Week 39

Today/yesterday, we had our 39 week appointment. Same stats as before. Holding steady at 1 cm and 80%. My blood pressure was slightly elevated, which nearly never happens. So, the nurse and Dr. J were a bit alarmed. However, I have no other symptoms to give alarm other than my still swollen right foot. Found out Dr. J is on call tomorrow though, so I know who we'll get if we should need to go in tomorrow.

Update: Starting about 11:30 tonight, I began to understand what contractions are. I'm using the Labor Mate app on my phone and thus far, the samples are wildly erratic. I have a little trouble pinpointing exactly when one starts since they have a definite "wave" pattern to them. So far, I've got contractions from 33 seconds to a little over a minute with frequencies that seem to be getting further between 3 minutes to 8 and a half. And, my pregnancy heater is on the fritz. For the first time in months, I'm actually a bit chilly. Even if this turns out to be false labor, I don't think P or I are going to get much sleep tonight.

30 Weeks

Today, we went to our 30 week checkup. Everything looks good. Potus was a little coy about getting his/her heart rate and the nurse made me laugh (admittedly, not hard to do), so we didn't hear a strong loud heartbeat. Mostly, it sounded like a winter storm with lots of wind. The doctor didn't do a fundal height measurement. I weighed in at 3 pounds over last appointment. I think I was going to get scolded, so I made a point to mention that a) I'd just eaten lunch b) I'd been drinking a lot of fluids to counteract the c) edema caused by overdoing the walking in the City yesterday. I have to say, the fluids really helped. My feet were very piggy looking at bedtime yesterday, and I almost didn't fit my flip flops this morning, which I found alarming since I'd basically had my feet up all night. But, by 1:30, the edema had gone to just barely noticeable and mostly focused on my feet. I did leave off my jewelry today though because my rings actually left marks yesterday. My engagement ring has always been a size or two big, so that was pretty extreme.

I'm beginning to dislike traveling by car. All car seats feel like bucket seats and it takes a while for me to get in and out. Once I'm in, I'm grand. I drive pushed back from the wheel, so I don't think I'll get to the point where that's a tight fit.

One of the other things we discussed with Dr. W2 was the symptoms of early labor and recognizing Braxton Hicks. P and I have noticed that sometimes my stomach is hard and sometimes softer and squishier. I read in What to Expect that when it's firm, that means the baby is facing me and its back is making my stomach feel rigid. However, Dr. W2 mentioned that sometimes, the tightness might actually be Braxton Hicks contractions and that I should learn to recognize them in the event that I experience early labor so we can get appropriate help before things get complicated. I mention this because I'm still a bit fuzzy on the difference between back firmness and contraction. So far, I haven't really noticed any sensations that I'd call contractions, but I wonder if they're similar enough that I wouldn't.

If any of you experienced mamas out there can clarify for me, please do.