38 Week Bumpdate: Good News!!

It is so hard to believe that I am in the 38th week of this pregnancy. There are only 12 days left ::max:: until we meet our little girl. This pregnancy has been very emotional with plenty of ups and downs. I feel so blessed that we are coming to the end and will finally get to meet our daughter.
I will not believe 100% that she is a girl until she pops out and the doctor confirms it - although my doctor and Ryan think I am crazy. Ryan has said before though that if she turned out to be a boy it would be impossible to not feel a loss. I think that is the best way to describe it. You plan everything around something you think you are having - you pick a name and talk to "her" and picture your life with a little girl in it. We obviously would be so happy to have a healthy little boy as well, but it would be an adjustment for sure. Plus I own NO gender neutral items at all. Thankfully my doctor said she has never delivered a baby that had "switched" on the parents and warned that I better not be her first!
I had my 38 week appointment today. I was so nervous going into it because this week has been so miserable. If there was no progress from last week I would feel so discouraged. The past week I have had two "false labor" starts. One night I was getting contractions every 3 minutes, lasting 45 seconds each. This went on for about 5 hours. They weren't extremely painful, so L&D told me just to sit tight. They eventually disappeared. Then a few days later I was having them again, combined with awful back pain and cramps. Again, after a few hours it went away. You get so excited thinking it could really be happening and then it just fizzles out.
Well last week I was between 0-1cm dilated and 50% effaced. Today I was so happy to hear that I was a full 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. My doctor said she was so happy about my progress and said she would feel comfortable inducing me any time after my 39 week appointment since my cervix is "favorable". She also was able to feel the baby's head and said it was pressed up against my cervix.
I really do not want to be induced. I am doing everything in my power to encourage my body to go into labor naturally. We had a long discussion last week and then re-visited it again today. My baby appears to be large. This doesn't surprise me one bit. I want the chance to have a vaginal birth if possible, so my doctor does not want me going to 41 weeks. We have pretty much made the decision that if she doesn't come by her due date, we will induce that day or the day after. On one hand, it's a relief to know an end date, but on the other, it scares me to death. Ryan and I are praying so hard that she comes on her own before that day. I would appreciate any prayers from you all as well.
I know the negatives of pitocin and what can happen if you try to get your body to go into labor early. This has been so hard to deal with because it's all a gamble - you have no idea when your baby would eventually come. After seeing so many of you go to 41 weeks and still need to be induced, I know there is no way I can be sure about what would happen. If I go to 41 weeks, there's an extremely high chance of c-section, so right now we have chosen to have her closer to 40. Could my feelings change between now and then? Yes, of course. I am just hoping with every ounce of my heart that she comes soon and on her own.
The doctor is still saying she thinks she could come in the next week.
I've been fluctuating between 28-30 pounds. I'm barely sleeping at all. I have horrible rib and pelvic pain. Everyone keeps saying "use this time to sleep" - I wish, I am so exhausted...I've still been trying to walk for 30-60 minutes a day, but it's really starting to hurt! I spend 90% of the time I am sitting on a yoga ball, since that seems to help with the pelvic pain and back pain. My appetite comes and goes, as there really isn't much room in my stomach anymore. I'm pretty sure I have to have lost the majority of my mucus plug over the past week, although I still haven't had a "bloody show". Rilynn is still moving, but her movements are less frequent and definitely less "jabby".
So what else has gone on this week?

Marcy seems to know that she is not going to be an "only child" for much longer. She has decided to start doing awful things that she has never attempted before. She tore up her bed while we were gone, steals our dishtowels and now loves grabbing the end of a toilet paper roll and unwinding the entire thing. We had to start putting her back in her crate while we are gone because of her bad behavior. Slowly we are going to start leaving her out again.

I decided to plan a small early birthday celebration for Ryan. His birthday is this Friday, but I was worried if the baby came he would just miss out on doing anything. He said he didn't care, but I did and I LOVE celebrating birthdays. So I made him a funfetti cake and wrapped a few of his presents.

We went to a mexican restaurant that he's been dying to try and then rented a movie. He was really surprised and it made me feel good that we got to spend some special time celebrating him and the big 2-9. As long as Rilynn doesn't come by Friday, we'll go and do some other birthday activities as well.

I finally finished the gallery wall in the nursery. I am so happy with how it turned out and I shared the entire project on the blog. I am also looking forward to sharing the nursery and how it all came together in the near future.

Lastly, a picture from this morning before I headed to my appointment. I keep feeling like I should take a picture every few days or so, just in case it's the last one I get before I go into labor. It's finally feeling like Fall and I love it!
So here's to being 38 weeks pregnant and hoping this little one arrives soon!


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