37 week update and some TMI (be forewarned)

I will be 37 weeks pregnant at midnight tonight! I guess I could technically still have this baby by then, but I highly doubt that I will; I'm just not feelin' it. Therefore, I can say that, unforeseen circumstances aside, I will make it to full-term! Woo hoo!

I had my 37 week appointment with my midwife today and it went very well. I have been following her advice and MAJORLY taking it easy (well, easy for me at least) since last Thursday. It has been a royal pain in the tuchus, but I have persevered. Starting tomorrow I can resume normal activities, knowing that I now qualify for the waterbirth I want to have. YAY! Come any time New Little Boy!

So back to my appointment. My uterus has almost caught up from measuring behind last week and I am now measuring 36 1/2 cm at 37 weeks, where as I was measuring 35 cm at 36 weeks last Thursday. Last week my cervix was still cone shaped. The internal os (opening) was measuring 2cm while the external os was only measuring 1cm, and I was 50% effaced. This week my midwife said that the baby is VERY low, pushing down on my cervix, and that it is now cylinder shaped and 2 1/2 cm dilated at the internal and external opening. I am also about 70% effaced. She said that I could have this baby at any time now and that she wouldn't be surprised if I had him before my appointment scheduled for next Thursday.

We were talking more about the differences between women in regards to pregnancy and she said that she believed that I was probably one of those women who just doesn't carry to term. She said it seems like I just grow babies faster, since this baby feels like it's a very good weight already. She imagined that if I were to carry him to term or a week after, he would be a pretty big baby. No thank you, I said... 7lbs 9oz was already plenty of baby to push out. = )

I swear I feel like if this baby was any lower, he would probably just fall right through me. I feel like a water balloon that is about to burst. I am definitely waddling since his head is far down in my pelvic girdle now. And MAN, is he ever packed in my belly. The midwife even had trouble figuring out which body parts were which because everywhere she felt, some body part or another was protruding.

Okay, next topic. Here comes the TMI... skip ahead if you don't like talk about bowl movements... last warning...

As a disclaimer, the reason I am mentioning this is because I had NO idea that it was a possible symptom of the end of pregnancy; I never experienced it with Ari. I wish I was told that it could happen so I wasn't so confused and disturbed, and therefore I am sharing my experience with the general public.

Since Saturday morning now, I have been having some very loose stools. At first I thought I might have caught a bug, or eaten something that did not agree with me, but I felt fine and it has just persisted. This is quite the contrast to the constipation that I and many pregnant women battle during pregnancy. So, I called the on call midwife and asked her about it and she said that sometimes at the end of pregnancy, hormonal changes can cause your stools to be loose. As long as it's not watery like diarrhea, and as long as I'm able to eat and stay hydrated, it's nothing to worry about. She suggested that I try to eat more binding foods (the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) and avoid dairy, and hopefully that would help a little bit. Well, I tried that and it did NOTHING beneficial. If anything, it made it worse and I felt worse because I was eating boring, low nutrition foods instead of foods that I like that have some substance to them. So, I said screw it and have just resumed a normal diet. I feel better, but the loose stools have continued. The wives tale in regard to this is that you get loose stools to help clean your digestive system out, making room for the baby to move through and out of your body. If that is true, then I sure hope this is a sign that it will happen soon. I'm ready to resume normal bowel functions.

Okay, TMI time is done. Overall I am doing very well. Getting more tired, having more trouble sleeping, but healthy and for that I am very thankful. = )

On a completely different note, I am almost done with my nesting list! My mother and sister Esther have been especially helpful these past couple of weeks. My mom's been helping me organize, purge and clean the main floor, and doing some tasks on her own that I could not physically manage at this point with my huge belly. Esther's been taking Ari out on walks and to the local coffee shop to keep him entertained while we work. I am so thankful! So yeah, I am feeling so on top of things and prepared this time, quite the opposite from the end of my first pregnancy. I HIGHLY suggest to any of you up-and-coming mothers that you have everything together at least a month in advance. It's not not worth the stress of procrastinating.

Drew has been nesting too... though he won't admit it. The thing that finally made me realize it was that on Sunday, I woke up to him washing my car in the driveway for no apparent reason. He NEVER washes my car. He never even washes HIS car. I thought it was so cute. = )

We also had a co-craving tonight! I was thinking on my way home from my appointment that a Gyro from Frank's Dairy and Deli would be sooo good for dinner. But, I had already asked Drew to pick up some tonic water (for my leg cramps) on his way home from work and decided that he probably wouldn't want to pick dinner up too. However, when I got home Drew was like, "You know what sounds really good tonight? Gyros." I hit him in my surprise and exclaimed that we were totally craving the same thing. Must be a sign that the end is near. ; )

As a final update, Drew and I had a very nice spa weekend away this past weekend. Well, it was only one night away, but two full days and it was GREAT. Drew was not as into the spa thing as both he and I had hoped, but he was glad that he experienced it once. We had a very relaxing time hanging out together and going to some of our favorite restaurants, as well as to a movie. I am so thankful for my family helping us to make it happen. = )

Till next post!

36 Weeks Pregnant!

I'm 36 weeks tomorrow, but I had my 36 wk midwife appointment today, and it was "slightly" more eventful than I expected!

This is the first time that I haven't measured exactly on the week that I was pregnant for starters. I measured 35" today. The midwife says it's probably because of how much lower the baby is sitting in my pelvis already. I'm also 1cm dilated and 50% effaced! Woah! I was NOT expecting that. She said that she would not be surprised if I had him by next weekend! AAAAaaaa!! I was REALLY not expecting that. I mean, I have been expecting to have this baby early, because Ari was 10 days early, but not 3 weeks early!! My midwife told me that if I do not have any sex, or do a lot of walking, or doing anything that could cause the baby to bounce around in there, that I can probably hang on until next Sunday. Wow.

As my midwife was measuring my stomach, she asked me to remind her how much Ari weighed when he was born. I told her 7lbs 9oz, and she said that this baby felt like he was probably going to be around that same size. So who knows?! Maybe he's just packin' on that weight quickly so he can meet us sooner! = ) I am kind of hoping to last at least until next Sunday, because I was planning on having some friends over on Saturday for a little girl's night. But.. I am also very sick of being pregnant, and if this little guy is ready to come out then I am ready to meet him too! = D

I guess I should probably pack my hospital bag tomorrow.

I was initially somewhat concerned about the idea of having him this early because I'd remembered hearing something about alertness and ability to nursing being much different between 37 and 38 weeks. I asked my midwife though, and she said that had more to do with the timing of being medically induced. She said that even as early as 36 1/2 weeks there is usually no difference in an infant's ability to feed if the birth happens naturally. It made me feel much more at peace having my misinformation cleared up.

I did start to freak out a little bit this evening because I haven't washed any of my newborn stuff yet. So I put a load in, that included my infant car seat fabrics, and felt a little better. Overall though, I have just about everything ready, or at least ready enough. Babies really don't need much at first. = )

Oh! One VERY important detail that I almost forgot to include. If I go into labor before 37 weeks, I CANNOT have a waterbirth at the hospital. So, PLEASE pray hard that I last at LEAST until next Friday, August 26th, so I can have the waterbirth I've been planning on. = D

So yeah. I'm supposed to take it easy this week (which admittedly is super hard for me) and could be having this baby at any point in time now I guess! Aaaa!!! So excited. = D

Well, I think that's all for now. If I don't have the baby by 37 weeks, or if I get bored before then, I will try to do another post. = )

35 Weeks Pregnant!

Alllright. I am 35 weeks pregnant now. Phew.

Things have gotten REALLY real in the past few weeks. I am in the throws of my final trimester. Uncomfortable, sore, slow, tired. Oh yeah, the fun last stretch.

What to update you on...

Well, a couple weeks ago my normal Braxton Hicks contractions got super intense, accompanied by lower back pain. I called the midwife, and she told me to try taking a nice warm bath until I was pruned up to see if that would help them stop. I did, and they calmed down a little bit in the bath, but as soon as I got out they were intense again. So, I got to take a trip to the hospital to be monitored and examined. The results were that, yes, I was having a good bit of contractions, but that I was not dilated at all which is GREAT. I also had no infections that could be contributing to my contractions and the fetal fibronectin test showed that I would not be having this baby in the next two weeks (which would put me a little over 35 weeks) which is also excellent. The midwife told me that I should probably just expect that this level of contracting will be my new baseline for the past month and I was sent home. *sigh* They have indeed continued and I have gotten used to functioning with this new level of discomfort... for the most part. = )

Pregnancy insomnia as well as nesting have set in. I've been trying to plug away at my to do list, but it is going slowly. For the most part the very important things are done, but I do want to get a few more things washed and organized before Baby Boy #2 comes. I have to say though, I am WAY more on top of things this time than the first time. Partially because I have almost everything I need already, which is nice. = )

What else? Ari has been a nightmare. A NIGHT.MARE. He is sprouting 6 or so teeth at the same time and also recently came down with some sort of virus. It has been slightly traumatizing for Drew and I. I think this is a good sign though, because it means that Ari has been VERY healthy overall so far. This is only the second time that he has developed a med-high fever and both times it did not require us to take him to the doctor; we were able to manage his symptoms at home. He's finally over the illness but the teeth are still causing him to be a very unhappy boy. I am praying that God is allowing this to happen now so that he will be done with this intense bit of teething by the time Baby Boy #2 is born. One can hope. = )

On a positive note, Drew and I will be having a spa day away next weekend! We are getting couples massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. Super excited!!! This will be Drew's first time getting a massage and I sure hope he likes it; maybe then he'll budget for us to get them on a regular basis. ; ) Unfortunately I will not be full term at that time, so NO reflexology induction foot massage for me this time around. = ) Maybe I'll schedule one if I reach my due date.

So, yep. I am uncomfortable, but very healthy. This baby is very healthy, and moving a BUNCH. I cannot wait to meet him!! I am getting sooo excited. I know it will change my life again forever, so I CAN wait until he's ready to come out, but I am super excited. = )

Hopefully I'll be able to blog again before I'm a mother of two! God Bless. = D