38 Weeks and Making Progress

This week's appointment came and went pretty uneventfully. I forgot to take a picture before the appointment like I usually do, so I'll have to update with one later this week. The only pic I have from this week is one of me in my maternity bikini, because I just thought it was comical and needed to be documented. However, I will spare the rest of you from having to see it.

The doctor said I'm now dilated to 2cm and 40% effaced, which is definite progress in the right direction since last week! She said she would start "messing with me" more at my next appointment to make sure things were still moving along. Sounds ominous!

When we picked Luke up yesterday evening, Steven and I updated his parents on the Dr. appt, and it must have sounded like we were speaking a foreign language with talk of dilation and effacement. Luke said something along the lines of "what the heck does that mean??" to which we replied "believe me, you don't want to know!" Steven has recently had a more grown-up version of "the talk" with him, but I highly doubt they got into cervical dilation and what exactly happens when a baby is born! Poor Luke...he is about to be surrounded by stuff he doesn't want to see or hear! Breast pump parts will litter the kitchen counter, I may or may not have disgustingly named "padsicles" in the freezer to wear when I get home from the hospital, and lord knows we will have to warn him repeatedly to KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING so that the first pair of in-person boobies he sees are not his step-mother's. Talk about scarred for life! I've already decided that we need to get him to his grandparents' house as SOON as I go into labor, even if it's not yet time to head to the hospital. He doesn't need to bear witness to my reaction to full-on contractions (which I'm guessing will involve plenty of words he doesn't need to be using)!

So for now, I guess we continue in this holding pattern. The waiting does nothing to calm the anxiety! But at least the house is now fully ready for a baby - that is, after a frantic Amazon order one night last week when I realized that I didn't have anywhere to change his diaper in the middle of the night during the weeks or months he's sleeping in our room instead of the nursery. So now we have a nice little changing station in one corner of our room, thanks to Steven staying up late one night to assemble it!

As for me, my lower back pain has been pretty consistent since last week, especially if I stay in one position for too long. Also having some very strong lower pelvic stabs that take my breath away...the doctor says this is effacement, so I guess it's a good thing I'm feeling them even though they suck! For some annoying reason,  sitting in the driver's seat of my car seems to be the worst offender for both of these types of pain. Which  makes for some very unpleasant trips to/from the office. Then when I get there, my office chair isn't the most comfy either, so I frequently get up and walk the halls. Which results in many stares and "why are you STILL HERE??" comments from co-workers. Which results in me going into an explanation of our crappy "maternity leave," or lack thereof. Sigh. I won't even bother to post my thoughts about that!

The pool has been a lifesaver these past few weeks and will continue to be my best friend until this baby pops out. Floating brings so much relief from the constant pressure! Plus, the pool is the only place I can still comfortably do any semblance of a workout. Every afternoon, I try to float for about 30 minutes and then do my little pool circuit, which consists of:
- 200 flutter kicks holding onto the deep end step (like a stationary kickboard)
- 25 tricep dips on deep end step
- 25 wide leg squats in shallow end
- 20 push-ups against the edge of the pool
(repeat 3x)
I also swim some pathetically slow (and short) laps, which still feels pretty good. Might not be the most strenuous workout ever, but it definitely is better than nothing!

Up next...week 39! Doc says she thinks I'll still be pregnant next week, so we'll see if she's right!