Due Date Today!

It's Baby G's due date today!
We did our 39 week appointment yesterday even though it was only a day from hitting 40 weeks because our doctor was out last week since his wife just gave birth to their second child! He's an awesome doctor, so it was worth the wait.
I've shown some progress, but still not so much that it looks like I'll actually go into labor today. The doctor said he thinks there's about a 40% chance that I'll go into labor on my own before 41 weeks, though of course it's hard to predict. He did say I've made enough progress that if I were induced it wouldn't increase the risk of c-section.
I'm still hoping not to be induced, since I'd rather avoid being given Pitocin, but after talking it over with the doctor Gary and I decided to go ahead and schedule an induction for Monday (the day before I would hit 41 weeks). Our doctor will be at the hospital that day, and as much as we want things to progress naturally, we don't want to wait much longer than 41 weeks due to the possible risks for the baby as you get closer to 42 weeks and because the longer it takes for her to get here, the less time Gary will have with her before he goes back to work near the end of April. Also, my dad, who lives 6+ hours away, now knows that he can plan on coming to town this weekend to meet his first granddaughter at the start of next week if she's not here before then.
It's also nice that after all of the "When will she get here?" of the last few days we know that at this time next week, she'll be here.
In the meantime, I'll be using my exercise ball, going on walks with Gary, and praying that she comes any day!

Baby G at 36 weeks:

She loves putting her hand over her face.

Baby G at 30 weeks:

Oh Pregnancy, You Tease

We're just 4 days from our due date, so it's anyone guess when baby G will get here. Will she be early, or late or come right on her due date? Both of my parents called me yesterday within minutes of each other to just check in and see how things were going. My answer was, I'm still feeling good (I've been so blessed this pregnancy) and there's still no way of knowing when she's coming.

I'm finding that late pregnancy is a lot like early pregnancy. Before we took our first pregnancy test, I was constantly considering the early pregnancy symptoms I may or may not be feeling. The problem was, so many of the symptoms of early pregnancy mirror PMS. There was the back and forth of "Well, I could be pregnant, but it could just be...”

Now, the thought is "Well, it could be early labor, or it could just be..." Everyone's heard of someone, or knows someone who's had a false alarm. Living 45 minutes from the hospital, we really don't want to drive all the way there just to get sent home. At the same time, I really don't want to spend 45 minutes in the car in the middle of painful contractions. Still, since it's my first pregnancy, the doctor is in no hurry for me to rush in since labor usually takes a while for first time moms.

Last night was my first "Could it be labor?" experience. I've had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions in the third trimester especially. Some seem to last forever, but they've never been painful. Just the intense tightening sensation. 

Late last night, right before I usually would have been heading to bed, I started feeling uncomfortable. I'd had trouble sleeping the night before, but otherwise felt okay yesterday. Then, I started feeling some pain with the Braxton Hicks contractions, but was convinced it was just a result of the massive amount of candy I'd eaten. (Okay, not massive, but more than I usually eat) 

Gary was convinced it could be the start of labor, while I told him no, it was just the candy. But, I kept getting more and more uncomfortable, and the pain eventually started to go into my back as well. Still, it wasn't unbearable, and hard to time with consistency, though it was happening often. After reading tons of "What did labor feel like for you?" pregnancy posts and seeing that it is completely different for everyone and basically if your water doesn't break (which despite what movies would have you believe only happens in a tiny percentage of pregnancies before active labor), it could or couldn't be labor.

When Gary came to bed, I decided that if this was it I should get sleep while I could, though I didn't know if it would be possible. But, I did manage to fall asleep and slept most of the night. I woke up to another painful Braxton Hicks contraction and decided to get up and take a shower. I felt nauseous, but after a long shower, I didn't feel any more pain. It's now been over an hour and nothing. So, it looks like baby girl is still hanging in there for now.