38 weeks: prodromal labor

Our OB estimates that Eloise is probably about 6.5 lbs right now, but we won't know for sure how much she weighs or how big she is until she is born. Her head is about the same circumference as her abdomen now. She's just putting on weight at this point, as she has been.

I just keep getting bigger and bigger as Eloise gets bigger and bigger. It's definitely crowded in there! I can't imagine what it would be like to have twins. I've gained about 35 lbs at this point. It's hard to maneuver around. Even just rolling over in bed is a feat. I'll never take it for granted again.

We've had another exciting week. Tuesday morning in the wee hours I had some contractions but they weren't very close together so I didn't time them. By the afternoon they had faded away. At our prenatal appointment the next day we learned I was dilated to 2 cm. My OB called it prodromal labor. Yet another term I'd never heard before. Apparently it's when you start labor, have uterine contractions that result in cervical dilation and thinning, and then it stops. It usually means that active labor is imminent, however, it can be hours or days or even weeks. Thursday I lost my mucus plug, yet another sign that labor is coming. By the way, don't search that term on Google Images. You'll be sorry. I have experienced prodromal labor two more times since Tuesday, and the last time my contractions were 4 minutes apart for a couple hours before fizzling out. After that time I was a physical and emotional wreck. It's exhausting and mentally defeating. How do you life your life like this? So I decided today to start my maternity leave tomorrow instead of in two weeks. There's no way I could sit with patients while having contractions every few minutes for hours. Especially not knowing if this time it's the real deal or if it'll fizzle out again. So I called HR and got the paperwork going today. It's a relief to know I can just hang out and wait now, and if I have contractions, no big deal whether they continue or fizzle out.

I had my weekly non-stress test and amniotic fluid index measurement today. Eloise is still doing well and there is plenty of amniotic fluid. The nurse said, "Well, you had a few contractions. Did you feel them?" Yes. And I'm not going to get my hopes up anymore! Tomorrow we have a routine prenatal appointment so we'll see if I'm any further dilated, effaced, or engaged. And even if I am, it doesn't predict when Eloise will be born. This has sure been a test of tolerating ambiguity!

I'd like to end this post with a quick shout out to Evan the wonder husband. He has really picked up the slack around here taking over grocery shopping, yard work, heavy lifting, and most everything that requires a lot of physical exertion. Thank goodness for him!