37 Week Appointment

For the past few nights, I have had dreams (or wishful thinking) that when I went to the doctor, she would tell me that I am 3 centimeters dilated and it could happen at any time. 

So, I go today at 1:30 (perfect-  I got to leave school right before my class of monsters came in 5th period, then I had a great lunch with my mom) and get weighed. I gained 1 lb, so I am up a total of 25 lbs - very very good! I am measuring just right and the baby's heart rate is great as well. 

I talked to the doctor about not wanting to try to manually move the baby and she was very supportive. She said it can be risky and is only about 40% effective so they don't push it. I also asked about scheduling a c-section, and she said that they will only schedule them during the 39th week, unless labor would happen earlier. No biggie - it would be the week right after school, so pretty good timing! 

Then, she checked me for dilation...my dreams were correct! She was taking a long time, and I was confused. Then, she asked me how far I was dilated last week. I told her none! She just laughed and said that I am 3 now and 80% effaced - she could feel the baby's foot! I was so shocked - mom said my face turned white and my mouth about hit the floor! Now, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. Some people are dilated at 3 cm for weeks with no labor. Others go into labor that night. We will just have to wait and see! She told me to just take it easy and pay very careful attention to any contractions that I have and call immediately if I think something is up. Better to be safe than sorry! She also said I should not wait the standard 1 hr with contractions that are 5 minutes apart. We live about 25 minutes from the hospital and I'm already dilated with his foot right there, so we will not be messing around. My next doctor's appointment was originally scheduled for next Thursday, but she felt that was too long to wait. So, I bumped it to Monday. If I am not dilated any more, we will go ahead and schedule the c-section for the following week. If I am dilated more, we will be going in! Very exciting!! 

I decided to take next week off of work. Since I literally can go in to labor at any point, I think it's best. Plus, she said that since the baby's head is not down, if my water would break, it would be a massive gush (nothing there to block it!) and it is my worst nightmare that it would happen in school! So, Friday is my last day - I am really excited about that! My kids will be, too - they're getting out of a final! 

As of now, my bag & the baby's bag are all packed. I am just going to relax and wait until it's time! If nothing else happens, I'll post again on Monday.