40 Weeks

Well, I was hoping to not make it to this day of pregnancy....sigh. But I figured that I might and I should prepare myself for it when it happened. I have actually been feeling so full of gratitude lately, for my boys, my husband, this baby that will be here shortly. This summer has been so nice and mellow, the weather hasn't been too hot, and this pregnancy I've had zero swelling or discomfort in my hands and arms like last pregnancy. I've been taking the boys out on walks in the evenings since it's supposed to be good for pregnant women anyway, and it has really helped keep my spirits up and a happy outlook on still being pregnant.

This was on a box of fruit I got at Costco the other day and it kinda sums up the way I feel! haha!

I know that Heavenly Father has a plan and he know's what's best for me and this baby, I just have to sit back, try and relax and wait for the plan to enfold. If I hadn't had the experience of going over my DD with Chase, I would be feeling crazy uptight right now because I was almost a week early with Owen. But I almost lost my nerve going 5 days over the second time around and scheduled an induction date with Chase, then he decided to grace us with his presence the night before the induction! And when he came, it was super fast and a beautiful wonderful birth experience. So that is part of what is keeping me going and extra positive.

The other part that has helped me a lot is following pregnancy forums and reading about woman after woman going at least a little bit over her estimated due date. It only makes it hard to wait because of how common and popular induction has become. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have been done a week or so ago, but knowing there is always a margin of error in calculating the baby's due date makes it so I don't feel quite right forcing the baby out! A week or so ago if you would have asked me how I felt, I think I would have said I didn't know if I would wait it out or not, but over the last couple of weeks I have grown in confidence and faith that my body will work how it's been created to, that my body will go into labor when the time is right and the baby is ready.

Sooo, here I sit playing the waiting game and feeling very anxious and excited to meet our sweet little baby!

So the stats for this month:

Mama:

-Sleeping ok until this last week, now I'm all turned around, tired in the day and up all night! Guess I'm getting ready for the newborn schedule, haha! Two nights ago I finally got to sleep at 3AM after watching a movie, drinking tea and eating a bowl of cereal!

-Waist only grew 1/2 an inch this month, now measuring 41'' (total growth 12''), so I guess the baby's growth has slowed down quite a bit, but somehow I still managed to gain 4 lbs. this month, current weight 154, total weight gain: 29 lbs. sigh... was kinda hoping it would stop by now.

-Feeling much better this week after getting on the medication for the bladder infection discovered at last week doctor's appointment. I was having all sorts of discomfort as well as the whole contractions and pre-labor experience I wrote about last week.

-My doctor has been so laid back and non-invasive or pushy as far as talking about any kind of induction or timeline for this baby. I asked him today at my appointment if he had any concerns about me going over and he said absolutely not. He said I have been having an amazing pregnancy and me and the baby are healthy, so he is not even talking about needing to push things along at my 40 week check-up! So cool! I had the same doctor with Chase, but we were already talking induction before I hit my due date, so it goes to show a lot of that induction talk comes from the patient being WAY DONE and uncomfortable like I was last time.

-More progression as far as dilation or effacement since the last couple of check-ups. I'm always at like a 1 and maybe a little thinned out before going into labor, but all of that just goes fast once labor is kicked in anyway. 38 weeks was 1.5 and no thinning, 39 weeks was 1.5 and no thinning, today's appointment was a little more positive, dilated to a 3 and 50% thinned out. Not that that really means anything, but it's still progression!

Baby:

-Avg. newborn is around 7.5 lbs and 20 inches long, but my babies have both been over 8 lbs. so I'm guessing this one won't be any different.

-He is kicking and moving up a storm, not sure how he has any room left in there to do that these days, it's been feeling pretty tight lately.

-Skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap and make an easier descent during birth!

-Outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

-Overall, I'm feeling that he is happy and healthy and ready to come out soon!