38 Week Appointment

Today I had my 38 week appointment, and I went in with very high expectations.

I was 2.5 cm dilated last week, and I thought surely I would have made some progress past that.  Especially because throughout the night last night, but mostly from 3:00 AM until 6:30 AM, I was having pretty strong contractions again, with the main focus being in my back.  We timed these contractions, and they ranged anywhere from 6 to 14 minutes apart.  We kind of knew these probably weren't the "real deal", but still kept an eye on them at least.  At the very least, we were hoping they would either help the little man descend further, or dilate my cervix more.

Neither of those happened.

The doctor said I'm still 2.5 cm, MAYBE 3 at the most.  And still haven't effaced anymore over the last 3 weeks.  I was pretty disappointed at hearing that.  He also said that his head is still pretty high up, which I kind of knew already.

He did, however, say that all we need for me to go into real labor is for the kiddo to drop down.  My cervix is apparently very soft (umm... thanks?), and the doctor said that once the baby's head drops down further into my pelvis, labor should progress rather quickly.  He said the reason I'm not dilating anymore is because there's no pressure yet on my cervix; that's what we need to get things going.

He also told me that as soon as my contractions get to a steady 5 minutes apart, to head straight in to the hospital.  He assured me that will mean his head has dropped down, and that we will most likely not be sent home.  (Or obviously if my water breaks, we'll go right in.)  It was nice to hear that labor is just a short step away, but frustrating because he said there's basically nothing I can do to get him to move down until he's ready to. 

And of course, he was measuring just perfectly, with a heartrate of 135.  I've now gone 3 or 4 weeks without any weight gain, which the doctor reassured me is just fine.  And all of my bloodwork from last week came back normal, which is nice also.

So, here we sit.  Me, big and pregnant and uncomfortable.  Josh, impatient and jumpy and anxious.  And Lane, who apparently is rather content to enjoy his freeride for a while longer.

Let's hope for some major baby dropping in the next few days!!