38 Weeks Update

After this week's doctor's appointment, I'm deciding to do away with the March 20 due date (I had been given two due dates based on the baby's size), so we'll just go with the later one, March 26. More on this below.  So that makes me 38 weeks today!

How big is baby? At my doctor's appointment today, the doctor guessed that the baby is currently seven pounds even! With at least two weeks to go, sounds like this could be a bigger baby than Ford, who was 7 lbs, 7 ounces at his birth. Babies at this stage of pregnancy gain about half a pound a week, so it's looking like she'll be in the neighborhood of 8 pounds. Yikes! I know that's nothing for many of you, but I'm nervous about having a big baby, since my kiddos' heads seem to be on the LARGE side anyway... Ummm... And I know she could be smaller than he thinks, but that doesn't help to put my mind at ease right now. 

Weight gain/loss: No gain since last week! So in total I have gained 22 pounds.

Sleep: Good! I have had a couple of rough nights in the last week, but that's due to Ford's night-waking, not the pregnancy. If he starts crying, I can't help but hear it and wake up. Nine times out of 10, I'll check the video monitor, see that he's okay, and stay in bed awake until he stops crying. But he's had some mystery medical issues since Saturday afternoon (all is well, no worries - just random toddler rashes and whatnot), so Saturday night I ended up going in his room twice and rocking him until he fell back to sleep. Sweet boy. 

Movement: Moving, though less dramatically than when she had more room. This morning my doctor asked me if I was having any contractions, and I said "no," which seemed to concern him. He followed that up, worriedly, with, "She is moving, right?" And I just about wanted to smack him. Like, because I am not having contractions, you make me think there could be something wrong with baby girl or me? I assured him she was still moving plenty (even had a few cases of the hiccups in the last few weeks!). Overall my doctor's appointment ANNOYED me and scared me! Dr. N was in a bad mood... My appointment was supposed to be at 10:20, and after I waited until 11, they came in and told me he was still doing a difficult birth and that they would have to move my appointment to 1 p.m. at his other office. I was actually okay with that, and I understood, even though I could have seen it as an inconvenience. Brad was working from home and watching Ford, so while it was a bit of an inconvenience for him, it was kind of a nice "mom's day out" for me. So I went to the downtown office at 1 p.m. and Dr. N proceeds to tell me about the hellish birth... It was a "second time mom, so it was supposed to go fast," but she was an "ineffective pusher" so they tried forceps, then the baby's heart rate dropped so they did an emergency C-section, then as he was pulling the baby out, the baby threw his shoulder... I started to tune him out at this point because it sounded awful, and it also sounded like something that could totally happen to me, based on my last go-around. I just thought it was insensitive (and kind of inappropriate to be sharing all of that, right?). Then he was shocked that the baby's head was still SUPER high. I asked him what station the baby was at, and he said, "Oh she's not even at a station, she's WAY up there, you could go on a cruise and come back and still be pregnant." I asked if there was anything I could or should be doing, in addition to my regular routine of exercising, taking Red Raspberry Leaf and Evening Primrose Oil, doing stretches, etc. to get the baby into position. And he just said, "Nope, there's really nothing you can do," so I said I was a little nervous since this feels like a repeat of last time, where the baby didn't want to drop and I avoided a C-section by the skin of my teeth, and he just sort of brushed me off (or at least that's how I felt). I know he can't tell me I won't have to be induced or won't need a C-section, but I do think he could be more helpful. Sure, he had a rough, frustrating morning, but I left his office feeling really discouraged. All of that, plus his guess that the baby is already seven pounds... Just not encouraging. Heart rate was good (141 bpm) and my belly is measuring right on track. But like I said above, I'm throwing March 20 out the window and going with the later date of March 26 (Gee's birthday!), just for my sanity's sake.  

Symptoms: Nothing new! I stepped up one of my workouts last week and ended up having a sore lower back, but that only lasted a day or so. At this point with Ford I was having pain in my hips and joints, so I'm glad to be avoiding that, even though if the baby would drop I'm sure the discomfort would be worth it... 

Belly button: Out! I went for a walk this afternoon after my appointment and was wearing a tight-ish tank top, and you could totally see my belly button sticking out through the shirt. Was kind of gross-looking, but whatever. 

Food cravings: Nothing in particular! Cold fruit, maybe? Strawberries and stone fruits are favorites around here right now. Brad could sense I was discouraged and frustrated after I got home from my doctor's appointment, then the chicken I was going to roast for dinner still hadn't thawed out, so he suggested we go out for pizza (a REAL treat around here, since we don't eat a lot of grains!). We headed gleefully to our favorite pizza place in Deep Ellum, Serious Pizza. We got Ford to start chanting "Pizza!" with us to distract him from how hungry he was. Then we find a meter, walk up to the restaurant, and... they're closed because the interior is being repainted. So we went to El Fenix for Mexican food instead, which was fine and still a nice treat, but not pizza... wah wah.

Gender: Sweet Baby Girl! 

What I miss? Nothing much! Grateful to be where I am. Praying for God to ease my anxiety about the birth and about everyone's transition to having a newborn in the house. Join me in prayer that baby and I will avoid any complications during birth, and that I'll be able/allowed to go into labor on my own!

What I'm looking forward to? Knowing how this is all going to go down. :) Waiting is hard. It was easier and sweeter last time when I was blissfully unaware of how difficult Ford's birth would be. Now, especially after my appointment, I just have this sense of nervousness. I know that's not from God, so I'm asking him to give me a peace that passes understanding and can only come from the Spirit of Christ ruling in my heart!

Big Brother: Still totally in love with mama. I have a bunch of cute stories from the last week, but I'll just share a couple of them here. It's a really fun age and stage. He says a Bible verse now, with hand motions: "God made the heavens (hebbens) and the earth (earf)." He usually repeats after me, but he came up spontaneously last week while Brad and I were sitting at the kitchen table and said, "God (pointing to the sky)... maaaaade (motioning like he's molding something in his hands)... BELLYBUTTONS! (lifting up his shirt)" So funny! Guess he got a little distracted along the way. ;) I also realized today that he has been telling me "I love you," but I have been thinking he is saying "Where are you." Kind of comes out "Whyyy wuhhh youuuu." His favorite activity at the moment is pouring water from one measuring cup to another, and he would choose prunes over candy. I have caught him doing a lot of pretend play with his stuffed animals, and he's still OBSESSED with doing his ABCs. He knows all of the letters now and no longer confuses V with Y. This morning he was trying to bite his boiled eggs into the shapes of letters. I also heard him count to six while he was playing with his blocks. I KNOW I'M TOTALLY BRAGGING right now, and I feel a LITTLE bad about it because I'm sure it's annoying, but I also want to chronicle this stuff because it blows my mind. Of course, he's not perfect... Still lots of temper tantrums and boundary-testing, but he is responding to discipline well. I thank God daily for what a sweet gift he is to me and Brad!