Nearing the End

This weekend we thought there was a slight possibility of having a Halloween baby, but alas, it is now Monday and I sit here still pregnant :). I had my 38 week appointment on Friday, and my blood pressure was coming out high each of the three times that they took it. Last week the same thing happened at my 37 week appointment, and I had to go in the next day for a follow-up blood pressure check. They had some concerns about possible preeclampsia, so they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, drew some blood, and a few other tests. They wanted me to go into triage on Saturday for follow-up tests and to talk about any results on the blood work. When I asked the midwife what would happen if my levels were elevated, she told me that I would be induced. So, we prepared for the possibility that a baby may come, but I really felt confident that everything was ok. On Saturday morning I went into triage where they hooked me up to the fetal monitor again and took my blood pressure every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. They told me that all of my labs from the previous day had been fine, and we would just see how my blood pressure looked. Thankfully, I only had one ever so slightly elevated blood pressure, but nothing concerning. I was relieved walking out of the hospital, because I really want to go into labor naturally since I'm planning an unmedicated birth with our doula. I've been told by several people that when labor is induced with Pitocin it's almost inhumane to go through the labor process without an epidural. The big goal for me now is to learn how to chill out a little bit by whatever means necessary so I can keep a lower blood pressure.

I am now 38 weeks, 5 days and wearing out a bit from the lack of sleep. I wake up every hour to flip sides, and last night I was awake about 10-20 minutes each hour that I would wake up pacing around trying to relieve some of the soreness before I went back to sleep. My days at work are a bit shorter now. I normally work 9 hour days with every other Monday off, but I am starting 8 hour days with no days off during the week in preparation for maternity leave. So now I'll work 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. instead of working until 4:30 p.m. I got the hospital bag pretty much packed last night besides a few items that we will have to grab on the way out the door. Now it's just the waiting game! I had a little chat with the baby last night while sitting on the couch, and I told him that we were as ready as we'd ever be, and I thought he would really enjoy it on the outside :).