May 25

So I had my doctor's appointment this morning. Sonogram showed that my amniotic fluid levels were low. My levels were at 7.6. (normal range is between 5 and 25, so I'm definitely on the low end). The Dr. said they start to get very concerned about levels that drop to 5 or lower. So I'm not quite in the dangerous zone yet, but they want to keep an eye on it.

I will go back in for another sonogram on Friday. If levels have dropped to a 5 or 6, then they will send me to the hospital. Probably they would monitor me and baby there for a while and give me IV fluids to try to increase amniotic fluid levels. There is also a possibility that they would talk about induction/delivery if the levels are too low.

I don't think induction will be seriously considered at this point unless they are pretty confident something is wrong with the baby. 36 weeks is still pretty early...I'd prefer to make it to closer to 38 weeks to ensure the baby's lungs are completely developed. The baby's movements and diaphragm breathing today indicated that she was still very healthy, so that's good. However, the doctor did recommend packing a hospital bag and bringing it with us to the appointment on Friday, just in case.

For now, Dr's orders are to rest, take it easy and drink lots of water. No cooking, cleaning, shopping or chasing a two year old. Basically, she told me to hang out on the couch and rest and read and watch TV. Hopefully taking it easy will help the fluid levels to go up to a more normal level, and things will progress naturally from there.

The Dr. did not check for dilation today, so I have no idea if anything is starting to happen yet or not. I'm feeling lots of crampiness and some contractions, but that can go on for weeks before real labor hits.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens...I have a feeling I am going to be saying that a lot over the next few days/weeks!!