Our Pregnancy: 38 Weeks, 14 days 'til due date!
9/3/13 37w2d - I really wasn't sure I would be posting a 38 week post, but now that I'm already into Tuesday and have just 5 days to go to hit that milestone, I'm thinking yep, we're going to hit 38 weeks! I've had less labor signs and symptoms the past few days - although maybe it's partially because I'm not paying as close attention since I have been sick and feeling like crud. I came down with some sort of head cold last Friday which is still hanging on 4 days later. I'm over it completely and wish it was over me! I've taken about 1 dose of Sudafed each of the last few days along with a dose of Tylenol and I feel guilty every time. I hate suffering the symptoms of a cold, but I hate putting meds in my body too. I've been really congested, and my ears are still very plugged up this morning. I feel like I've gone through about 100 tissues in the past few days! Thank goodness it was a long weekend home, so I had an extra day of taking it easy to try to rest up and hopefully help encourage the healing process. Hopefully this cold is on it's way OUT and I will be feeling back to myself in the next day or so. Considering I woke up feeling about the same as yesterday, I'm not hopeful that today is the day I get better! Kent had this crud too, and his lasted about 4-5 days, so hopefully it's almost run its course. I definitely don't want to go into labor and have a new baby along with a cold - so I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed that it goes away very, very soon - although I probably have at least a few more days of baby baking so I'm not too concerned at this point.
9/4/13 37w3d - still here and going strong! Last night as soon as I got home I got straight to cooking up a yummy casserole for dinner and that evening I got in my shower and gave it a full on top to bottom scrubbing. Those were the two things I had on my "to accomplish" list for the evening so I was happy with getting that much done! I considered going down to the basement and walking on the treadmill for awhile, but it's really boring down there - there's nothing to look at and I wasn't in the mood to just crank some music. Maybe tonight the mood will strike. The only thing on my "to accomplish" list for tonight is get the butterfly mobile hung in the nursery. The hospital bags have all been tucked into the trunk of the car as of this morning and so we continue the waiting to see what will happen! I was having a LOT of contractions last night - most of them were just Braxton Hicks with the tightening across my upper abdomen, but a couple of them were fairly painful and I kept wondering if they were going to evolve into anything. I don't bother counting how far apart they are if they're not painful, but the BH I was getting were very frequent. I've had a few this morning, a little more than "normal" but it's not surprising so I try not to think too much of any of it yet. I did have a very loose bowel movement this morning, and definitely lots of cervical pressure today. Nothing else really to report though. I did have a little bit more mucous plug yesterday - but not much really. It's weird how I had it every day for 2 weeks and now really nothing! Maybe it all came out?!
9/5/13 37w4d - Last night was another one of those "is it time?!" kind of evenings. I contracted off and on throughout the day and by the afternoon my belly was just rock hard for long stretches of time in addition to a few painful contractions / cramps. I lost another big piece of mucous plug after I got home and was just feeling very "off". I couldn't sit still but didn't feel very good either, so I got on my treadmill for about 40 minutes and walked at a steady pace. I contracted almost the entire time with a few that made me slow my steps down and breath to get through. Definitely full on "warm up" mode - everything fizzled out by bed time. I had about 2 painful cramps / contractions during the night that woke me up, but otherwise slept ok. My stomach was pretty on edge last night - lots of queasiness and burping / gassiness too - lovely. My lower back was really sore off and on as well and I had to stretch it out to relieve some of the pain which helped a little. So far this morning things seem to be about normal - I feel like I have a bladder the size of a peanut, I'm tired but not too bad, my heartburn was bad yesterday and I can still feel it this morning though hopefully the Prilosec will take the edge off. Lots of more tightening sensations today, but not too many painful ones yet. Baby is moving around still - being wiggly at the moment actually although she's been more quiet the past couple days with less uber-wiggly antics and more small wiggles and kicks.
We'll see what this afternoon brings - wondering how many more days my body can keep up at this pace before I finally hit that invisible "threshold" where it goes from pre-labor to active labor! I feel like I'm toeing the line, but I have no idea where the line actually is... it's all a guessing game. I'm fine with her staying put as long as she needs to - I am looking forward to a healthy, full term baby - I'm just ready for the guessing game to be over!!
I'm hoping the OB I see tomorrow will do a cervical check for me - I'd like to have an idea on how much I'm dilated - I feel like there MUST be some progress since I was checked at the hospital at 35 weeks!
My cold seems to be healing up slowly - my ears are still congested and a little sore, and I've had phlegm in my throat and sinuses that's working it's way out. I'm feeling a little better though, and think I should be pretty much back to "me" within another day or two. Hopefully I'll feel pretty good this weekend so I can get some "to-do's" done around the house and feel like I got some cleaning accomplished!
9/6/13 37w5d - I am getting excited about hitting 38 weeks on Sunday! We are so close to getting to meet this little one!! I just got back from my OB appointment - everything still looks good. Vitals are all good, no protein in my urine, blood pressure remains steady and at a good number. We'll ignore the weight gain to this point. :) Baby's heart rate sounds good and we talked briefly about her 2-vessel cord and she said what I already know which is really just keep an eye on her movements and watch for bleeding. If I can't feel movement or have any sort of bleeding (not just spotting) then she said go straight to the nearest hospital - but otherwise things look and feel fine and I am good to keep the baby baking going until she's ready to make her appearance. My cervix does not feel like dilating yet - I'm at 1cm now, up from a "fingertip" 3 weeks ago. Sigh. I do recognize the fact that dilation at this point in time doesn't mean awhile lot - you can go from not dilated at all to a baby in less than 5 hours when your body is ready, but still - all these contractions, I was hoping for some sense of progress! :) She did say my cervix is very soft, but that was all I got from the exam. She didn't make any specific predictions - but just said she didn't think I would go overdue. We'll see! She commented on my belly being tight - it's been in a ball most of the past couple hours - and mentioned hydration. I don't think it's dehydration though. I've been pretty good about fluids lately - and am already up to 60 ounces of water drunk so far today, I think it's just my grumpy uterus! I'm still measuring about 1 week ahead, at 39 weeks.
Follow up in 1 more week - I'll be nearly 39 weeks at that point! Holy moly!! I keep wondering which appointment will be my last?! I delivered my last singleton at 38w3d, and of course can't help but wonder if week 38 will be the one this one decides to make her appearance during... I am very excited and ready to see her with my own 2 eyes, in person... in the mean time I am just thankful I'm still feeling pretty good most of the time. My cold is mostly healed up now - though yesterday and today I've been coughing a lot - I have a tickle in the back of my throat a lot of the time and can feel the back of my throat has some discharge from my sinuses which is gross and aggravates the coughing. Hopefully after this weekend it will have worked it's way out of my system completely!!
9-8-13 38w0d - Yesterday was HOT! We had Kent's first soccer game of the season which started at 4:15 in the afternoon, so we headed out around 2:45 to make sure we had time to get there (it was supposed to take about an hour). When we got there, and I stepped out of the car's AC I knew it was going to be a LONG couple hours. There was no shade and very little breeze and it was really, really warm. I ended up running to the nearby Publix to get 3 more big bottles of water and a bag of cocktail ice. I used the ice on my neck several times which helped a lot, and Kenneth held up an umbrella over us pretty much the whole time to help provide some shade. We both got sun on our arms and legs - and I know the boys must have really been roasting out there running around the field! We have another game today, so we picked up a shade tent and are packing small coolers with ice and drinks for each of us this time - so at least we're better prepared.
On the baby watch front, I lost another big piece of mucous plug yesterday and with the heat I was contracting a LOT yesterday afternoon even after we got home. As usual though, it fizzled out by the time we went to bed. I've had a few good contractions today, but nothing that feels "real" so just waiting to see what happens and when. I'm in nesting mode again, I made banana muffins, 2 loaves of banana bread, and have been doing dishes and tidying up in the kitchen. I grilled chicken and made pasta salad for lunch and purged a little in the refrigerator. We're getting ready to head out for Kent's 2nd game of the weekend now, and hopefully will be able to stay a little cooler!
According to BabyCenter:
How your baby's growing:
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long (about the size of a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
9/4/13 37w3d - still here and going strong! Last night as soon as I got home I got straight to cooking up a yummy casserole for dinner and that evening I got in my shower and gave it a full on top to bottom scrubbing. Those were the two things I had on my "to accomplish" list for the evening so I was happy with getting that much done! I considered going down to the basement and walking on the treadmill for awhile, but it's really boring down there - there's nothing to look at and I wasn't in the mood to just crank some music. Maybe tonight the mood will strike. The only thing on my "to accomplish" list for tonight is get the butterfly mobile hung in the nursery. The hospital bags have all been tucked into the trunk of the car as of this morning and so we continue the waiting to see what will happen! I was having a LOT of contractions last night - most of them were just Braxton Hicks with the tightening across my upper abdomen, but a couple of them were fairly painful and I kept wondering if they were going to evolve into anything. I don't bother counting how far apart they are if they're not painful, but the BH I was getting were very frequent. I've had a few this morning, a little more than "normal" but it's not surprising so I try not to think too much of any of it yet. I did have a very loose bowel movement this morning, and definitely lots of cervical pressure today. Nothing else really to report though. I did have a little bit more mucous plug yesterday - but not much really. It's weird how I had it every day for 2 weeks and now really nothing! Maybe it all came out?!
9/5/13 37w4d - Last night was another one of those "is it time?!" kind of evenings. I contracted off and on throughout the day and by the afternoon my belly was just rock hard for long stretches of time in addition to a few painful contractions / cramps. I lost another big piece of mucous plug after I got home and was just feeling very "off". I couldn't sit still but didn't feel very good either, so I got on my treadmill for about 40 minutes and walked at a steady pace. I contracted almost the entire time with a few that made me slow my steps down and breath to get through. Definitely full on "warm up" mode - everything fizzled out by bed time. I had about 2 painful cramps / contractions during the night that woke me up, but otherwise slept ok. My stomach was pretty on edge last night - lots of queasiness and burping / gassiness too - lovely. My lower back was really sore off and on as well and I had to stretch it out to relieve some of the pain which helped a little. So far this morning things seem to be about normal - I feel like I have a bladder the size of a peanut, I'm tired but not too bad, my heartburn was bad yesterday and I can still feel it this morning though hopefully the Prilosec will take the edge off. Lots of more tightening sensations today, but not too many painful ones yet. Baby is moving around still - being wiggly at the moment actually although she's been more quiet the past couple days with less uber-wiggly antics and more small wiggles and kicks.
We'll see what this afternoon brings - wondering how many more days my body can keep up at this pace before I finally hit that invisible "threshold" where it goes from pre-labor to active labor! I feel like I'm toeing the line, but I have no idea where the line actually is... it's all a guessing game. I'm fine with her staying put as long as she needs to - I am looking forward to a healthy, full term baby - I'm just ready for the guessing game to be over!!
I'm hoping the OB I see tomorrow will do a cervical check for me - I'd like to have an idea on how much I'm dilated - I feel like there MUST be some progress since I was checked at the hospital at 35 weeks!
My cold seems to be healing up slowly - my ears are still congested and a little sore, and I've had phlegm in my throat and sinuses that's working it's way out. I'm feeling a little better though, and think I should be pretty much back to "me" within another day or two. Hopefully I'll feel pretty good this weekend so I can get some "to-do's" done around the house and feel like I got some cleaning accomplished!
9/6/13 37w5d - I am getting excited about hitting 38 weeks on Sunday! We are so close to getting to meet this little one!! I just got back from my OB appointment - everything still looks good. Vitals are all good, no protein in my urine, blood pressure remains steady and at a good number. We'll ignore the weight gain to this point. :) Baby's heart rate sounds good and we talked briefly about her 2-vessel cord and she said what I already know which is really just keep an eye on her movements and watch for bleeding. If I can't feel movement or have any sort of bleeding (not just spotting) then she said go straight to the nearest hospital - but otherwise things look and feel fine and I am good to keep the baby baking going until she's ready to make her appearance. My cervix does not feel like dilating yet - I'm at 1cm now, up from a "fingertip" 3 weeks ago. Sigh. I do recognize the fact that dilation at this point in time doesn't mean awhile lot - you can go from not dilated at all to a baby in less than 5 hours when your body is ready, but still - all these contractions, I was hoping for some sense of progress! :) She did say my cervix is very soft, but that was all I got from the exam. She didn't make any specific predictions - but just said she didn't think I would go overdue. We'll see! She commented on my belly being tight - it's been in a ball most of the past couple hours - and mentioned hydration. I don't think it's dehydration though. I've been pretty good about fluids lately - and am already up to 60 ounces of water drunk so far today, I think it's just my grumpy uterus! I'm still measuring about 1 week ahead, at 39 weeks.
Follow up in 1 more week - I'll be nearly 39 weeks at that point! Holy moly!! I keep wondering which appointment will be my last?! I delivered my last singleton at 38w3d, and of course can't help but wonder if week 38 will be the one this one decides to make her appearance during... I am very excited and ready to see her with my own 2 eyes, in person... in the mean time I am just thankful I'm still feeling pretty good most of the time. My cold is mostly healed up now - though yesterday and today I've been coughing a lot - I have a tickle in the back of my throat a lot of the time and can feel the back of my throat has some discharge from my sinuses which is gross and aggravates the coughing. Hopefully after this weekend it will have worked it's way out of my system completely!!
9-8-13 38w0d - Yesterday was HOT! We had Kent's first soccer game of the season which started at 4:15 in the afternoon, so we headed out around 2:45 to make sure we had time to get there (it was supposed to take about an hour). When we got there, and I stepped out of the car's AC I knew it was going to be a LONG couple hours. There was no shade and very little breeze and it was really, really warm. I ended up running to the nearby Publix to get 3 more big bottles of water and a bag of cocktail ice. I used the ice on my neck several times which helped a lot, and Kenneth held up an umbrella over us pretty much the whole time to help provide some shade. We both got sun on our arms and legs - and I know the boys must have really been roasting out there running around the field! We have another game today, so we picked up a shade tent and are packing small coolers with ice and drinks for each of us this time - so at least we're better prepared.
On the baby watch front, I lost another big piece of mucous plug yesterday and with the heat I was contracting a LOT yesterday afternoon even after we got home. As usual though, it fizzled out by the time we went to bed. I've had a few good contractions today, but nothing that feels "real" so just waiting to see what happens and when. I'm in nesting mode again, I made banana muffins, 2 loaves of banana bread, and have been doing dishes and tidying up in the kitchen. I grilled chicken and made pasta salad for lunch and purged a little in the refrigerator. We're getting ready to head out for Kent's 2nd game of the weekend now, and hopefully will be able to stay a little cooler!
According to BabyCenter:
How your baby's growing:
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long (about the size of a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
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