39 Weeks Pregnant

Today I am one day shy of 40 weeks! I must say I am very surprised to still be pregnant! I really thought all those abnormally frequent Braxton Hicks would mean an early labor. And then finding out I was already 3 cm dilated at 38 weeks was just icing on the cake. But, little Gracie is just not ready yet.

I went to my 39 week appointment on Tuesday. I was still 3 cm (this time a full three instead of just barely three). My cervix had moved foraward though, but that was about the only change. I'm weighing in somewhere between a gain of 18-19 pounds (it fluctuates a good bit these days, yesterday I was 19 pounds up, today only 18)... I scheduled an induction for Monday and after a lot of consideration, I called and cancelled it. It wasn't long after that my phone rang and it was Dr T himself. He said he needed to see me for a 40 week check up on Monday since I cancelled the induction (I'd figured that so I had already scheduled an apt for Monday) and that he didn't want me going past 41 weeks because the placenta stops functioning as it should, etc. Well, I turn 41 weeks over the long Memorial Day Weekend so he said at the latest he would let me go until Thursday, May 27th. So most likely I will be induced on Thursday, unless of course Grace decides to come on her own which I am really hoping she does!!!

For the past week or two we have been walking a LOT, plus I'm still doing my aerobics class at the gym. I've been drinking Raspberry Leaf Tea, bouncing on the exercise ball... all the old tricks to bring labor on and this sweet girl is just not budging.

Here are a few pictures from some of our evening/afternoon walks this week (39 weeks)...

38 Weeks

I am 38 weeks, 4 days pregnant today. That is the exact day that I gave birth to Caden. I went to visit Dr T two days ago and things are looking really good. She is head down (yay!) and I am about 3 cm dilated. I must admit that I question whether she was ever really breech the 2nd time. He only ever felt my belly to try and guess and honestly, the lumps and places I feel kicks and bulges haven't changed a bit in the last few weeks. None the less, I was relieved to see that little head on the ultrasound screen on Tuesday! :D

I'm feeling really good. All of those strong and frequent contractions I've been having for the last several months have seemed to diminish now that I'm ready to have this little girl. I'm not sure what's going on. I'm happy to know I am at least 3 cm dilated already, but I have this feeling that Gracie isn't coming any time soon. I've been trying all the old wives tales (at least the ones I can tolerate as I don't think I will be drinking any castor oil anytime soon) and she is still sitting up so high and I just don't feel like I'm about to "pop." I'm actually feeling better now than I did a few weeks ago, haha. I still have zero swelling (that has a lot to do with the heat which today might be the first day we hit 90 degrees so we will see how long that holds out), the arches of my feet haven't fallen like they did with Caden, I barely waddle (or at least I don't think I do, not all the time that is), I'm far from miserable, etc...

I've gained around 18 pounds and I'm proud to say I'm still going to the gym 3 days a week. Plus, now I'm walking every night to try and meet my sweet daughter sooner than later! Below is a comparison picture from my pregnancy with Caden. Gracie is on the left, Caden is on the right. I was 38 weeks 1 day with Gracie and 38 weeks 3 days with Caden (the day before I was induced). I have fun comparing my bellies....


And then here is a picture of Caden making me laugh. The boy hates having his picture made but couldn't resist jumping in a few with me. Not the most flattering picture of either of us, but I feel like it gives something to compare the size of the belly to.... :D

37 Weeks

I am exactly 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant! I'm definitely ready to meet my little girl and things are definitely getting more uncomfortable but I would by lying if I said I was miserable. Sure, miserable compared to "normal" but compared to most other pregnancies (and even mine with Caden) I'm far from miserable. This has been a very easy pregnancy. I really only feel about 7 or 8 months pregnant, and I suppose there is a reason for that as my teeny tummy is only measuring about that size. I'm not swelling, bloating, or anything like that. My complaints are few, but here they are none the less:

Grace is putting pressure on nerves that cause sharp shooting pains to go down my thighs. This only happens occasionally (like every 4 or 5 days) and once it starts to happen it will last an hour or so at most. She's letting me get pretty good sleep at night these days though, so I'm grateful for that. It's not the most comfortable sleep, but it's at least sleep! I'm still having a lot of contractions, although some days are more intense than others. I have had hours where I will have them every 10 min or less and then they just kind of go away. It will be hard to tell when I do go into labor I think until I get to the point where they are pretty painful. Dr T said to go to the hospital when contractions are 10 min or less... when I told him that was "normal" for me he said to make it 5 min or less. About the only time I "waddle" or have any major discomfort is when I'm having a contraction. Other than that this pregnancy has been very easy on my body.

I've finally picked up on gaining weight. At 36 weeks I had still only gained about 16 pounds, but in the week since I've added 2 more to that making my grand total 18! I'm much happier knowing that I'm closer to the 20 pound mark. I will say that a good bit of that weight was because I started eating a lot more, but I hope it helps Gracie to put some weight on as the doctor and nurses are all saying she's going to be a "small baby." Wish I knew exactly what that meant... small as in 5 pounds, or small as in 6 pounds? I just want her to be healthy and strong.

My belly is still quite small. Last week (at my 36 week appointment) my belly measured 32 weeks. Dr T said it was nothing to worry about b/c the number was going up (I was measuring 31 weeks at the previous 34 week appointment). Today I only measured 30 weeks. That has me a little worried, but the nurse said it was okay. I forgot to ask Dr T if it was okay because I distracted him talking about Grace's position when he came in the room to see me.

Last week, at 36 weeks, Dr T was feeling on my belly just checking the size of Grace when he said he thought she might be breech again. I was hoping for a confirmation of that today, but instead he just felt my belly again and said that she still felt breech and that we would do a scan next week (at 38 weeks) to get an exact position. He told me if my water breaks to get to the hospital immediately because with a breech baby the cord could fall out and that would be very dangerous for Grace. He also said that depending on the scan results next week he would be willing to try and turn her, but that it's very painful and not very successful... The good news is that she still has time to turn head down again and I'm hoping and praying that she will. I know that if she doesn't then there is nothing wrong with having a csection, but my heart is really set on having another vaginal delivery and so I'm having a hard time being content with whatever happens...