Off to the hospital!

See ya! The Dings are off to the hospital. Non stress test went fine today, but the ultrasound noted low amniotic fluid around the little lady. I am 4 cm, so we will see what happens. They are going to use a little bit of pit to start contractions and the midwife is hopeful that they can take it off at some point and then contract on my own. We will see! Next post, look out for pics of Ms. Violet! :)

Needles Where?!

So. I had been calling this acupuncturist for a week. Jasmine saw her when she was overdue and delivered 2 days later. This lady did not call me back after three tries, so Miss Jasmine was super-awesome and called around trying to find me someone else. Well, she found me at least 3 other acupuncturists who work with overdue mommas and I got in with one this afternoon. It's a massage/reflexology/acupuncture place not too far away. I had no idea what I was getting into, but thought that it really couldn't hurt anything to try.

Carole took me into this massage-y room and had me take my socks off. Then, she made this pillow throne for me to sit on and I have to say, it's the most comfortable I have been in a long time. Dim lights? check. Soundtrack of the ocean? check. Bring on the needles:

Two went into each of my wrists, two into each ankle, one on the top of each foot and one on the bottom of each foot. The only ones that hurt were the ones on the bottom. She had me cough when she put in those needles, and it helped to distract me. To an extent. I kept thinking about there being needles in the bottom of my feet. Then, she walked around the table and tweaked each needle, including the ones on me feet and I have to say that it didn't feel too great. But then the lights went off, and it was just me and the ocean sounds for about a half hour or so.

I fell asleep but woke up with a start because I have been snoring lately and was afraid that I would sound like a COPD patient on the baby monitor. Yep, a baby monitor. That's how she could listen in case I needed her for whatever reason. Then she came in and tweaked the needles again. I laid there for a little bit, wondering what in the world I was supposed to do in case there was a fire, what with the needles in my feet and all. During the time that I was awake, I did notice that Lady Violet was very active and I did notice a lot more cramping. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Later, I woke up to my cell phone going off. Then, Carole came back in. "You had a nice little nap, huh?" So, I must've snored.

Overall, it was a very relaxing experience if napping with needles in pressure points is your idea of zen. Will it work? I don't know. I'm glad I tried it, though. That way, if I do still end up being induced at some point in the next 9 days, I know that I've tried just about everything I could do on my own to help get things going.

Back in my car, I listened to the message on my phone. It was the first acupuncturist. I deleted the message as soon as she said her name. Take that, super busy acupuncturist.

41 Wk Appt or "Boy, this isn't as fun as it was"

41 Week Appointment was yesterday: nothing to report. At all. My new estimated due date is "anytime between right now and next Friday, when we will have to induce you." I have to go back for a non-stress test and an ultrasound this Friday to see how Ms. Lady is doing and how much amniotic fluid she still has. I am sure that if anything wanky shows up, the doc will want to induce me then. The doula thinks that I will probably last the entire 42 weeks, up til induction. It's a bummer. I'd really like to have a natural birth, but I know the chances go down after induction. People can say, "Oh, you don't have to be induced," but if someone even hints at Violet being in danger then, "Yes, I do." But, we will play it by ear, and hopefully she will arrive on her own before any interventions are needed.

In the meantime, my loose-ligament gait has really screwed up my back and I spend my time at home creatively coming up with ways to still function as an independent adult without having to leave my knitting chair, and my time at work is spent acting like my back is a non-issue. Since I can't really take anything for pain, it's amazing how I am convinced how great Extra Strength Tylenol really is. Paired with IcyHot, it's like some little mini anti-inflammatory mentholated Evangelical has laid it's little hands on my back and worked it's "Praise the Lawd!" magic. For 30 minutes at a time. Of course, I have been guilted into giving the duo a ton of money. I woke up this morning to a brand-new gilded mega amphitheater in our backyard with a throng of limping post-due preggos waiting to get in. I get first dibs, naturally. On my way to my morning "treatment" today, I tried to overlook the also-brand-new mini-Mercedes parked behind the gold amphitheater, but it's just not sitting right with me.

Due Date. With Photos.

Today started with so much promise. It's Due Date! That's what my calendar says and I. Love. My calendar. I got up early, went to the grocery and ran various errands knowing that at some point today my time would be spent in the hospital delivering Miss Lady Baby.

Well.

Due Date drove by our house in its fancy SUV and gave me the finger. I chased it down for a bit, hospital bag in tow, but it cackled and kept on going on its way to pick up some other lady. I'm sure she wasn't even due til next week and probably didn't even have her car seat ready or her bag packed yet, but hey. Due Date is an asshole and likes to mess with pregnant ladies and their schedules.

One month pregnant/today @ 40 weeks pregnant.


We took a walk today and the sky looked pretty interesting.

This is a pic of a divot in the sidewalk. I thought it looked like Einstein, sans hair.


This is a bird's nest that has fallen from our pine. I'm pretty sure that's our dryer lint.


Wexley napping in my gym bag.

A Sweater for Violet.

So, I will have completed 40 full weeks of being fully-pregnant tomorrow. Tomorrow, Miss Lady is due. Apparently, Little Lady Baby does not want to be early and will be a "little bit on time to kinda late" with this whole birth thing. I can't really blame her. That's pretty much how I roll with most things.

I started knitting her a sweater. It's out of recycled polyester/acrylic yarn. I bought it thinking about how good of a eco-bargain hunter I was because the yarn feels great AND it's super-washable so if it gets a few splashes of spit-up from time to time, it's not the end of the world or sweater. It's a dusty purple and it's way too sophisticated of a sweater for a newborn, but it makes me chuckle. It has a fancy little shawl neck. So. I'm knitting it and the yarn gives off a squeak. I forgot that was a charming little detail about acrylic: it squeaks and won't give too much. One good thing about that is that you don't have to block it into shape. One bad thing is that you can't block it. Then again, it's a baby sweater that she will probably grow out of in about 3 hours. Once she's a stable size (read: college), I'll knit her a sweater that can be blocked into shape. One little part of me feels like a jerk for not knitting it for her in wool, but that little part gets squished every time I think about the awfully bad things that happen to woolen sweaters that end up in the dryer.

I just looked over at my gym bag, and Wexley has made a little nest. I guess that is kind of akin to leaving something to sit long enough that it gets covered in cob webs.

Dogs Need Snuggies, Too.

Mom and Dad bought Wexley a Snuggie for Dogs. He's looking forward to doing all the things he couldn't do while encumbered by regular ol' blankets. Specifically, he's excited about wearing a blanket wherever he goes, be it to bed, to the couch, to a particularly warm pile of laundry, or during an action-packed round of barking. Options are limitless for a Snuggie Doggie. But none of those options are cold, of course.

PS: Still pregnant.

Walkin' Her Out.

I just got back from the gym. I spent some time on the treadmill trying to convince Miss Violet that today would be just as good as any to get the ball rollin'. So far, she doesn't agree. I'm getting the feeling that she doesn't really like fall and wants to wait it out til spring.

I was in the Cardio Cinema and it was so freaking dark I couldn't read anything on the treadmills. The first treadmill was not working (believe me, I know the buttons by heart). The 2nd one would not accelerate. The 3rd one worked. So I spent 30 minutes on it trying to ignore the ache in my back and to will Miss Violet to make the 27th her birthday. When I got off, my iPod (brought it just in case the movie stunk--it did, but I didn't feel like messing with the iPod, afterall) did not want to leave the treadmill. It sat, happily, on the little phone rest.

Know why? Because some moron spit his/her gum out and stuck it there, and my iPod found its way on top of it. Why spit the gum out? For later? Are you such a lazy ass that you can't walk over to the trash and spit your gum out? Yes? So, because you are a lazy ass moron, I have to clean my iPod off with hand sanitizer. Thanks, lame-o. Not only am I agitated because I am still pregnant, I have a contaminated bit of electronica to deal with.

Oh, well. I'm taking a nap.