41 weeks...

We had our 41 week appointment today...I never thought I would be reporting on my 41 week appointment....but here I am, 41 weeks pregnant. The doctor had lots of good things to say about our baby--his heartbeat is wonderful, he's happy and content in my tummy, he's moving around a lot, and most importantly, he's perfectly healthy in there :) He just doesn't want to come out yet...

My own impatience is killing me.... I'm really not that uncomfortable being pregnant--I feel great actually! I am just really anxious and impatient with WHEN this is all going to happen. I feel like I'm just waiting around for it to happen, and I have no way of knowing when this is going to happen... middle of the night? next Sunday? tomorrow? WHEN?--so I end up wondering about all the little signs I see and feel, if that's the sign that's going to lead to labor, and so far, none of them have been the beginning of labor. And it's hard to find distractions for myself now that I am on summer vacation, home alone all day, and half the house is packed away in boxes...

I know I can be induced, but that's not what I really want to do. I want to allow my body time to get ready on it's own if I can, but geesh, it's taking a lot longer than I thought it would :) At the appointment today, the doctor checked for progression, and nothing had changed since last Thursday (I have twice a week appointments now that I am overdue...). I am still at 1 cm, same effacement, same everything :/

Dr. Leeds assured me that other women have been in this situation, and none of them have stayed pregnant forever, so there's hope :)

False Labor=No Baby Today

This morning I woke up about 3:30 with horrible cramping and contractions through my lower back and stomach. I was dead tired, and I knew that contractions are usually far apart when labor starts, so I just laid there for a while and repositioned myself a few times--but the contractions kept coming, and they seemed pretty frequent. And the whole time I'm thinking, "This is really happening! I could have my baby by dinnertime tonight!"

So at this point I decided I should start timing them, and they were 8 minutes apart! 8 minutes?!?! The childbirth class prepared me for hours of 15/20 minute contractions--I didn't even know I could just jump right in at 8 minutes! The childbirth class also taught us that if you are having regular contractions, change activities to see if the contractions stop or continue, because that will determine if you are truly in labor. So at a little after 5, (and an hour and a half of mildly painful contractions) I decided to get up and walk around downstairs (Mike was asleep through all of this... I didn't want to wake him unless I was sure). As soon as I started walking around, the contractions and pains stopped. Completely.

I kept waiting for them to start again, but they never did... So I headed back to bed at 6 and told Mike the story of my false labor. I still had hope that it would restart itself later in the day, so went back to bed for 4 more hours.... and here I sit, 14 hours later, with no contractions and no baby :(

40.5 weeks

Aidan is still in there--40 weeks 4 days. We had an appointment yesterday morning, and the doctor had lots of good news to tell us! We had a non-stress test again (we've had them at every appointment since 37 weeks), and it showed that his heart rate is great! The doctor also checked to see if I was progressing at all, and I have--finally! I am still at 1 cm, but I have effaced 50% (maybe 70%, he says...). He told us that Aidan's head is very low--lower than normal, but that is very good news for me because that could make my labor easier. I am measuring 38 weeks now, which means the baby has grown a lot in the last week--I was 34 last Thursday. He let me know that I can be induced anytime if I wish to be, but for now, I want to wait. As long as the baby is healthy and safe, I don't want to be induced--I would prefer to have things happen naturally.... but if the doctor thinks there are any concerns or reasons at all to be induced, I would do it. After June 13th, I won't have a choice, he will induce me (I really hope this kid comes before June 13th, that's 2 weeks past due!). For now though, the baby is healthy and active, so we are just going to try to wait it out--as patiently as I can :)

I walked the golf course with Mike last night. During the day I have been trying to keep myself busy working on stuff for school for the fall--I am embarrassed to say I watched the entire first season of Jersey Shore (I still can't believe I'm watching this show...) this week while working on stuff to pass time. I am so ready to have a Aidan out with us, but at least I'm getting some stuff done, I guess, if I have to look at the bright side--but I'd still rather have our baby here with us :)