thirty-eight weeks | baby five

Yesterday morning I had my very last OB appointment EVER.  EVVVVVEEERRRR.  That is the plan anyway.  All looked well, 2cm dilated, 40% effaced, and we're a go for an induction on Friday morning.  My doctor said something to the effect that I know what I'm doing, and the more I thought about it, the more this situation is completely foreign to me.  I've never had an elective induction, they've all been medically necessary.  Constant monitoring was needed for both baby and I.  I was pretty much chained to the bed.  This time?  Not so much.

Also, last Thursday night around 11pm I started having relatively regular real contractions.  They weren't incredibly painful, but definitely not just Braxton Hicks.  They were coming roughly every 5-7 minutes.  And I didn't have a damn clue what I was supposed to do.  I've never had a contraction outside of the hospital.  How the heck was I supposed to know if it was real labor?  I ended up wandering the house, gathering up some last minute things I hadn't put with my bags (my camera, a pillow, the boppy, etc).  Then I straightened my hair and put on a little make-up, lol.  Just passing the time.  The contractions were much less painful when I was up and moving around.  Finally around 2:30am I finished a cup of water and decided to lay down for a bit.  I managed to fall asleep, and when I woke up there weren't really any contractions to speak of.  I'm going to chalk it up to being dehydrated because I'd been sick, but it sure kicked my butt into gear as far as making sure all my stuff was easy to grab and go.

how far along:  38 weeks + 3 days (compare to 38 weeks with Ryann, and Elsie. I never made it to 38 weeks with Thea!)

size of baby:  A spaghetti squash. Possibly 19.5 inches long and over seven pounds.  I can't wait to see how much she weighs.  I'm betting on 7lbs 6oz as a birth weight.  But I'll likely be completely wrong.

weight gain: +25 pounds.  I had a touch of a stomach virus last Wednesday and Thursday, and it pretty much killed my appetite until about yesterday.

maternity clothes: Most maternity clothes can't contain the belly.

symptoms:  I've developed a bit of a waddle thanks to all the headbutts to the cervix.  And my skin is stupidly dry despite drinking as much water as I can tolerate and using body oil and body butter daily.  My back gets sore, my pelvis gets sore, but for the most part, I'm doing alright.

exercise:  Lugging around this belly.

cravings/aversions:  I NEED WHITE CHEESE DIP.  That is all.

movement:  We seem to be on an every other day trend of her being a complete crazy baby in there, to barely any movement at all.  There is no middle ground.

sleep:  I was dehydrated thanks to the stomach bug so I slept through the night a couple of times.

gender:  Girl

looking forward to:  Her birth, obviously.  And watching all the girls meet her.  And also sleeping on my stomach again.  I can't wait to lay on my stomach.

worries:  I just need her in my arms.  Then I'll stop worrying about her so much.  I am worried about how Thea is going to handle a baby coming home.  Or really, how I'm going to handle Thea not being the baby anymore.  The girl has NEVER cried when I've dropped her off at MMO.  In the beginning she'd affirm that "Mommy always comes back?", and when I'd tell her yes, she'd happily go in.  She runs into the church nursery no problem now.  But today of all days, the last day I'll be dropping her off at MMO for quite some time, she kicked and screamed and cried for me.  I felt terrible and I had no idea why she was acting like that.  I was in tears before I made it into my car.  Kind of put a damper on my last kid free morning for the next who knows how long.  I just felt so guilty.  The girl has plenty of people to love her and she has fun at 'school', but still.  #momguilt

best moment this week:  All my bags are packed and ready.  The house is freshly cleaned and mostly (ish) organized.  For the most part I feel ready.  It's a good feeling.

We're ready for you sister!  Time to come out and play!

thirty-seven weeks | baby five

Somehow over the last few days my blood pressure seems to have completely gone back to normal. We're surprised, my doctor is surprised, it is a mystery.  In theory that is a good thing, but I sure was hoping to meet baby girl sooner rather than later!  Everything checked out just fine at my appointment.  My doctor did struggle to find baby's heartbeat at first, and the silence in the room was painful.  It was maybe a total of two minutes?  But I think my heart stopped.  She did find it, and at first she thought it was tough to find because girlfriend was really low, but after she checked me decided that wasn't the case.  Baby is likely sunny side up.  Turn around girlie, I'd like you facing the appropriate way for delivery please!  At least she is head down though, I'll take that.

how far along:  37 weeks + 2 days (compare to 37 weeks with Ryann, Elsie and Thea)

size of baby:  A honeydew melon. Around 6 pounds and 19 inches long.

weight gain: +29 pounds. Going to see if I can hold steady for the next 10 days!

maternity clothes: Definitely.

symptoms:  Restless legs, back pain, constipation, swelling, and now I've somehow managed to pull the ligaments or muscles at the bottom of my belly.  Trying to lift my legs is near impossible.  But really, it could be much much worse.  I'd say I have a mild case of all of the above.  Do I waddle a bit when I walk?  Yes.  But I'm not dying.  :)

exercise:  I walked on the treadmill yesterday and this morning.  With the pain in my lower belly/pelvis area, I can't go more than 2.5mph.  It is kind of pathetic.  But it is better than nothing I hope.

cravings/aversions:  I really like the girahdelli dark chocolate chips with a handful of mixed nuts.  Still haven't gotten my white cheese dip fix.  If I'm not having this kid until next week, maybe we can accomplish that.

movement:  She just isn't moving as much.  I hate it, but I still would probably get the amount of kicks in that I needed if I was counting.

sleep:  Overall not too bad.  We've just been staying up too late in general!

gender:  Girl

looking forward to:  Baby's birth day.  Also everyone being back in school come Monday morning, lol.  I love my kids, but 2 glorious hours by myself in the house sounds fantastic.

worries:  Every day that goes by I get a little bit more worried that something will happen to our sweet girl before she is born.  A fairly irrational fear, I have no reason to believe anything will go wrong or that anything is wrong, but the anxiety is creeping back in.  The little incident this morning with the heartbeat certainly didn't help.  10 days or less, 10 days or less...

best moment this week:  Thea was sitting in my lap (or attempting to, not a lot of room there!) while I was reading her a book.  Baby sister was moving around and pushing on her.  Thea was giggling and saying "Stop it!  Stop it sister!  You tickling me!"  It was adorable.  Man I hope Thea doesn't hate me when we bring home this baby.