34 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Hmmm...I won't say this week has sucked completely because I am grateful for every day that I keep my little Collin in my belly, but it has certainly been a trying week. After being told I needed to take it easy at my last doctor's appointment, I cleared my calendar quite a bit. We still did manage to get in a fun playdate with my moms' group, where we got all of the current preggos together for a picture and dished on being pregnant while the kiddos played nicely. (I LOVE Carter's new-found independence!)

Thursday I had another doctor's appointment and while again, she wasn't planning on checking me, I made her check me, and then I watched her face grow concerned when she realized that my cervix had effaced 50% over the course of one week, and his head (previously breech) was already very low. While the word bedrest was never spoken, she told me I needed to take it very, very easy. Sit/lie down as much as possible, get as much help as I can. If I go into labor over the next two weeks (which she implied was quite possible), I will go to the hospital and they will attempt to stop the contractions until I get to 36 weeks at which point I'm fair game. Yikes. So while I was planning on having a September baby, it's now very likely that I will have an August baby.

So we decided that I need to be supervised at all times in case I go into labor and need someone to take me to the hospital. When Glenn went to work on the house this weekend, Carter and I went to my parents' house. We stayed pretty low key on Saturday, but decided to venture out a bit. We went to our favorite baby consignment shop, Stellie Bellies, then went to Lowes to pick up some paint samples and quote out carpet for the new house and took them down to Glenn. Later, my dad and I went back to Lowes to pick something up for Glenn, then went down to the house again, where I painted the samples on the wall. NOT a crazy, strenuous day by any means. But my body was yelling at me by the time we got back to my parents' house, and as we were driving home that night, I started having contractions. They weren't crazy intense by any means, but soon they formed a pattern and were coming every 10 minutes and lasting about 3:30 each. (Yes, I found an app for my iPhone to time contractions!) We got home and I laid down on the couch to try and get them under control, but they didn't stop. So I called my doctor's office and left a message for the on-call doctor, then went to take a warm bath since that was recommended by the midwife I saw this week, and thankfully that helped. By the time my doctor called back (and was not terribly friendly after being disturbed at 8:00 on a Saturday night), the last contraction had taken 12 minutes to come instead of 10 and she told me that as long as they didn't get any more intense or closer together, to just keep relaxing, but if anything changed, I would need to come in. Thankfully that was the last contraction I had that night. But it was a huge wake-up call for me. If I don't take it EASY-easy (not even just kind of easy), Collin very well may come weeks before he's supposed to.

Epiphany of the week: I am not in control. All I can do is behave myself as best I can and hope that's enough.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Here are a few of Carter's brilliant quotes of the week:

"Mama has glasses. Cee Cee has glasses, too!"

He actually sang the whole ABC Song, and at the end he sings "Next time won't you sing with me, yaaaaaaaay!!!" (Since I cheer for him every time he sings it...now he cheers for himself, too!)

Obsessions: Keeping Collin in my belly!

What I am most looking forward to this week: Hopefully I will make it to my baby sprinkle on Friday. I have a doctor's appointment first, so hopefully I will make it that long!

What I miss the most: My chance of a September delivery.

Symptoms: Still 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced with his head "very low." I am now conscious of my cervix and just feel progress going on down there. Which would normally be exciting, but I would really like it to just chill out!

Milestones:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers – which he'll need to regulate his body temperature once he's born – are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. (GOOD TO KNOW!!)

Weight: 154

P.S. This actually happened this week, not during week 34, but I don't think we'll be moving until after Collin gets here. Our renters are getting antsy and since it's not looking like we'll be able to move in the 2 weeks we promised them, I think they're going to find another place. This is one part sad news, because I would rather have friends living here than strangers, but it does take a lot of pressure off of us, so I'm going to think of it as a good thing. There is too much going on with my crazy body to deal with trying to move into a construction zone right now! :)