37 Weeks & Full Term Baby!!

Wow wow wow.

I was laying in bed last night staring at the ceiling (a common occurrence lately since solid sleep is hard to come by), and since it was after midnight, I realized I was 37 weeks and therefore full term and that means this baby could come at any time and they wouldn’t do anything to stop it and WOW. Run on thoughts much? After all the BFNs, it’s surreal to think we’ve actually made it to this point. The next step is birthing my baby. We’re going to have a BABY in this house.

Yes, I’m being redundant, but that’s the circle my mind goes in. I am so excited, scared, excited, nervous, excited… ya, you get the point.

This week RockStar is probably around 6 1/3# and 19″+ long (like a stalk of swiss chard). I’m super curious how big this child will actually be when s/he comes out. If I remember correctly, I was born at 8# 9 3/4oz (Mom’s water broke and she went into labor a couple weeks early) and my husband was 8# even (also born a couple weeks early – 2nd c-section for his Mom). We were both midwest babies born at <1000′ elevation though, and out here in Colorado, high altitude babies tend to be smaller… based on this article, our baby will probably be 7-8oz smaller at birth than if I had gone through this pregnancy in MN. Isn’t that bizarre? We shall see! Either way, I doubt we’ll have a tiny baby based on our birth weights!

I weighed in at 185# this morning (up 2# from last week, up 24# overall). I’m definitely retaining some water in my face/neck and hands, but overall, I’d guess the vast majority of that is my belly (and my butt). My belly is just so HEAVY at all times now. I don’t feel like RockStar has dropped at all yet – my ribs are still a hot commodity, and I spend every moment possible either standing or lying down, because sitting is most definitely not comfortable.

General Syptoms: I get a little freaked out by less movement lately, but I know that it’s totally normal. The poor kid is just getting squished in there and doesn’t have as much room to move around! Generally, right as I’m getting worried, I’ll get a massive push to my ribs or pelvis to remind me that everything is a-okay. I’m pretty sure the butt is on the left-hand side of my belly, because that whole side will suddenly jut way out and be a big, hard mass. Freaks my husband out. 🙂

I’m also getting braxton hicks pretty regularly still. They’re not exactly comfortable, but I try to relax and drink water when they happen. My body is getting ready for this!!

Carpal tunnel is always present… it’ll be nice to feel my fingertips again… though thankfully in the meantime, the horrid burning sensation has mostly stopped. It’s more the numbing sensation I struggle with now. Heartburn is standard and sleep pretty much sucks, so basically it’s just the normal 9th month of pregnancy symptoms. As much as they suck, it’s pretty damn cool that I’m struggling with 9th month of pregnancy symptoms. SO incredibly grateful… 🙂 🙂 🙂

Oh – also, at my midwife appointment today, I found out that my gonorrhea and chlamydia tests came back negative (not a huge surprise – LOL). I had those done so I could refuse the erythromycin eye goo that they put on most babies immediately after birth. My StrepB also came back negative, so no antibiotics for me! The test is good for 5 weeks, so I’m hoping I go before 40w6d and they don’t have to retest me. If you test positive for StrepB (20% of women do), then you have to get a 20min dose of antibiotics every four hours while you’re in labor. I’d love to NOT get tied to my bed for that if at all possible!

Finally, the next few exciting weeks by the numbers…  🙂
16 days until most of my family members arrive from MN for the holidays
18 days until my entire family is here
21 days until my EDD
23 days until my husband’s family members arrive (the ones who don’t live here already)
24 days until Christmas
29 days until my husband’s 30th birthday
51 days until my own 30th birthday