Home Stretch - week 39

Growth Ultrasound
This week in conjunction with checking for amniotic fluid, the ultrasound tech also took measurements to see how big baby has gotten. The result is approx 8lbs 6oz!  I asked what the margin for error could be and she said a difference of ounces.  So regardless when the baby comes it'll be in the 8 pound range!

Blood Pressure is a *&)&^%
So up until this week my blood pressure has been ok. But for some reason this time it was high. So the nurse had me lie down on my left side while we waited for the midwife to see us. She came and checked my BP and it was normal. She did her exam and of course I was only a fingertip dilated, so basically nothing (shucks, does anyone say shucks anymore?).  So after that as we were talking and I was upright, she checked my BP again, and it was high! ugh!!

As a result she was going to consult with one of the doctors about but first she asked what I wanted in regards to my birth plan (gotta love midwives). I told her that ideally I would like to go into labor on my own. And I told her my concerns with being induced and when I was with my son feeling like I was strapped to a bed with all the additional monitoring etc.

She came back and said that they had decided to let me progress towards my due date but that I should be done with work since my BP is better when I'm resting then up and about. I asked if that meant I was on bedrest and she said no but that I should group my activities together more and that I should be resting/reclining more than up and about.

Work
So the next day was friday and I was supposed to work the morning so it was filled with phone calls to my HR lady. And to my manager letting them know that I was done done.  What a weird feeling though knowing that I was done with work until later this summer!

Midwives
I have to say that I really love that I'm seeing the midwives. I feel like they are really open to what I want and not what they always do with their patients.

We talked about what will happen next week when I get to my due date. And the midwife will check and see if my cervix is 'favorable', meaning dilated. If so then they would do things to help it along. I asked her about other methods than just pitocin/drugs.  She was very ameanable to the idea and mentioned that she has had good success with the foley balloon. Which is a way to promote cervical ripening and labor induction.
"Foley Balloon," a balloon that is inserted through the cervix and then inflated so it puts pressure on the cervix from the inside. 

And then she talked about how if they did use pitocin that they could control the dosage and make it progress gradually and take me off of it once contractions were started. Or that if while on it I wanted to get in the whirlpool that they could unhook me and see how I do.

I have to say that the whole conversation was such a relief and that she really listened to my concerns and took them to heart!  Whereas (& probably just my personal bias) I feel that a doc would have pushed for induction no matter at 39 weeks.