M: The Third Trimester Part 2

September 6, 2014:

Today I am 38 weeks + 1 day, which means there are less than two weeks until my due date!  Although the past nine months have not exactly been fun, it is hard to believe how quickly they passed. Before I get into this week though, I need to update on week 37:

Week 37 (August 29-September 4): This week we celebrated Labor Day (the holiday, thankfully not my Labor Day!).  It was a great weekend as a family, as we tried to spend as much time as possible enjoying the family of three moments that we have left.  I was also able to get a good amount of rest this weekend, as sleeping has gotten a little easier.  However, on Monday night that was not the case.  Due to several things on my mind, back pain, allergies, restless legs, and cramping pains I've been having I could not fall asleep!  I tried all of my tricks: warm pad on my back, lavender lotion, sleeping in different positions and different rooms, etc, but nothing worked.  It wasn't until about 5am that I finally fell asleep, so I sent Eric a text and asked that he call my boss to tell him I wasn't feeling well and would try to come in later that day.  I did end up getting to sleep (mostly) until 11, then I got up, got ready and headed to work.  That night though, I was completely exhausted and my nerves were totally shot!  I had no patience for Asher that night and had to let daddy deal with him while I put myself to bed early.  I did not immediately fall asleep, but I did pass out around 9 and was able to get a good 8 hours of rest that night, which after the previous evening was MUCH appreciated!  Thankfully the rest of the week was much better and although I do not rest like I did pre-pregnancy it has been extraordinarily better than what I've been dealing with the last two months or so!

On Wednesday of this week, I had my 37 week appointment.  The baby's heartrate was only 127, but measuring good.   Based on how my stomach was looking and movements I've felt, I thought that maybe the baby had turned sideways again.  However, we were happy to find out that 'he' is stil head down in the correct position.  Additionally, we were surprised to find out that unlike with Asher, my body is already preparing for delivery as we were told that I was dilated 1.5 cm and my cervix was very soft.  Thus, the doctor said it could really happen any day and it would only take a couple of good contractions to put me into labor!  Since nothing was ever happening with Asher, this kind of put us in panic mode as we realized that we were running out of time!

37 Weeks

Week 38 (September 5-September 11): On Friday (yesterday) of this week I turned 38 weeks!  Just two weeks to go, which meant that it was also my last day working in the office until 'M's arrival.  It was a busy week trying to get ready to work from home until baby comes, but I did it and now don't have to go back into work for a few months!  Until then I will work from home full time until M comes and then when possible to help out with questions etc. while I am on leave.  

September 8, 2014:

Today is Monday and I am 38 weeks 4 days.  Part of me feels like M is going to arrive very soon, while the other part tells me it will still be at least another week.  I worked from home today and enjoyed being able to just walk across the hall to use the bathroom rather than to a different floor outside my office.  I also thoroughly enjoyed not having to get dressed up for work and having my kitchen nearby.

I am getting a bit nervous about M's arrival as we still have a ton to do.  The nursery is still in disarray, I am still working through getting everything washed & the house feels like complete chaos.  At the same time my ability to accomplish things is quite limited.  My back has been killing me for the last few days and my allergies have been acting up.

38 Weeks

September 13, 2014:
Week 39 (September 12-September 18): I am now 39 weeks.  At this point in my pregnancy with Asher he was not even two hours old.  This time around though, since I am strongly hoping not to induce, it is much more of a waiting game.  On Wednesday of this past week, I had my 38 week appointment, and found that I am making progress (I have dialated another cm and am 60% effaced), but not as quickly as if hoped. I was able to work a full 40+ hour week AND have my day off with Asher, but still no baby.  We also found out at the appointment that 'M's heartrate jumped back up to 140 and also that Dr. Saitis is on call this weekend, so we were hoping for the show to go on so that she can deliver.  At this point though, unless something happens quick, I don't foresee that happening.

Other than all the doctor updates, things are going well.  My pains have gotten a little better and I have been sleeping slightly better although still not great.  I continue to have nose bleeds fairly frequently, but assume that part of the problem is allergy season.  Eric and I have been able to be fairly productive this week.  The nursery is finally ready again, and all of the baby stuff has been washed and put away other than my pumping supplies.  We still haven't packed bags for ourselves or Asher yet though and everyday I wake up thinking that is my goal for the day...well, maybe it will happen tomorrow.  I do wish my house was a bit cleaner at the moment, but that is not currently my greatest concern.

As for 'M', 'he' (this week) is doing well and seems to be a bit too comfortable for my liking.  Eric and I are both looking forward to meeting our little bundle and introducing 'him' (Eric believes her, but I think I've switched over) to Asher.  I am a bit worried though how Asher will deal with the change as his current answer to "are you going to have a baby brother or baby sister?" Is a simple "no", but there is no turning back now, so we will just have to trust it will all work out.

September 17, 2014:

Well there is barely 24 hours left of my 39th week and still no baby!  I had another appointment this morning and it seems progress has come to a stand still.  Although labor could come any day, it also might not.  Thus, we decided to give M one more week and scheduled an induction for 6am on Thursday September 25 if it doesn't happen before then.  We will see what happens.

As far as the baby goes, "his" heartrate has dropped significantly.  Although last week it was 140, the two weeks pror it was 128 and this week it was 127.  I am becoming more and more convinced that it is a boy, which stresses me out because there is a current issue plaguing us both with the boy name that we had selected.  I pray that M is either a girl so that we don't have to deal with it or that God will help us to select the perfect name for our little man!  That aside, I cannot wait to meet him or her and hold him/her in my arms...even if he is 8.5-9 pounds as the doctor believes!

Asher seems to go back and forth on the baby thoughts lately.  From one point I see a jealous brother coming out, from the other he is very curious and loving toward all the babies at church and lately will look at my belly, wave and say "hi" or run up and give it a kiss!  I know he will be a great big bro, I am just not sure what we will go through to get there!

Beyond that, I will admit that I am scared to have a second child.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled and as ready as I'll ever be, but taking care of two still seems completely daunting and I fear I won't have the time, patience and/or love that they need me to give to them.  Knowing how much I love Asher it is hard to fathom how I will have enough left for both of them.  Everyone tells me though that somehow your love multiples rather than being divided, so I have hope.

As for me, sleep is still hard to come by and I continue to grow in size.  I currently am a few pounds heavier than I was at the end with Asher and hope that I won't have too much trouble getting rid of the weight, but also know that I've heard it is harder with the second.  I am also quite a klutz lately.  Last week in one day, I stubbed my toe so badly that I could barely walk on it (and it still hurts), I slammed my finger in a window, and Asher stepped on another toe and broke almost half of my nail off.  Hopefully that accident prone/klutz goes away when the baby comes!

39 Weeks

September 20, 2014:

Week 40 (September 19-September 25): Well, as of yesterday I am officially 40 weeks and still no baby!  I am exhausted and getting very impatient.  On Thursday afternoon, we got excited that it might be that day as I was having contractions on a regular basis, but before they could get really intense and/or really close they disappeared completely and I have had very few since.  Because we have no family in the area to help us with Asher and all of our friends work and/or have young children already to deal with, Eric's dad came out on Thursday night/Friday morning with hopes of the baby's arrival.  However, all hope has pretty much vanished at this point.  Despite that though, it has been very nice having Grandpa here to play with Asher, allowing Eric and I a little down time which is necessary at the moment with my current energy level.  Hopefully the baby will still decide to come in the next day or so (before Grandpa leaves), but I won't hold my breath.  I know that "she" (a she week now) will come when the time is right and until then I just need to (try to) be patient.

40 Week Eviction Order

One of the few perks of pregnancy. (A special run out by Eric just for me!) :)

September 23, 2014:

Today I am 40 weeks + 4 days, and still no baby!  The weekend was mostly uneventful.  I have become quite exhausted lately, so Asher spent the weekend playing with Grandpa and Daddy, while I tried to catch up on some rest.  On Sunday, I took a nap in the afternoon and when I woke up I had a horribly intense contraction that lasted a couple of minutes.  I thought that things were finally going to happen, but yet again everything went away after that.  I was left with a terrible back pain for most of the rest of the day, but never experienced another contraction.  

Yesterday, Eric's dad went home, Eric went to work, Asher went to daycare and I spent another day working from home.  It was unfortunately another completely uneventful day other than my not feeling well in the morning.  Now today, has been a little bit more exciting, but after the last several days I won't get my hopes up.  It is about 8am and I have been having contractions since about 5 this morning.  They have varied in timing though, being anywhere from 7 minutes to 34 minutes apart, so I am not sure what to make of it.  They are more intense than those that I was feeling last Thursday, but not even close to the pain I felt on Sunday.  At 9:30, I have another appointment with my doctor, so I guess then we will have a better idea if anything is going on.  If not, I am pretty much resolved to the fact that Eric and I will be heading into the hospital at 6am on Thursday to induce and meet the newest member of our family!

...to be continued with 'M's arrival!!