting new ones on my butt. Which was the last place that needed to stretch...
Swelling: Some. Mostly in my hands. Some in my feet.
Belly Button in or out: Barely an innie. I feel like it's a race as to whether my belly button will pop out or I'll have the baby first. I'm rooting for the turkey timer scenario.
What I miss: Sushi.
What I am looking forward to: I just really want to see him and hold him.   
Milestones: Baby was head down at the ultrasound this morning! One more week and he'll officially be full term. Also, I think he's dropped. I feel like there's a bowling ball in my pelvis and it hurts to stand up.

Happy New Year!

I only have two resolutions right now:

1. Have a baby.
2. Run a 5K by the end of the year.