36 weeks

Spent a little time in L&D this past weekend.

Friday night I noticed some serious swelling and canklage happening (yes, I just made up that word) after an evening of doing nothing overly strenuous. Saturday morning, the swelling was still there. I had already planned to go Christmas shopping, so while I was out and about I decided to have my blood pressure checked at one of those free machines at Sam's Club.

My first reading was 152/90. Hmmm, not so great. So, I decided to do it again. 139/97. And once more for good measure: 148/94. None of these are great and none of these are my "normal". So, I talked to Buster and he told me just to come home and put my feet up. And that's what I was going to do. But after thinking about it, I decided to call my doctor. At this point, I would rather be overly cautious than irresponsible.

After talking to my doctor, he told me to come to L&D to be monitored and just to make sure everything was ok. I go in, and they have to wheel me up in a wheelchair. It's protocol. Ugh. I kept apologizing to the girl, since I was definitely able to walk myself. Oh well.

I get all checked in on the birthing floor, and head to a room. I get to put on a gown and hop in bed. They hooked up the NST monitors to my stomach and a blood pressure cuff to my arm, and monitored me for about an hour and a half. Henry looked great during this time! And apparently I also had three contractions. I only kind of felt one. It felt like really, really dull menstrual cramps. I couldn't feel the other two at all.

My blood pressure readings started out on the higher side, but then dropped down to pretty much normal by the end of the monitoring session. They drew blood for labs to check my kidney and liver function (checking for signs of pre-eclampsia), and thankfully that came back normal. They then released me and sent me home with another jug for collecting my urine for 24 hours.

The next day (Sunday), I brought my urine jug back to the hospital, and they hooked me up for another NST for about 25 minutes. Everything looked great, and I had one contraction during that time (it's just amazing to me that I can't feel them). They sent me home, and told me to follow up with my doctor by Tuesday.

Luckily, I already had my 36-week appointment scheduled for this morning. They were planning on doing an NST, but after hearing about my weekend experience, it wasn't needed. My blood pressure was great today (128/74), and my doctor said he doesn't even know if he would categorize me as having pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (PIH) at this point.

He did get the results back of my 24-hour urine catch, and my protein was 310. 300 is the cutoff for diagnosing mild pre-eclampsia, but my doctor did not seem concerned, considering my blood results were great over the weekend and my blood pressure was normal today.

I go back in for my 37-week appointment the day after Christmas, and they'll hook me up for another NST. I'm also going to request a cervical check, just to quell my own curiosity.

I did talk to my doctor about my birth plan. I told him that my goal is to go natural, and he was supportive. I also told him that I'm not going to rule out the epidural or other pain relief, but I'm just going to try to not have any. I also asked how he felt about the birthing tub, and he was just fine with me using one. And I mentioned delayed cord clamping, and he was fine with that too. So I feel good about my "plan".

How far along?
36 weeks exactly today.

How big is baby?
Not sure! I'm guessing 7 lbs, but that's my uneducated guess, based off of the average weight-gain of a 1/2 lb a week for a baby at this point in the pregnancy. They didn't do a fundal height measurement at my 35-week appointment, nor at my 36-week appointment. So, it's a mystery!

Weight gain?
Yep! Officially broke the 50 lb mark! Yikes! Really hoping that I lose 20 lbs after delivery!

Belly photos?
Here is last week's photo:

Cravings/Aversions?
Nope. Nothing note-worthy.

Sleep?
Early this week, sleep was elusive. I came down with a bad cold, and the first couple nights were just brutal. The cold moved into my chest, so I was coughing a lot, and it hurt. I had major sinus pressure and pain, and was up every 45 minutes blowing my nose, coughing, readjusting, etc. But thankfully the cold is on its way out, and I am feeling closer to normal. I have slept pretty well the past couple of nights, knock on wood.

Symptoms [...of impending labor]?
It's funny how this category changes over the course of a pregnancy. I'm now going to use this category as symptoms of impending labor (hence the change in title).

I'm having some major, major pressure in my lady parts. Getting out of bed is the worst. Such pressure and a bit of pain. I mentioned it to my doctor today, and he said that it's good, and means baby boy is doing what he needs to do (assuming that means sitting nice and low so I can squeeze him out??).

Also, (TMI alert) I think I lost a dime-size amount of mucus plug. Yes, dime-sized. Can you tell I'm a first-timer? I'm excited by the littlest things.

This may not have anything at all to do with impending labor, but I've noticed that Henry is way more active recently. I tell Buster that I think he's ready to come out and play! He really goes to town kicking and moving his butt around. It causes me to wince in pain at times, but I still love every second of it!

And as you know from reading above, I've had some contractions. Last night I had some cramping that I think could have been a contraction as well, but I just don't know. I'm a noob!

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Won't be long now! Four weeks exactly until Henry's due date, but I'll be considered full term on Christmas Eve. Buster thinks Henry will arrive by the 31st of December. I really don't have a feeling at all. Maybe I'll make a guess after my cervical check next week.

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