Pregnancy Update: 41 Weeks + Getting Labor Going

Hi, everyone!  Hope y'all had a great Easter weekend!  Ours was spent with a lot of relaxing and waiting for Baby Fish, with a good church service thrown in there.  Our landlord/next-door neighbor invited us to her church, so we joined her and her boyfriend on Easter Sunday.

It was a good service with some great music!

Another exciting thing today: my "maternity leave" has officially begun!  I scheduled my doctor's appointment for this morning and just decided that I'd not go back to work after Friday.  And yes, I am still pregnant.  So, let's just jump right in to the pregnancy update, as there is some news to share!!

Pregnancy Update: 41 Weeks

How far along? 41 weeks (and 1 day)

Baby Bump progress: last baby bump picture!  Sorry it's blurry...

Baby's Size? a jackfruit.  Anywhere from 7-9 pounds and 20-21 inches long.  And by the way, this is a jackfruit:

Kristie and Joe found one in the grocery store last week and shared a photo with me :)

What's happening this week?  

• Baby is still plumping up and hair and nails continue to grow!

Total weight gain/loss: 40 pounds total since my first doctor's visit. 

Stretch marks?: nothing new!  I learned this week, too, that the "stretch mark" on my stomach was actually just the line between my abdominal muscles being visible since my skin is stretching!

Sleep: Overall pretty good.  Just a trip or two to the bathroom each night and having to fight with Tequila to get my spot in the bed back!  

Best moment this week: FINALLY knowing when Baby Fish will come!  At my appointment this morning, the doctor talked about induction options and if we wanted to schedule one.  I am just SO READY to not be pregnant anymore, so we were able to schedule it for TONIGHT at 10pm!  I'll go in tonight and have a "pill" inserted that will help ripen the cervix (my cervix was effaced but only 0.5 cm dilated today).  Tomorrow morning around breakfast time, they will check dilation and then start the pitocin (induction medication) from there.  I really wanted to do things more naturally, but since things just aren't happening and Joe and I are going crazy just waiting, I think it's time we just get things going!  Hooray!

Miss anything?: Same stuff as last week: having lots of clothing options, having normal-sized feet, alcohol, sleeping comfortably, plus running and being able to sit however I want without the fear of swollen feet!

Movement: Yup, lots of it!  Still head down, though, so it's ready to make its way into the world!

Food cravings: haven't really had any this week!  I will say that I have DEFINITELY taken advantage of the "eating for two" thing, and I'm looking forward to not having that as an excuse anymore!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!

Gender: We'll find out when Baby Fish is born :)  So, so soon!

Labor Signs: Well, I thought my water broke on Friday, but that was a false alarm.  I also had some contractions that would follow a pattern for 3-4 cycles then stop.  Nothing other than that!

Symptoms:

• Swollen feet/ankles (and some finger swelling)
• Feeling uncomfortable
• Getting really anxious/nervous/excited/impatient about the arrival fo the baby!

Belly Button in or out? still in just a little bit

Wedding rings on or off? Off :( I miss wearing my rings and can't wait to wear them!

Happy or Moody?: mostly happy, but I have been feeling a little blah since the baby didn't seem to want to come out any time soon.  Now that we have an induction scheduled, though, I'm very very happy!

Funny moments this week:  The funniest thing was probably when the doctor checked my cervix on Thursday. He made a comment about how the baby was definitely sitting low, but when he checked dilation, his exact words were "Yeah...nothing's happening."  Joe and I were a little disappointed at the time, but after a while, we thought it was pretty funny that he responded that way!  This doctor has such a dry sense of humor--I love it!

Looking forward to: MEETING BABY FISH THIS WEEK AND NOT BEING PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!  Can you tell I'm excited?!

Exercise this week: Starting on Wednesday, I took a walk every single day (and even two on Saturday!).  Surprisingly, my feet and ankles haven't been as swollen, and I think I can attribute it to all the walking!  If only I had the energy to do that every day over the last month...maybe I wouldn't have been as miserable!

Baby Fish Feature: Getting Labor Going

Over the last week, I've been trying some of the old wives' tales that help get labor going.  While none of them worked (obviously), I thought I'd share some of the things I've done!  Maybe they'll work for some of you :)

Spicy Foods

I actually ate spicy chicken wings for dinner on Thursday night!  I NEVER eat wings when Joe goes out to eat them, but this time, I was willing to try it.  They were actually pretty good, but as I said, didn't start labor!

Walking

One of the reasons I walked so much since Wednesday is because it supposedly helps bring on labor!  Again, no luck, but I know both Tequila and I really enjoyed the exercise and the time outside!

Eggplant Parmesan

For dinner Friday, I attempted to eat eggplant parmesan!  It apparently is a dish that many women have eaten then gone in to labor.  Unfortunately, Carrabba's didn't have it on their menu, but the waitress got a good laugh out of it when I told her what I was trying to do.

Pineapple

Apparently, pineapple also helps start labor!  I ate a pizza with pineapple on it for lunch on Friday, and then at dinner on Friday I drank pineapple juice.  Good thing I like pineapple!

Again, none of these things worked for me, but I do know others that had success with these old wives' tales!  

Question for you: What are some things you've heard of that help get labor started?

Well, since I'm going in to the hospital tonight, I'm not sure when I'll be back on the blog!  I may have some time to get some scheduled posts up, but I also have things to do around the house before heading to the hospital tonight.  Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter, as I am much more likely to update those with baby news!

Wish us luck!!