34w5d - Weekly NSTs have begun

This morning was my 35 week prenatal visit and it was a long one. The visit started with a NST where you sit in a big comfy recliner, they hook you up to the monitor to track the baby's heartbeat and any contractions, and they give you a clicker to click whenever you feel the baby move. Well, let's just say the first 10-15 minutes of this was a bit nerve-wracking today. I was contracting like crazy and when I'm contracting, Maribel moves like she's a contestant in a dance competition. My thumb was just constantly clicking that clicker. Now her being active is a good thing, but her heartbeat was clocking in the 190's (usually around 145) and would not come back down. So the nurse had me chugging bottles of water and eventually had me scoot onto my side. Finally, my contractions started to spread out a bit and Maribel's heart rate went back down to her normal rate. The rest of the test was uneventful but boy did I have to pee like crazy after chugging nearly 3 bottles of water during that time.

Next stop was into the u/s room to take a peek at her amniotic fluid level. That looked great, so no issues there. Weight was good - stayed right where it was so I'm glad to see I have not gained now in almost 10 weeks. BP, urine, temp, etc were all good as well.

So then I met with Dr D and we talked about some things. One, we'll keep going with the Procardia until next Thursday which will put me at 36 weeks. Two, since I'll be breastfeeding he recommended starting to toughen up my nipples to help avoid cracking and bleeding. Normally some nipple stimulation would be suggested but given my pre-term labor scare from last week he suggested I NOT do that and instead just put really cold water (or even ice) on my nipples for a few minutes, two to three times a day, and then let them air dry. Now typically around this time he would have also rechecked my breasts since they were really fibro-cystic when he checked them at the beginning of the pregnancy. But again, since we don't want manipulating them to put me into pre-term labor, he'll check them on the day of the c-section or a couple of days before.

We talked about when we would schedule the c-section for and basically we have 3 options. Option 1 is we schedule it for 7/7/11 which would put me at exactly 39 weeks. Option 2 is that we schedule it for the end of June (around 38 weeks) but we would need to do an amniocentesis beforehand to make sure her lungs are mature. Option 3 is that I end up going into labor in the meantime and we just deliver whenever that happens. Of the 3, Dr D thinks option 3 is most likely given the events of the past week. Option 2 would be my favorite but I asked DH what he thinks and he wants to go with option 1 and wait until 7/7. Now, I know I should want that too. After all, our whole goal is to keep her in there until she's ready to come out. But I must admit to you all that when he said that I almost started crying. I just think the thought of 30 more days of contracting every single time I stand up or walk made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. Again though, it would be best for our little one and who knows, she may have plans of her own on when she wants to arrive. But for now at least we know that in 30 days or less, we will have our little girl in our arms - WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

So a pretty good appointment overall and it's amazing to think that we're really, really in the home stretch now. My next appointment is in one week where again we'll start the visit with the NST and then see Dr D. And in the meantime, I'll just keep chugging my water and spending lots of time loafing.