37 Weeks

I'll just post some 37 week belly photos randomly throughout this post since it is so wordy!


So...I had 2 more physical therapy appointments this past week and then my 37 Week appointment on Friday with Dr. Shelton.  My PT has concluded that the baby is laying on my sciatic nerve.  This is due to the fact that my SI joint is staying in place now and really wasn't off all that much in the first place AND since my pain has not decreased.  Plus, other questions I have answered for her about where the pain is and when I feel it most all seems to be indicators that my sciatic nerve is being irritated.  She didn't want this to be the reason for my pain because there is very little we can do to alleviate it until I actually give birth to the baby!  She has given me a few exercises to strengthen my core muscles as well as to try and encourage the baby to move a little bit as well.  However, she said at this stage of the game it is unlikely for the baby to move since it is so big now and has very little room to move in there! 


In part this is discouraging, and in part it is encouraging.  Although it has not been enjoyable to have to deal with the continued pain it IS nice to know that in just 3 weeks or less, I should have relief!

It has been more tolerable some days over others.  On days that I have to be up more often or have appointments, I am hurting a lot by the end of the night because gravity has just been putting additional pressure on the nerve all day.  These days are bad and end in tears as getting comfortable enough to sleep is pretty difficult.  My best position for comfort seems to be sitting with excellent posture.  So I have been able to manage the pain better as I have learned what is irritating and what is least irritating.  Walking is very irritating and painful (and embarrassing because I can't do so normally!)


My hospital pre-admission was on Tuesday of this past week as well.  The nurse actually pulled up the notes from Nathan's delivery two years ago for me!  We were talking about how quickly my labor went for the first time as well as them not having adequate nursing staff when I arrived and major confusion with the anesthesiologist (the were calling the wrong one, one left the hospital without giving me an epidural, and so when they tried to get a hold of the on-call one his phone was dead)!  It all worked out fine in the end, but since I have a chance of moving faster with my second baby than the first, I just wanted to know what to expect this time around and how I soon I should go to the hospital.  I am again Group B Strep (GBS) positive meaning they like to get antibiotics in me 4 hours prior to giving birth.  It only happened 2 hours before giving birth to Nathan so it's unlikely they again will have enough time to  for 4 hours, but I want to be sure to make it to the hospital in time to at least get that first dose.  The pre-admission nurse, Kay, was so great at telling me the order that things happen, what to expect, and she told me to get there as soon as I couldn't talk through my contractions because she did think I will move quite quickly based on my last delivery.  It was so nice to have the details of Nathan's labor and delivery read to me because I feel like over time my memory is hazy, not to mention I was not paying attention to the clock through it!


I'm going to record what I know now right here, not to bore you all, but so I have a record that has to be fairly accurate since it is from the nurses' minute by minute notes!

So based on what she considers "labor" it seems I was probably in labor for about 6.5 hours total.
Hospital arrival: 6pm or a little after
Admitted: 7:05pm, 5cm dilated (took awhile because they had to call in a nurse since they were short and didn't think I was probably very far along since it was my first)
I didn't write down the times on these things, but they then gave me my GBS antibiotic, broke my water, tried to get a hold of the anesthesiologist, etc.
The notes said that the anesthesiologist made it in my room some time after 8pm to give me the epidural...so it was actually in me longer than I thought it was before I started pushing. Probably for almost an hour. I was surprised at how much pain and pressure I still felt after receiving it. 
I remember Dr. Lerch (the on-call OB) coming in and me telling her and the nurse it still was really painful.  She checked me at 9:21pm (according to the notes) and I was at 10cm as she suspected.  She asked for a little push and said I was now "-3" and that we were going to have that baby in just a few pushes!  I remember asking her, "Are you serious?"
She said, "Honey, I don't put my coat and gloves on unless I'm serious because they make me hot!"
At 9:23pm I started pushing and 22 minutes later, at 9:45pm, sweet little Nathan joined us!

I should have asked the nurse if I was allowed to have a copy of the notes for my own record since I didn't write everything down, but that's what I have for now!

So on Friday of this week I went in for my 37 week appointment with Dr. Shelton.  I told him that the PT that he referred me to thought that the baby was on my sciatic nerve so my pain had not improved.  He did mention that we could induce at 39 weeks if I wanted to so I didn't have to continue to be in pain for as long.  He said I didn't have to make that decision yet though.  Right now,  I'm inclined to wait it out.  But I may change my mind as we get closer, we'll just have to see!


He checked me and I was 2cm dilated.  At 37 weeks (plus a few days) with Nathan I was 1cm.  At 38 weeks I was 2cm.  At 39 weeks and 2 days I was at 3cm and then I had Nathan 7 hours later.  But, they say dilation is not really an indicator of much of anything so it is what it is.

Dr. Shelton also said the baby is head down, in the correct position, fairly low, and probably is about 7 pounds at this point.  Again, just information.  Although, if this baby is 7 pounds already, he is probably going to be larger than Nathan when born!  I was afraid of that!

So there's your lengthy update at 37 Weeks!