I had an OB appointment this morning. It was fairly uneventful. The doctor ended up doing a cervical exam. I was a bit annoyed, because she said, “We’re going to check if the baby is head down” without explicitly stating she would do a cervical exam. From the previous week, though, I knew what she meant and asked her about risk of infection (none, according to her, which I find hard to believe) or breaking my water accidentally (she has not done this in 15 years, which I found convincing). Anyway, I appreciate those who told me that I should push back and that cervical exams are not useful, but I guess it didn’t seem worth fighting about, so I let her proceed. She determined that the baby is in fact head down (hurray) and I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I realize this doesn’t really tell me anything about when the baby will come, but I googled around anyway and tried to determine if it tells me anything. As far as I can tell, it’s really not very useful information, though the doctor said it indicates my body is getting ready and I will likely go into labor on my own.

My friend had her baby last night after 18 hours of labor. Ouch!

One thing that bugs me is when parents tell pregnant women they should sleep a lot because they will never sleep again. (Especially men.) Anyone who has ever been 8 months pregnant knows it is not easy to sleep and that “stocking up on sleep” – not really feasible at the best of times – is completely impossible when you’re very pregnant. If you’re able to get 7 hours a night (if you’re working or taking care of your kids) you’re doing really well. Anyway, I have two friends on Facebook who will give birth any day now, and I have seen people give both of them advice to sleep a lot because they’ll never sleep again. Seriously? I am very aware that having a baby results in sleep loss, and I’m terrified! There’s no reason to rub it in!

Other advice I’ve seen on websites is to go out to dinner with your husband or watch a movie. Eating anything other than gruel (ie mushy cereal) makes me sick, and I literally cannot focus for the duration of a movie. I like watching movies I’ve already seen, actually, because they don’t require as much focus. My husband and I watch the Bachelor as well (much to his chagrin) as that requires very little concentration.

My official guide the ninth month of pregnancy would be . . .
1.) Get in the water. Seriously. It’s the only place I feel human.
2.) Keep working. Otherwise you’ll have nothing to think about other than how uncomfortable you are. Reducing hours, though, if you can is probably a good idea.
3.) Get a comfy pair of maternity yoga pants.
4.) Eat like a monk and avoid heartburn.
5.) Get a massage.

23 days left.

A friend of mine from prenatal water aerobics got induced this morning at 6 am at just short of 42 weeks gestation. I saw her yesterday at the pool and she’s been doing well – she looks good, she’s mobile, and she said until the last couple days she’d been feeling good as well. Anyway, I haven’t heard anything yet, but I hope the baby has come as 6 am was 16 hours ago. However, I know inductions can take a long time, so I guess it’s quite likely she may still be laboring.

Ro*sa of course is waiting as well – she must be just short of 40 weeks right now. In about a week and a half, I’ll be at 38 weeks. Most babies are born between 38 and 42 weeks, so I’ll enter than period of knowing the baby can come at any time.

Yesterday I was feeling like crap. I think having occasional crappy days is part of pregnancy. Basically, we went out to dinner Saturday night, and I ate too much and had a small soda. Big mistake. I was up half the night just feeling miserable. There was a moment when I wondered if I might be showing some early signs of labor – I knew it was extremely unlikely given that I’m not even 37 weeks yet, but the thought of it made my blood run cold. It made me realize that I am still very afraid of labor despite having had the last 8 months to come to terms with it. Still, the more uncomfortable I get, the more welcome it will be. I know that my husband and my doula will help me get through it.

Anyway, I’m feeling better tonight but still not great. It’s just getting harder and harder to get comfortable, and the groin pain has been worse lately. The end is in sight though. I can’t believe I’ll be full-term in a few days. on the flip side, though, it could be another five and a half weeks before the baby comes! This type of uncertainty is hard for a planner like me.

Thankfully, the snow has melted and the roads are clear. My initial excitement at the snow disappeared when it turned into an ice storm. I’m just extremely thankful that we didn’t lose power.