40 Weeks and 5 Days

I had a doctor's appointment today. I got my friend Lowen to come over and watch Morella while I went. Morella was an absolute sweetheart and took a three hour nap, so she never actually knew my friend was here. :D Anyway. The appointment. I am 70-75% effaced, and 1.5-2 centimeters dilated. Doctor seemed to think I was ready to go at any moment. That said, I still had to have a NST [non stress test that measures the baby's heart beat, contractions and movement for at least 20 minutes] (hence the photo) in which I passed with flying colors. I am having fairly regular contractions, they are just nothing to write home about -- which is different than it was with Morella. I felt nothing with her until actual induction day. They also scheduled a NST for Monday morning followed by an appointment where we talk/schedule an induction depending on how things look. Doctor did stress that she is with me on waiting for the baby to make her appearance on her own time and that those labors are generally much more stress free and therefore easier.

For the record, with Morella at her 40 Week 2 Day appointment:

"So the doctor appointment was fast. I realized that my the curse of the Bashful
Cervix has struck again. You see, I have a pretty severely tilted cervix that is
STILL tilted so that no doctor fingers can actually fit far enough back there to
tell how much dilation has occurred. Sigh. She did say that it was super squishy
and soft, and that Bacon Bit is extremely low down in the pelvis. She hazarded a
guess at 50% effaced and 1 centimeter dilated (though it could have have been
more but she couldn't tell)."

And now for some extra cute -- Morellalock's tries out chairs to find just the right one. :D These are so freaking adorable! I wish I could buy one but frugality triumphs frivolity and reminds that it's more fun to have her climb on the couch to cuddle with me. Besides, I am not sure where I would even put it in the living room. Our couch does cover a lot of territory. :D

Yesterday at the Capitol with her new pull toy. She loves it. I love her. It's a win win situation.

Anyway, so after the doctor appointment I came home and chatted with Lowen a little bit before Noah and Ann came over to head out for our Thursday play date. We went to the Glacial Drumlin Ice Age Trail in Cottage Grove to enjoy the beautiful day and walk on the trail. It was great except I forgot bug spray in the car and the mosquito's were absolutely terrible in the shaded areas. It sure as heck was motivation to walk as fast I could through them. We took about a 3 mile walk total. Now if that isn't the kind of walking that is supposed to move labor along then I don't know what will. Morella absolutely loves chasing after Noah, and Ann said that she would be our back up babysitting solution for Friday/Saturday night. Though my friend Lowen also offered for Saturday night to Sunday. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and a great support team here in Madison.

I ordered a Domino's pizza on the way home and picked it up in time to eat dinner with Tim before he headed out to his Thursday night game. I was a little worried that Morella would want to stay up late after having slept for 3 hours (just when I was convinced she had moved to a 1.5 hour daily nap) but she was in bed by 7:00. She sang for quite a while but never once indicated she wanted out. I had given her tylenol earlier in the afternoon because she was worrying at her gums. Hey maybe that is the root cause of the large nap! Pain relief. Huh.

Okay. I am going to bed. I'm whooped. It was a long day and I have some garage sales in the hood to check out tomorrow morning. It will be our perfect walking excuse.

To answer the ever present question of "How do you feel?" It's kind of funny really. Aside from the agonizing pelvic floor pain, sciatic nerve, and nightly heartburn (wait I don't have it now ... so maybe only two days in a row...) I feel great. In fact, I feel better and stronger than ever. Maybe that is a good sign? I mean, I thought you were supposed to feel really terrible and awful before you deliver ... or maybe that is just what I am lead to believe? I don't know. Maybe there aren't enough anecdotal stories on the internet regarding this.

Good luck for tomorrow Kathy!