How far along? 38 weeks
Updates on baby: (Thanks to BabyCenter)
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
Labor signs: I think I have felt a few contractions but nothing regular and other than that no labor signs for me. I really just have this feeling that she is going to hold on to right around her due date!
Symptoms/Body changes: My belly just keeps getting bigger at this point and actually this week I think she has started to drop a little bit. This has given me a little bit more back pain but has increased my ability to breathe (yay!) and has increased my appetite. I swell pretty easily at this point and I am so very tired, so I try to rest multiple times throughout the day rather than try to run all day and then rely on my 6-8ish hours of sleep at night. I feel that my body is really reaching its limits and I want to respect it during these last few weeks especially.
Exercise: As I probably should have expected this just gets harder and harder everyday and this week with the combination of my cold and the freezing, rainy weather it didn't happen very much. About three days this week (including today) I got out for 2-ish mile walk with my puppy and two nights this week I remembered to stretch before bed. I am still walking to and from my car each day at school, as well as taking the stairs from my office on the 7th floor in one building to my classes on the 3rd floor of another building. I hope that in any subsequent pregnancies I can keep up weight lifting and more intense walking later than I did in this pregnancy, but considering how much strength I lost at the beginning of this journey I am pretty proud of what my body is able to do at this point.
Movement: She is so crazy still! Hasn't really slowed down and I love feeling her big movements now. She is a full, probably 6 pound baby moving around in there so I just think that I feel everything. Just like she always has been, little Lydia is right on schedule as far as dropping lower. This usually happens 2 weeks before delivery in first pregnancies and I started to notice it Wednesday of this week. I think it is going to happen gradually because she is still pretty high in my belly, but there is a definite noticeable different from where she was sitting a week ago (at least to David and I).
Cravings/Aversions: I have just been hungry this week which is something that feels so different! Everything has sounded good... sweet things, salty things, fruit, yogurt, cereal, cookies. I have also continued to notice that I don't need to eat as often as I used to but can instead eat like a more normal person... 3 meals a day with only 2 snacks.
Getting ready for baby: We installed the car seat... yay!! That was a big step for me I think. It is so crazy to see it sitting back there everyday. We also got our diaper bag and I LOVE it. I am glad that we waited until I found the right one because I really love the one that we got. It is a JJ Cole bag and was 30% off after Thanksgiving (which made it only like 30 bucks)! Not only was it a good deal, but it is plain with still being pretty attractive, it has lots of pockets, is made of a material that is really easy to wipe down and has a messenger bag carrying option. And it is big enough without making me look like I am hauling a huge load around. This weekend we have a few more errands to run to get some last minute items for the hospital bag and stuff, but really we are pretty much ready!
What I miss: Having energy! But I guess I should get used to being tired... at least this is what people are telling me.
What I am looking forward to: My professors are pretty much awesome and it is looking like they are both going to let me take finals early. That means that a week from today, on December 9th, I will be finished with my responsibilities for school. I am also excused from my grading and proctoring responsibilities for the calculus final, so the only thing I need to worry about after December 9th is signing a grade sheet... and having a baby! I am really glad that people are being so understanding and I am just praying that Lydia holds off until her due date.
Now for the picture comparison from weeks 18, 28, 38. These old pictures give me hope that someday I will be a normal size again :)
Well I am off to take the pup for a walk before it gets dark... since that happens now at like 5. On a different note, we put up our Christmas tree last night! More pictures to come hopefully so, but here are a few.
Baby's 1st Christmas ornament!
Our finished tiny tree :)
Have a great weekend!
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