38.75 Weeks: Fake Out

Well, since we're getting so close to the end now, I figured I'd do a mid-week update instead of waiting for Monday to roll around to do my regular pregnancy post. I'm actually 39 weeks on Saturday/Sunday, so we're a bit more than 38.75, but... humor me.

Last night, my body decided to play tricks on me!

First, some TMI-type stuff, so SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU HATE IT. You've been warned! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning, and the latest is that I'm 2 cm, and she went ahead and "swept the membranes" for me to try to get things moving along. I spent the whole day not feeling much different--no real cramps or anything, so I figured it hadn't really worked.

After work last night, we went on a walk. When we got back, I started to feel these crazy tightening sensations across my belly, and a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen. After a little while of it, I said to Michael, "I'm pretty sure these are contractions!" My belly was rock hard, and they seemed to come and go. And even though a few of them were uncomfortable enough to take my breath away, they weren't painful enough for me to feel like I could time them in any way. This lasted through making, eating, and cleaning up dinner, but then they seemed to subside. I still had some tightening in my belly throughout the evening, and was still feeling some additional pressure in my pelvis, but... nothing ever came of it.

FALSE ALARM, damn it. I guess they were just strong Braxton Hicks?

And so we continue to wait.

Other results from the appointment--My doctor is still a bit concerned about my blood pressure. It wasn't terribly high, she had it marked down on the chart as 128/92, I believe. But I guess the second number is higher than they like to see it, and for her, she's looking more at the "trend" in my blood pressure than the actual numbers themselves. Each week, the blood pressure just creeps higher and higher, so she's concerned about "late-gestation hypertension." I don't have any signs that would indicate pre-eclampsia, so it's just the blood pressure for now.

In addition, I am continuing to measure small. This first became a concern when I was 30 weeks pregnant and started to fall behind in my belly measurements. At the time, I was only measuring 1 cm behind, but because my belly hadn't grown since my previous appointment, my doctor decided to send us in for a growth ultrasound to check everything and the fluid levels. Everything turned out to be fine, with the baby measuring in the 58th percentile on the growth charts.

Fast forward to almost-39-weeks pregnant, though, and it's an issue again. At this point, I should be measuring in at 39 cm (1 cm for every week you are pregnant), but I am only measuring 35 cm. She said that 4 cm is a pretty big deal, so she is sending us for yet another growth ultrasound. We scheduled it for Tuesday, hoping that I'll go into labor before then and we won't actually have to go through with it. We'll do whatever we have to do, obviously, but ultrasounds cost us $50/pop so we'd rather not have to! Plus, it sounds like my doctor is just being overly cautious (which I really do appreciate), because she said that more than likely, the baby has just descended down into the pelvis a bit, causing him/her to measure smaller than he/she really is. She also seems to think that I have a longer-than-average torso, so I'm just "hiding" the baby well.

Now, to the most interesting part... she said that when we have my appointment next week (on Wednesday), we will discuss possible induction for Thursday, September 16. AHHHHH! I was not expecting that at all, so I was a bit taken back by it. But, she said that if my blood pressure continues to creep up, and depending on the results of the growth ultrasound on Tuesday... we will have to evaluate the risks of evicting the baby (which will be very, very small since I'll be only a few days shy of 40 weeks) versus the risks of leaving him/her in. Soooo... it sounds like, if I don't go into labor on my own before then, we could very well be having a baby next Thursday.

Makes things a bit more real, doesn't it? To have an end in sight?

Either way, it doesn't sound like she's likely to let me go too far past my due date, so we are definitely getting close. I'm still hoping to avoid induction, so I'm continuing to send my baby lots of "come on out" vibes.

We'll see what happens, but I wanted to post this on the off chance that I don't make it until Monday! *fingers crossed*

I'M GOING TO BE A MOMMY SOON! :)