39 Weeks - Full Term!

Yikes, I went from 26 weeks to 39 weeks.  Poor 3rd child... I'm so on top of things right now. 

Here's a quick update on how things are going.  I'm exactly 39 weeks today and baby Anna dropped more last night.  This has made my breathing a little bit better and my waddling a little bit worse.  I've been sore for over 2 months now, so getting around has been a challenge.  Walking is super painful and I'm beyond caring what I look like.... although I did tell Jason "it's not waddling, it's swagger".  He didn't agree but that's ok.  It made me feel better :). 

Baby is around 7-ish lbs right now and 20-ish inches long.  So specific, right?  She's about the size of a pumpkin, which I believe.  I've been waiting for the fruit-vegetable comparisons to line up with how I'm feeling and it only took 39 weeks 😂.

The kids are ready for her to make her appearance.  Logan is on Fall break for school and apparently he has been talking about the baby a lot in school.  His teacher said he has to bring a baby picture to class once she's born.  He has been so sweet.  Every night, he says "goodnight" to the baby, kisses my belly, and tells her "you're so cute".  He says he's going to help with the baby after she's born, but laughs when I tell him she'll poop a lot and require lots of diaper changes.  Oh well... baby steps, I suppose.  Elise doesn't seem to be overly interested in the baby or her movements.  I'm not sure if she's just super chill about it or if she's ignoring the fact that she won't be the youngest or the only girl anymore.  She surprised me earlier this week by saying she's so excited about seeing the baby but she hasn't said much since then :).  I think they will both be great with her when she finally makes her appearance.

As with my other 2 pregnancies, my body is rebelling against dairy.  I'm also having a TON of Braxton Hicks contractions.  The combination of these 2 things is making me question whether I'm starting to have real contractions or if I'm just experiencing indigestion pains.  Either way, it has been very uncomfortable.

My 39 week checkup is tomorrow and the doctor will be checking to see if I'm dilated and effaced at all.  Hopefully the raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil have been helping!  Anna has been head-down for a while, but she's kind-of sideways.  My midwife suggested wearing a belly band or tying something around my belly to try keeping her in an upright position.  When I was in labor with Elise, the nurse had to tie a sheet around my belly.  Why are my kids so stubborn? 


39 Week Appointment Update:
I had my appointment today and I consented to a cervix check.  The nurse said it's soft but closed.  The baby is head-down but not engaged... so there's nothing going on yet.  I'm not really discouraged yet because I'm only 39 weeks but I'm really hoping things will start happening over the next week so I can avoid a C-section.

39 Weeks

Even though I'm almost 40 weeks, here's my 39 week update.  The Alpha Mom update for this week says this about baby:

Your Baby:

• Is full-term, almost done, probably about a medium-well on the Burger Scale.
• Is about 20 inches long and over seven pounds, maybe, depends, who knows.

I had my checkup on Monday with a doctor I've only seen one other time and the first thing she said was "has anyone told you that you have a big baby?"  I told her no but she wanted me to come back on Tuesday for an ultrasound just to make sure the baby isn't getting "too big".  I returned on Tuesday and the ultrasound only took about 15 minutes.  The nurse took some quick measurements of the baby's head, abdomen, leg, etc. and told me her estimated weight is 8lbs 2oz.  I asked what the variant was and she said 1 lb, so she's anywhere from 7 lbs 2 oz to 9 lbs 2 oz (Lord, help me).  I think she's probably in the 7s or 8s but we'll find out soon enough :).  The nurse said the baby is measuring perfectly for how far along I am.  She tried getting a good view of baby's face but things were pretty squished.  The nurse did tell me that Elise has chubby cheeks and I laughed.  When I told Jason his response was "shocking".  I guess she's going to have the Kowing cheeks too.  Lucky her! ;)

Not much new has happened this week.  I'm still bulbous, uncomfortable, and having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  I've never looked forward to being in excruciating pain so much in my life ;).  I'm still having issues with pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel in both hands, especially my right.  My right thumb (tip), middle and index fingers are numb because my hands are so swollen.  It's really annoying.  And my left hand is starting to randomly go numb too, especially when I try to grasp things.  When I talked to the doctor about it, she said she could refer me to an orthopedic practice to get a steroid shot in my wrist but when I called them to schedule an appointment (last Tuesday), they didn't have anything available until this Friday.  I didn't think it was worth it at the time, but maybe I should've just scheduled the appointment, just in case.  If/when I go into labor, I'm a little concerned about how I'm going to grasp anything to bear down when it's time to push. 

I'm still working full-time and everybody at work seems to be pretty understanding.  My boss especially knows not to mess with me (too much) because I can be a bit touchy at times.  I try to be as pleasant as I can but I still have my moments :). 

There are more things I can post but they would probably run into my week 40 update, so I guess I'll leave them out for now.  I did go eat the eggplant parmigiana at Scalini's Italian restaurant last night... there are over 300 women who have gone into labor within 48 hours of eating that so I figured I would give it a shot.  When I was pregnant with Logan, I made the recipe myself (they have it posted on their website) and it didn't work but people told me "you have to GO there!" so we're putting them to the test.  It has been about 26 hours, so there are only about 22 left... although I did eat leftovers for dinner tonight so does that extend the time out another 24 hours?  Hmmm... we'll see :).

Here are my weekly updates:
Contractions: I've been feeling them multiple times each day but nothing close together or consistent.
Cravings: Not craving anything.
Weight:  My total is up to 34 lbs
Swelling:  Hands, feet, ankles, etc.  The carpal tunnel is really aggravating and uncomfortable. 
Things to do: Install the infant car seat, put decals on baby room wall
Heartburn:  Zantac 2x daily
Stretching: Nothing new :)

My 40 week checkup is tomorrow and I'm sure the doctor will actually "check" me (up to his elbow, yikes).  I'm hoping I'm at least a little bit dilated & effaced but we'll see.  Will update soon with my 40 week post, just in case something happens :).

39 Weeks

Less than a week to go until my due date :).  Everyone seems to be really excited and we are too!  The car seat is in my car, the nursery is done, the bags are packed and we're just waiting for Logan to give us the "go ahead" :).

I had a checkup on Tuesday and it went pretty well.  My blood pressure was a bit high again so the doctor told me to take it easy and keep an eye on it.  I've been trying to rest and put my feet up when I can, especially since my feet and ankles have been really swollen.  Also, my right index finger swells up a little bit every once in a while so I'm hoping that's not anything to be concerned about.  I'll ask the doctor when I go back in on Wednesday.  Anyway, she checked my cervix and said I'm 1cm dilated and 50% effaced.  She said that Logan is at -2 station, which means he was still a little high in my pelvis.  It feels like he has dropped a little bit each day, though, so I'm hoping I'll have a different number this week (if I haven't already gone into labor beforehand).  I'm just excited that there has been some progress.  I definitely feel more pressure in my pelvis, so I know something's going on in there :).

Also this week, I lost my mucus plug (eew), but that's not something I wanted to publicly announce on facebook.  Even though it's a normal part of pregnancy, it's not something that you hear about until you're pregnant.  I guess it's just another one of those pleasant things that pregnant women don't talk about... just like the gas, bloating, round ligament pain, all-day sickness, headaches, dry sinuses, changed eyesight, forgetfulness, bloody show, etc.  Sounds fun, right? ;)  It's funny how guys react to different pregnancy-related things.  As soon as a woman becomes pregnant, she starts reading about everything that will happen to her body and the baby as it grows so that she has a pretty good understanding of things including the mucus plug.  However, men pretty much stay oblivious to these things and might pay attention maybe 30% of the time that we complain.  I think it helps that we have menstrual cycles every month of our life starting somewhere in our teens, so we're used to "gross" things happening with our body.  Anyway, I yelled downstairs to tell Jason about the plug on Wednesday morning.  I said "something gross happened" and he said "I don't want to know" and I said "I lost something" and he said "that's gross but good for you", ha.  And that was that.

Anyway, on to less awkward topics.  Some of my new coworkers threw a surprise baby shower for me on Thursday.  It was definitely a surprise!  I had no idea what was going on so when they all yelled "surprise" I felt pretty stupid, ha :).  It was so thoughtful of them.  They ordered food from Chili's along with a Publix cake and ice cream.  They also all chipped in and bought about $200 worth of presents from our registry.  I was very grateful and touched that they did all that after knowing me for just a mere 4 weeks :).

I've been getting small contractions, but they're very irregular and not very intense.  My parents think Logan's going to be a Mother's Day baby, so I guess we'll see :).

I think that's all I have for this week, so here are details from a different weekly newsletter (planningfamily has had the same info for the past couple weeks):

• Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
• Are you counting down the days? Ready or not, at 39 weeks pregnant, there's a baby coming to a birth canal near you.  And these last few days (or last couple of weeks, if your baby's tardy) may speed by or drag out.  You're probably feeling increasingly uncomfortable by now, as you drag around your ever-heavier uterus and its contents, achier and achier in the pelvis as your baby bears down.  Braxton Hicks contractions are likely increasing in strength and frequency, and that's a good thing, since it means your body's gearing up for the big event.  

Sounds fun, huh? :)  My next appointment is on Wednesday and I also have an ultrasound immediately following.  My parents fly in on Thursday and my official due date is Friday :).  It's going to be a pretty eventful week... and hopefully Logan will come soon after my parents get here.