Waiting game

Late Sunday night I had some contractions, but they eventually stopped early Monday morning. They never became too painful and the frequency was inconsistent with my previous labor experiences.

Monday afternoon I wanted to go for a walk, so Jase took me on a tour of the neighborhood. He rode his bike and I followed behind him on foot. He and Shawn have explored more of the neighborhood than I have for sure. It was a sweet time with him. He would ride up ahead of me just a ways and then stop and wait on me. He did not want to leave me too far behind if something were to happen to me. We were gone for about 40 minutes and he took me on quite the trek!

When we arrived back at the house, Nanny was there. She flew up so she could be here for our new arrival and help with the kiddos at home while I was in the hospital.

A friendly game of battleship!

I went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon. Not a lot of change since Friday. Blood pressure was good, heartbeat was in the 130's. I was dilated to a 3 and still 50% effaced. The doctor stripped my membranes, which separates the bag of water from the side of the uterus. I read that hormones are released when the water bag is separated from the uterus and that may soften the uterus and may start contractions and help the cervix to open.

I am trying nearly every home remedy I can to naturally jump start labor. The weather was pretty dreary on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Shawn and I were able to go for a couple of walks Wednesday evening and I could feel cramps from the walk, but no contractions.

This morning Jase and I went for a walk/bike ride early this morning. It was chilly outside, 48 degrees to be exact. Again, some cramping, but that's about it. It was a special time for Jase and I this morning. He again waited on me and did not want to get too far away from me. Sweet boy. On the second lap he put his bike up and we walked together, hand in hand. We talked about whatever he wanted to: Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney World, the Wii. I was all ears. 

This afternoon I had another appointment. Blood pressure was 104/70. Baby's heart rate was in the 160's, which was higher than normal. I asked the doctor about it, but he said that it changes so much and it was perfectly normal. I was still 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. He stripped the membranes again and we are in a waiting game. I was put on a list this past Tuesday for an induction, if necessary. He said probably the induction would either be this coming up Monday or Tuesday, just depending upon the flow of patients. He said if he could take me to the hospital right now and give me a room to be induced, he would, but there are currently no open rooms for induction. Of course, if I were to go into labor on my own there are plenty of rooms available for that. Come on baby!! While he understands that I am ready, I am still in a good window of time when compared to my due date. He said that some practices in California will not even talk about inducing labor until you're 42 weeks!! Crazy town right there! It wouldn't be any different if I were in Houston at my old doctor. He set up an induction for me to deliver Ally at 41 weeks, but I ended up going into labor on my own that very morning.

Here are the kiddos in the car with their new seating assignment. Ally moved over behind the driver and Finn and Jase both got moved to the back seat. We entertained the idea of leaving Finn in the front and moving the two bigger kids to the back, but Mr. Finn can be a little aggressive at times, and we really didn't want to see how that would play out. Plus, Ally will be a good little helper. Hopefully Miss Maebry will be in her car seat soon enough!