Two Weeks Left!!

Give or take. You never know with pregnancy and labor.The guessing game of when and how is killing me with excitement and nerves! My dad is in China and told the baby she can't come out until the evening of May 17th when he gets back. I told him there are no guarantees! But in all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if she came a few days earlier than my due date of May 20th. It seems like my body is progressing quicker at this point in my pregnancy than with Ty. When I was induced with Cervidil 5 days early, I was barely dilated at all -- and then we all know what happened with my little speedster practically falling out of me hours later.

At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday (at 37 weeks and 4 days) I was 1 1/2 cm dilated and 60% effaced, so I was happy that something is going on in there. Also, the baby half-turned from being completely posterior to now lying head-down but on her side. My midwife said this is better than posterior because at least she's in a better position to turn during labor as she probably will. She has been moving like crazy at night. I think she's trying to get comfortable. I just wish she would choose her timing a little better! But secretly, I don't care when she moves. I love it and wish she moved that frequently all day. On the downside, I am strep B positive again. True, not a big deal because all it takes is antibiotics and the bacteria is really not dangerous to babies when the hospital is aware of it. I had it with Ty and he came out just fine, even without the antibiotics. But the midwife did tell me it means I can't take too much chance laboring at home, which I'd prefer to do. Who wants to be hooked up to an IV line and at the hospital sooner than necessary? But because my labor was less than four hours last time, they want to make sure I get to the hospital soon enough to get four hours of antibiotics. In some ways this is a relief because I don't have to worry about not making it to the hospital in time. But part of me thinks this labor could be completely different and an average length, and maybe I don't need to rush to the hospital anyway! Oh well. All I know is, not matter how it all goes, the end result is a baby in my arms and that's all I really care about.

I went to a chiropractor on Monday after hearing a suggestion from my cousin, Jamie, that a chiropractor helped turned her son when he was posterior. A friend of mine had just bragged about her chiropractor and he said he'd only charge $20 so I thought it couldn't hurt. I've never been before and did not know what to expect. The chiropractor said he'd worked on pregnant women before, fixing two posterior baby situations, and since the name of his facility had the words "Gentle Touch" in the title I felt comfortable going. Well . . .thirty minutes later, I left feeling loopy and a little terrified! The massage table was amazing. But when he had me lay on my back and twisted me both ways in jerky motions to crack all up and down my spine, I was so surprised I did not even have time to react before he stood at the top of my head and snapped my neck back and forth. It was so violent, and all I could think of was Jackie Chan type movies, and that this man was like a ninja about to break my neck! There was nothing "gentle" about it!

I did feel better for a couple hours though. But that night I was in worse pain than ever. My back felt so out of whack! I was a little afraid of what I'd done. But then I felt fine the next day and learned that the baby had half-turned so maybe there was something to it, I don't know. But I was still too afraid to go back to my Wednesday appointment. "What if he accidentally breaks my neck??" I asked Dan. Seriously, the motion feels the same as it looks on the movies! Dan just rolled his eyes, but I didn't go. I do think the chiropractor was useful and fixed my alignment, which supposedly sets in motion everything else falling back into place. My pubic symphysis bone pain is also tons better all ready! It's still sore at night but not killer painful like it has been. That's been awesome!

So anyway, that's the latest of my adventures. It's been crazy busy for me these past couple weeks. I'm only working some 20 hours a week between my two jobs, but it's just a lot of running around doing errands for preparation, facilitating some groups that have been stressful (like my Wednesday group. I thought they were going to put me into labor, they were so bad), and then just lots of other things I've needed to do that keep me on my feet. I'm definitely not resting during the day and probably should be. But I like doing a good job at work, and keeping busy does make the time go by faster . . . Still, I'll try and take it easier next week.