38 Weeks and Eating My Shoe

Baby is officially watermelon-sized and has been for over a week. I can tell.

I now have to make my first "take back" of mommyhood. You know, all those things you said you'd NEVER when you're a parent.

Yeah, I may have said that I'd work up until the end. Not my due date. The. End. I figured that if I were working up until 37 weeks or so, how much really changes between then and delivery? Well, I totally underestimated how much my general discomfort has ratcheted up. Throw in the lack of sleep and, for me at this moment, crazy bad allergies, and I am counting down until my due date hits and I can start my maternity leave. I used to think "what do those people do?" (you know, those women who take off before their due dates) and "don't they drive themselves crazy being bored all day?" Now - who cares?

Most first-time moms typically stay pregnant until week 41 so I am planning to fill my days off with some dark movie theaters (alone!), mid-day naps, and lots of freezer-meal cooking. I will miss my co-workers and I do enjoy my job but I am now confident that I can make my own fun for this limited last period of adult time. In fact, I'd leave before my due date if my replacement weren't going to be on travel!

I understand that getting excited for this virtually guarantees that my water will break on my last day of work.

34 week update!

Just a few baby-related notes to help me remember this pregnancy. I wish I'd started it earlier but better late than never!

Baby's size: A honeydew melon

How far along: 34 Weeks - 6 to go!!!!!

Sleep: Meh. The sleep itself is ok but I wake up constantly and not just for bathroom breaks. I toss from side to side in my sleep normally and now everytime I try to turn over, I wake myself up. I consider myself lucky I can fall back asleep easily!

Food cravings: Cold drinks but nothing foodwise these days.

Food aversions: none

Symptoms I HAVE: Super thirsty most of the time. I've also started to get somewhat restless legs but definitely nothing that stretching and extra hydration can't work out.

Doctor’s Appointment: Supposed to be next week but ended up with an unexpected appointment today! I noticed that the baby wasn't active at all after lunch today (usually there's lots of movement) and realized that I hadn't felt any movements at all that day. I drank half a Coke and laid down on my left side but only felt a tiny kick which could've been digestion so my doctor told me to come in. The sonogram showed a heartbeat, good fluid, and good breathing but I ended up in Labor & Delivery for a non-stress test anyways. Luckily, we passed! The craziest thing about that sonogram was seeing how big the baby was! Last time, most of his/her body fit on one screen and this time, just the feet alone took up the whole image at one point!

Movement: As soon as we went into L&D and they strapped on the monitor, the baby started moving like crazy (of course). Naturally, this meant we lost the heartbeat twice and the test took longer due to the repositioning. The important part is that the baby has moved from breech to head down!

Belly Button: Still an innie.

Best moment of the week: Seeing little feet on the ultrasound :) Knowing that if anything had been wrong today, that I made it to 34 weeks and most of the super-critical gestating work was behind us

What I’m looking forward to:

Setting stuff up this weekend in the nursery, finishing our Lamaze training. Just getting excited to meet the little one!

What I miss:

Turning over in bed easily :(