Since I couldn’t get in to see my regular OB today, I got to see the Nurse Practitioner (who I absolutely adore, so I was happy). She is just so easy to talk to and ask questions. There isn’t anything wrong with my OB at all, I just really love the nurse practitioner. ANYWAY! Now for the synopsis of the appointment. Blood pressure was still fine, but when she measured my belly, she asked if I have normally been measuring small. I said, “no, I’ve been right on the whole time.” She seemed a bit surprised and said that I was measuring a week behind (35cm, whereas I was at 34cm two weeks ago…and it’s supposed to be equal, cm=weeks) and that maybe it was because the baby had dropped some. Well, as you know, I had already determined that he had started his descent because I have some fun and lovely pressure on my bladder from his head, so I was not concerned in the least.
Listened to snowp’s heartbeat and it was perfectly normal still. I had to have the lovely Group B strep test, which wasn’t nearly as bad as my OB made it sound. Then it was time for fun – the Internal Exam. Dun dun dun! (Those were scary and exciting sounding duns, just so you know.) Boys, beware! I hold nothing back. (Oh, and I’m going to try and provide general info as I explain where I’m at for those of you who have not had babies.)
She felt for his head, and as she did so, he protested by kicking me. Thanks snowp. Sure enough, he’s at -1 station. Explanation: There are 7 stations (as seen in this picture). -3 is way up high still and +3 means there’s a baby coming out. So, snowp definitely has his head settled nicely down in my pelvis. I was amazed because I figured that by this point, it would be difficult to walk/waddle, but while I do get tired faster, I have felt pretty normal.
Now, here is the really amazing part (well, to me at least, since I knew he was pretty low already). I am currently at 2.5-3cm dilated and 70% effaced! WOAH! I never ever would have guessed that! I figured she would use some comparison to Fort Knox when explaining my dilation, but apparently I was very wrong. The chart above (for the stations) actually shows a 3cm dilation of the cervix. So now let me try to give explanation again. Dilation: Can be somewhere between “a fingertip” to 10 cm, with the 10cm meaning you are about to drop a baby on its head. :) The way I can make this sound even more impressive is that were I having regular contractions right now, I could have an epidural. No kidding. By the time some women reach 3cm, they are in active labor and dying for their epidurals. Apparently my obsession with sitting cross-legged/half-lotus at all times has done something! Effacement: You go from 0 to 100% effaced. This is the thinning and shortening of the cervix and 100% means that the cervix is open and there’s not much holding baby back. See charts below for illustration of dilation and effacement.
SO! Basically, I could stay this way for a while OR I could start having contractions or have my water break at any time. The NP asked if our hospital bag was packed and I said, “nope! Guess that’s the task for tonight!” and she agreed. She also went through a checklist with us, making sure we had a carseat, asked if I was interested in getting an epidural, went through why they give IVs, etc. It was kind of crazy! Further evidence of how I love talking to this woman – she asked if I had a lot of cramps with my periods. I was surprised by this question but told her that yes, I had miserable cramps and went on the pill because of them. She then told me that women who had harsh menstrual cramps sometimes don’t even notice early labor because they’re used to worse pain. I thought this was fascinating. I have not noticed contractions at all, except for occasional tightening. I don’t think I’ve really had any real contractions yet, but now I’m wondering if I’ll even really notice when they do start. Of course, I’ll know when they get more intense, but seriously – I didn’t have any clue that I would already be dilated at all!
So now, my list of stuff to do this week has a little more pressure on it (at least in my mind!). I need to pack the hospital bag, rearrange our room so the pack n’ play will fit next to the bed, get the carseat base into the car, order my breastpump tubing, wash baby clothes, and get Christmas presents wrapped! I’m getting really excited (seriously, actually not scared/nervous about the whole giving birth thing at all….just the afterward part.). I told a co-worker and my boss as soon as I got back about everything, so at least if I had to one day call in and say I’m a bit busy doing other things, they wouldn’t be horribly shocked. I'm really hoping that I don't just stay at 3cm for the next month and that this actually means we'll have a baby by Thanksgiving, but who knows. So yeah. I guess that’s it for now. Enough of an update for ya? :) If I’m leaving out some important fact that you want to know, just leave a comment or shoot me an email. Here we go!!!
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