40 Weeks

I am full term now. I read that 50% of pregnancies go past their due date. Yay. The doctor told me to start doing kick counts. Basically, I have to lay still for up to 30 minutes and count the number of times Lil Wodie kicks. If it is under 10, I'm supposed to call the doc immediately. Fortunately for me, Lil Wodie performed 10 "kicks" in four minutes, so I didn't have to sit around for a whole half an hour. Although, I did still sit there and feel his kicks anyway. =) Travis and I attempted to get some video of my belly movement the other night. It was a little difficult. Turns out our video camera does not pick up light very well. Hopefully you can see the silhouette against the couch. Phage (my cat) is also a little distracting. Note: That's Travis' mom Brenda napping on the love seat in the background.

Belly Movement from Nicolette Ward on Vimeo.

Bad news. I've got stretch marks. =( They are forming around my belly button piercing scar. At first I didn't realize they were stretch marks because they are not red like I've seen in photos and videos. I'm pretty sure that's what these are. Dang it. So close! It's gross because I have limited feeling on that skin. Although whenever I scratch it on something, it hurts like hell. Doesn't make sense now that I think about it...

I can't remember if I've mentioned it on here or not that I have started drinking raspberry leaf tea. I thought it was supposed to bring on labor (old wives tale), but it turns out that's not what it's for. It's actually recommended throughout pregnancy to strengthen the uterus and therefore shorten the length of labor. I think I believe this "old wives tale". I have been having crazy strong contractions for the last week and that's how long I've been drinking the tea.

It doesn't take much to set off one of these hard Braxton Hicks contractions anymore either. Every time I get out of bed (which is about 3-5 times a night), walking to and from my car at work, putting away the dishes, bending over to pick something up off the ground. You name it, I'm contracting. My belly turns into a rock. The funny thing is, Lil Wodie is so big now, that he almost always has some limb or butt cheek poking out of my belly. When I have a contraction, it's like my skin suctions around his body like a vacuum. My "baby bump" looks like a lumpy bag of worms or something more endearing than that.

Sleeping has become increasingly difficult. Every night I spend about 10 minutes trying to get as comfortable as possible. Since it's not possible for me to be completely comfortable, I just try to find a position that does not pull or push on this gigantic basketball that I'm carrying in front of me. Travis even gave up one of his pillows to the cause the other night, putting me at five pillows. I don't know how there is any room left for Travis!

Travis has been such a trooper. I know he hasn't been sleeping well lately. I shake the bed like an earthquake every time I get in and out to pee throughout the night. Half the time I end up falling on him because I trip over Callaway, Callaway's toy or the comforter that has fallen off the end of the bed.

I haven't been sleeping all that great lately either. Although the weird thing is that I'm not miserably tired, except for around 2pm every day. This past weekend I woke up at 3:15am for a bathroom break. When I laid back down I just could not fall back to sleep. When the clock flipped to 3:45 and my stomach was growling, I decided to give up the fight and get up for a mid-night snack. I ate a bowl of cereal and played Mah Jong on my computer. At 4:45am, I decided I would have a better chance of falling asleep in my bed than I would sitting up at my computer and headed back to bed. Luckily it was during the weekend, so I didn't have to deal with getting up at 6 for work.

My doctor's office called me yesterday to let me know the details about my induction. It is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30th. If I am still pregnant by then, I will go in the Monday before for bloodwork and to fill out some paperwork. Then I have to be in the hospital at 7am to start the Pitocin drip. I hope, hope, hope that I go into labor before then. I do not want to wait until I am 41 weeks to have this baby! He's just going to grow more as the time passes.