overdue.

first of all, i'd like to just say thanks to everyone who's offered me advice, encouragement, and kind words in the past week.  

it's been a long one, but it helps to know that we have a lot of people who love us!

here's a little update after my 41 week appointment:

warning: some may consider this graphically informative.

the 41 week appointment started with me raving about how we have tried EVERYTHING and how i was bored and stressed out and tired of being pregnant.  

billy called it a little bit of a "meltdown".

jamesina, the midwife, said "go to the movies, get your mind off of it, hang out."

i glared at her a lot.

i think it's very true that you can kind of overthink and overanticipate and it totally mentally drains you and then your body is kind of like "forget it lady i'm not doing anything for you".

it's just hard to actually not think about it when you're SO uncomfortably pregnant and your entire being is constantly screaming HOW MUCH LONGER.

so jamesina today said "i'm going to strip your membranes again, and i'm going to be aggressive."

of course i said, "bring it on lady."

so, to keep it brief, i will say these things:

- i was still just 1/2 to 1 cm dilated (same as last week) when i went in

- by the time the "aggressive" membrane sweep was done, jamesina had manually stretched me to 

2 and 1/2 cm

if you're wondering what it feels like to have a midwife pry your cervix open two centimeters, i'll tell you.

it feels like you're getting your teeth cleaned through your butt.

this is what billy looked like after she was done:

 

i think it made him a little queasy.

next up, our good friend castor oil is back!  

i am 80% effaced, and now that jamesina has "ripened" my cervix, she said it's time to try castor oil again.  she said normally it doesn't work if you're not very dilated to begin with.

i also told her i drank 3 tablespoons of it. (1 1/2 ounces)

she laughed at me.

"six ounces," she says, "plan to be in the bathroom all day tomorrow."

good grief.

i tried to convince everyone to induce me on tuesday if nothing happened before then, but billy and jamesina talked me out of it.  and i'm glad they did.  

if nothing happens this weekend i have to go for an ultrasound on monday to measure amniotic fluid levels, and then i have to go for a non stress test.  we'll re-evaluate scheduling a hospital induction after those test results come back.

so after the appointment we went for milkshakes at ruby's diner and then we came home and went for a walk.

billy has been really amazing at keeping me sane this week.  actually, most weeks.

it was a little windy, but i figured you guys would want a belly shot.

and that's all there is to report for now!  i'm supposed to get a good night's rest and then try the castor oil again in the morning.  it should make for a very lovely day.  :)