Dreams

I can tell that labor and delivery have been on my mind lately, because I'm dreaming about the process.  Last night I had a dream that my water broke.  I was actually excited to wake up this morning, thinking it had been real.  But I was sadly disappointed to find that it had not and our baby girl is still snug and cozy in my uterus.  Drat!  :P  We are down to 15 days until her due date.  It's crazy to think that she could come at any moment any of these days.  When I wake up every morning I assess the day and decide whether or not today would make a good birthday for her.  Most days I decide yes!  :P  I understand that sometimes induction or c-sections are needed for the health of the baby or the mother, but there is something exciting about not knowing the exact date and getting to wonder and speculate.  :)  Of course, at the same time, there is disappointment associated with this path, as you are so ready for your child to arrive and the longer they take, the more frustrating and disappointing the whole process can be.  I wouldn't say that I'm terribly frustrated yet.  I knew when we got into this process that I would have to be patient, because it takes a long time to bake a baby.  But now that we're in the safe window where all of her vital organs are formed and working properly, now that her lungs are mature and ready for life in the outside world, now that she'll be able to self-regulate her temperature with no problems, now that she's safe, I'm ready for her to arrive.  :)  Ultimately it will be her choice.  Or the combined effort of her choice and my body.  If only I had some say in when my body decided to move things along.  *sigh*  But I suppose God designed the human body this way for a reason, so that impatient people like me couldn't take their baby out before she was done baking.  ;)  Not to worry, though.  She is well on her way, descending into my pelvis.  And my body is getting ready too, practicing contractions, dilating, and effacing to make way for her to enter the world.  Very soon!  :)  I'm hoping that she's here by Saturday, but I would settle for her being here by next Saturday as well.  ;)  But again, I have no say in the matter.  :P  Which is probably for the best.  ;)

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got a call back from my doctor's office yesterday.  I had blood drawn again on Tuesday after my appointment to check my platelet count again.  If you'll remember, last week I was at 106,000 platelets.  This number was around 20,000 less that where it had been a month before.  My doctor explained that we were ok as long as the levels stayed above 100,000, even if they dropped down to 80,000 we would be ok and still at the birthcare center.  Well, I got my new numbers yesterday and my platelets are back up to 120,000!!!!  Woooohoooo!!!  What an improvement in a week!!!!  Paying attention to what I eat and taking my prenatals and iron supplement religiously must have helped!  I'm very excited to see these numbers going up!  That was the last little thing that we were worrying about possibly getting in our way from a normal, low-risk, natural delivery.  :)  So with those numbers up, as long as they continue to stay up, we will be in good shape!  :)  I'm mostly excited that my doctor said we would still have no problem being in the Birthcare Center.  I know it's not a huge deal and that the baby and I would be well cared for whether we were there or in the hospital.  But I have had my mind and my heart set on the Birthcare Center for some time now, and I am determined to deliver my little girl there.  ;)

Not too much longer now!  Stay tuned for more details as we approach the final weeks, days, or hours of our pregnancy and we anxiously anticipate the arrival of our little girl!  :)  Thanks for all of your love and thoughts and support!  We appreciate them!  Hopefully the next post I make will be on the way to the Birthcare Center!  *fingers crossed*  Only 15(ish) more days!!!!  :D