36 Weeks

8 November 2013

How far along: 36 weeks

How big baby is: Average is 6 pounds and 18 ½ inches. However, I had an appointment with my doctor yesterday and based on baby A’s measurements she weighs about 7 pounds and 1 ounce. Yikes! Her head was also measuring above the 97th percentile. I sure hope she will come a little early!

Baby is the size of: romaine lettuce - but let’s face it, at this point we can just say that she’s the size of a BABY. Seriously...

Baby’s development: She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. She swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. Doesn’t that sound lovely? Maybe not, but I love that it basically means she is getting ready for her life outside of my womb!

Mommy’s belly: These are definitely not my favorite photos anymore, but I plan to see it through until she is born. :)

Baby’s movements: She moves a lot and her movements are so strong that they make me quite uncomfortable. She have a few regular active times - specifically around 7:30 in the morning, in the afternoon after lunch, and in the evening around 8:00 or so. Although she makes me so uncomfortable, I still love feeling her move around inside me!

Symptoms: I am having a lot more Braxton-Hicks contractions, especially in the evening. It also feels like she is starting to “drop.” (Although when looking at her yesterday during the ultrasound the doctor said that she hasn’t moved down low into my pelvis yet.) My lower belly gets in the way a lot more now. When I’m sitting up straight it is resting on my legs. I still have terrible “pregnancy brain” - my short-term memory is terrible! That gets annoying when I am reading a book and having to go back a chapter or two to remember something that I just read the day before. I am also super clumsy. I probably drop something at least fifteen times a day. I am not exaggerating at all - isn’t that sad? It is frustrating that you become the clumsiest you have ever been when it is also more difficult than ever to reach down and pick something up from the floor.

I am very slow moving, which goes against my nature. Just making dinner wears me out completely. And I’m sleepy all the time. I still have a lot of pain from my SPD (symphisis pubis dysfunction). Getting in and out of the car is the worst as far as that goes. I did talk to my doctor about it and he said it isn’t that uncommon, especially in a second (or subsequent) pregnancy. He also said that it won’t affect my labor or delivery at all and should go away not long after the baby is born.

Goodness! I’m in a terrible state! I sound like a complainer which is not at all how I mean to sound! I just want to accurately record what this pregnancy has been like. But I am SO grateful to have contractions, have a giant belly that is in the way, be forgetful and clumsy, be in pain, and be tired because it means I’m going to have a baby! I have prayed for this for two and a half years now. Praise God for these wonderful pregnancy symptoms! :)

Food cravings: This week I have been in the mood for soups, chili, beans and rice - but that is all because we are finally having some beautiful, cool fall weather. I doubt they are pregnancy cravings. I’m eating plenty of gala apples too now that they are in season and are so crisp and sweet. I can’t eat very much at a time. There is just no room in my stomach for a large meal. So I typically eat three small meals a day and two snacks as well.

Emotions: I haven’t been as emotional but I think instead I’m just tired. I feel a little “blah” but at least I’m not weepy or angry. If I were able to just sleep for the rest of the pregnancy I would do it. I suppose I am feeling quite impatient. The last month is so hard! I have been waiting and waiting and now the time for baby A to arrive is so close but still not here. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas day. I am praying that I will go into labor early - I’m praying to have her around 38 weeks. But I’m trying at the same time not to get my hopes up for that to happen. I need to be prepared to be pregnant until mid-December because it could, and probably will, happen that way.

Sleep: I am sleeping well enough. I still go to bed early, usually between 9:30 and 10:00. We had time change this last week so I am having a hard time sleeping as late as I would like to, but I think I’m starting to adjust.

Anything else: I think I finally have everything I need. My baby shower was last week and after that I was able to purchase the last few things that I still needed. This week I bought car seat protectors that go underneath both girls’ car seats and protect the fabric in the back seat of our car. I bought a pacifier clip that is also a teether. I ordered an ergonomic infant carrier, playpen sheets, a Christmas outfit, a fleece sleepbag, and a couple of footed sleepers. I also ordered a couple of shapewear/compression undergarments to wear after she is born. Hopefully that will help everything go back to where it should be a little quicker - although I don’t dare to dream that I’ll look normal before she is a year old. I learned that the hard way last time. :) The car seat arrived Wednesday - David’s co-workers bought it for us. I was so excited that instead of waiting for him to come home and install it I went out and installed it in the car immediately. Penny was pretty excited too. We bucked her baby doll named “Issa” in so that she could ride around town with us for a while. I’m glad Penny will be right next to Ariana when she is in the car so that she can help me with the baby while I drive - put her paci back in her mouth, fix her blanket, talk to her and entertain her. Hopefully Ariana won’t hate riding in the car the way her big sister did as a baby.

My hospital bags are as packed as they can get for now. I have four bags in the crib waiting for “D-day.” There is a labor bag, an overnight bag (that I won’t need until I am settled in my postpartum room, the baby’s diaper bag with her clothes, nightgowns, little caps, and a couple of pretty blankets (we all know the hospital blankets are ugly), and Penny’s bag to take with her to her grandparents’ house while David and I are at the hospital. The diaper bag is the only bag that is zipped shut and ready to go. The other three have little sticky notes on top telling me what to grab and add when I am in labor. I also made little “thank you” bags for the nurses and docs at the hospital. They each have chocolate, hand sanitizer, gum, lip balm, and tissues inside.

The baby’s room is ready to go. I will put fresh sheets in the crib and a fresh cover on the changing pad about a week before my due date. I have the diaper station ready to go with diapers, diaper cream, baby powder, diaper sacks, and the diaper pail. The only thing left to do in her room is to put up her wall shelf, which David promised me he would do very soon.

What I am looking forward to: I just really want to hold this girl! I am thinking about her constantly - seriously, all the time. I am trying to imagine what she will look like, imagine how Penny will do with a baby in the house, imagine holding her and kissing her and nursing her. I go in her bedroom and look at all her clothes, blankets, tiny headbands and hats. I just cannot wait to have her in my arms! It’s cute when my husband admits that he is excited and ready for her to be here as well. He doesn’t say “mushy” things like that very often, but I love it when he does.

Just four weeks to go! I can’t wait!