The Baby is Coming!

Today was our final prenatal appointment and it was a very exciting one! The doctor checked to see if there was any progress. While she thought the baby had dropped even further, I still was not dilated at all. She wanted to revisit our options of doing a c-section if I didn't go into labor. So she asked if we wanted to wait it out another week or go ahead and schedule a c-section for this week. Because we have a feeling that I am not going to go into labor natually (I haven't even had a single contraction yet), we decided to forego waiting another week and go ahead with the c-section this week. We also felt that this would be the safest route for the baby since there was less risk of stress or a problem with the cord or any other type of emergency situation. The doctor asked us which day we wanted to do it. And she gave us the option of tomorrow. So we decided to do it! The surgery is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning and we have to be at the hospital at 7:30.

I also had what is called a non-stress test performed because I told the doctor I was feeling less movement and have been occasionally concerned about it. I think the test was named as such so that the parents don't get alarmed... because I would think calling it a stress test would be more appropriate. Basically what happened is they put the fetal heart monitor on my belly and checked the baby's baseline heartrate. Then the nurse pulled out a metal bedpan and a spoon and asked me if the baby was head down. Since it is, she banged on the pan about 5 times right next to the bottom of my belly. The monitor started speeding up as the baby's heartrate increased and then the poor thing got the hiccups. I felt terrible! Obviously that scared the crap out of the baby. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut about it not being as active. The good news is the baby is doing fine and is not deaf!

I don't think it has fully sunk in that I will be having a baby tomorrow. We are so excited and can't wait to meet him or her. I can't imagine what that moment will be like. After the appointment we both rushed to work to get things taken care of since we will be out for a while. Everyone so far has been pretty shocked (and so have we) that all of a sudden we know that we are having a baby in less than 24 hours. Before our lives completely changed, we decided to have one last dinner just the two of us. It was an awesome evening to sit outside and eat. Now we just need to finish packing the hospital bags and do a little more cleaning around the house. And Brett is giving the dogs plenty of attention since they will surely be a little neglected in the upcoming days. He is drinking a couple of beers so he can get some sleep... I wish I could do the same. I'm sure I will be up all night with excitement.

Only about 12 more hours until we find out if we have a son or daughter! I can't wait! Too bad we still don't have names picked out...

38 Weeks Down, ??? To Go

The 38 week appointment was today. Nothing notable happening yet. I am still gaining weight :( and the doctor thinks that the baby has dropped some since the last time she checked 2 weeks ago. There was some more talk of c-section today. If labor has not started by a couple days after the due date, we will probably be scheduling a c-section. The doctor feels safer doing that than inducing and trying to force a vaginal delivery. We agree. So we should for sure have a baby by around May 26th but we are still hoping it comes earlier. We are so ready (I think)!

We also finally purchased the last item for the nursery - a glider. Speaking of the nursery, our little dog Baxter had a fun time in there this weekend. I convinced Brett to give him a little more freedom while we were out Saturday night. When we got home, there were baby toys everywhere. Apparently he had just been dying for an opportunity to raid the toybox and play with all the soft little toys. Only one was destroyed and it was an old stuffed animal that I have had since high school or college.

In other news Brett is almost done replacing the surface of the deck. He will probably finish that up while he is on paternity leave. And today is our anniversary. The weather is the same every year so far. Cold, windy, and rainy. Brett got us tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show called Alegria. We are going Wednesday night (assuming we are not in the hospital having a baby).

32 Week Appointment

We are now in the 33rd week which means only 7 weeks until the baby is due! At 33 weeks, most babies are between 4.5 and 5 pounds. We had an appointment this morning. First was the sonogram and then we met with the doctor. Everything is looking normal in terms of growth so that is excellent. During the sonogram the baby appeared to be touching his/her feet and maybe playing with them. We were also surprised to find out that the baby has managed to change position and is now head-down which is the correct position! That means that I may not be having a c-section after all. I will have another sonogram in 4 weeks so we will be able to tell at that time if the baby is still head-down. Brett and I were happy to hear everything is progressing so normally. It is a little more difficult though not knowing what is going to happen. With a c-section, we knew that we would probably just go in when we were scheduled and have a baby fairly quickly (although the following weeks would be extra difficult). Now we are more in the dark in terms of when this is going to happen and how it will all play out. But the end result should be the same and that's all that really matters!

30 Week Appointment

We had another appointment today. This one was just a quick check-up with the doctor. We did not have an ultrasound but the doctor did measure my belly and listen to the baby's heartbeat. Everything was measuring fine. She commented that my belly was lopsided and that she didn't think the baby had changed position since my last ultrasound. She could tell that it was mostly sitting on the right. I agreed that I didn't think the position had changed - I am still feeling movements in the same places as during the last scan. So the baby is still lying sideways instead of head down.

The doctor is skeptical that the baby will change position to head down so I will more than likely be having a c-section. We will wait until my 36-week appointment and ultrasound to schedule the c-section in case the baby does change position. The delivery will be scheduled sometime during my last week of pregnancy (so probably between May 17 and 21). Nine weeks to go!