Last doctor's appointment!

Today was it, folks. We are definitely down to the last week. My status right now is pretty much the same. He said that he wouldn't quite say that I am 4 cm dilated but "no doubt a solid 3". Effacement is at 30%. He said that effacement doesn't really matter quite as much after the first pregnancy, as effacement and dilation happen together in subsequent pregnancies. But, things seem to be right on track for delivery.

Before the exam, my doctor said that he could "encourage contractions" or not. He gave us the option. By now everyone is well aware of the impending wedding. So, encouraging the process could mean bringing on active labor today (and therefore being reassured that I will make the wedding) or could mean going into active labor on Wednesday which would not be desirable. Because of my current status, the doctor thought that this could potentially speed things up into the time frame that we want so we said to go ahead. I didn't really consider the pain involved before giving that green light, but that's another story.

So now more waiting. If nothing happens in the upcoming week, an induction has been scheduled for Monday, October 26th at 7:00 am. The doctor seemed to think that he would see me before Monday though. I'm trying my best to just think that Monday will be the day so that 1. I don't drive myself crazy wondering every day if today is the day and 2. I don't worry about missing the wedding.

I'm still feeling pretty well physically and emotionally. I had some painful Braxton-Hicks contractions Friday night which I never experienced with Lily. Let's just say that was not the most fun I've ever had from 11:30 - 5:30 at night. Then, of course, Lily woke up at 6:30. (And I thought that they would not tag team me until after he was born!) We also worried a bit because I felt less movement from the baby after that night of contractions, but everything was still within the normal range. The baby monitoring today confirmed that everything is just fine with him. In fact, he probably moved more today than any other day that we've monitored - go figure. Otherwise, I've had some mood swings and cravings, and I'm more hungry and tired pretty much all the time. It is just odd that I'm having these symptoms now as opposed to early on in the pregnancy. Oh well. It can't last more than a week, right?

So that's it! This will likely be the last baby-related post before he is here. Oh my!