Officially full term and just 3 weeks to go!

Little Desi is supposedly 7.26 lbs and 19.13 in long (approx. the weight of that honeydew)

Who is full term? I AM, I AM!!!! That's right, my favorite little womb renter is officially prepared to enter the world which means that whenever he makes his move, we are all ready for him. In fact, Adam and I are more than ready for him. I spent the weekend finalizing my entire list of "pre-baby" to-dos and getting the house ready so now it is just the waiting for showtime.

Actually, on Friday night I was having consistent Braxton Hicks every ten minutes for about 3 hours so Adam was getting hopeful that maybe my body was starting the eviction process but alas the contractions were not the "real labor" ones but rather the dreaded false labor ones I have heard so much about. They were not painful and they weren't growing in intensity but I am curious to find out how different they feel from actual labor contractions. Oh and these BH contractions have been happening inconsistenly ever since.

During my weekly appointment today, I got some more bad news with a little good thrown in the mix. Before I get into that though, I must say that I have been feeling really good this week! I have had more energy, been more positive, gotten better sleep, and felt pretty darn good physically considering I am 9 months pregnant. So, it was a bit shocking to me that I was hit with two pretty large negatives at my appointment today.

The bad stuff:

1. the doctor was not happy with my blood pressure readings that I have been taking over the last week so they are testing me a little more thoroughly for pre-eclampsia. There is no protein in my urine and I haven't gained any more weight though and those are usually the big signs of pre-e so I am holding on to hope that it might just be pregnancy hypertension. Hypertension is not a good thing, but it is certainly better than pre-e during pregnancy. We will find out how the lab tests go.
2. I also tested positive as a carrier for Group Strep B, which is a bateria that lives in the GI tract. It doesn't have any sort of effect on me personally but it could kill Desi so it will be of the upmost importance to get me to the hospital sooner rather than later when I finally go into labor so they can give me some IV antibiotics.

So, some not so good news for me, Adam and Desmond but nothing that is not manageable. I am going to stay positive and not let this get me down. BUT there was also good news!

The good stuff:

1. I am already 75% effaced, which is great!
2. Desmond has officially "engaged" and is in 0 station. Most women go into labor when their baby is in the 0 or +1 station so he has done what he needs to. This doesn't mean I will go into labor anytime soon, just means I might not have to push as long as women who do not have babies in the proper station. The doctor was actually shocked at how low Desi was already. Apparently, she was not expecting to feel his head like that at 37 weeks.
3. I am approaching 1cm dilated!

Again, none of this means that I will be going into labor anytime soon since some women sit in this postition for weeks, but it is a good sign and means that all of those contractions I have been feeling might actually be doing some good in there!

All of these "good things" also mean that if they DO end up having to induce me early due to pre-e that things may go a little more smoothly for me. Some studies have shown that women who are already effaced with their baby in position require less medical intervention during the induction and/or labor process. I am holding onto that thought...

3 more weeks to go!