Thirty-nine week visit

Dilated 2cm.
70% effaced

K.B. has dropped a bit, but I'm still carrying pretty high. And K.B. is unfortunately still in a posterior position.

Dr. Rider made the following pronouncement: "A week from Saturday, you will no longer be pregnant." So come hell or high water, I will be a mommy by July 1st (or should I say, "come induction or c-section"...).

The good news is that if she induces me, I can have an epidural at 3 cm.! That really lifted my spirits.

In other news, she's really concerned about the swelling in my hands and wants me to take off the wedding band. You may recall how I feel about that. I explained how I bought the ring specifically so it could be a nice cheap ring that I didn't care if it was cut off. Oh, yeah. I gained five pounds last week! Better be water weight.

In the funniest part of the visit, she suggested that perhaps I have a high pain tolerance. Ha! Her reasoning? I'd already progressed to 2 cm. and 70% effacement without reporting any contractions. Just so we're clear, I do not have a high pain tolerance. I still remember the gallons of Johnson and Johnson's No More Tears Tangle Remover that my parents used to comb my hair when I was little. "Ow, ow, whine, ouch, etc." -- the whole time they tried to brush my hair!

The reason I'm not reporting any contractions is that I'm not having any. The last two nonstress tests showed no contractions. I haven't felt anything that I would call a contraction (based on the way contractions have been described to me). Just some discomfort while standing, walking, or rolling over in bed.

UPDATE: Okay, I decided to look it up, and maybe I am having contractions. Weird ones. What do I know? I'm a newbie.