The countdown keeps getting smaller... 3 Days!!

Today I'm 39 weeks and will now be induced on Sunday night (May 31).  I got to the doctor today, and after 3 attempts at getting my blood pressure it was determined it was as high as the nurse was reading - 140/100 to be exact. With the combination of gaining weight, serious swelling and that I've had pain under my ribs for a few weeks my high BP seemed to indicate I could have pre-eclampsia. So, Dr. E moved my induction to Sunday night at 8PM and put me on bed rest. They did some blood work before I left, and hopefully I won't get a phone call tomorrow confirming the pre-eclampsia.  IF that happened, we'd be headed to the hospital sooner than Sunday - but I'm feeling pretty good, so I'm hoping all these symptoms just happen to be occurring at the same time and are not a true indication of pre-eclampsia.  Also, for selfish reasons I want Jacob to wait - Dr. E is not in the office on Fridays and is not on call this weekend.  So long as nothing else happens in the next three days, Dr. E will deliver Jacob sometime Monday.  

Hopefully tomorrow Jennifer and I will be able to wrap things up at the office from my house. I've made an attempt at getting things wrapped up before I left the office each day, just in case something happened.  I've made a list of items to address with her tomorrow while in the comfort of my bed or couch... I've already written a draft e-mail letting work people know I'm on maternity leave so Jennifer will have to go to my computer and hit "send" and I previously set up an auto response from work that just has to be turned on.  Sometimes having a type A personality pays off with low stress levels when everything has to come to a halt :)  Pat is in the process of working out the time he will take off from work and should have that taken care of tomorrow. 

In the mean time, I'll just hang out at the house and hopefully catch some extra sleep.  I did beg enough to get permission to go to a bridal shower Saturday night by promising to sit in a chair the entire time, since it's just around the corner from my house.  I'm looking forward to getting to see some good college friends!

Currently, Jacob's room is ready, the car seat's installed in the car, the house is picked up and ready for visitors, the fridge is stocked and the freezer has a hand full of lasagnas and frozen pizzas to hopefully get Pat and I through the next week.  

It looks like I'll be spending my birthday in the hospital, but I'm pretty sure I'll have the best present in my arms come Tuesday.  Maybe we'll have a cake and party hats to celebrate :)

38 weeks with only 13 days to go! Dr. E had been out of the office for the past 2 1/2 weeks, so in all the baby drama, I was seeing her associates. I was SO glad to get to see Dr. Elkhairi today. So, so glad she's back. I've never met a doctor who will talk with me the way she will. I just really hope when Jacob decides to come, that Dr. Elkhairi is either in the office, or the doctor on call at that time....
My blood pressure has come back down, so the boss/Dad/Jen enforced "taking it easy" has worked. Now, I just must maintain that for the next two weeks. Jacob's heartbeat is still nice and strong - he's a happy baby! Thanks to Dr. E I officially have a countdown to go off of. If Jacob doesn't come on his own, I will be induced the afternoon of June 3. That means, not having to go past my June 4 due date! WOO HOO! During the last week my body managed to dilate another 1/2 cm, so maybe Jacob will come before then. It would be a nice relief to my belly if he chose to do that, but if not - I know when he'll be here. (My Dad's betting on this Sunday, something about a new moon...) I’m going to post a due date poll… take a guess at when you think Jacob will arrive.

P.S. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day!

Watermelon?

I was just reading another blog and it said at 37 weeks, the baby is a size of a watermelon!?! A watermelon!! That's just crazy to me. It appears that Jacob has done some growing over the last week, which was very welcomed. Picture below is at 37 weeks. I'm just glad to have made it to full term, now we sit and wait and see what happens....

On Edge... for the next 3 weeks

I went back to the doctor on Friday and it looks like Jacob decided maybe he is content where he is, for now. My contractions were stronger, but there are fewer of them and Jacob was responding much better to the contractions on Friday. Thank goodness. Friday night into today things have subsided in comparison to Tuesday and Wednesday. I am still having a few contractions, but now I just feel worn out and yucky. My back feels like I’ve been put through a boot camp work out – just really sore. I’m thankful that all this has calmed down and Jacob will hopefully stay put until Friday. I’ll be full term Thursday and will breathe a little easier if he comes after then. For now I’m attempting to take it easy and chill out a little. I have to do kick counts twice a day to make sure Jacob's still a happy little baby. I go back to the doctor on Thursday afternoon.

In other news, I posted a while back that I was taking my Series 63, and never updated the results – I PASSED! I am now fully licensed to conduct securities business in Kentucky and a Registered Representative of WRP Investments, Inc.
www.ppgplanning.com

Going for Over 6 lbs

Picture from today, I'm 36 weeks.Jacob and I got to go play at the doctor yesterday, twice. Once for fetal monitoring and my weekly check up, then later in the afternoon for an ultrasound. All is fine, Jacob's just trying to get out a little earlier than I'd like. I'm ready to not be pregnant, but not ready for Jacob to arrive before he gains a little bit more weight. Right now, he's 5 pounds 11 ounces. I've been having contractions for over two days now, and a lot of them. 2 cm and 80% effaced - nice. While on the monitor I had 7 contractions in 20 minutes, and my doctor's not stopping them. So, we'll see what happens. I'm hoping we can both keep this up for another week or two while Jacob gets a little stronger and bigger. I go back to the doctor tomorrow for more monitoring...

Last night Beth had baby John. Pat and I went to Frankfort to visit the little guy. Mom and baby are both healthy and doing great. John was 7 lbs 8 oz.