39 Weeks & Update on Baby's Progression

 

Well, can you believe Baby Owen decided to stay inside this long? I'm shocked, but am so so happy! So basically, that whole irritable uterus thing meant NOTHING, and all it did was cause lots of worry and concern.  But that's what women who have had an irritable uterus have said-that it's the most nerve-wracking thing ever b/c you have no idea whether you're going to go into preterm labor or if your baby will hang on for the long haul.  I'm so so thankful that I was able to carry Owen full term. God is so good!

And as for some exciting news, it looks like we MAY be meeting baby Owen within the next few days.  I say maybe with a grain of salt b/c you can NEVER really predict when your body is going to go into labor.  But I had a midwife appointment today and I was 3.5-4 cm/80% effaced, and she said that my water sac was bulging and she could feel Owen's head.  She asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes, which would speed up the onset of labor, but I was in so much pain from her checking me that I declined.  She also gave me a cocktail recipe that would make me go into labor if I wanted it to happen right now: a glass of champagne + 4 Tbsp. almond butter + 4 Tbsp. castor oil.  I won't be trying that either.  My body seems very well prepared to go into labor on its own time, which will probably be soon.  My midwife said she would be shocked if I didn't go into labor within the next 48 hours.  While I'm very excited about that possibility, again I'm not letting my mind go there completely, b/c like I said, nobody can predict exactly when your body will go into labor, and I don't want to get too excited for nothing.  Owen could stay inside another week for all we know, but I'm so glad that I'm progressing so much!  Hopefully this means that my labor will go a little quicker since all of this has already happened.  And we all know that my uterus sure does know how to contract! haha  Maybe all this irritable uterus stuff happened in the past so that my labor and delivery would go smoother?  I sure hope so! :)  The average length of labor for first time moms is 12-18 hours-really hoping mine isn't THAT long, but if it is, it will be okay b/c I'll get to meet my son at the end! Wow, that sounds crazy..."my son." I love it!  Well, right now I'm having contractions approximately 8-10 minutes apart, but they're not painful or intense or anything like that.  I had contractions all day this past Saturday that were 8 minutes apart, but they never turned into anything.  I've been told that I will KNOW when I'm in labor-the contractions will get more and more intense to the point where I'll have a hard time doing anything but breath through them.  Oh boy!  So there's the update on Baby Owen's progress.  Looks like I could be holding my baby boy this week! We will just have to wait and see!