39 Weeks!! Still Pregnant.

The time to meet our little girl is almost here!  Not only did I finish my 39th week of pregnancy, but I also finished my last week of work in the office.  I plan on working from home to the extent possible until I go into labor, but no more trips into the office, no more work clothes, etc.  Hellooooo yoga pants and laptops in bed!

Excuse the odd lumpiness in the front.  These were non-maternity pants.  I made it!!

How Big is Baby?: She's the size of a watermelon . . . and incidentally, that's not what a pregnant woman wants to think about while on the verge of giving birth!

Total weight gain/loss: Unknown, since I haven't weighed myself since the last week's post!  I'm assuming I haven't gained anything, but who knows if that's a safe assumption.

Next Appointment: Monday, December 24.  My OB plans on doing an internal exam, so Merry Christmas to me, I guess!  Having your cervix poked at is really the gift that keeps on giving.

Maternity clothes? Nope.  I WIN!!!  I'm done with having to really be dressed for any events and finished out without a maternity wardrobe!

Sleep: So patchy.  Some days I sleep through the night without so much as rolling over.  Some days I am up a couple of times.  Some days I sleep for a full night PLUS take a long nap.  Other nights, I have insomnia.  I can't wait until I'm actually being woken up by a gorgeous baby and not just being uncomfortable.

Movement: Always.  She is my little wiggle worm.

Food cravings: Spicy food.  But for selfish reasons (the OWT about spicy food inducing labor), not so much because I like spicy food.

Food aversions: None.

Gender: A beautiful little girl.

Belly Button in or out: In.  Pregnancy win #2.

What I miss:  Still miss getting a full night's sleep and being able to roll over on my own.

What I am looking forward to:  Meeting my angel-faced baby girl.

Contractions: Ugh.  They come semi regularly, but who knows if they have changed my cervix at all.  I'll find out tomorrow!

Milestones: Baby Bak is able to flex her limbs now.  She's almost ready to sell tickets to the baby gun show.  Her brain is still developing and she's getting smarter every day.  Since I'm positive she's already brilliant, I'm scared about just how smart this little one will be.

38 Weeks. And Yes, I'm Still Pregnant

I didn't realize I skipped last week.  Whoops!  Since I last posted, I am officially full term.  That means Baby Baklava could be here any day now and would be considered fully grown and not need NICU time.

This was another big week for our family, as on Tuesday, I was officially sworn in to the California bar.  I guess I'm a real attorney now, no asterisk needed in my official firm emails.  Spyro took a picture of me after the ceremony to commemorate my bump and the big occasion.

How Big is Baby?: Our pumpkin is the size of a pumpkin!

Total weight gain/loss: Up to -2 from pre-pregnancy.  I've really started packing on the pounds the last couple of weeks (up about 5 lbs or so), so while there's no total gain, I'm hoping my OB doesn't throw a bitch fit.

Next Appointment: Monday, December 17.  At my last appointment, I got the news that I'm GBS negative, so if I go into labor at home, I don't have to rush into the hospital to get the antibiotics and can try to labor at home in the tub or however I'm most comfortable . . . at least until I waddle screaming into L&D, demanding an epidural!

Maternity clothes? Still holding steady.  Very happy I didn't have to invest in a new wardrobe!

Sleep: This has been rough!  I have wanted more sleep than ever, but it's obviously hard when I'm still working and plan to work until the bitter end.  I also found out that sleep (or at least lack thereof) can negatively affect blood pressure, so I've been trying to get lots of sleep every night to make sure I have the best possible health outcomes. 

Movement: Yep.  My little bruiser has some strong, rough rolls and jabs and is possibly practicing planking in there.  She cracked me up last week when we put her Glo Worm on my tummy and played its music and she started kicking the crap out of the Glo Worm, right in the face.

Food cravings: Last night I sent Spyro to the grocery store to get me the makings for a banana split . . . to be made on top of a donut.  They were out of donuts, but I still ate the hell out of that banana split.  'Nuff said.

Food aversions: The other day, I was almost in tears because nothing sounded good for dinner, not even normal favorites.  That's how my aversions work, I guess.  Most of the time I'm fine eating whatever we're going to have, but there are some days when the idea of food sounds terrible and I can't even really taste or enjoy it.

Gender: A beautiful little girl.

Belly Button in or out: Still in, thankfully!

What I miss:  Full night's sleep, not peeing what feels like every few seconds, being able to roll over on my own.

What I am looking forward to:  Finishing up the nursery!  Since we have 12 days until my EDD, I think Spyro is cutting it way too close and making me anxious!!

Contractions: Are now my mortal enemy.  I woke up at 2am on Saturday morning to use the bathroom and afterward was having what felt like constant contractions.  I tried laying on either side and they didn't abate.  I drank some water, and that didn't work.  After two hours, I finally took a book into the nursery and sat in the glider and just tried to relax.  I didn't get into bed until about 6am, and then had rough, sporadic sleep until almost 8am when I had to get up so we could go to our baby CPR class.  I had intermittent contractions during class, but not enough to qualify as labor.  I had contractions at home while I tried to nap, but they were tapering off.  Finally around 7pm, after waking up from my second nap of the day, the contractions had stopped.  Nothing so far today, but that was a ROUGH day.  Spyro joked with me that I was already ready for the epidural and he wasn't too far off.

Milestones: Baby Bak is pretty much fully developed.  She's starting to shed the vernix (the white, protective coating on a fetus's skin) and is almost ready to take her first poop . . . which her daddy will be cleaning up!

36 Weeks: The Final Countdown

Where is the time going?!  I can't believe that in four weeks, I should be meeting Baby Baklava!  This kid is already the light of our lives.  Today, we had the good fortune of going to a friend's house to pick up a ton of baby clothes that her five month old daughter has outgrown.  It was the first time we've had the chance to meet baby Hazel and she totally charmed both of us.  She is a complete sweetheart.  We met her right after her nap, and she was smiling and happy and didn't even mind me holding her.  Spyro and I were talking about how absolutely precious she is on our drive home and he turned to me and said, "I'm screwed."  He finally came to the realization we've all had about him with our little girl: he's going to be so head over heels in love with her that he's going to dote on her all the time.  Love him so much, and the idea of him being such a big teddy bear with our little girl is the sweetest image in my mind.

I feel like baby girl is DEFINITELY growing!

How Big is Baby?: The size of a honeydew melon.  But sweeter.

Total weight gain/loss: Up to -5 from pre-pregnancy. Since my eating habits haven't really changed, I can only assume that it's our little girl chunking up in there.

Next Appointment: Monday, December 3.  I'm now to the appointment each week stage.  My blood pressure came down enough at my prior appointment that my doctor said he would not put me on medication, but it's still elevated.  I've heard that's normal in late pregnancy, but I still don't want it to be too high!  At my "36 week" appointment (which was 35w3d), I got the GBS test, which wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated.

Maternity clothes? Not really.  In the beginning of pregnancy, I bought three maternity dresses for work.  I wear them occasionally, mixed in with my other work dresses and skirts.  I'm going to make it through pregnancy without really wearing maternity clothes!!  I consider that a win, because the money I'm not spending on clothes is being spent directly on baby girl's room.

Sleep: UGH.  Man, I love sleep.  I am definitely a sleeper, and I always have been from a young age.  This has been the worst part of pregnancy because my sleep is so interrupted.  I miss having a full night of sleep, but I guess this is the body's way of preparing me.  But still, I'll be so thankful when I can flip from side to side--or better yet, sleep on my stomach again!

Movement: Yep.  Right now she's kicking and moving away because the laptop is on my lap and resting on my belly and she HATES it.  Always has.  The movements are different now.  I can feel her in vastly different places in my belly, which reminds me how big she's getting.  It's been some sharp kicks, but also some rough-feeling rolling and other types of movement.

Food cravings: This past week, I just wanted a big, juicy burger with good bacon on it. 

Food aversions: Nope, not really.  Baby Bak and I love food!

Gender: A beautiful little girl.

Belly Button in or out: Still in, thankfully!

What I miss:  A full night's sleep, wearing jeans (since pre-pregnancy jeans are far too uncomfortable to wear at this stage, but I don't want to order any at this point).

What I am looking forward to:  Finishing up the nursery!  It should be done in the next week and then I'll be able to post some pictures.

Contractions: I'm adding this one because that's been the most recent development for me.  They're nothing timeable and nothing that is out of the ordinary, but they have been awesome. :/  Basically, walking through Target anymore involves me sucking wind and pausing a couple of times to let a contraction pass.  I've found that the pain is fairly quickly alleviated if I do a set of sort of weird squats while leaning up against the couch or another piece of furniture or stable item of similar height.

Milestones: Baby Bak is closer to being able to breathe on her own.  Her liver and kidneys, as well as her circulation and immune systems are basically set.  She's almost ready to be seen by the world.