38 Weeks

I have been so behind on posting. I will be 38 weeks on Thursday, then just 2 more weeks (hopefully) until we meet him. We still do not have any names picked out. At this point I told my husband to pick 3 and I will pick 3 and we will decide when we meet him.
The weight gain has leveled off a lot! I have not gained any weight in 2 weeks. I have gained a total of 33lbs so far, I think I will hit the 35lbs mark before baby comes. Still on the higher end I know. My belly button is still in and I think it will stay that way. My hands and feet only get really swollen when I go for walks. My belly still looks crazy big, almost everyone I see/meet (yes strangers) tell me I am not going to make it to 40 weeks. Well, we shall see.
I was 1cm dilated & 50 effaced last Wednesday at my Dr. appointment. I know that doesn't mean much to a lot of people. I was so excited to hear that news because I have been so afraid my cervix wouldn't do anything because I have a lot of scar tissue on it. I hope it keeps progressing on it's own. My Dr. is aware of the scar tissue and she said she could break through it if my cervix gets stuck but she thinks I should be OK. I have read many horror stories about women who have had the leep procedure (what I had done) and their dr.'s suggesting a C-section because the cervix doesn't dilate. My dr. did say it may take me a while to progress in the beginning. My goal is to have a healthy baby and a vaginal childbirth.
I started packing the hospital bags this past weekend. The baby room is finally painted and we are ready to finally furnish it. I am not too worried about even getting a crib yet because he will be sleeping in our room for a couple months. We do have a car seat, clothes, diapers, pack n' play, bouncer and a few other items purchased so we will be fine if he decides to come early. I am still working and plan on working up until the big day. I have a lot of work to do until then so he is not allowed to come until after August 8th.

Only 6 To Go

We experienced out first trip to L & D last Thursday afternoon at 33 weeks. I had not been feeling well for about a day and half. I couldn't eat, I was feeling nauseous and I was having very bad back pain. I just thought it was the AZ heat (113 that day) and the fact that I am having a large baby. Thursday morning my back pain got so bad I took Tylenol and it didn't help at all. The sharp pain would come and go and last for a few minutes. I left work early because I couldn't take it anymore. I called my OB and she had me go to the hospital. They hooked me up and I was having contractions. They monitored me for 3 hours and gave me a shot to stop the contractions. They also did the NP test. I haven't heard the results yet assuming I will at my next appointment. The contractions were nothing to be concerned about, my cervix is still closed. Thanks goodness, I can't wait to meet him but I really rather have him stay in there until August.
Since last week I still have been having pretty bad back pain. Not the shooting pain, just steady back pain. I try to regulate it with a heating pad, Tylenol and getting in the pool.  I even bring a pillow to sit with at work. Braxton Hicks are also in full force, they get so strong that I have to lay down. We only have 6 more weeks to go. I have definitely started to count the weeks, I have loved being pregnant until this back pain kicked in. Now, I don't know how I am going to make it another 6 weeks. I keep reminding myself how grateful I am to feel this pain, if this is what it takes then this is what it takes. For the next FET I going to make sure I am not 9 months pregnant in the middle of this AZ summer.