39 weeks - still pregnant

Here is my current update, for your reading pleasure :) 

How far along: 39 weeks - no progress as of this past Wednesday at 38w4d :-/

Total weight change: Stopped at +50 - thank God!

Maternity clothes: Same. I've got my pregnancy uniform ;)

Stretch Marks: I have accepted my Zebra status :) 

Movement: Still rolling around in there, but slightly slower. I think he has officially run out of room. 

Sleep: LOVE my sleepy time. Sleeping well, but waking up with aches. My body is "done".

Best Moment This Past Week: Deciding that this will be the week. Scheduled a c-section for Thursday, very early in the morning... but still hoping he'll come on his own before then. Let's see what happens...

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Not seeing any progress. Also, my blood pressure was a bit high (considering it has been low and stable during the entire pregnancy).

Belly Button In or Out: Still in... looks like a butt-hole lol!!!!

Cravings/Aversions: No major cravings. Not even hungry at times. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, and indigestion. Slight BH here and there... but nothing major. Thinking of convincing Mr. DBud to DTD so maybe the baby will decide to come out ;)

I am dying for him to be here, so I can share my birth story with you!!!!! Pray for us :)

Full Term!

(Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/3vzykty )

We made it to full term! 37 weeks!

Totally unbelievable to me that baby is now supposedly the size of a watermelon.

No progress on his escape to report on as of yet, just some pressure downstairs periodically. As of today though, he's allowed to start the ball rolling in that direction.

Things not to say to Pregnant Women: a 36/37 Week Update

Another week (or two), another update. Tomorrow we hit official full term and, at this point, time is just starting to drag. I'm so ready to meet our little girl (of course, being able to roll over in bed without a series of levers and pulleys is also something to look forward to.) Pregnancy has treated me well, but I am so ready to move onto mommyhood.

I'd like to slide into Pregnancy Annoyance mode for a moment. Something I've discovered during this pregnancy is that people LOVE to give unsolicited advice, and they love to give it to you on everything. Some of it is useful ("Witch Hazel. It's a lifesaver"), some of it is not ("You HAVE to give a baby formula at some point!"), but what it should never, ever be, is demeaning or mean. Once people found out I was going to be doing everything in my power to avoid interventions (read: pain meds) during labor and delivery, I got mixed reactions. The ones from women who had done it were great. "It's totally doable!" They would tell me "And so worth it!". Women who had had epidurals would either give me"More power to you" with a shake of their heads or warn me of how very, very painful labor was and how wonderful the epidural was. But nothing, nothing, nothing, could have prepared me for the moment that I overheard a woman telling my mother, the veteran of two unmedicated births, at my baby shower, that unmedicated delivery was the "stupid way" of birthing a child and that she couldn't believe I would be so stupid. My mother, ever my advocate, said "She has a great coach, and I did it twice, with her and her sister. It was completely worth it" To which the woman replied: "Oh, bull. It's stupid." This same woman, who attends my church (seriously, that just makes it ten times worse), has said the exact same thing to my face since then, reminding me on each occasion that she thinks I am stupid (with that word. "I call it the stupid way!") for wanting an unmedicated birth. Maybe its just the wording that rubs me the wrong way, but seriously? Lets be supportive of fellow women. If you want an epidural, awesome. If you want unmedicated, great. Breast v Formula, Cloth v Disposable, whatever it is, lets just be considerate and supportive of one another as women. I may not agree with one of my good friends who is due a week before me, getting the epidural as soon as she can, formula feeding and using disposables, but I would never ever EVER call her stupid for any of those things. Just because its not the way I am doing things does not make her wrong. ugh. Kills me.

In a great moment this week, Mr. CB installed Baby's car seat in his car, the hospital bag is completely packed, along with a separate bag containing Baby's cloth diapers, although I'm not sure we'll end up using them in the hospital, and both of us knows how to use a prefold, thanks to several websites and a very cooperative TY bear.

For a concise update:

How far along: 36 weeks, 6 days. One day from Full Term!

Total weight change: 28 lbs, still under they 40 they recommended I gain, but I'm feeling it.

Maternity clothes: When I actually need to look presentable. My at home attire is sweat pants and Mr. CB's t-shirts.

Stretch Marks: Several deep ones on my lower right side, none of my left. Interestingly enough, a lot of the deep ones on my right side are being well-hidden by a vary darkly inked tattoo on my right hip.

Movement: Active enough, but the poor thing is running out of mommy-room. I've been getting a lot of elbows in the side.

Sleep: I'm sleeping ok, though my dreams are getting hard to deal with. they have a lot to do with her..."D-wording" inside me because of something I do. Awful, awful. I have a lot of good dreams about her too, though. Every time I dream, I dream about her, and always about nursing her. I'm not sure what that means, although the fact that I'm leaking colostrum all the time may have something to do with it.

Best Moment This Past Week: Going to Itchetuknee Springs with friends from church. It was so nice to relax in the water.

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Aforementioned woman and her use of the word "stupid"

Belly Button In or Out: Flat

Cravings/Aversions: Cold stuff. Ice, especially. I could chew ice all day long.

Symptoms: Back pain, fatigue, the ever-expanding belly.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Being full term and meeting my girl for the first time!

Full Term Update

Who'd have thunk it?

Certainly not me.

More than 2 years ago, I had no doubt I wouldn't have any trouble getting pregnant. I was however, convinced that I would have trouble STAYING pregnant. Between my mother, my aunt and my grandmother, there must have been 15-20 miscarriages between them. I was sure I would follow that line.

Then 1 year ago, I was in the midst of what would be my 1st failed IVF cycle and about to sink into a horrible depression.

Who knew that my problem would be GETTING pregnant. Not staying pregnant.

Because apparently, STAYING pregnant I can do just fine.

Which brings me to today.

Despite my AMH. Despite MFI. Despite DOR/POF. Despite MTHFR. Despite 3 fibroids. Despite all of our diagnoses and a failed IVF cycle... and in memory of our lost twin... today I am 38 weeks pregnant.


Full Term.

Holy crap.

Our appointment today was largely uneventful. My cervix remains closed, although softening. Dr Loh can feel and move the baby's head, but she says still not any lower (i'd argue that... i'm rapidly losing anything that could be considered "below my belly"). I mentioned that movement has been very minimal the last 24 hours, so I got a quickie u/s to check our fluid levels (absolutely fine). Smudge is SO big. I can't even believe how big. I remember the days when we could see the whole baby on one screen. Now you can barely see one PART on one screen. It's amazing. The arms are up by his/her face with little fists. Dr Loh says Smudge's tone is great. Knees are drawn up and yep, those are feet in my ribs... crossed at the ankles. Maybe this is a little lady after all... I guess we'll see.

We also did an impromptu non-stress test (NST) to check the heartbeat patterns. So I got to sit on the monitor listening to the most beautiful sound in the world (my baby's heartbeat) for a half hour. It was wonderful. Smudge did exactly what s/he was supposed to do... when s/he wasn't trying to run away from the probe. This kid HATES being monitored in any way. It's really funny. We've been playing chase the baby for 8 months though. Why stop now, right?

Best news of the 38 week appointment. I lost a pound! Yay - go me. So after the 36 week debacle of gaining 4 pounds in 2 weeks, then holding steady at 37 weeks, at 38 weeks I have gained 20 pounds for the pregnancy. I am very proud of myself.

So - that's all for now. I hadn't had any contractions in about 36 hours until tonight, when I had 3 in the last hour... so i'm not holding my breath, but we'll see what happens. I think it's pretty funny that since becoming pregnant, we've thought i would deliver on thanksgiving. I guess we'll see. I did pack my bag the other day. That's surely going to keep me pregnant until 42 weeks. (Unlike if I hadn't packed at all - then i probably would have delivered 2 weeks ago.)

Horray for full term. Hooray for a healthy Smudge. And most of all... hooray for the difference a year can make.

time is seriously flying!

Today marks 37 weeks for Little Baby MB! Meaning, I'm full term and he is safe to come whenever he'd like!

It's been a while since I posted, but not much has been happening. Since I've been on modified bed rest I've just been trying to take it easy. We got a lot of our home renovations completed a few weeks ago in preparation for baby. The nursery is coming along nicely, too. It's sooooo close to being done! This is the Art wall! I'll post more about it once things are more finished in there.

My Dr appointments have been going well. Baby MB is passing his NSTs with flying colors each week. Last week we had our growth ultrasound, he looks just like his daddy. It's incredible. He's got the chubbiest cheeks!

We've got a *possible* induction date set for 11/22 if for some reason my blood pressure goes back up (Doc just wanted to book it in case this happens)... but I'm hoping he comes on his own here soon!

Sending lots of baby dust to everyone out there! Thank you for joining me on our journey :)