39 week belly photo, taken in the bathroom
at my parents' house. Note the heinous 1980s
style floral wallpaper and tiled backsplash.
November 25, 2017.
I am so far beyond uncomfortable that it really isn't even in the same realm.
On November 20th, I had my 38-week OB appointment. The doctor and I discussed scheduling an elective induction for 39 weeks. I was all for that, given that I was already dilated to 2 centimeters and baby was low the previous week at my 37-week appointment. The doctor told me that scheduling an elective induction would be contingent on something called my "Bishop Score" (obviously named after someone with the last name Bishop). There are several things that factor into the Bishop Score, things like dilation, position of cervix, effacement (thinning) of cervix, baby's head in relation to cervix, etc. In order to even qualify for an elective induction, my Bishop Score had to be a 6.
After checking my cervix, he did the calculation and my Bishop Score was only a 3... the previous week it would have been closer to a 6! I was SO frustrated.
This past Monday, the 27th, I had my 39-week appointment. I had done a bunch of walking all week hoping to get baby down lower and get my cervix dilating more. The doctor checked me and I was dilated to 3 centimeters, but baby and cervix were both still high up. My Bishop Score was a 4. Closer, but not close enough.
I asked the doctor to do what's called a membrane sweep. (Due to the semi-graphic nature of this topic, I'll not go into detail on what a membrane sweep entails. If you want to know about it, click HERE to learn about membrane sweeps from BabyCentre UK.) I was worried it would be really painful, as I've heard some stories about it. It turned out not to be too bad. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't excruciating either. More like highly uncomfortable. Anyway, the doctor told me to expect some cramping and contractions, but that membrane sweeps only have about a 30% success rate, so I didn't get my hopes up.
Well, now it's 8:40pm the next day, and I think it's pretty safe to say that the membrane sweep didn't work. It's supposed to increase the chance of labor starting within 48 hours, so I guess I still have another 12 hours to go into labor, but I'm seeing NO signs. I had cramping and some bleeding (all normal and expected) yesterday but haven't had any contractions. I've had my normal Braxton Hicks contractions that I've been having since, like, 18-20 weeks, and they are a bit more intense than before, but not painful.
My next appointment is Monday, December 4th. I'm still really hoping I don't make it that long. I'm measuring between 41 and 42 weeks.. how is that even possible?? How much farther can I even go?
It's weird to be hoping for painful contractions. Every time I get a Braxton Hicks I start hoping for pain. Waiting to go into labor is kind of like waiting to be punched but you don't know where, how hard, or when it's going to happen. The unknown is the hardest part.
