On Thanksgiving Day I officially made it to my 37th week of pregnancy. This is a pretty big milestone because our baby girl is now full term. Everything is developed and ready to go, and really all she needs is a little bit more meat on her bones before she makes her arrival. Most women deliver between 39 and 41 weeks, but if I were to go into labor at this point no one would try to stop it because she would be perfectly healthy!
It has also been quite the emotional milestone for me. Getting finished with my most stressful week of school is obviously relieving, and just making it to Thanksgiving break was something that I wasn't actually convinced I could do. Now that our break is nearing the end I can't help but to be amazed at how the time has just flown by this semester. Thanksgiving was always a big time marker in my head: I would be full term, school would start to wind down, we would have everything ready for the baby, I would be HUGE (which I am :) ), and we would only have to wait a few more weeks. And here we are. All of those things have in fact happened and being on the other side is just so surreal. It has been quite the journey, and although I know that there is so much ahead I can't help but marvel at the fact that somehow David and I have made it to this point... and pretty well unscathed at that!
Enough of my babbling, and time for the details!
Updates on Baby: (Thanks to BabyCenter)
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
Labor signs: I don't really think so. I am still not sure if I have felt an actual Braxton Hicks contraction yet or if my stomach just gets pains in it sometimes. I am hoping that over the next week or so she starts to drop a bit because she is so high up and straight out... it is definitely starting to take a little toll on my lower back.
Symptoms/Body Changes: I am actually feeling really good lately! I mean, I feel abnormally large and not super mobile but as long as I change positions frequently, lay down a few times throughout the day and sleep well I have found that a lot of the persistent pains I was dealing with a few weeks ago aren't a problem at all. Also, my appetite has become a bit more regular again! I still can't eat very much in one sitting, but I have started to eat 3-4 times a day like a normal person rather than 6-7 times a day. This is just more convenient for me because I don't have to worry about always having a stockpile of snacks around.
My belly is huge, as you can see, and she is just really focused all in one spot. I don't think I have a full on pregnant lady waddle yet, but if she is sitting in a certain way I definitely can't walk normally. My swelling hasn't increased since last week and most other things have stayed the same too.
Exercise: It is becoming much, much harder but I am still making myself do it as much as I can! I try to walk a few times a day for about 20 minutes and I have been pretty successful at that, even on Thanksgiving. On Wednesday I did 30 minutes of prenatal pilates, which was great, and on Friday I worked really hard to walk 3 fast miles with my mom and sister. I did it, but it was hard and today I am sore all over. Intense, sweaty exercise has been out of the question for a while and my focus in these last few weeks is to be sure to walk twice a day and try to stretch almost everyday just to stay mobile.
Movement: Her movements are so awesome! We feel feet, hands, legs and elbows. A few times this past week she has moved her head around a few times which is painful , and if she kicks or moves when I stand up it tends to hurt pretty bad too. But when I can lay down and feel and see her tiny body parts moving around I love it. The best part of every day by far.
Cravings/Aversions: Thanksgiving dinner tasted great, which I was so happy about. Food is tasting pretty good in general, although I will usually choose things without meat. I have been eating more eggs and peanut butter to make sure to get plenty of protein and now that it is getting cold I enjoy a big bowl of oatmeal many mornings. I am still craving milk and cookies too :)
Getting ready for baby: On Monday evening I washed all of our little one's clothes, blankets, towels, burp cloths and everything else. David helped me to fold everything and we rearranged a few of our drawers to make room for her newborn and 0-3 month clothes in the top two drawers of the dresser in our bedroom. The dresser that our small group gave us has her blankets, some of my things, and a few bigger clothes in it and the rest went into storage. We also packed my labor and delivery bag and I made a big, detailed packing list for our electronics and overnight hospital bags on our whiteboard that we have at home. I wish I had taken a picture... although then you would have documented evidence about how OCD I can be sometimes.
What I miss: Having normal proportions... I keep hitting my belly on things and it hurts!
What I am looking forward to: So many things. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, tonight we are going out to Babies R Us to get our diaper bag and in a few weeks we are going to have a baby which I am very much looking forward to!
Below is the picture comparison: 17, 27 and 37 weeks. I like this part because it is so crazy to see how that belly grows!
Well the family is back, so I am going to be social again :) Maybe some more writing soon.
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