39 week midwife appointment

Tomorrow we are officially 39 weeks. Today we had our midwife appointment. All looks good. She said the baby is at -2 station, so it's moving into position but not there yet. She hasn't done a vaginal exam since 36 weeks, so we don't know what kind of progress is being made down there. My uterus is measuring between 37 and 38 weeks and I've lost a pound. Slow growth, which she said is normal at this point, and good because we don't want the baby to get too big. I concur.

I've been taking oil of evening primrose to soften my cervix for 2 weeks now. She advised me to also start drinking red raspberry leaf tea as well. Ugh, I hate tea. I tried drinking tea to increase my fertility but gagged on it every time. Still, I went to Whole Foods this morning and bought some. I'll try anything to get this baby out.

The baby is laying on my right side, not the ideal position but not the worst. She said I should start doing cat/cows and always lean forward when I'm sitting. I know this, and I've been trying since I got to 36 weeks, but sitting forward takes a lot of energy when I just want to lay back. And cat/cows usually make me nauseous. But like I said, I'll try because I want this to go easy.

Last night I had the strongest contractions yet for about an hour. They felt like a really bad period cramp, the kind that makes you lay in bed, but the pain came and went, unlike a period which gives you no release. We were hoping it meant that it was time, but then they went away. I probably have a lot more of those episodes to look forward to before the real thing comes.

During the contractions the baby was super active, like way more than normal and for the entire hour. The midwife and the Internet said this was normal. It must be exhausting for the baby to go through labor if that's how the baby reacts to contractions. Also, it's pretty exhausting for me because the baby is kicking up a storm during and between contractions so even though the contractions came and went, the baby just kept going.

A coworker in another department is 34 weeks pregnant. Her department throws baby showers before the baby is born, mine throws them afterwards. So today I attended her baby shower even though I haven't attended mine yet. I felt bad upstaging her because I'm due in a week and she's due in 7 weeks. But she got the big gift card, so in the end, I'm sure she's happy.

The AC in my office is broken. Four people have come by to say how much that must suck for me. I've been offered two offices. Tomorrow I may take them up on it. I'm sweating like crazy and I stink.

An Indian tradition is that all babies wear gold bracelets. K was going to hand hers down, but found out it's broken. We asked her crazy mother to buy one for us in India on her recent trip but instead she bought a Buddha charm and said to tie it around the baby's wrist. K pointed out that this is a major choking hazard - crazy lady. So yesterday we went shopping. We started at the Indian jeweler, who sells them for $450. Ouch, that's a little steep. After shopping around a lot of places, we bought one at a little jewelry kiosk in the mall for $50. Much better.

So now we really are ready to bring this baby home. Nothing left to do but wait. Oh, and K still needs to clean the kitchen and the car. I'd offer to help but I'm pretty useless. I do plan to do some laundry tonight though. I need to wash the few pairs of pants I have left that fit so I have something to wear to work.