Wednesday, March 14, 2012

37 Weeks.

37 weeks! Officially full term and {{mostly}} ready for baby to arrive!



Now that I am full term I keep telling myself that “baby is coming this week” to make sure I’m ready and prepared. I honestly wouldn’t mind if baby comes late, but I’m just so anxious to hold him! Of course, I have begun getting more nervous about the whole birthing process. Now that it’s “here” I’m not quite as cool as I’ve been for the past 9 months. While I still think “It’ll happen. The baby will be born one way or another. Every human on earth was born and has a mother who birthed him/her. I can do it”… I also think “How in the world is this child supposed to get out?” Honestly, c-sections look better and better… but not the side effects and recovery period.


Dr. Appt: Had my weekly appointment yesterday. I am now 3 cm dilated! Progress! Could still be a few weeks for those last 7 cm… but I’m hoping not. Either way, it’s super exciting to know that my body is preparing for birth. Makes it seem like it really is the end of the line! I also have had a little spotting, which could mean a number of things. It seems kind of cruel that spotting occurs so close to the end. I mean, every pregnant woman's nightmare is to have spotting, right? Called my dad (a Dr.), called the hospital, called a friend who's had a baby... all said the same thing. Just wait it out. If it's a lot then go to the hospital. We'll see in the days to come if baby is getting ready to make his appearance early!


Symptoms: Still having rather regular Braxton Hicks contractions. By regular, I don’t mean they are coming every hour on the hour or anything like that. I mean I feel them throughout the day, every day. Most are not painful, but slightly uncomfortable since my torso is so short. My entire middle seems to tighten up so when I’m sitting in my desk chair it feels like I need to stretch. Of course, stretching doesn’t help until the contraction has passed. Maybe my labor contractions will be similar? No pain? That would be a-mazing. Today I did have one that was slightly painful, but not too bad. It was mostly different because I felt a pang in my abdomen before realizing it was all tight. Baby has definitely dropped as well. Sometimes it’s hard to see on the outside, but I can definitely tell. It doesn’t feel as snug when I am sitting in my desk at work and I can feel more pressure towards the bottom of my middle instead of right at the top. I have also begun feeling hot/warm all the time. I sit on the couch and throw off the blankets. I wake up and feel like I’m glistening. Not pleasant and we have turned on the air conditioning… but it honestly doesn’t help much. While my feet and legs don’t look that swollen, apparently they are. I can’t comfortably wear my knee high boots anymore. I loved wearing those over my skinny jeans… but no more until after baby! I can still get them on… but by the end of the day my legs are in want of proper circulation! Thankfully, my hands and face haven’t swelled noticeably. No new weight gain. Hoping this keeps up until baby arrives! If I stayed right at 25 preggo pounds that would be fabulous. I weigh myself around the same time in the mornings so I can keep accurate track. The scale at the Dr. office sometimes shows some weight gain… but that’s because my appts are in the afternoon at varying times so it really depends on what I’ve eaten that day. I try to weigh myself every 3 days or so. Last symptom of the week: I had a slight bruise on the top left side of my belly where Jack typically kicks. He hasn’t been kicking super hard, but he does kick the same spot frequently. I noticed a nice blue spot there the other day. Lovely little memento from baby!


Preparation: Matt and I had our last date night before baby! Even once baby comes and we go on date nights… it will never be the same. For the first while I’ll just be anxious to get back home to the baby, I’m sure.. There weren’t really any movies we were interested in seeing, so our date was very short and sweet. We went to Applebee’s because Matt had wanted to go there. Nothing fancy, but certainly delicious. The next day we decided to extend our date night since it was so casual and got Dickie’s for lunch. We’ve been cutting way back on eating out so these two meals were certainly a treat. I have been so blessed with my husband and cannot wait to see him in action as a Daddy. To prepare the nursery, we have been ordering the last few necessities we need. I found three gift cards I forgot we had so that certainly helped. My trade-ins for my textbooks came through on Amazon as well so that money was quickly used. We had several large boxes to throw away once everything was put away. Our neighbors commented on the baby coming so soon, which is always fun. We don’t have real personal relationships with our neighbors, but we do say hello when we pass each other. I have also been trying to finish all my crafts for the nursery. We made feet and hand prints to frame of Mommy and Daddy. We’ll do Jackson’s prints once he’s here. Each of our prints is on a different colored paper so it will add color to the plain white walls. We have both been reading to baby. I have begun reading my devotions out loud to him, which I hope to continue to do once baby comes. Matt has been reading baby books to him. It is so fun to feel Jackson begin to move as soon as he hears Matt’s voice. While we can’t be 100% positive he’s reacting to Matt’s voice, he begins moving right after he starts each night. Coincidence? Every night? I hope he is familiar with both of our voices so when he arrives he’ll be soothed by either. Speaking of nighttime: I have been waking every night at around 2 and 5 to use the restroom. Is my body perhaps preparing me for nightly feedings? Once I return to work after maternity leave I am sure I will be so exhausted each and every day… but I am so looking forward to those nighttime feedings. Time for just me and my baby!


Cravings/Aversions: No aversions, which is definitely a blessing. I’m planning on having a ham and cheese sandwich as my first post baby meal… and then probably for many lunches after that! I have missed my ham and cheese sandwiches! I also ate almost an entire block of Colby Jack cheese in one sitting! We had to go buy some more! It was so delicious. I drink a lot of milk, eat a lot of cheese, and love yogurt… I don’t think baby has any calcium needs! I also HAD to have a midnight snack the other night. It was actually a 2 am snack. I woke up and was thinking about breakfast sandwiches. I thought about going back to sleep and waking up early enough to make them for breakfast. Nope. Got out of bed, made my egg, toasted my English muffin, added the cheese… delicious! Hit the spot. Also still drinking lots and lots of Apple Raspberry Juice. Matt got home last night from an overnight trip and couldn’t believe I had drank all my juice. He thinks we should’ve invested in the stock of the brand! It’s just delicious though, I can’t stop at just one glass!


Worries: Like I said, I have begun to worry slightly about the birthing process. I think it’s a normal kind of worry. I do feel like we’re well prepared for varying circumstances. I also have begun to worry about the first year of Jackson’s life. We have decided that I will return to work and Matt will stay home with the baby. We’re hoping to know about his selection into the Army Officer Candidate School by June/July. If he is selected then he’ll have a lot of training to do, which will take him away from me and the baby. This way he gets a good amount of time with Jackson before he leaves. Plus, many entry level jobs he has been looking at do not pay enough for our monthly expenses. So I would have to return to work anyways. I would rather Jackson stay home with his Daddy than with a sitter or childcare provider. I have begun to worry that Jackson will then grow super attached to his Daddy and when he leaves for training that may cause some issues. By that time I would probably leave my job and stay home with Jackson. I am slightly worried about how the cats will react to Jackson, but not too much. Lots of families have pets that adjust to new babies. Our cats are super spoiled… but hopefully they’ll enjoy having Matt home most of the day, even if his attention is focused on the baby. I had a mini freak-out session this morning about if I am ready to be a mother and if I will be a good mother. Matt quickly calmed my fears and in his devotions he even read me a verse about labor pains, but joy coming once the baby was born. The Word of God truly is living, giving us just what we need when we need it!


Overall, I feel very ready to meet my baby. Whether he decides to come this week… next week… or five weeks from now… I will be so excited to meet him! I have this image of what he will look like, so we’ll see! This image is a good mixture of Matt and I, but of course, I’m assuming a lot of his features will look more Asian.


I meant to finish his nursery tonight so I could post pictures. I still might finish the nursery, but pictures will have to wait. Almost ready!

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