38 Weeks

Pregnancy Update November 12, 2012

Thank you to my sister, Melissa, for the cute shoes, tank, sweater, & scarf! Supposed to be a post-baby bday outfit, but I stretched the tank on! lol Too fun not to wear new clothes!

 

How far along: 38 weeks! 14 days left, but fewer, according to the doctor... and an induction date!

Size of baby: 19.75 inches, 6.8 lbs. - A "Leek"

 

What developed this past week: Baby is full term and has fully functioning organs, though his brain and nervous system will continue to develop for years.

Weight Gain: 34.6 lbs.

Maternity clothes: All maternity.

Gender: HE'S A BOY! "Bryson Nicholas"
(Bryson means "smart", Nicholas means "winner" or "victory of the people")

Movement: Haven't noticed a decrease in movement due to limited space... have noticed that I'm being punched in my bladder more... must be a sign he's dropping :)

Sleep: This past week I started getting up almost every night to use the bathroom - another reason I think Bryson is dropping... Otherwise I sleep well. Usually I can go a good 5-6 hours before waking up to turn over and use the bathroom. It's the "end" of the night of sleep where I am more restless - turning over more often. But I still manage to keep sleeping - just moving a lot too. I'll take that and be glad!

What I miss: Nothing this week. Makes me sad to think about not being pregnant anymore, so I can't even bring myself to complain about missing something.

Cravings: Nothing.

Best moment this week: My 37 week appt was actually at about 37.5 weeks, on 11/8. She said heartbeat and position look good. AND I was 1cm dilated and 70% effaced! Dr. V also said Bryson's head is very low and she couldn't imagine him waiting more than 10 days or so to come!! Since, I'm writing this a day late, I'll also update on my 38 week appt - since I may not be writing a 39 week post... On 11/13, at 38w2d, I was 2cm dilated and still 70% effaced, but my cervix was definitely softer and thinner (as deduced by TMI to share here :)). Dr. V seemed very surprised at how low Bryson's head was and she said she thinks he'll come before next Monday. BUT if he doesn't, we have a scheduled induction on 11/19! That way he'll be here and we'll be out of the hospital by Thanksgiving, when my doctors are not on call and the hospital is short staffed for the holiday. I can't BELIEVE he's ready to come any. day. now.

On Sunday especially, I had tons of braxton hicks contractions. Usually my BHs are brought on by exerting physical effort, but this weekend, there were plenty of times where I was sitting still and my uterus decided to practice contracting! Over and over again. Apparently they are working, because within 5 days, I dilated another cm between appts.

I'm still praying that Bryson comes before Monday, so B can decide when he is ready and when my body is ready. But if not, I'm ok with inducing so that we have our favorite doctor and are home for the holiday. Dr. V thinks there is no reason why we should wait - Bryson is ready.

 

Tuesday, my mom came over and we got the spare room reorganized and cleaned! She also cleaned my bathtub! What a woman :) Forever grateful!

Wednesday, I cashed in my birthday pedicure from my friend, Nicole! I now have beautiful feet to focus on during labor. lol

Sunday, 11/11, was a BEAUTIFUL 70 degree day, so we capitalized and cleaned out our cars and put the carseat bases in them!! A HUGE thank you to my brother in law, Eric, who surprised me and vacuumed my car while I was out taking a walk with his wife and kids that afternoon. AWESOME surprise! It was bad... so far past needing vacuumed. :)

Caleb's truck

My car

Also, it seems as though there is always more to clean, and Bryson isn't even here yet to make messes and use things! More laundry and more dishes keep coming :) I think we now have all the bottles and pacifiers clean!

 

Random info:
- No swelling at all lately - no matter the kind of socks I wear. I have stopped wearing my wedding ring, just in case - I would NOT want to have to get it cut off of me if I swell unexectedly!
- My last day of work was 11/12 - the rest of the week, Tues-Fri, I took vacation days so I can finish preparing everything for Bryson's arrival. My favorite part of taking the time off is NOT SITTING AT MY DESK! It makes me want to crawl out of my skin just to think about sitting there again - my ribs/abs ache and burn so much from sitting all day that I can hardly stand myself! I'm so happy I don't have to endure that for the last few days before B comes! Of course, the other great part is that I get to finish everything that's been on my to-do list AND relax and rest a little before I only get sleep in 2-3 hours increments. I'm living it up now!
-Unfortunately, in the past week or so a bunch of people in our family have caught a bad cold. We are praying that everyone gets better and is healthy to meet Bryson! Even Caleb had to take a half day from work on 11/13 because he was so miserable. Even his body was aching, along with the scratchy throat and runny nose. I am fighting it too - so far have been able to keep it down to a scratchy throat. I'm trying to keep something in my mouth (candy/gum) so that my throat doesn't get too dry. And I swear by taking vitamins - so far so good!

What I am looking forward to:  BRYSON COMING!!! Sometime within the next week, we will finally get to meet our son! Caleb and I could not be more excited to see his sweet face!