Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Baby Update: 37 Weeks

Size of Baby: 6 1/3 lbs and a little over 19 inches long (or the head to heel length of a stalk of Swiss Chard)
Changes in Baby:  Now considered Full Term!!!!! :-)  Oh happy days!!  Lots of hair, breathing in the amniotic fluid, head down and ready for her grand exit.
Baby Movement:  When she kicks, she kicks!  Most nights the dance party starts around 8pm and continues until I don't even know because I go to bed, haha.  There are times when I feel like I'm in the movie "Alien".
Changes in Mama:  Lots and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions!  I feel like my stomach is one giant, hard ball for most of the day and night.  They especially increase as the day goes on into the afternoon and evening.  Then they reappear right away in the morning, decreasing again until late afternoon.  It's like a BH roller coaster.  Not the most fun ride.  Weird appetite- I can go from being starving to not wanting to eat at all.  I've lost probably half the weight or more that I had originally gained during my pregnancy. 
Cravings: Water, orange juice, popsicles
Aversions:  Anything that doesn't look or smell appealing (like leftovers that have been around for a few days or something with a weird texture).
Current Symptoms: BH contractions, increase in discharge though nothing to indicate water breaking or loss of mucous plug, difficulty breathing after a brisk walk or going up the stairs, increase in nightly pee breaks, extreme tiredness during the day, but wakefulness at night when I should be tired/sleeping, heartburn, swelling feet/ankles in late afternoon/evening, burning sensation at the top of my uterus/bottom of my ribs because my belly is stretched to the max, inability to concentrate, feeling very warm.....should I go on?  I think I've reached the pinnacle of the pregnancy symptoms.
Nesting:  Getting those last minute loose ends tied together.
  • hospital bag mostly packed
  • nursery "area" arranged (pretty darling even without having an actual room)
  • call list ready for when we head to the hospital
  • car seat and sun blockers installed in the car
Dreams:  A couple people came over to visit, but they weren't invited.  When Zach and I heard the doorbell, we were scrambling around to get things together.  When this couple came inside, the woman was someone I really do not care for and the man was someone else's husband, not hers.  I seemed shocked to see them, but I pretended like everything was normal.  I went to get Holly out of her highchair, and I must have realized she was still a newborn because at that moment she couldn't hold her head up by herself.  I kept trying to show her off and her little hat would dip down over her cute face.  Also there were ties on her hat and I felt really nervous that it could suffocate her.  The next scene we were leaving for the hospital and I realized I had forgotten the hospital bag (we must have been on the way to labor/delivery) and it seemed like I actually hadn't given birth yet.  Very weird and very vivid.
Looking Forward to...:  Working my last day, Sept. 2 (if we make it to that date.)  Seeing our little Holly's cutie baby face, of course!  Family being here for the big event.  Getting official belly pics taken in a couple weeks (again, if we make it to that date).
Exciting News:  We finally got the VA certification letter back from Zach's commander, so we can send it to VA for loan approval.  Once that is approved, we can apply for the mortgage and buy the house!  Woo!Next Appointment: Thursday August 18- weekly ultrasound (last one in GreenBay!!)

1 comment:

  1. So close now! :-D

    Being stretched to the max is no fun. One of the things my doc suggested that helped me is to put ice packs over the areas of your belly that hurt. For me it was where the abs attach to the ribs. SO painful, but the ice helped take the edge off of the discomfort.

    Hope those BH turn into something productive for you soon so you get to meet that beautiful little girl!

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