Okay maybe not. But it happened to me yesterday!
I was very apprehensive about asking for any cervical checks with this pregnancy, as I am well aware that they are really not any indication of when labor will begin, and I remember how I would literally cry each time I was checked when I was pregnant with Ryan and the doctors would continue to say "not dilated at all," "no progress," "it's time to talk about induction"...etc. This time around, however, I have actually had many BH contractions and some other signs of dilation, so I figured I might as well bite the bullet and get checked at least once. Once the exam began, and I felt the pain, I began to regret that decision - until my midwife exclaimed, "four and a half!...and 90 percent effaced!" Then I seriously almost cried - out of happiness. Yes, I know it is very possible to remain dilated that far for a while and that labor may still be a few weeks away. But for a woman who's previous pregnancy made it all the way to 42 weeks without even one centimeter of dilation, it does make a world of difference to know that I am already 50% of the way there three weeks before my due date. It makes me feel like my body is actually doing something right this time. It makes me feel like I can actually do this on my own, without being induced. It makes me feel pretty confident that I will not have to suffer past my due date like I did six years ago. And that is music to my ears. I feel like I should congratulate my cervix for actually helping me out this time...but if I did I'm sure I would get some strange looks...so I won't.
My midwife said that at this point I could go into labor at any time, and that walking or sex could likely get me there pretty quickly, so of course Pete and I are very ready to spend some time making laps at the mall and getting busy at night...except for the wonderful fact that our little Ryan came down with the flu on Sunday night. I spent last week trying to keep him from getting whooping cough (which is now officially an epidemic at our county schools), then I spent the weekend thinking he was coming down with pink eye (luckily it went away), so I was a little thrown off when the flu hit at 12:30 in the morning. As of this morning he is still running a fever, has no appetite, and it's like fighting a war to get fluids down him. So unfortunately the home labor-induction plans are being put on hold until we get the little guy over the plague. Hopefully the baby will wait just a little while longer, as it would make me feel awful to have to send him to someone else's house when he is sick and just wants his mommy. It has already been hard enough because I wish I could just hold him and snuggle with him like he wants me to, but neither Pete nor I can take any chances with getting the flu ourselves considering the baby could come at any time, so we have had to keep our distance as much as possible.
In the meantime, I have been nesting like a mad-woman, and now with the flu in the house, it has gotten even worse. I cannot even count the number of times I disinfected the counters, facets, stair rails, remotes, phones or door handles yesterday. In the past week I have scrubbed the kitchen floor with bleach, scrubbed and disinfected walls and doors, wiped floor boards, reorganized cabinets and closets, rearranged furniture, redecorated the kitchen, washed all of Ryan's bedding twice (that was before the flu...so a third wash will be coming up), reorganized and cleaned the pantry, cooked three freezer meals for post-baby, reorganized Ryan's toy bins, and scheduled a carpet cleaning for the living room, dining room and staircase. Additionally, my awesome husband has indulged my madness by helping scrub floors and kitchen cabinet doors, cleaning the freezer, frig and microwave (the oven is on his list for today), and he even spent three hours last week repainting random areas throughout the house that needed to be touched up. Yeah, he rocks. The carpet cleaning guys are coming today, so hopefully after that gets done and Pete finishes the oven, I might actually feel like the house is clean enough for little Bean to make her arrival...let's just hope she comes soon enough that it doesn't all get dirty again and I have to start all over. Ugh.
I will wrap up with a 37-Week photo...even though I look awful and exhausted and am wearing pajamas (I'm telling myself that all moms look this way at 37 weeks pregnant while taking care of a sick child...they do, right??). It might be the last picture I get in before labor, so I figured it was worth the yuckiness. I just hope the next photo I post on here is of my sweet baby girl and her *healthy* big brother. :)
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