January 10, 2018

thirty-eight weeks | baby five

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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.

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

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