The baby has definitely started to drop, and if I thought I was uncomfortable before then I really had no idea what uncomfortable is all about. The lower center of gravity is really putting a strain on my lower back, and the added weight on my hips and legs is not helping with swelling or discomfort. My internal organs are squished in completely different ways now, and it's almost impossible to get comfortable lying down. When I sit, it feels like the baby is laying across the top of my thighs, which makes sitting uncomfortable too.
The worst is that he is pressing on my bladder so much more now than before. Since I've been trying to drink a ton of water to keep swelling down, I have to pee ALL THE TIME. Sometimes, if Ian is positioned just right, I will really have to go but nothing will come out. It's very frustrating.
I've started transitioning all of my remaining work over to the rest of my team, just in case I don't get to come back to work next week. I still have plenty of small tasks to do to keep myself busy and billable if I am working next week, and my boss is on travel most of the week, so I'm planning to take it easy. It would be really nice to get a full paycheck in before the baby comes, so hopefully he will stay put until after the 15th.
I decided last night that, unless there is a really compelling medical reason, I am not going to let the doctors induce me or do a C-section on Monday. All of my at-home BP readings, although admittedly on a less-than-accurate wrist cuff, have been well within the normal range and much lower than the readings I get in the doctor's office, so I think a large part of it is doctor-induced anxiety. Because of the absence of any other risk factors, I see no reason to rush to deliver the baby before he's full term. Maybe this decision will even be empowering enough to reduce my anxiety at the next appointment or two and this won't even be an issue.
3 comments:
I remember when they let me get up at 35 weeks with Jack, he was so low in my pelvis it hurt to walk. You're so close now!!
I'm already thinking of your appt tomorrow, wishing for low numbers! I had a dream that my blood pressure was too high and I was all annoyed, lol. I remember learning in some psych class that chanting really helps, and it doesn't really matter what you chant. Some group of monks that liked to sit outside naked and soaking wet in the freezing cold would chant something like OM Mani Padme Hum. I say you try that before they do your blood pressure ;) Maybe we can get you committed to the psych ward while we're at it.
Actually, I thought of you at my appt last week too because they did my blood pressure reading right after the ultrasound and the nurse was all excited that it was really good. Duh, lady, they just gave me great news that took my major stress away.
I've been taking my BP with our home wrist cuff for the past few days and it's been totally normal. I'm now completely convinced that it's just doctor-induced anxiety and there's nothing medically wrong with me. Let's hope the low-BP trend continues tomorrow, and that I don't have to resort to naked chanting in the parking lot before I go in. I'm sure Ian would prefer not to be born in a mental institution, although the drugs would be pretty great.
Good luck today! Ommmmmmmm
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