37 Weeks

*sorry, no pic this week*

We made it to full term! Honestly, the past week and a half, I was beginning to doubt if we would even make it to 37 weeks, but here we are. Little Man is still snug as a bug in a rug in there.

At my doctor appointment Wednesday morning, we found out I have dilated to a 2 and am 50% effaced. Yay! Praise the Lord these contractions I've had EVERY day haven't been for nothing!

 We had another exciting false alarm that night---I started having contractions about 4 pm that afternoon and they were about 8 minutes apart. By 5:30 pm they had gone down to every 5-6 minutes and started getting more intense. By 7:00 pm, they were down to 2-3 minutes apart. We seriously thought, "this is it!" We got to the hospital around 8:45 pm and they checked me---still 2 cm. So they monitored me for the next 2 hours. (I asked if I could walk and my nurse said no, since I wasn't "technically term". *side rant*: I was going to be "technically term" in 3 HOURS. I personally thought this judgment call was ridiculous). Anyway, over those 2 hours, my contractions continued at 2-3 minutes apart and were very intense--I had some that the mountain peaks were going off the charts. She rechecks me after 2 hours and tells me I have had no change. She went to call the doctor that was on call and ask what he wanted me to do. About 11:30 pm, she comes in and tells me they are sending me home.

At this point, I was so frustrated and disappointed. How could my body be going through all of this and nothing progressed at all? Plus, at what point do I know when to come back to the hospital? I had been having contractions 2-3 minutes apart for over 4 HOURS. The nurse that came in at the end was so nice and told me that I had done the right thing in coming in--especially because it was important that they monitor Holt and make sure he was ok (which, he handled everything like a champ---proud mom moment). She told me to go home and do 3 things---eat and hydrate, rest, and take a warm bath. She told me to keep an eye on the contractions and if they continued or got stronger to go ahead and come back--that there was nothing wrong with getting rechecked. After she left the room, I burst into tears. I felt so helpless and confused and frustrated and disappointed. I had just KNOWN that this was it.

We made it back home a little after midnight. Daniel helped me into a warm bath and I still had them every 2-3 minutes. I was so exhausted I almost fell asleep in the tub, so I got out and decided to lay down and try to sleep some. I got in bed around 1 AM and actually slept til about 8 AM. I did wake up off and on during the night, and every time I did, my stomach was rock hard from a contraction.

My mom and my grandma were staying with us, which I was so thankful for. It is so nice to have that support system and they were with us through the whole hospital ordeal. They had planned to go back first thing Thursday morning, but after what happened they decided to stay with me while Daniel was at work. I am SO glad they did--otherwise I probably would've stayed home and cried all day--sometimes, you are still the 5-year old little girl who needs her mommy.

All of that to say, I am still pregnant. Which is fine because I know that God's timing is perfect and Holt will come when he is ready. But, boy. I so COMPLETELY understand now why the last month of pregnancy drags and why women say, "I am so ready to have this baby!"It is so crazy the physical and emotional toll that contracting takes on your body. And having been going through it for 10 days now, I feel like I am always exhausted.

For all you prayer warriors out there, please pray that when it's really time to have this baby, that my water would break. That way, I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is the real thing. It is so hard to play the guessing game every day and wonder, "Is this it? Do we go to the hospital?"Also, please pray for Daniel to be able to focus at work and not be distracted with worry about me. I know this has been tough on him as well. And lastly, for me, that the Lord would sustain me and give me patience as I wait and contract through these last days in pregnancy.

We are so ready to meet our little man!

How far along: 37 weeks
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Still great. I feel so blessed in this area--it's pretty abnormal for a 37 week pregnant lady to sleep all through the night and only get up once to go to the bathroom.
Best moment this week: Having my mom and my grandma come up for a few days
Miss anything: Not really
Movement: I'm at the point that it looks like I have an alien in there!
Food cravings: I'm still loving watermelon. And PopTarts--I couldn't help but buy a box when I was at Walmart this week.
Food aversions: None
Labor signs: Um, yes.
Belly button in/out: In
Rings on/off: on
Happy/Moody: A little bit of both
Looking forward to: His arrival!
Baby development: He gains about half a pound a week from here on out and his lungs finish maturing.