37 Weeks

Today I had my first full-term doctor's appointment. Yay!!! Completely unsurprisingly, my blood pressure is up. Even when laying on my side, I had a reading of 142/84. My doctor decided to monitor the baby to make sure that everything is okay with him. In his words, the results of the monitoring were "literally perfect". The heart rate was right where it was supposed to be, fluctuated with movements, and indicated no signs of distress. All good news.

As for me, I now have to go to the doctor twice per week to make sure that this high blood pressure does not lead to true preeclampsia. If the blood pressure continues to rise, he will induce. I completely expected this which is why, as of this very appointment, I had my hospital bag packed and in the trunk. If you recall, I was sent directly to the hospital (on Halloween) with Lily when I was about 38 weeks due to high blood pressure. I didn't have her then because my blood pressure came down, but my doctor now is more cautious, and I think he would go ahead induce anyway. Also, my doctor's office is just one floor above the labor and delivery unit of the hospital which would not allow a lot of time for my blood pressure to come down!

If my blood pressure remains the same, he said that he will induce anytime between 39-40 weeks. He said that we'll just look at our schedules and see what date looks good! This makes me laugh, like we're going to pencil in the baby's delivery around other activities in my daily planner. Although, it is actually going to be tricky. Due to Angela's wedding, there really aren't many days between weeks 39-40 that would work while still being able to be at the wedding. Luckily, my doctor is very flexible so I don't think that it will be a problem.

The great news is that he will not let me go beyond my due date which means that this baby is definitely coming this month....and in time for Halloween festivities! It is really nice to know absolutely that three weeks is the maximum time until delivery day.

I was just commenting to Carl how weird it is that I felt so anxious and overly ready for the baby to come in August and September (when the baby wasn't ready). Then October arrived, and I just completely relaxed. I feel really good physically and emotionally, and I know that the due date is around the corner so I'm not overly anxious for it to happen right now. Don't get me wrong, I am ready whenever he is, but the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. I feel strangely calm. Maybe because this is number 2, and I completely expected all these latest developments because it was the same with Lily, but I'm just in a good place right now. Plus, an induction would be nice. It is so great for planning. You just don't have to worry about having to scramble to get all the pieces in place, like getting Lily squared away, figuring out how to get to the hospital, and having to track down Carl at work. So, while having high blood pressure is by no means a good thing, there are at least benefits that could result from it. I'll definitely update again on Friday with any developments (or non-developments).