This Week in Pregnancy: 37+ Weeks & Some Indelicate Matters

So, my house is turned upside down with all the cleaning and organizing I'm trying to get finished and I really should be fixing dinner right now (which means that my family will probably be stuck with sandwiches or a bowl of cereal...or take out and I'll be cleaning all night) but I wanted to try and get my usual Friday post in here...as it will be my LAST Friday pregnancy post. WHAT THE HECK?

First, I want to thank you all so, so, so much for your kind words, cyber hugs and great advice. I think sometimes that knowing that there are folks like you out there to help me when I'm losing it is all that keeps me sane! :) Really, I appreciate all of the ideas and tips and such that you all left in addition to all the well wishes and assurances that I wasn't losing my mind. You guys are the greatest!

So, this week has obviously been a crazy week as far as the pregnancy goes but some of the usual suspects still remain:

*constant urination
*swollen feet
*carpel tunnel
*wonky sleep
*super duper nesting instinct (mixed with exhaustion)
*constant hunger
*heartburn
*lots of movement from P-Bug
*FEAR

What's gone away?

*SPD pain (I guess P has dropped enough to fix that)
*nausea

What's new?

*lots of BH contractions
*pelvic/cervical (??) pain (which has replaced the SPD pain, maybe? It hurts, sometimes A LOT, but not in the same way or in the same place)
*return of afternoon headaches
*Oh, and flippin' being INDUCED in 5 days!!!

Now, as far as that all goes, I am dealing much better today. I've decided to be constructive about things, do all that I can do and then do my best to leave in in God's hands. He knows way more about how this should go than I do, you know? :) So, I've done some research, weighed all my options, talked to the doctor and the nurse and the hospital (and to everyone that I know who's been induced) and am forming some things in my mind. For now, things are still set for Wednesday but I truly don't know if we'll make it that far.

Now comes the "Indelicate Matters" part of the post.

If you are squeamish AT ALL, still have morning sickness, don't want to know about this part, can't handle TMI today or WHATEVER, just click away NOW. Seriously. Because what's to follow here is nothing short of nasty and is NOT for the faint of heart.

You've been warned. :) And you know that I don't mince words, so here we go:

My body has apparently gotten the message that it is time to get the baby ball rolling because I have got some strange things happening in the nether regions. I've had crazy bad discharge this whole pregnancy (you were just dying to know that, right?), so that's nothing new to me. I knew that after they stripped my membranes in the office on Wednesday, that I could have some spotting or whatever...and I was prepared for that. I thought. :) Still, not seeing anything RED in my undies since, oh...SEPTEMBER, I was a little taken aback when it happened. No biggie, though. Also, on the 'No Big Deal' front is the fact that I now constantly have diarrhea. CONSTANTLY. But, that's an early labor sign, right? So, we're cool. Let me tell you what was not so cool: going to the bathroom (for what was, I'm sure, the 915th time yesterday) before bed last night, wiping and coming back with something that looked like pink, gooey ectoplasm from Gh.ost.Bust.ers. For real.

Freaked.Me.Out.

What the heck was it? Option 1: Mucous Plug? IDK...maybe. But it wasn't solid or like a mass. Is it supposed to be? Does it come out in...parts? pieces? strings? Option 2: Bloody Show? That might be it...but this is my first rodeo, so I don't really know. Option 3: Some random alien discharge? I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I can tell you this: It was pretty much GROSS and it kept coming and coming. I TOLD YOU THIS WAS NASTY!! ;p And now that you know that everything from my waist down is running like a fountain, I'll tell you that it has continued for most of today. It's not so much bloody now, but is most definitely still there, by the truckload at times.

So, you experienced mama's and those who are more knowledgeable than this girl...can you tell me what the heck is going on? I've read all the info that's out there and it seems like most things are leaning toward Option 2 (bloody show) but I don't have any real way of knowing, I guess. Does it only happen one time? Or can it continue? But everything I did read said that labor usually follows closely (within a couple of days) after these happenings. Again, I say: WHAT THE HECK?

So, my plan was to walk a LOT and do the deed and drink some raspberry leaf tea...maybe try the evening primrose oil and see what happened. And I still will, most likely. But I think that my lady parts might have started their own little party. That, or I'm losing it again, either of which is totally possible at this point. And who would have thought I'd ever willingly write about cervical mucus? Not me, that's for sure! :)

So, that's that in Week 37. Things are still moving...er, sliding...right along. I've got our hospital bag packed, the house is well on it's way to being cleaner than it's been in months and we're putting the car seat in the car after we eat the dinner that I've yet to cook. I've had a shower today and am wearing good underwear, so I guess we're ready if things get moving more quickly than we anticipated. And if they don't, we're still good (and I'll have the time to dust and vacuum just once more)...