38 Weeks

Baby Beck:

[according to my app]

>> 38 weeks old
>>the size of a watermelon!
>>19-22 inches long
>>around 7 pounds

>> doctor estimates she is around 6.5 pounds

>>ready to come out!

How far along? 38 weeks

This was at 37 weeks.. I am soo not motivated enough to get up and take one today!

Contractions? Just more frequent Braxton Hicks. I have had them since 20 weeks, and they have just gotten more and more frequent and stronger as I get further along. But they do seem to be helping things progress:

Labor Signs? I am 3.5 centimeters dilated and almost 80% effaced already:) Because I have been progressing like this for a few weeks already, my doctor says she thinks that I will have a very fast labor when it does start. That's good at least:)

I LOVE MY DOCTOR. I had an appointment with her today and after she checked my progress, she asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I of course said YES PLEASE! I am really lucky because a lot of OB's wont do it until you are 40-41 weeks/overdue. She is one who says it is WAY healthier for mom and baby to have a baby a week and a half early than a week and a half late. 

 I completely agree and I am praying that the membrane sweep works and jump starts something over the next couple days!

She said it will either work within 48 hours or not at all. Everyone can go ahead and start praying for us that she will come now... especially since Mitch gets home from his AZ business trip in 2 hours!! Hurrah!!

As of now I am just feeling slightly more intense/frequent cramping but we will see what turns out.

I legitimately went out a few weeks ago and bought an exercise ball for the sole purpose of bouncing on it:

bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce

Weight Gain? Ohh you betcha! It is scary seeing the scale climb up and up every week even though you know it is from the little bean inside! Ha ha! Baby should gain 1/2 pound every week now. I should end up around 25 pounds or so by 40 weeks. Whatever makes baby healthy is good with me:)

ps, I don't know if any of you have ever wondered, but I certainly have! WHERE does all of that 25 pounds go to? Here is a sweet breakdown that I found a few weeks ago, for a 30 pound pregnancy:

Holy shiz! Isn't that crazy to see? I have always wondered where the extra 20-25 pounds goes besides the baby. Now we know:)

Stretch Marks? Somehow still no! Lots of lotion around here. But I hear it is mostly genetics.

Sleep? It was bad for a while- I could never get comfortable. However now I have found the perfect arrangement of about 6 pillows I surround myself with every night so now I am good:) don't worry, Mitch still has a small corner of the bed for himself:)

Name? We have 3 that we love, mostly 2, that we will decide between when we see her. We just can't name a human being without even meeting her first! This is like honestly the hardest thing of my life!

Belly Button In or Out? Really just beyond out. Beyond.

Mood: Really happy! Starting to get really tired but very content and happy. I feel like everything is set and ready so now I am just waiting for little miss.

Labor Plans: I plan on having an epidural, just as late as possible in labor so that it doesn't stall it and make it last forever (that is one drawback of epidurals). But I want to enjoy the whole process so I do plan on an epidural for sure. I have read a lot about how IV/pain meds can make babies really, really drowsy (some reports of that with epidurals too, but it is actually mostly from pain meds), and they also can effect their breathing when they are born. So I am going to try and avoid pain meds (fentanyl, or whatever they use there) if possible and just stick with the epidural.

The thing I have learned by working in the hospital/surgery/healthcare industry for almost 5 years is that really.. doctors know what they are doing. And there is NOTHING more annoying and frustrating to me at my work than when a patient thinks they know more than those who are taking care of them and won't let us help them or do what is really best. So I am going to try and be a very nice and easy to work with patient.. since I know how it can be otherwise!

It is my opinion that it is best to be informed, be educated and aware, but trust those who are taking care of you and understand that things like epidurals, vaccines, newborn procedures, etc have come about for a reason!  So I trust my OB and those who will take care of us 100%. As my OB said, there is a reason why people don't walk across the plains anymore. We take planes and cars and trains. Same principle.

So, while I have a plan of what I would like and wouldn't like, honestly I am flexible and open to whatever needs to happen:)

Besides the fact that IMC (the hospital we are delivering at and the hospital that my doctor's office is actually in) has just received multiple awards. It is such a great hospital and has an extremely low intervention/cesarean rate. 

I feel like we have been way fortunate to have such great care already from them, which is something that is really important to me.

Baby Prep: We are SET officially! All is purchased, washed, sorted, packed, etc:)  

Speaking of prep, here is little miss' going home outfit:) eeeeeeeeeeek

WE ARE READY!

And I am ready for this man to come home in the next 2 hours!! I have sooo missed my best buddy:)

Any of you have any success stories on jumpstarting labor? You can comment or private message me on FB, whatever, I am super interested to hear if anybody has any experiences:)