39 week appointment

We had my week 39 appointment on Wednesday, February 17. My blood pressure is still good at 118/80, I gained a pound since last week (total: 27 pounds, & that is enough!), Lily's heart rate was in the 140s, she's still head down, & I measured at 39 weeks.

I'm still at 60% effacement, 1cm dilated, & -2 station. NO CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK. Which, if you can't tell by the "tone" of my capital letters, is kind of disappointing. So, I decided to let the doctor strip my membranes, which huuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttttttttttt! But I'm not going to complain because I'm sure it's not as bad as what I'll be feeling one of these days soon! The doctor said that stripping the membranes can put some women in labor (because it releases prostaglandins which help induce labor) as soon as a couple of hours, or within a few days, but that for some women, it doesn't make anything happen at all. And I've had 2 girlfriends who both had their membranes stripped twice with no result! So, I'm not holding my breath for anything to happen, but I sure am hoping something does!!!

In any case, the doctor is seeing us back on Monday (unless I deliver before then) to hook me up to the fetal monitor for 45 minutes, since I will officially be "past my due date" (according to the LMP calculation). They will be monitoring her heart rate & movement to make sure that she's not in any distress, & checking to see if I'm having contractions. If I make it to this appointment, meaning I have not delivered by then, then we'll also talk about scheduling an induction. They start to talk about it after your due date because they're ok with you going into your 41st week, but they don't want you going past your 42nd week due to the negative effects it can have on the baby.

So please think good thoughts for a baby coming soon, & pray really hard that it will be a safe labor & delivery (& a speedy delivery nonetheless!). I REALLY don't want to be induced, but I know that God has a plan for each & every one of us- sometimes it's just really hard to wait & find out what that plan is!!!

Love, Ashlee, Jeff, & Lily