39 Weeks!

Alright,
So I have officially made it to 39 weeks pregnant! My husband arrived home on Friday afternoon, and the intended parents arrived on Monday! I am so glad that everyone involved for the big day has arrived. The French Baguette and I had an agreement that she needed to wait until her parents got here, and then she was free to come whenever she would like!

Apparently she is a little too comfortable in here. I had my 39 week checkup yesterday and I was checked again. I am still only 1 cm dilated and 60 percent effaced. I'm actually really not surprised because with my two previous pregnancies, I was barely dilated before I went into labor. I do the majority of my dilating while in labor. Lucky me! :) The doctor wanted to induce me today, but I told her that I would like to wait another week and see what might happen. She told me at my 38 week appointment that a lot can happen between 39 and 40 weeks, so I'm hoping that this is the case and she decides to come on her own before that! I need those of you that have been praying along with me throughout this journey to pray that she comes before next Wednesday night. Right now, the current plan if she doesn't come on her own before then is to get checked into the hospital on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm to do the overnight vaginal suppository Cervidil. The drug is supposed to ripen my cervix, just as an added prep for labor since they will start the actual induction process the next morning, Thursday at 6 am. A nurse told me that especially since this is my third birth, that a lot of times, the Cervidil will stimulate the contractions to start on their own and I won't need to have Pitocin the next morning to start labor! I'm really hoping that if she doesn't come on her own before that, that this will be the case for me!

I had the doctor strip my membranes yesterday at the appointment, and while it was very painful, nothing has really come of it. I still have the strong and long Braxton Hicks, but nothing near what the contractions will be. I am trying to be patient. I am really hoping that I don't have to be induced and that she comes on her own as the intended parents are very anxious to meet her! I am also very anxious to not be pregnant anymore! The last few weeks have been very hard on me, physically mostly as I haven't been able to sleep very well with the worst carpal tunnel I have ever had and also the worst heartburn. I can medicate the heartburn which helps for the most part, but the carpal tunnel is something I have yet to find a solution for. I go to sleep just fine, but then wake up a few hours later in crazy pain in my arms and hands with swelling, and can't seem to find a comfortable position or get the pain to go away enough to go back to sleep. Turns out, even though you're not bringing a baby home at the end of the pregnancy as a gestational surrogate, your body still thinks you are and still tries to prepare you for the lack of sleep and frequent interruptions of it. On a positive not, I have got one more week left at the most, and hoping that she comes sooner than that, I am trying to tell myself that this is almost over and the awesome part is about to begin for the intended parents!

I will be back with an update after my appointment next wednesday morning if I don't deliver before then, and will of course update after delivery, whichever comes first!!! Pray people, pray!!! :)

Sarah