40w2d Update

No baby yet.  I just wanted to put that out there first!

This morning I had my first post-due-date OB appointment, at which I had a non-stress test (NST).  This involved relaxing in a recliner at the dr's office, with a Jeopardy!-style buzzer to hit every time I felt Otto move.  I also had two belts strapped around my belly:  one to monitor the baby's heart rate (HR) and the other to monitor any contractions I might be having.

Needless to say, the latter didn't reveal any contractions.  And that didn't surprise me, because I haven't felt anything that seemed like a contraction.  The other belt, however, surprised me in that Otto's HR fluctuated wildly in the 30 minutes of the NST, from about 115 to about 165.  I mentioned it to the doctor, but he said that's exactly what they want to see: normal HR variations, making sure that when the HR goes up, it comes back down, and vice versa.  So according to my doctor, the NST was a huge success and showed us exactly what we wanted to see: Otto and my placenta are both doing very well.

After the NST, I had a normal appointment, which revealed (you guessed it) no progress.  Sigh.  This is getting old!  "Tight as a drum" is the exact quote from my doctor.  This baby is way too comfortable in there!

I have another NST scheduled on Thursday (if the baby hasn't been born yet), and another ultrasound scheduled next Monday (if the baby hasn't been born yet).  If it comes down to me needed an induction, that will probably happen mid-week next week, just in time for us to come home for Easter weekend.  That's 9 days from now, so my doctor and I are both hoping and assuming that an induction won't be necessary.

The worst news from today's appointment: I learned that my doctor will be out of town from this Wednesday until next Sunday.  So if I want to deliver without an induction, and with my own doctor, Otto better come either tonight, tomorrow, or next Monday or Tuesday.  That's a pretty restrictive timeline for a baby who so far has proven to be very disobedient, but I'm hoping for the best!