I had my doctor's appointment today and they surprised me by doing a pelvic exam to see if I was dilating at all. Big surprise: I am 3cm dilated, 70% effaced and the baby's head is almost to 0 station! The midwife said "I wouldn't be surprised if you went into labor tonight!" and she didn't seem very confident that I would make it to my appointment on Monday! She said if I DID make it to my appointment on Monday, she would check me again, and if I was to 4cm they would have to send me to the hospital to be induced (if I wasn't contracting) because it is considered "advanced dilitation" and isn't safe for the baby.
Scary and exciting!! We may be having a baby this weekend! Good thing our hospital bags are ready :o)
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
37 week picture
I definitely dropped if you compare this week's picture to last week's picture. Plus, the ultrasound tech yesterday said that Lauryn's head was so low that she couldn't get all the brain structures. She had the wand right above my pubic bone and it still cut the top of her head off! Yikes!
Ultrasound picture
I totally forgot to scan and post this yesterday! Here is Lauryn's ultrasound picture from yesterday. To me it looks like she is blowing kisses because her hand is in front of her face and her lips are puckered! Haha.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Doctor's appointments update
We had our ultrasound this morning. She is so squished in there, poor baby! They looked at her brain, her heart, her bladder, hear kidneys, blood flow to several organs, blood flow through the umbilical cord, measured her head, arms, legs and belly, and then after telling me everything looked great, they punched some measurements into the computer and gave us a current estimated weight of 6lbs 12oz! Big baby! If she isn't born for another 2 weeks she will be nearly 8lbs! She also has a big head - almost 10cm which is the average measurement of an almost 38 week fetus, yet her belly is small (I can't remember what it measured, but it was the measurement of a 36 week fetus, lol). I told Jimmy she has his big head and small belly. Anyway, after the tech did the ultrasound, the doctor came in and went over everything with us... she said again that everything looked really good, and then she scanned me to look at a couple more things, and she was able to get a good picture of the baby's face, although we didn't get a print out. She is really cute! I can't wait to see her in person!
After the ultrasound the doctor wanted to do a non-stress test (NST) which is where they hook me up to the monitor for about 10 minutes to record the baby's movements compared to her heart rate. This is from americanpregnancy.com:
"The primary goal of the test is to measure the heart rate of the fetus in response to its own movements. Healthy babies will respond with an increased heart rate during times of movement, and the heart rate will decrease at rest. The concept behind a non-stress test is that adequate oxygen is required for fetal activity and heart rate to be within normal ranges. When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond normally. Low oxygen levels can often be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord."
Anyway, she moved a TON while I was hooked up (thank goodness, because I would have had to sit there for longer until she started moving) and she passed with flying colors!
After that appointment I went downstairs for my normal weekly prenatal appointment. Nothing major happened there... she just talked to me about the signs of labor and what to look for. They will be checking my cervix for dilation at my next appointment on Monday. They will be doing another NST then too, just to monitor her more closely now that I am so close to the end.
I love getting good news about our baby! We are SO excited that she could technically be born any day now (the baby is full-term tomorrow!) Can't wait!
I will post the ultrasound picture we got sometime today.
After the ultrasound the doctor wanted to do a non-stress test (NST) which is where they hook me up to the monitor for about 10 minutes to record the baby's movements compared to her heart rate. This is from americanpregnancy.com:
"The primary goal of the test is to measure the heart rate of the fetus in response to its own movements. Healthy babies will respond with an increased heart rate during times of movement, and the heart rate will decrease at rest. The concept behind a non-stress test is that adequate oxygen is required for fetal activity and heart rate to be within normal ranges. When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond normally. Low oxygen levels can often be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord."
Anyway, she moved a TON while I was hooked up (thank goodness, because I would have had to sit there for longer until she started moving) and she passed with flying colors!
After that appointment I went downstairs for my normal weekly prenatal appointment. Nothing major happened there... she just talked to me about the signs of labor and what to look for. They will be checking my cervix for dilation at my next appointment on Monday. They will be doing another NST then too, just to monitor her more closely now that I am so close to the end.
I love getting good news about our baby! We are SO excited that she could technically be born any day now (the baby is full-term tomorrow!) Can't wait!
I will post the ultrasound picture we got sometime today.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Officially on maternity leave!
I guess it's not REALLY maternity leave since I'm not getting paid... ha. I worked at a dead-end job that I got a little over a year ago to get me through nursing school, and since I became pregnant before graduating, I decided to wait until after having the baby to get an actual RN job. Anyway, my last day at this job was on Friday. It feels so weird to be home. I was afraid I would be bored, but I am doing a pretty good job at keeping myself busy. Already today I have cleaned up the house (some vacuuming, dishes, etc.) and washed up some baby stuff (cradle bedding and blankets - I was afraid if I put it off too long that I would go into labor and it wouldn't get done before she came home!) And I went over to my parents' house to clean up a little since my mom comes home from her trip today. I did some vacuuming over there, washed their sheets, and bathed their dog (and gave him a little hair cut!) I've also enjoyed being outside a little today with the dogs. The weather is SO NICE outside. We have highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s this week. It's fantastic!
Tomorrow morning is our ultrasound to determine how big Lauryn is and how the placenta is holding up. Then right after the ultrasound is my 37 week doc's appointment. I will be seeing the midwife this time because the place I get my ultrasound is at a hospital downtown, so I am going to my doctor's downtown office, but unfortunately my doctor is at another office tomorrow. Oh well, anything for convenience. I happen to like the midwife I am seeing tomorrow... she is the only midwife at this practice that I like! Anyway, I will update tomorrow after my appointments. I am hoping to hear more about if/when they will induce me. My doctor was so pleased with my blood sugar levels and overall health at my appointment last week that she was saying she may not induce as early as she originally wanted to. She said she still won't let me go pass 40 weeks though, so I am thinking at the LATEST, Lauryn will be born on October 21st when I am 39 weeks 1 day (if they induce me on that day). We really want to be induced on a Thursday if it comes down to it. I really think she will come naturally on her own though. I have been having SO MANY Braxton Hick's contractions, and for about the past week they have been accompanied by mild cramping that is slowly turning into very uncomfortable, period-like cramping as the days go on. Today, at my dad's house, I thought I was in labor because the cramping and stomach tightening was so unbearable... but I sat down and drank some water and it went away. I'm not 37 weeks/full-term until Wednesday, so she has to stay in there for at least a couple more days!
I will update after my appointment tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!
Tomorrow morning is our ultrasound to determine how big Lauryn is and how the placenta is holding up. Then right after the ultrasound is my 37 week doc's appointment. I will be seeing the midwife this time because the place I get my ultrasound is at a hospital downtown, so I am going to my doctor's downtown office, but unfortunately my doctor is at another office tomorrow. Oh well, anything for convenience. I happen to like the midwife I am seeing tomorrow... she is the only midwife at this practice that I like! Anyway, I will update tomorrow after my appointments. I am hoping to hear more about if/when they will induce me. My doctor was so pleased with my blood sugar levels and overall health at my appointment last week that she was saying she may not induce as early as she originally wanted to. She said she still won't let me go pass 40 weeks though, so I am thinking at the LATEST, Lauryn will be born on October 21st when I am 39 weeks 1 day (if they induce me on that day). We really want to be induced on a Thursday if it comes down to it. I really think she will come naturally on her own though. I have been having SO MANY Braxton Hick's contractions, and for about the past week they have been accompanied by mild cramping that is slowly turning into very uncomfortable, period-like cramping as the days go on. Today, at my dad's house, I thought I was in labor because the cramping and stomach tightening was so unbearable... but I sat down and drank some water and it went away. I'm not 37 weeks/full-term until Wednesday, so she has to stay in there for at least a couple more days!
I will update after my appointment tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Completed nursery
I just realized I never posted pictures of the finished nursery! So here it is:
View when you walk into the room
View of the right side of the room with the beautiful hand painted letters I received as a gift.
View of the left side of the room and the branch and bird I painted on the wall. I still have to paint two more birds on the branch.
Wardrobe. She will have more clothes hanging and I will be putting baskets on the lower shelf eventually to hold towels and blankets.
Back of the room and the closet. Our dog Bella decided she wanted her picture taken :o)
View when you walk into the room
View of the right side of the room with the beautiful hand painted letters I received as a gift.
View of the left side of the room and the branch and bird I painted on the wall. I still have to paint two more birds on the branch.
Wardrobe. She will have more clothes hanging and I will be putting baskets on the lower shelf eventually to hold towels and blankets.
Back of the room and the closet. Our dog Bella decided she wanted her picture taken :o)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)