Still waiting

My doctor’s appointment yesterday went pretty well. I didn't gain any weight from the week before, which I felt was a great accomplishment, lol. But more importantly, my blood pressure is still good and the baby's heart beat is still good.

I had an internal exam and this time, it was NOT fun! The doctor had trouble finding my cervix and it seemed like the whole process took much longer than the first internal exam I had. But, the good news is that I am almost 2 centimeters dilated and I'm slightly thinned out. Even though it isn't much, it is still something. Any progress is good progress in my book.

My doctor also stripped my membranes. She did not tell me she was going to do this ahead of time and she certainly did not ask me if I wanted it done. Just as she was starting to do it, she told me that she was doing it. It was a bit painful, but in the long run I guess I'm glad she did it.

I'm sure most of you are wondering what in the world is stripping membranes. I have a good idea of what it is, but here is an official definition for those that are clueless: Stripping membranes is essentially just an aggressive pelvic exam in which the doctor will feel around just inside your cervix where the membranes ("bag of water") are attached to its rim. By running an examining finger around the inside of your cervix, the doctor can separate the amniotic sac from where it's stuck there. Theoretically, this will allow the bridging molecules that stick the membranes to the inside rim of the cervix to break--all at a molecular level, mind you--and so be released and then converted into prostaglandins, which are powerful stimulants of labor.

Although stripping the membranes can sometimes help labor along, it doesn't always do that. So, it might not actually affect when Christina gets here. I'm fine waiting another couple of weeks, but the downside to going over my due date is that my doctor says she will induce me at one week overdue. That means that she will give me drugs to make me go into labor. Inducing labor always brings on stronger and more painful contractions, so I want to avoid that at all costs. I am crossing my fingers that my little girl comes on her own, before my doctor gets her hands on me.

On another note, since I got home last night, all hell has broken loose in my house. I was bleeding from the exam (my doctor warned me this might happen) and I had cramps almost all night which kept me from sleeping. Besides from that, Nik mysteriously got extremely sick. From about 8pm on, he just kept feeling worse and worse. Then, by the time morning came, I was feeling sick too! Luckily, now I'm feeling better and I have realized that I was only feeling sick from being up all night and feeling crampy. But, Nik was in such bad shape this morning that I had to take him to the doctors.

We got back a little while ago. He basically has the flu, and he also has strep throat. That really sucks because he is suffering, and I'm not exactly in the best position to take care of him. Plus, I really really don't want to get sick and he is contagious. Oh yeah, and if I do happen to go into labor, we are in big trouble because he would not be allowed to be around the baby. That means he wouldn't be able to be there for me during delivery, and he wouldn't get to hold his daughter when she is born.

Thank goodness I am pretty confident that he will be better in plenty of time for my labor to start, but still, it is on my mind. The doctor gave him antibiotics and I just hope that they work fast. Dealing with a sick husband when you aren't feeling your best is not easy.