39 week update

Surprise! I'm still pregnant!  My doctors were surprised I didn't go into full labor this past week, and thus I was also surprised.  Even so, I am really grateful we have made it here.  I've been concerned about going full term because I've been afraid that baby's health would start to decline.  This stubborn and strong little girl is still healthy, and has been happy to stay put and keep growing until the last minute.  It truly is a blessing- she will do so much better after birth being full term.

With my induction being scheduled tomorrow, my emotions are all over the place.  I'm anxious and impatient, and yet time today is speeding by.  I am especially thinking a lot about my Jack Jack today.  His last day as an only child.  For more than 5 years he has been my only baby at home and has been my light and joy.  I know that adding a child will only grow the love in our family- but it is surreal to think about!  I hope I can give Jack the attention that he needs and make sure he doesn't feel pushed to the side at all.

It's also crazy to think about the fact that it's my last day being pregnant.  I'm not planning on Aidia being our last baby- but I have learned never to take the future for granted!  You never know!  I hope we wouldn't ever have another miscarriage- but it wouldn't surprise me.  I'm just trying to soak in the joy of today and take the whole pregnancy experience in.

This week was rough- despite all the good things.  It was really exhausting.

Wednesday night- I had contractions from 730pm until past midnight.  After that, they slowed down just enough to wake me up about once an hour.  I felt like I got run over by a truck when I woke up.  My pelvis was so sore and my back was killing me.  I was wishing my water would break so I could be admitted to the hospital and help the contractions get a little more rhythmic and productive.  The next day I went for several little walks to try and help move baby into a better position and get things going- but mostly the pressure was just super intense.

I only had two hours of contractions on Thursday night, which turned out to be a good thing, because we ended up going to a lunch as a family so Kevin could interview for a job.  This job came out of nowhere and is basically his dream job (hopefully I'll be able to post more details soon if he lands it!)  We heard about it Friday morning, and were already meeting with the owner of the clinic by lunch!  It was a good thing we weren't in the hospital at that point.  We both felt really good about the job.

Saturday morning I was up by 5am.  I couldn't sleep through the pain and pressure and lots of back pain.  Contractions were still just coming and going, so I was trying to get them to let up so I could sleep.  We were kind of miserable anyway because we've both had a chest cold this week.  By 7am I was overcome with emotion and crying because things kept starting and stopping.  I felt like I couldn't deal with it anymore!

Here I am with five days to go!

The sweetest gift for my girl we received this week! So snuggly and soft and perfect.  I think I'll do her growth pictures with this.

Saturday, contractions started again, only much more painful.  They stayed at five minutes apart for about 45 minutes, and as soon as I get out the app to start timing them, they spread to 12 minutes apart.  Eventually I was able to sleep.  They started again that night.

By late that night the contractions were painful and consistently five minutes apart.  I wanted to wait to make sure before going to the hospital.  We waited five hours before I finally called my brother and we headed to Labor and Delivery.  By the time we got to the hospital, they were 3 minutes apart.  They checked my cervix when we arrived, and then at 1 hour and 2 hours later.  They said unfortunately it wasn't changing fast enough to be considered active labor, and I would have to go home instead of being admitted.  The offered me a shot of morphine in the butt to help me get through the night- but that sounded scary for baby to me, so I declined and we went home upset and disappointed around 2am.  The nurse told me I was in early labor and hopefully by breakfast time it would be full labor (no luck.)  She said since the contractions were timed at 3-5 minutes apart, I would have to wait and use intensity to know when to come back in, when the pain was rated at 8-9.  At this point I hoped everything would just stop until my induction so we could get some rest.

I had to remind myself that Aidia knows when her birthday should be!  I was frustrated and embarrassed that my body couldn't seem to quite do what it was supposed to.  Being stuck in early labor for a week is terrible.

Yesterday I had my last NST and appointment.  The doctor said I was at a 3 and labor could start any time (I stopped believing that haha.)  He said the induction was on the schedule for Thursday (tomorrow) and since it was considered more medical than elective, hopefully they wouldn't have any trouble getting me in.  Apparently it's been a very busy week.  Aghhhh.  If they can't get me in for the induction I might actually die.  

I've been reflecting back on this pregnancy this morning and am in awe at how blessed I've been.  I'm thankful that so many have been able to witness this amazing miracle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFx_5VRW9E&feature=share

I've been listening to the song "Adia"- the name is spelled different here but sounds the same- and thinking about how much it has meant to me over the past several years.  I can't believe our dreams are coming true!  Somebody pinch me!

A look back at this difficult, yet amazing year!

Last belly picture!