39 weeks 2 days OB appt and pics

She's still in! I've had some interesting changes in the last week though. Wednesday I think her head descended a little more and began resting nicely against my sciatic nerve. I could barely walk. I tried swimming since they said it is still good for sciatic pain and while I was in the pool, it was awesome....but then I got out of the pool. I could barely walk. It was so horribly painful, but I figured that I couldn't complain because I just started feeling bad at almost 39 weeks...really, what do I have? 2 weeks at most? Then this Saturday I started having contractions pretty regularly and they started getting intense. So much so that over the night I woke up 3 or 4 times with strong, painful contractions. Brett and I started joking about a Superbowl baby and how if she was born on Sunday, we might have to change her name to Peyton, lol. Things slowed down, then I got a few more painful contractions Sunday afternoon...then nothing. I know my body is getting "ready" but I really thought I'd be one of those women who has no contractions that they are aware of and then boom! they are in labor. My mom was this way...but she also gave birth to us both early and drank and smoked through both pregnancies, so maybe things were different?

In any event, this morning was our weekly OB appt. I made the appointment expressly with "OB Barbie" who is the one doctor that I haven't met yet at the practice. Her picture on the wall of the practice looks like an L.A. Headshot and since I've started going there, she hasn't been around. First she was on bedrest for a pregnancy, then maternity leave, etc. Well, I just found out last week that both of the other doctors will be away next week and if I go over 40 weeks, the only one left for me is who I call OB Barbie (please don't be offended by this...when you are big as a freaking house, feel like poopy and will be in pain and probably sweaty and nasty, you really don't want a hot, seemingly very young doctor to come in and deliver your baby...just the way it is). I got nervous about this because I've never met her, she was only going to be at the office for the week before the planned vacation, then she would be the ONLY ONE left in charge and then she was leaving the practice for good. Wouldn't that make you nervous? Granted I know the OB is there for very little time during delivery and it really doesn't matter who you get...but then I started worrying about her decision making skills...she is going to be the one deciding if I get induced or if I need a c-section b/c the other docs that I trust will be gone...freaky right? Well, I met her today and she was better than I expected. Not in love with her...but I felt more comfortable. Turns out she is less likely to induce than one of my favorites, so that is good. (Plus, she didn't look as young in person as her headshot made her look!)

She gave me a pelvic exam and we found out that I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced (yay!). This made us happy...although she apologized that I wasn't very far along. I could care less to be honest, I was just happy to see some movement in the right direction. She said she might consider stripping my membranes if I'd like it...but then she kind of wavered about it saying something about being only 50% effaced. I said it is fine, I don't mind waiting so long as everything else looked good. She said she could feel the membranes and the baby's head and everything looked good. I would have liked to have my membranes stripped b/c my chances of going into labor soon would increase, but I also don't want to do anything that would cause problems and since I am not even 40 weeks yet, I'll live with things the way they are. I have another appointment in a week, at 40 weeks, 2 days to have an ultrasound, a fetal non-stress test and meet with the doc for another internal. Hopefully we won't make it that far, but I'm betting we just might...ugh.

I did have another development on Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning with my belly looking normal and no stretchmarks at all. Then Sunday night, I started looking like a torpedo and had a few tiny little red marks right at my bikini line area...yup, at freaking 39 weeks I got stretch marks. I'm not really devastated but am a little ticked that they appeared now, when it looked like we were in the clear. I thought I'd have a ton by now since I have some around my hips from puberty so my assumption has always been that I will definitely get lots of big, ugly stretchmarks because I just have that kind of skin. Then it was nice to feel that I was saved from that...how did that happen? Now, because she dropped really fast and hard, I have a few tiny ones...oh well.

So, here are some pics!!!

The first one is before church. Notice the huge big round belly... (notice the heating pad and exercise ball in the living room...working on that sciatic pain!!!)

Then this one was taken yesterday, when she is lower and more poking out of my lower belly. I am seriously feeling HUGE now.

Finally...we took this about a week ago. We were sitting on the couch, watching TV and I had my sweet little chihuahua on my lap. Brett pulled my shirt up over my belly to watch the baby move because she was wiggling from side to side and just going crazy in there. Well, Katie just put her little head right on my belly and her little head was moving back and forth with every one of Teagan's movements and Katie just sat there...first with her eyes open, looking up at me adoringly and then with her eyes closed, napping on the baby belly. It was just so cute!!!