Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Weeks 37 & 38

Week 37
8/13/2012 - 8/19/2012
Sorry, I didn't get a real belly picture in this week.  We've been crossing off the weeks on this chalkboard as we count down to my due date.  Note that there's room to add negative numbers if need be.
Milestones: Happy Full Term to meeeeee!!!!!  She can now come anytime between now and the next 5 weeks and be considered full term.  I want her to make her arrival when she is good and ready to be here, but I certainly won't complain if it's on the earlier end of that 5 week spectrum.
Size of Meatball: During the home visit this week, one midwife estimated that she's maybe around 7 pounds right now.  I'm going to get a pool going during labor to see who can most accurately guess her weight.  Email me if you want in on it.  There might be a prize involved.  Or there might not be, depending on how motivated I get between now and then.
Baby Position: She was flipping around between LOA and LOT during my appointment.
Labor Signs: Baby has definitely dropped.  I know this because I was able to eat a HUGE lunch the other day.  Also, the "lightening crotch".  Every time she shifts around down there it's like someone is sticking a cattle prod on my cervix.  Lots of zingers!
Symptoms: Unfortunately my blood pressure was elevated during my appointment this week.  Hopefully it doesn't become a trend, as that can potentially risk me out of the homebirth.
Exercise: A few walks around the "neighborhood alps" (we live in the middle of a very hilly area), and the 8k run.
Weight gain: A couple of pounds.  I'm well over the 30 pound mark now, darnit.
Other random crap:
- Ken and I have both been having dreams about baby girl.  And in both of our dreams, she is a newborn, but the size of a big chunky 6 month old.  This has me only slightly worried.
- Now that all of the big baby projects are completed, I am nesting in very odd ways.  Such as baking more than 14 dozen cookies to stash in the freezer.  Or cutting up over 30 diaper liners out of fleece fabric, even though we already have a ton of liners.


Week 38
8/20/2012 - 8/21/2012
Milestones: I had my first episode of "is it pee or is it amniotic fluid" this week. Since I haven't gone into labor, I bet you can figure out which it was.
In happier news, the results of my Group B Strep (GBS) swab came back NEGATIVE!!!  GBS is a normal bacteria found in about 25% of all women, but it is recommended that if you test positive, that you receive a dose of antibiotics during labor to prevent infection in the baby.  Since I'm not keen on being strapped to an IV during labor, and I despise the side effects of antibiotics, this was very welcomed news this week.
Size of Meatball: Because my fundal height measurements have been so large, we ended up having an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid levels (they turned out to be perfectly normal).  Baby girl was estimated to be at almost 7 pounds.  At a midwife appointment later in the week, they estimated her at 7.5 pounds.  So she's measuring right on track!
Baby Position: Head down (yay!) but face up (boo!).  Chances are also good that she'll wiggle around once I go into labor.  But to encourage proper positioning, we've been doing moxibustion (under the direction of my acupuncturist) to try and turn her from posterior.  Ken thinks it's silly that holding burning sticks of mugwort next to my pinky toes will do anything, but he humors me anyway.  It has a really high success rate, and in any case, it can't hurt!
Labor Signs: Lots of "fake" contractions, still mostly at night.  I've had some other common signs that labor is just around the corner, but I'll spare you the gory details.  But just this once because I'm in a good mood...don't get used to it.  Things are definitely getting close!
Symptoms: Just the labor signs noted above.  Thankfully I've been able to keep the swelling and blood pressure in check this week.  Unfortunately the heartburn hasn't gone anywhere, but I guess I can tough it out for another few weeks.
Exercise: Lots of walking and bouncing on the exercise/birth ball.  And one day of 12+ hours of standing in the kitchen processing 100 pounds of peaches.  See "other random crap" in week 37 regarding my strange nesting habits these days.
I am no longer running.  :-(  But really, it was no longer enjoyable, and I was potentially doing more harm than good to things like my pelvic floor muscles and joints.
Weight gain: A few pounds.  Water weight, no doubt.  I have the most disgusting pocket of fluid in my lower belly.  It's like a floppy pouch just hanging out, flapping away down there.  I'm thinking of naming it.
Other random crap:
- I've turned into a nut regarding keeping the house picked up.  I want things nice and clean for after baby gets here, sort of like how it's so nice to come home from vacation to a clean house.  Since we obviously have no idea when she is going to arrive, I go to bed each night thinking it might be my last chance to tidy up.
- But...my energy levels are starting to take a major nose dive.  So I mostly just pace back and forth trying to decide what I want to work on, ultimately not getting much of anything done.  I wander around feeling very frustrated and unsettled.  I'm going to assume this is normal late-pregnancy behavior.