I'll be a mommy on Wednesday!

Update - Dr. Shaw called over the weekend and bumped me up to Wednesday at 6 am to be induced. A girl that was scheduled for Wednesday delivered over the weekend and her spot opened up. Can you believe it?!? 48 hours from this moment that I am typing, I will be in labor with Braylon. I'd like to say he'd be born by then, but have no illusions of a 6 hour labor!

Saturday we picked up flowers at Lowe's and planted some stuff in the front flower bed, containers out back, and put up some hanging baskets. I wanted to get some color out and make it look like spring before Braylon is here. We even got a small container garden going too. Josh had tomatoes out the wazoo last year from planting seeds. So this year we bought plants that were already sprouting. We'll have grape tomatoes (since I like those now), regular size tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, and cucumbers. We may be calling Nick and Ashley for advice once this stuff starts growing haha! Only bad part of all this is I think I strained my back doing some planting. It's not labor pain, it's muscular. Hope I'm not regretting the gardening on Wednesday!

Saturday night we went out for our last dinner out before the baby. We sat outside at Lakeside Tavern since it was so nice out. Of course as luck would have it, rather than our quiet dinner just the two of us, we ran into everybody and their brother that we hadn't seen in a long time! Oh well, guess it was an attempt to prepare us for the interrupted dinners we will have when Braylon gets here! Sunday was spent stocking up for a few weeks at the grocery store and getting the boat all cleaned up. Only two more nights now to get anything 'pre-baby' done at the house. The microwave and refrigerator are still on my list haha!

39 weeks

On Wednesday I woke up feeling horrible from the sinus issues and coughing a lot. I was completely congested and could not breathe through my nose at all! I called the doctor and the nurse said the symptoms sounded like a severe sinus infection and worked me in to see the nurse practitioner at the UT office to get started on an antibiotic. However, the NP thought it was just viral and wouldn't write me anything. She also suggested I quit taking the Sudafed and the Afrin. She thought the severe congestion that day was from a rebound effect of the Afrin (since I was taking it longer than I was supposed to) and just the worst day of a 10-day cold. She did hook me up on the nonstress monitors since Braylon hadn't been moving a lot that day. (That's why I went in to the OB about the sinus issues rather than the primary care doc.) In the first 30 minutes of monitoring the baby was pretty much asleep. His heart rate was in the 120s and he really didn't move. I did have 3 contractions while I was on the monitors though. The nurse came in and wasn't pleased with the print out. She brought in a second nurse who agreed that they needed to see more fetal movement, especially at 39 weeks. So they got me a package of peanut butter crackers and made me eat and drink water while I stayed on the monitor for 15 more minutes. The food got him going, enough to satisfy the nurses. So I was sent home and told to tough out the cold for the next few days.

So then I went yesterday for the scheduled 39 week visit with Dr. Shaw. My weight was the same as last week but my BP was 120s/80s (pretty much the same the day before). They said that was normal since I was sick and about to birth a baby. Dr. Shaw didn't even look at my throat or ears, she said even if it was an infection, it wasn't far from running it's course anyway. She did an exam to check me and asked if I was interested in induction before she ever started. I was almost completely effaced and around 3 cm. She said how about Wednesday and went off to call the birthing center. Turns out they were full for scheduled inductions so she put me down for Friday, April 24th at 6:30 am. Woohoo - we are going to have a baby! Since I am so far already though, I could easily go into labor on my own anytime now. But if I don't, there is an end in sight! I have been having contractions the last several nights so maybe he is on the move!

I will definitely get a 39 week belly picture to post soon! And if I make to Friday, we'll take another one Thursday night for the very last time! This will be our last weekend without a baby! Time to party - okay maybe just do yard work, take walks, and clean the house. I decided this week that I really need to clean the microwave and take everything out of the refrigerator and wipe it down with a clorox wipe. Yeah, I think I might be nesting ;)

38 weeks

The Easter holiday has me a little behind. Well, that and this sinus/allergy crap that has decided to take over my body.

Friday was the 38 week doctor visit. I gained one more pound, who cares at this point, up to 30 lbs total gain now. My BP was normal for me- 100/50. Baby's heart rate sounded good, in the 130s. My belly still measured one week large at 39 cm. At this visit I saw the nurse practitioner. I asked her to check to see if I was dilated yet, sorta surprised they hadn't done that yet. She didn't typically check at 38 weeks (why in the world not?) but she did since I requested. Since I'd had a few contractions I was curious if they were actually doing anything. And they were! I was 75% effaced and 2 cm dilated! Woohoo! Of course I know that I could go another couple weeks just like that with no further progress. But the NP seemed to think I would have him within a week. She had me make an appointment for this Thursday for a 39 week check-up "just in case."

I woke up Friday with a stuff nose and sore throat. So while I was at the OB I asked if they'd take a look at my throat just to see if it was anything more than allergies. The nurse took my temperature, 100.1, and did a swab for strep which came back negative. So I guess it's just allergies. I'm not convinced it's not a sinus infection. I guess they could give me antibiotics but by now I'm just trying to get it to run it's course. I can take Tylenol and Sudafed now, but Josh really wants me to lay off. He's afraid the baby will come out with 3 arms or something. So I've used Afrin spray at night just to sleep. A friend at work told me about a Neti Pot. I had never heard of it, but it's basically a saline sinus wash. I've used that a few times now, but I'm not convinced it has a huge effect yet. I started out feeling better today though, so who knows. Just get stuffy by the end of the day when the 12-hour Afrin wears off. I do have a little tickle in my throat now though, hopefully I don't start coughing. Bottom line - I want this sinus stuff gone before I go into labor!!! And hopefully that is before Thursday! Everybody say a little prayer that it's time for him to meet Mommy and Daddy and the rest of the world!

I need to take a new belly pic - I'll add that to the blog soon!

PS-Happy Birthday (last week) to the best friend in the world - Love ya Ash! I was sooo ready for Braylon to share a birthday with you haha!

37 weeks

Friday I went to the doctor again for my 37 week visit. Everything is still normal. I did not gain any weight this week. My blood pressure was even higher than last week, 120/70, but that's still really good. Apparently it is normal for the BP to go up quite a bit in the last few weeks. There was also more protein in the urine. Because my feet and ankles are still swelling, and now I can't wear my rings or get my watch around my wrist, Dr. Shaw ordered some labs just to get some more information. Nothing is elevated enough to definitley be preeclampsia and she does not expect anything abnormal to come back from the blood work. If there is anything abnormal they'll call me this week.

The baby’s heart rate is still good in the 150s. My belly measures just a little larger than normal. Braylon is still trying to poke a hole through my side or break a rib with his feet. I'm getting soooo close! I'm really getting impatient now. I'm ready to see him and hold him, and I feel like I've been pregnant forever! Josh still thinks I'll go past my due date and have to be induced. He is really not helping!

Well, it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon...off to yard work, walking...come on out Braylon!