38 Weeks...Maternity Leave Begins!

Today I am 38 weeks and I just worked my LAST shift until sometime next year!!! I don't know what I am going to do with myself...I have held a job since I was 16 years old with no breaks. This should be interesting! I will surely find some things to occupy my time...there are endless baby things to do like laundry and organization, and I am also in grad school and need to work ahead on some school work so I won't have to worry about anything being late when I am in the hospital. 

Last night before work, my husband and I actually drove to the hospital where we are going to deliver to be seen in OB triage. Three times in the 24 hours prior to going to the hospital, I felt a "gush" of fluid come out and it was totally thin and clear, and I was concerned that my amniotic fluid might be leaking. I was checked, and am still only 2cm dilated, and was put on the fetal monitor and contraction monitor. I wasn't having any contractions, and everything with baby looked fine. They did a swab to test for amniotic fluid in my cervix, and it ended up negative, so I was sent home. When I asked what the fluid might be if the test was negative, the nurse told me that I could have a small tear somewhere in my amniotic sac that only leaks when I am in a certain position, or when the baby is in a certain position. So now, we wait!

Work Shower...nurses are the best.

Another nurse at work and I are due on the SAME day! She works day shift and I work night shift (sorry manager and scheduler, that didn't work out too well lol), and we just have a few weeks left til due date and work threw us a shower :) It was beautiful! All the nurses we work with really outdid themselves with two beautiful cakes and tons of really generous gifts. We sure are lucky!

Maternity Photos

After this past week I certainly felt like time was running out! So I made sure we finally took some good maternity photos (I can't explain how hard I would have sobbed if I went into labor before we had taken some). My father in law shot them and I edited them, and I think they turned out pretty good! And I love the low low price of free :)

 

35 & 36 Weeks

The past two weeks we attended prenatal classes. The first week was informative and we got to tour the Labor & Delivery rooms and get a feel for where we will be when we get to the hospital. The second and final prenatal class SCARED ME TO DEATH. It talked all about labor and epidurals (still don't want one) and pain management, but that isn't what scared me. I know it is going to hurt. What scared me is that I was not totally ready for baby yet and we could essentially go into labor any minute! The day of our prenatal class we were 35 weeks and 4 days. The nurse teaching the class stated that first time moms come in at 36 weeks "all the time" and 37 weeks is considered totally full term and ready to go, as far as they are concerned. I still had to paint a wall in the nursery, I hadn't washed ANYTHING with the baby detergent, and I had nothing packed (or even considered) for the hospital.

SO, we got home that night, my husband went to work, and I GOT to work. I painted the last wall of the nursery. I got ALL of our baby gifts put in their proper places and opened up all the swings and gadgets and rockers and got them strategically placed. I washed all the laundry in my house, then got to work on all the newborn sized clothing and all of the baby blankets. I packed a hospital bag for me, one for the baby, and one for my husband. I put the car seat and base in the trunk of the car, along with all the hospital bags. I vacuumed and mopped and cleaned the whole house. I was up until my husband got home from work at 8am. Talk about NESTING! I got weeks (or even months) worth of work done in one night. It's a good thing I had such a burst of energy, because now I am wore out, lol.

Later in the week, on the day we turned 36 weeks, we had our first weekly appointment complete with cervix exam. I gained another 5lbs (no surprise, my feet and ankles and calves are about double normal size, and I can't stop eating). My doctor checked me for dilation (OUCH) and to my complete and utter surprise, I was 1cm dilated and EIGHTY PERCENT effaced. This made me a little sick, I wanted to cry and throw up at the same time. This made everything feel so REAL and SOON! I was sure glad that I got all my baby prep done, after this news. My doctor had asked before checking me if I had been having contractions, and I said no, because I honestly didn't think I had been. After she felt how thinned out I was, she told me I MUST be having contractions to have gotten that effaced. So, alright, I guess I have.

 

 Our appointment was yesterday, and I woke up today and lost my mucus plug. Talk about a week that slaps you in the face and makes you feel like your baby is going to come rushing out at any second! I had gotten up, went to pee, and felt a big "gush" and when I checked out what all that gush was, I had my plug. Gross. So real now....