Our little blessing at 37 weeks, 4 days

     Sorry this is late, but we are officially full term now! So now we have +/- three weeks to go. I had my weekly doctor’s appointment last Friday. Not much to report from that though. I weighed just a little bit less than the week before and my blood pressure was good. The results from my Group B strep test came back negative so I won’t have to have antibiotics given to me during labor to make sure the baby isn’t affected. They did not do a pelvic exam this week because I haven’t been having contractions and they doubt that I have progressed any. Otherwise, here is what’s been going on this week.

How far along? 37 weeks, 4 days

Baby’s size?  The baby weighs a little more than six pounds and is about the length of a stalk of Swiss chard at a little more than 19 inches long. The baby is now considered “full term,” even though his due date is three weeks away. If I went into labor now, his lungs would likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Sleep? Sleep is not good anymore. I have trouble getting comfortable at night and falling asleep unless I am really tired. If I have a nap during the day, it makes it hard to sleep at night. And I get up to use the restroom about every hour or two.

Food cravings? This week I’ve been loving frozen green grapes, orange juice, and ice cream, particularly soft-serve type ice cream like that in Dairy Queen blizzards.

Food aversions? No aversions this week.

Symptoms? Still having some pain in my pelvis due to stretching ligaments as my body gets ready for the baby’s birth. I've been having some heartburn lately, which is no fun. 

Best moment this week? One of the best moments this week was when Tim read some of the baby’s books to my stomach. It was really cute to see him get into it. And the baby responded with a few kicks, so he must have enjoyed it too.

Movement? Movement has slowed down some because I think it's getting pretty cramped in there. Some days he’ll move a ton and then the next day he’ll be a little more subdued as if he wore himself out the day before.

What I miss about not being pregnant? I miss being able to get up and down off the floor/couch/bed like I used to. It’s easy for me to lose my balance sometimes when I try to get up as fast as I used to be able to. Also, putting on shoes and socks is really hard now.

What I’m looking forward to? Still waiting on the baby furniture. Unfortunately, the owner of the store called and said the company that makes the furniture will not send a truck out to deliver it until they have a full truck of merchandise, which she doesn’t expect will happen until mid-April. She is estimating we’ll get the furniture at the end of April. We’re both really disappointed. We had hoped to have the nursery completely finished before he was born. Otherwise, I’m really excited to finally meet the baby and see what he looks like and to be able to start that next step in being a parent to an outside baby.  I’m also looking forward to our families coming out to visit in the next two months!