38 weeks, 4 days

Had my '39 week' check up today.

Looks like I've progressed to 3cm dilated... still about 60% effaced. Dr. Super said he's very encouraged by my progress and thinks we should fully expect a smooth induction/delivery on Monday the 15th - *if* I make it that long!!!!

Oh, and Emily has definitely had a major growth spurt. I told my mom that I suspected as much this morning (I've gotten huge all of a sudden). I predicted before my appointment that Emily will be about 7lbs 10oz & 21 inches long. After the ultrasound, it was estimated that she's now 7lbs 9oz. Not a bad guess on my part, eh??? LOL!

I definitely had a labor scare earlier this evening. I seriously & truly thought I was in labor! I kept having major, major pain & contractions. I couldn't get it to stop even after walking around.

But then finally (blissfully) it subsided.

I was really relieved because if it happened right now it would be really stressful to get someone here right away to be with the kids.

If it happens, we'll obviously HAVE to make it work right away. But if we make it to the induction day, I'll be most thankful!

One week from today!!!

Oh boy... we really are in the home stretch now! One week from today, I will be induced unless Miss Emily has plans of her own before then.

I cannot WAIT!!!!!!!

I slept for literally 3 hours last night because I am all out of comfy sleeping positions. So yeah... it must be about time to wrap this thing up - LOL!

I've been trying to keep myself occupied at all times, to help pass the time. Evan's at preschool right now, but after his nap, his best buddy's going to come over and play with him for a couple of hours. It's finally nice outside, so looks like all of us will be able to go out in the backyard and get some fresh air and SUNSHINE!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!!

Tomorrow I'm going to surprise Evan and be the Mystery Reader in his classroom. I'll show up around 9am and read a couple of books to his class. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I walk in!! :-)

Wednesday should be a pretty ho-hum kind of day.

Thursday is my final prenatal appointment before the birth. And the way I've been hurting, there is NO WAY that I've had no progress since last week. I'm pretty excited to see where we stand at that point.

Friday Evan doesn't have preschool, so I'll probably just pack the kids up and run some errands to get some stuff I'll need before going to the hospital next Monday.

I told Tim this weekend we need to do as much fun stuff as possible with the kiddos, and go out to dinner as a family. Other than that, I plan on handing the kiddos over to Tim a lot and sleeping as much as I possibly can (given my discomfort) to rest up for the delivery.

It sure does feel good to be talking about these last few days. It means our newest baby girl will be in our ARMS.... SOON!!!

37 weeks 4 days

I had my '38 week check up' today (even though I'm 37 weeks 4 days).

We've had a little progress since last week. I'm now 2 cm dilated and about 50-60% effaced. So that's something, right???

And it appears that Emily has had a growth spurt (I thought she had, based on my increased size lately) and is now measuring just about EXACTLY right for her gestational age! WOO HOO! Grow, Emily, grow!!!

We're still set for a March 15 induction date. I'm praying I'll be called in some time in the morning rather than waiting around for most of the day. If I get called late in the day I most likely won't deliver until the following day.

But at this rate, we have every reason to expect it will be an uneventful and uncomplicated induction. Dr. Super said if I'm dilated/effaced enough & conditions look favorable enough, I have the option of them simply breaking my water without going straight to pitocin and see how fast I progress. That would be FANTASTIC!!! But if we need the pitocin, I'm OK with that too... as long as I don't need it for too terribly long. I was hoping to avoid pitocin too early in the induction process, so I can hold off on getting the epidural for a little while longer. I had some side effects from the epidural after my last delivery and I'm hoping that having less of it for less time will help out.

Anyhow, I'm still at a good place mentally. I'm glad I've still got a little more than a week to rest up (when I can) and spend some more time with Evan and Ally.