You're so vein

First of all, I'm just massively disappointed today. Had my 38-week checkup yesterday, and there's still no progress. No dilation or anything. I know he's dropped, because each day brings increased pressure and discomfort in my pelvis. It's getting harder and harder to walk. But for each week that he stays put, he gets bigger. Now, I shouldn't be disappointed. While anything after 37 weeks is considered "full term", 40 weeks is the traditional nine month gestation period, and a pregnancy could go as far as 42 weeks. So I really could still have up to 3 1/2 weeks left. But I guess just knowing that his lungs should be ready to go and he'd be just fine out here, makes me really want to have him here. And of course a lot of it is selfish. This has been an easy pregnancy, but these last few weeks I've started to get really uncomfortable. I'm totally huge--I weighed 245 lbs yesterday, which is 20 lbs more than I've ever weighed in my life--and it's really hard to do anything. I can't go up and down the stairs easily, I get tired walking the dog even for just a little while, all I want to do is sit on the couch and not do anything. I don't like feeling this way. So the idea of getting Brendan out and immediately losing at least 10 lbs is extremely appealing. Then there's the aspect of change. I know our life is going to change drastically once he's here, and I hate waiting and anticipating the change. I want to KNOW what these changes are going to be like. I want to get started on this new phase. Waiting for this is worse than waiting for Christmas, because at least no matter how much anticipation there is you know exactly when Christmas is coming.

I haven't had a lot of side effects as far as the pregnancy is concerned. I didn't have hardly any morning sickness, my blood pressure hasn't caused any problems for me, and even as far as my weight gain has gone, it hasn't been in the realm that some women have experienced. I have a little swelling of my hands and feet, but it's easily managed. One of the biggest annoyances I have had to deal with is varicose veins.

Varicose veins are basically swollen veins that are having blood backflow into them. There are a variety of causes for varicose veins, and pregnancy is a very common cause. Because there is so much pressure on the circulatory system, some blood gets forced back down into the lower veins (usually in the legs), causing them to swell. When this backflow happens in smaller, secondary veins that are near the surface, they don't swell as much but they become very obvious, turning blue or red, and they are called spider veins. Then there's a wonderful, special kind of varicose veins. These are veins around the rectum that get swollen because of pressure placed on them. These fabulous little guys are call HEMORRHOIDS. They itch, they bleed, they burn, because unlike the other varicose veins on the body, they are constantly having more pressure put on them every time you use the bathroom and then they are being abraded by wiping. Not cool at all. These are also very common in pregnancy, especially in late pregnancy since the baby is low and putting pressure on the vagina and rectum. Thankfully, for me, these particular varicose veins only started showing up a few weeks ago. But I'm hoping almost all of these different kinds of varicose veins go away soon after I deliver. Which is just another reason I really, really want to have this baby soon.

Of course, if I do go into labor in the next week, I'm not going to have my OB with me. She is currently enjoying her honeymoon in Maui. So I guess there is good reason for me to just hang on, not try any of those "old wives' tales" about self-inducing labor, and just ride it out until my next appointment, which is next Friday. But the temptation is definitely there. We'll see what the next week or so has to offer.