Forty Weeks!

Well, I've got quite a bit to update this week. First things first: no baby yet!

Let's see...after Monday's appointment and prescription for bed rest, I spent Tuesday frantically getting last-minute things together for work. I packed up my laptop and Jon shipped it off for me that evening. Let me tell you, I smiled as I erased my marker board of "to dos before baby." I put away all my work papers that cluttered my desk, and I could feel my blood pressure lower as I said goodbye to work for the next 6 weeks (at least). Jon asked me if I was sad to say goodbye, and I said, "Nope! I'm so relieved to be done!" And at this point, as far as we know, I'm going back to work after my maternity leave, so it's not like I'm saying goodbye for forever.

On Wednesday...well, let's just say I stink at bed rest! I was on the couch or the computer, I did a little bit of laundry (really, I just switched out one load), and generally realized by the end of the day that I was worrying Jon more than helping by not wanting to appear helpless. It turns out that the everyone but me is a champion bed rester around here.
Well, Jon was taking a much-deserved break from studying, but the cats...champion bed resters!

Thursday, KarenN was gracious enough to drive down to come to the dr. appointment with me, since Jon had to work. I was so glad she came! My blood pressure was still high, but not as high as it had been, and considering my one day of attempted bed rest, I figured that was okay. Then I went in to get my sonogram, and that took quite awhile. The sonographer was trying to determine if Caleb has a cleft lip or cleft palate, or if everything is fine. The problem was that Caleb has his nose pretty firmly smooshed into the placenta, so it looks asymmetrical, but we can't be definitive on whether that's the smoosh or a cleft. There was one shot that she took that seemed pretty good, that nothing was wrong. But then there were 5 more shots that indicated there might be a small cleft palate issue. So, at the end of the sonogram still had nothing definitive. However, if there is a cleft, it's probably minor. And we can't do anything about it until Caleb's born, anyway, so no reason to worry about it! But I will say I'll be checking his mouth before I count his toes!

After the dr. appointment, Karen and I ate lunch, then she made my Amish Friendship Bread for me, since I was supposed to be on bedrest. And flowers were delivered to my door!

It turns out Caleb already has a connection with his Grandma! After Karen left, I really did rest, and took a nice long nap. So I did much better!

Friday morning, Jon and I went to a chiropractor, which was a new experience for both of us. We went because I was concerned that now that I have high blood pressure, there would be more likelihood that the dr. would induce, and since Caleb has shown no signs of progression, the only way out for him is by C-section (induction would be fruitless). I asked a friend to check with her midwife about what to do, and her midwife suggested I check with a chiropractor to see if perhaps I was unaligned, not allowing the baby to drop as he should. Well, it just so happens that Holly has been going to a chiropractor recently, and not only had good success with it, but also had a voucher for half off! So I made an appointment, and off we went on Friday morning. The chiropractor could be a blog in and of itself, but in the end the dr. said my tailbone was pretty unaligned, and he got it back to about 98% correct (my legs had been different lengths by an inch, and after the adjustment they were back to normal!). So, though he didn't guarantee it would help the baby drop, he did say it might make a difference since I'd been so unaligned. I go back on Monday for a second adjustment, and I think it will be our last.

After our appointment, Leanna came to hang out for the day. Hooray! She made cake! With all these people coming over and making things for us, this is pretty great! We watched movies and did our best to stay rested. :) She also tried the acupressure points to start labor. Nothing happened, but we did it anyway.

This morning, I slept 'til 11:00!! I couldn't believe it! But then my stomach was upset and I was nauseated...which I hate, but is a sign that labor could be coming! So we got in gear and I folded laundry and Jon ran to Wal-Mart for some final things. Then he worked on his paper and I worked on photography...and nothing happened. After that bit in the morning, I felt better today than I have in a week, really! Which could also be a sign of impending labor...usually it comes out as energy for nesting, but maybe mine was redirected to photography because it needed to be done. We went for a small walk, just a couple times around the block, because I thought that when I started to walk around the house, I'd feel a little cramping, so maybe a walk would kick things in gear. But we didn't try too hard because really, the baby is coming soon, so no need to rush things! And nothing happened.

All in all, yesterday I felt there was no way this baby was coming until Thanksgiving, but today I feel like it could happen tonight. So maybe the chiropractor and the acupressure is actually working, or maybe it's just time...or maybe he won't be here 'til Thanksgiving! It's exciting however it happens!

BabyCenter estimates Caleb to be 7.5 pounds and 20 inches long...we shall see soon!