Well, on Friday we had our 37 week appointment and no baby yet. Ho hum. I guess I am feeling tired today of being pregnant and I just want him out-- I want to meet him and count his toes and see if he really does have as much hair as I am imagining. I have been really feeling good up until now, other than the typical pregnancy symptoms of swollen feet, sore back, heartburn and fatigue.

Today I have begun to really feel the impatience and the stress of simply not knowing when he will be arriving. Do I buy extra groceries in anticipation of Noah arriving soon and needing to feed me, Jim and my parents? Do I really clean out the hall closet the way I want to to fit the stroller in it and risk going into labor while everything is halfway done and strewn across the floors? Is this sudden emotional shift an indication of impending labor? (Probably not-- more likely just one of those pregnant things.)

At my appointment everything was fine. My blood pressure is still good, and Noah's heart rate seemed fine and we only heard about 2 missed beats. After he is born, if it isn't gone totally they may do an EKG, but it looks unlikely that we'll have to do even that. I am still about 3cm dilated-- about the extent that I can do without being in active labor, but I am now more effaced, which is definitely a good thing. I would love it if my cervix could be totally thinned out by the time I am admitted to the hospital, and I would only have to dilate whatever is left at that time. Noah was also quite low- no surprise, but it makes me even more impatient to know how close he is to the door.

I suppose the one negative would be that I am Strep B positive-- about 35% of women are, and that means when I arrive at the hospital I will have to have an IV, and another every 4 hours if I do not deliver at that time. However, when I am not getting the IV, I will be able to walk around with just a saline lock on my hand. This doesn't mean anything bad for the baby, and only about 1 in 200 of babies whose mom's tested positive even get strep at birth, but they are so fragile at that phase that they don't want to take the chance of any baby being infected. This also doesn't mean that I am sick-- I am just a carrier. Not too pleased about that, but among complications I could have, this one is pretty innocuous.