I look back and laugh at the disillusions I had about pregnancy, especially the ninth month.  I told myself I'm going to walk myself and the dogs as much as I can right up until I give birth.  I envisioned maternity leave as sleeping in, getting everything spotless and organized in my house, and cooking up a storm with dinners for the husband and meals to freeze for those sleep deprived days ahead.  My expectations are almost as odd as the dream I had about the holocaust last night or as laughable as the presidential candidates!


Reality is I get out of bed between 4-5AM every morning because my fingers are numb and my palms are painful.  It takes about thirty minutes to be able to open my hands completely and a few hours to fully be able to grip something.  I told Lee I hope this immediately goes away after I give birth because I wouldn't be able to pick up Kingston like this.  Putting my compression socks on is a huge challenge with my crippled hands and since the edema I had the day before only improves the slightest bit after sleeping. 

I went to my OB yesterday for my regular appointment and she didn't seem too concerned about the swelling.  She just kind of shrugged it off and said it's not going to get any better.  I purposely didn't wear my compression socks so she could see the amount I was having, but I wasn't on my feet much that morning prior to my appointment so they weren't as bad.  Fortunately my blood pressure was good!  I showed my feet to my brother on Skype last night and his comment was "Good lord!  Those belong on a 200-pound woman!"  I hope little Kingston knows how much he is worth all of these aches and pains, but my goodness these are some funky, unexpected changes to my body!

The NST at my appointment went well and Kingston sounded awesome!  A midwife came to take the machine for another patient and showed me the print out saying they look for at least three increased fluctuations within ten minutes and he had eight.  I'm so happy despite all these side effects that are concerning to me don't seem to be affecting little man.  The test came back they sent out for cholestasis and it was normal, although on the high side of normal.  My OB consulted with one of the specialists at Stanford (where I had all my ultrasounds) and recommended repeating it on Monday and if it went up one point or more they should consider inducing me.  I have a NST Saturday at the hospital, one on Monday with repeating lab work and my next OB appointment is on Tuesday.  They probably won't have the results until Wednesday so I'll be anxious to hear them.  I pray I don't have this condition, but I still think it's a good possibility because my itching was pretty bad again on Tuesday.  I'm not stoked at the thought of induction, but I will do whatever I need to for his safety and health.  I feel even more on edge counting his kicks daily since cholestasis raises the risks of stillbirth.

There are lots of changes happening to my body in the past week and I really feel his birth is imminent.  Lee said he's going to take my phone away from me so I can't google and I'm going to be really pissed off if he's a week late.  Pissed, no; surprised, yes!  I really thought Wednesday was going to be the day since I started cleaning the day before and had planned on hitting the hot spots, but found myself sitting on the kitchen floor scrubbing it and emptying the low cabinets and shelves to dust everything off.  I'd say I'm officially in nesting phase! 

The favorite MA at my OB predicted my labor will be textbook and will go fast when I have him.  Boy I hope she's right!  As much as I'd love for my mother to be here when it happens, waiting in labor for her to get here doesn't sound like much fun.  I'm beyond excited to meet baby K, but this whole labor and delivery part is really freaking me out.  Hopefully this will be one of those times in my life where I learn I'm stronger than I think I am.

The countdown continues...

XOXO,
Chelle