Our current, most recent, up-to-date plan

So I had another check today, and I've made zero progress. None. At all. Also, my usually non-committal doctor said that I am, quoting: "Very, very, very, very, very, very, very unlikely to successfully deliver vaginally."

So, before today there were three potential plans:

1) I go into labor on my own, and see what happens from there
2) I schedule an induction on the due date, and see what happens from there
3) I schedule a c-section on the due date and get this enormous baby out of me

Being as I've made zero progress (none! at all!), we're taking the induction off of the list of plans. They're rarely productive if you haven't progressed at all on your own, and it seems like torture to go through an induction, some labor, and then end up with a c-section anyway.

So, we put a c-section on the books for September 7th, instead of an induction. If I go into labor before then, or I've at least made progress, we'll hold off and see if my body tries to do this on its own. But if Tuesday the 6th comes, and I've made zero progress (at all!), we'll cut this boy out the morning of September 7th. 7:45 am, to be exact. I've reconciled myself to it, and it's nice to have an end date for all of this, so this is pretty good news at this point.

So that's it! We'll see Horatio Huckleberry's little (big?) face in less than a week. Start the anxiety attacks!!

Phew! No baby yet!

I am writing this from home, not the hospital. Appointment with the doc today confirmed: a large, but possibly not huge baby, and some very early, mild pre-eclampsia. I'm pre-pre-eclamptic. So I'm to keep an eye on things, and keep the feet up.

On a great note, due to Horatio's size, they won't let me go past my due date. So I was scheduled for an induction on September 7th with my favorite doctor in the practice. So, by hook or by crook, we'll have a baby on or about the 7th!

I'm actually hoping he holds off until the due date. Things are settling down, construction-wise, at my house. Little sister has returned to her own digs post-surgery, and the house is quiet. I'm looking forward to a week or so of keeping the feet up, some magazines, some friends, and some Judge Judy. It'll be my last time to have such luxury in a long time, and I'm going to enjoy every monment of it.

And my first issue of People Magazine, courtesy of Alison, arrived just in time today. Start the laze-fest!

And some photos, as requested:

If I thought it was the "homestretch" before...

then I'm not sure what to call this! Just got back from the OB, and I have quite the update (finally).

A few visits ago, Dr. Travers (not my usual doc) measured me and proclaimed me "off the charts." For those uninitiated, "measuring me" means measuring my big ole belly, from top to bottom, with a measuring tape. Since I still had so far to go, and it seems like one person says one thing and another says another, I didn't overthink it.

My regular doctor, Dr. Levitt, never mentions my size at all. So I sorta figured there wasn't much worth mentioning, right?

Today I saw Dr. Nwosa (pronounced "Woah-sah"). She measured me, and then looked a little startled. She said I was "huge." This is not a word that a person wants to hear, especially naked from the waist down. She looked at the tape again, and repeated: "huge."

Then she checked my pee, and my swollen swollen feet, and told me that I have the early signs/start of pre-eclampsia (blood pressure problems). Ironically, my blood pressure reading is fine. And the swollen swollen feet (and calves and thighs)? Well their scale says that I gained 9 pounds in 8 days. Have you ever heard of something like that? 9 pounds in 8 days, and I swear to you that 8 of those pounds are in my feet and calves and thighs. You should see them. Wait, you shouldn't. No one should.

So the long and short is that I have to go back in 4 days and get a sonogram to see how big this boy really is, and get my blood pressure checked again. In the meantime, I am to abstain from anything I don't want to do, and stay off the feet as much as I can. Then, on Monday, we'll decide on a course of action. From what she said, this course of action could include everything from "wait and see" to scheduling a c-section. So maybe there'll be a baby soon!

Tonight is ordering Stewart around while I keep my feet elevated, and trying to get as much done as possible in the next few days. Unfortunately we have painters coming early next week to finish up the big construction project, but other than that we're in really good shape. And with my incredible parents, sister, and friends around insisting that they help out, there really isn't anything that can't get done. Focus on the goal, right? The goal is not an orderly house, but a healthy baby here in the house with us. Looks like we'll be there a little sooner than we thought!

So if I disappear and no one can reach me, try me at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring! I just might be there. Wait: we just might be there. Wow.