38 Weeks

 

How far along: 38 weeks - EDD 09/10/15

 

How big is baby: The size of a pumpkin - She may have up to one inch of hair by now, and is slowly shedding the vernix caseosa from her skin.

 

What are we having: A sweet baby girl

 

Symptoms this week: Pressure and general discomfort. I'm actually starting to feel like my symptoms are slowly disappearing.

 

Weight gain/loss: Up another pound for a total of 25, but it fluctuates.

 

Food aversions/cravings: If it's a carb, I want it. I feel like I'm back in first trimester with my carb craving.

 

The baby belly: Some days it's low, other days it looks high. Size-wise, it's pretty consistent at this point: Massive.

 

Movement: She still moves a ton, and gets hiccups very frequently. I still have the feeling of her trying to claw her way out with her fingernails, which makes me wonder if she's facing out, instead of facing my back.

 

What is freaking me out: While my loss of symptoms is great, it's also mildly unsettling. Just how long is she planning on staying in there?

 

What I'm totally loving: Being able to walk again. Wherever she is in there, she's off of my sciatic nerves and it makes all the difference in the workforce.

 

What I'm looking forward to: As usual, my next appointment... which will be at 39+6 and one day before my due date. At this week's appointment I was up to 2cm and soft, but baby still wasn't fully engaged.

 

37 Weeks

 

How far along: 37 weeks - EDD 09/10/15

 

How big is baby: The size of a winter melon - She is practicing inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping, and blinking.

 

What are we having: A sweet baby girl

 

Symptoms this week: Pressure. So much pressure! Baby flipped (thank, God!) and almost all of my horrible back pain disappeared. It has now been replaced with all of this downward pressure, but I'll take it!

 

Weight gain/loss: Up another pound for a total of 24.

 

Food aversions/cravings: Ice cream. I can't get enough of it. I've gone through a shameful amount of ice cream bars and cones from the package we brought home from Costco this week.

 

The baby belly: She has definitely dropped. No question about it this time. I think she still might have a little further to go, but she is down there.

 

Movement: Movement has changed dramatically. It is still very strong, and hurts at times, but where I'm feeling things is completely different than last week. It makes me wonder how long she had been breech without me realizing it.

 

What is freaking me out: I just need baby girl to stay head down. That's it for right now. I'm incredibly worried that she is going to flip herself back into breech, and we'll need to go down the potential path to a c-section.

 

What I'm totally loving: That for right now she is head down, and all is right with the world. She is only partially engaged, but I'm dilated over 1cm and everything is softening down there.

 

What I'm looking forward to: My 38 week appointment. Hopefully we'll get confirmation that she's still head down, lower, and maybe I'll even be dilated a bit more. I'm fairly certain I lost part of my plug, so that's a good sign on the dilation front. The pressure and pelvic pain get more intense everyday, so hopefully that just means she is dropping lower and lower into position.

 

36 Weeks

 

How far along: 36 weeks - EDD 09/10/15

 

How big is baby: The size of a honeydew - Her skin is getting smooth and soft and her gums are rigid. Her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune systems are basically good to go, too.

 

What are we having: A sweet baby girl

 

Symptoms this week: I feel like a cripple. Between the contractions and horrible nerve pain in my back, it's getting harder and harder to walk or drive.

 

Weight gain/loss: Up one more pound for a total of 23.

 

Food aversions/cravings: Nothing is really standing out this week. I think the pain in my back is just overruling all other aspects of my life right now.

 

The baby belly: I thought she was moving down, but it feels like she's up again. My lung capacity is still better than before, so let's go with the bump has slightly lowered itself.

 

Movement: Movement is all over the place and really, really strong. I think I know what body part is what, but could be totally wrong.

 

What is freaking me out: Well crap... We just found out that baby is frank breech. That clearly explains all of the painful movements. Apparently she's trying to turn, which is causing the contractions I've been having, which then holds her in place. I've been told to rest, do what I can to ease the contractions so she can flip, and go back for another ultrasound next week. After that we'll talk about doing a version/induction or a c-section.

 

What I'm totally loving: I guess I love that I haven't dilated at all? I'm pretty overwhelmed with her being breech, but without being dilated it means she still has time to turn herself. She is also weighing in at just 5 lbs, with plenty of fluid and space for movement. Fingers crossed! She looked great on the ultrasound, other than her positioning, and we watched her putting her hands and feet up by her mouth. She even had hair!

 

What I'm looking forward to: My 37 week appointment and, God willing, finding out that she managed to work herself into the proper position for her big arrival.

 

35 Weeks

 

How far along: 35 weeks - EDD 09/10/15

 

How big is baby: The size of a coconut - Her hearing is fully developed, and she can respond to higher pitched noises.

 

What are we having: A sweet baby girl

 

Symptoms this week: I thought I hit the wall before, but I've really hit it now. My patience for anything is below zero, I'm getting frustrated with my lack of mobility, and I'm just tired and sore. Over the weekend I was up for all of four hours before I needed a nap... and I'm not a napper.

 

Weight gain/loss: So that pound I may or may not have gained last week has decided to stick around. Including this week's pound(ish) I'm going to put my total gain at 22 pounds at this point.

 

Food aversions/cravings: This week I've really just craved liquids, but I think that has more to do with it being about 110 degrees outside more than pregnancy.

 

The baby belly: Another week, another bit of movement downwards. My lungs have some more room this week, but I'm pretty sure they're still battling with my stomach for space because I seem to get out of breath from eating.

 

Movement: Baby girl is still wiggling, kicking, and moving around in there. She is consistently switching between my left side and right side, and it feels like I'm being stabbed with needles anytime she grazes past my belly button. I'm not sure why that happens, but it makes me super uncomfortable.

 

What is freaking me out: We hit the 30-day mark this week! J swears she'll be here long before my due date, but you never know. It's not freaking me out so much that it's "only" 30 days away, it's more like I'm so uncomfortable at times, that 30 days seems like forever. Can I really hang in there for another month?!

 

What I'm totally loving: Being in the final stretch. Well... it's really more of a love/hate thing. I can't wait to meet baby girl, but I'm also reallllllly looking forward to having my torso all to myself again. Of course, that makes me feel like I'm wishing away these last few weeks of my pregnancy, which makes me feel guilty. I will most likely not be pregnant again, and have loved almost every day of it so far, but it's so hard to be upbeat about it at this point.

 

What I'm looking forward to: My 36 week doctor appointment. I know I'll be excited if baby is engaged and I'm dilated even a little bit, but I have to keep reminding myself that it means pretty much nothing, and I can still go past my due date. Regardless, I get to see her again, so I'm really looking forward to that. The last ultrasound we had was 16 weeks ago!

 

34 Weeks

 

How far along: 34 weeks - EDD 09/10/15

 

How big is baby: The size of a butternut squash - She is can recognize and react to simple songs, and may reckons them after birth,

 

What are we having: A sweet baby girl

 

Symptoms this week: Back pain and some serious contractions. At my last OB appointment I was told it's only an issue if they're regular, increasing in strength, and last over an hour. So far I've made it to an hour and then they go away. I hope baby girl isn't planning on making to early of an appearance.

 

Weight gain/loss: I either held steady at 20 total, or I gained a pound. The scale flips back and forth between the same couple of numbers each day or so. I haven't had any rapid gain or loss though, so that's what matters.

 

Food aversions/cravings: Anything? My stomach is so crushed that I can only eat small portions, but then I feel hungry all of the time. I pretty much spend my days snacking.

 

The baby belly: She's moving down! All of my contractions have apparently paid off. She hasn't fully dropped, but I feel like I've regained some use of my lungs. Of course, the lower position is causing tons of pressure and back strain, but it's a small price to pay for breathing.

 

Movement: She is still moving a ton, and it is incredibly obvious. Her torso and butt can clearly be seen, and her legs protrude out quite far at times. She has started getting hiccups at least once a day, and sometimes they're so strong my whole belly jumps. She seems to get annoyed when they don't go away quickly, and will start squirming around.

 

What is freaking me out: It's August and I could potentially have a baby this month. I'm no where near caught up to where I'd like to be at work and it's starting to really make it hit home that I'm going to be on maternity leave soon. I need to get prepared on that front, but at least we're ready to go at home!

 

What I'm totally loving: I'd say I'm loving contractions and the baby dropping, but she needs to hang in there until at least 37 weeks. I just want her to get to that safety point, and then she can do whatever she wants.

 

What I'm looking forward to: I'd love to say that I'm looking forward to cooler weather, but we've been around 100 for a couple of weeks and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. If this heat keeps up, I'll definitely be looking forward to having my torso to myself and being able to actually cool myself down with less effort.