39 1/2 week checkup!

I am almost there!! Just about four or five days to go until my due date!

Today I went in for my 39 1/2 week checkup. I feel like there is not much to talk about because we are just playing the waiting game.  I had my midwife check me again and I am still dilated to a 1, BUT I am 80% effaced!! She said she could touch the top of the baby's head. Last week, I was still real "thick" according to her words. I did this all in a week! She said once I get 100% effaced, I will start dilating some more. Yippee! Keep going body!!

As she was measuring my "basketball" of a stomach, I asked her what we were at this week. She said she was debating between a 38 1/2 and 39. I said, "I was 39 1/2 last week." She said that the baby had dropped further into my pelvis! Last week I was at a -3 stage and this week, the baby was at -1. I told her I can tell that he dropped! I can't even sit in a chair comfortably anymore! She said the baby's head is nice and tight!! Things are progressing!!! She said I probably won't go into labor in the next couple of days because my cervix is still posterior, but she didn't say anything about the day after that. :)

I gained one pound (up to 31 now), baby's heartbeat was great, movement was great, and I still "have so much water."  I told her that I have contractions all the time, and especially when I get dehydrated. I have learned that if they start, I just need to stop and  drink 8-12 ounces of water and they will stop. One of these times, they are not going to stop!! She said that this happens in labor sometimes. Once a mom gets to 7 or 8, her body gets dehydrated and slows things down.  I guess I just drink water, water, and more water!!

She also told me that she has a baby shower in Lincoln on Sunday for her daughter who is expecting and I am not to go into labor on Sunday! I told her if I went into labor and actually had this baby on my due date, it would be a miracle! She just laughed! We both know how late all my other three kids were!

I have my next appointment set for next Wednesday when I will be officially overdue.  People think I am crazy that I am willing to go overdue, but if I am already progressing on my own, why not let nature continue to take its course?? I think the more I get done before I actually go into labor, the better I will be!

Venting time: BEWARE!
I have already started getting random text messages from people saying, "Are you in labor?" or "Your house has been quiet all day, are you at the hospital??" or "When is your due date again?" These are all from people I USUALLY don't talk to on a daily basis, but want to know what is going on.  I hope people don't think that every time we pull out of our garage, we are heading to the hospital! Honestly, this is the part that drives me crazy about having a baby. People want to be the first to know that you are on the way and will ask you EVERY SINGLE DAY whether you are in labor or not! Just leave me alone, I will call you. :)
 
I try to take it in stride, but if I answer my phone, respond to a text, or you see me, I probably have not had the baby yet!! And honestly, you will probably NOT be the first to know when I have this baby.  My kids will be the first to know (and whoever is watching them) and family. I don't even think I am going to send any pictures out of this little guy until the kids have been up to the hospital to meet him. The kids are going to be my first priority this time around. Once the kids have seen him, then grandparents and family can come see him. And then I will let others know! And I really don't want anybody up at the hospital waiting for me to have this baby so they can be the first to see him. It's not a race.

Is this my fourth baby or what? I seem to know exactly what I want this time around. :)
Venting over.

But like Matt says, maybe people are just trying to be nice and show that they care, which may be true. Maybe I should not let these random remarks get to me, but maybe I just need to remember that they only ask because this is how they would want to be treated if they were in my situation.