Doctor appointment: 38 week fetal and maternal assessment

I should have known that the night before my doctor appointment, both of my ankles (and feet) would be back to their old tricks and balloon up again. I’m blaming them for my four pound weight increase at my appointment yesterday (Tuesday, February 24th). They have been so much better lately, but when I came home on Monday night, both my left and right stumps were swollen almost as badly as they were at my 36 week appointment when my doctor had some concerns. Fortunately those concerns remain in check since my blood pressure continues to look good, so my doctor isn't worried about the weight gain or the swelling right now. Still, he went over symptoms to watch out for in case anything with my blood pressure should happen to change.

Every time a work meeting request for this week had been asked of me, I accepted but continued to think my participation would be unlikely. Then it was next week's meeting requests coming in and I figured there'd be no way I'd still be working by then. However, it's been business as usual at the office (and at home) with no sign of this baby budging. I'm succumbing to the fact that March 5th is going to come around and I may still be working full time trying to fit my fat feet into something presentable for an out of office meeting that day. Even though everyone says people will understand, I'm not setting foot into a client's office in some of the getups that have embraced these feet of mine as of late. And quite frankly, it blows because two hours in decent looking kicks means more swelling and discomfort after the fact. I will admit though, I've begun reasoning with myself that it's all right, even a bit sexy, to sport shirts that inch up to reveal the belly panel in the three pairs of pants in my rotation that are still comfortable enough to get me through a work day. OK, it only happens sometimes and I absolutely lied about even considering it to be in the ballpark of sexy, but wouldn't that be nice? My gosh, the designers who don't get that maternity shirts could use an extra inch or six of fabric length in the last trimester should be paraded on a scaffold and publicly humiliated...forced to wear crop tops and leggings in three sizes too small or something.

Back to the point I was going to make a paragraph ago---if anyone hasn't guessed, my doctor let me know yesterday that I'm still not dilated. He explained that he would look at inducing me anywhere from March 12th, a week after my due date, to March 19th, two weeks after. Waiting until the 19th would undoubtedly require a great amount of patience, even by his admission, but the longer the wait (within reason and if the baby's size isn't an issue), the better the chances of going into labor naturally, ultimately making it a better labor process hopefully. I think we'd have to weigh that decision heavily because our patience meter is running a little low. We're just really excited for the day to come (and I'm ready to bend over again!).

If someone would have told me two months ago that I may not have this baby until the middle of March, I would have been blown away. Convinced for some reason I was going to go into labor well before my due date, still being pregnant by March 19th just seems crazy. Doesn’t he or she know that being half Irish, the “Baby’s 1st St. Patrick’s Day” onesie is washed and waiting? I'm trying not to complain because without question I know things could be worse than going past my due date. Mexican food could be prohibited outside of Mexico. Soft pretzels and tortilla chips could disintegrate when coming into contact with cheese. Chewy cookies everywhere could harden and never melt in my mouth again. I could find out that Minnesota's martini supply runs dry after tonight.

Kid, I love ya and all, and I know bouncing around in my belly, tapping against my lungs and hanging out on my bladder feels real nice, but it’s time to gain some independence and get out on your own. Make your grand entrance. Dr. Chow is on call this weekend and I think he’d really appreciate it if you’d take the opportunity to meet him.

My next appointment is on Monday, March 2nd and as it looks, I’ll be there.