37 Weeks - FULL TERM, WHOA MAMA!

Hi Everyone!

     37 Weeks, and officially FULL TERM!! Whoa Mama! Congratulations to us! And by "us", I mean, Dave and I, and YOU!  After all, many of you have been along for this ride the entire time.  I can't tell you how great it is to see someone I haven't seen in a while, and to hear them say, "I've been reading your blog!".  I feel like this little journal has connected us all in some way.  And since we're so connected, I think I can share more ... personal pregnancy stories with you this week.

I don't know what it is about hitting the 'Full Term' status, but something about hitting 37 weeks has thrown me into a whole new realm with a number of new symptoms. 

First ... I've come down with a cold.  Yes ... BAD TIMING.  I am really hoping that it goes away soon.  I REALLY don't want to be in labor, giving birth, with snot and a sore throat!

Anyway ... I have been SO THIRSTY all the time, I can't even explain it.  My new best friend is a pink Camelbak. I fill it with ice and water, and chug the contents like a 250lb frat boy:

I've also introduced a new, very unfortunate symptom to my repertoire.  I have officially started SNORING.  Sleeping has become difficult.  I wake up almost every hour either to pee (thanks, Camelbak), or to shift positions ... or ... in response to Dave asking me to roll over.  Poor guy ... I know, I know ... the women out there reading are saying, "Good! If you have to go through the sleep deprivation, so should he!" Touche, my lady friends ... touche.  But ... nonetheless, I still feel bad. 

The other night I woke up to Dave running into the bathroom, which was strange.  Dave NEVER gets up in the middle of the night.  The next thing I know, he comes back out with ... wait for it ... EAR PLUGS!  You might think that he's overreacting ... but I can say that he has a point.  Recently, I WOKE MYSELF UP from my snoring.  This is no girlie snort, here and there.  This is the sound that should come from an overweight lumberjack suffering from a deviated septum.  Even Charlie has had enough.  He will wake up in the middle of the night and circle, circle, circle, and PLOP down, I believe, in hopes that he'll wake me up for enough time to quickly fall back to sleep.  I REALLY hope this goes away soon. In the meantime, check out this picture ... perhaps this is why I can't sleep ... there's no room left for Mommy:

Alright ... onto the next symptom.  I am reluctant to discuss this one on this blog.  I don't know if this is 'too much information' ... but, part of what this blog has come to represent, is the truth about pregnancy ... in particular ... my pregnancy.  It wouldn't be fair to keep it to myself.  Plus ... it is an official "symptom" according to thebump.com, so it must be something other women go through.

Let's just call it ... 'cleaning out'.  My body has become very efficient at ... flushing itself out.  I know ... yuck.  But, according to my research, this is "your body's natural way of cleaning out and prepping for baby’s big arrival".  The next sentence, you ask? "Of course, if your symptoms become severe, you should see your doctor immediately". 

... so ... what is considered ... "severe", I wonder?  Here comes the, "too much information' section of this posting.  Recently, when Dave and I were going to pick up our new rocking chair/recliner for the nursery (yay!!! pics will come, I promise!), I all of a sudden didn't feel well.  I felt nauseus at first, which I knew was strange, because I haven't had any sickness at all thus far.  Then ... I HEARD it.  It was a gurgle.  Yup, a gurgle just under my rib cage.  Was it the baby?  Who knows.  All I know is that I went from, "I feel sorta nauseus", to "Oh my god, Dave ... you need to find me a restroom immediately" in about 2 minutes flat. 

Well ... if any of you know Dave ... you know that for Dave to drive quickly, and borderline recklessly upon REQUEST is like a dream come true.  All of a sudden, he is flying down Daniel Webster Highway, practically running red lights, and I kid you not ... he drove in through the exit of a Burger King, disregarding the multiple 'Do Not Enter' signs.  I swear, he was smiling while doing this :) This is NOT my most shining moment ... I ran into Burger King truly sure I was not going to make it.

Luckily ... I saught and found relief in time ... but (shame on me), I didn't bring my phone with me.  Apparently I took a little longer than normal ... and Dave began to worry.  If I had taken any longer, he said he was going to go in and ask the MANAGER OF BURGER KING to go 'check on me' for fear that I was giving birth on their bathroom floor.

Holy gosh ... as if my body "cleaning" itself out in prep for labor isn't embarassing enough ... could you imagine if Dave had the manager come "check" on me"?  I would have died.

Note to self ... never be more than 30 feet away from a bathroom.  Thank god for plumbing!

Alright ... welp ... hopefully it's true what thebump.com says, and this is a pre-labor term.  I am hoping we will meet our little guy soon!

Today we went for our last ultrasound.  We are happy to announce that everything looks good!  But let me tell you ... our little man is currently measuring approximately 7lbs 10 FREAKING OUNCES!  He's huge already! I knew it!  And I swear, his head looked bigger than normal on the ultrasound!

The doctor checked me out, and I still have not dilated.  She is concerned, however, because this is the second week in a row where I have had high blood pressure.  Last week, it made sense, because I had a busy week at work ... but this week, it does not make sense.  I had more blood work done, and I will find out the results tomorow.  She said that if my BP was high again next week, they will consider inducing me.  In response, I told her that given that statement, that I just may plan on going for a run just before our appointment :)

In an effort to help keep my BP down, I am transitioning to a schedule at work where I will work a few days a week from home.  I can't tell you what a relief it is to work in such a supportive environment. I know not everyone has this luxury, so I consider myself truly lucky.

How far along? 37 Weeks, 5 Days

Countdown: 2 Weeks, 2 Days (or, 16 days!!!)

Total weight gain: at the doctor today, I gained 4lbs. That puts me at a total of 44lbs! Makes me laugh when people tell me that I don't look like I've gained anything.  Wow ... blinders, people!
Maternity clothes? yup!  Still mixing in some non-maternity outfits. 
Stretch marks? No, thank god
Sleep: not sleeping well. The combination of this cold, and my SNORING escapades are making sleeping difficult.
Best moment this week: seeing our little guy on the ultrasound! It's not going to be much longer! Also, we got our horrible PINK carpet replaced with a nice grey-ish one! It's MUCH better for the nursery
Miss Anything? being able to move without assistance.
Movement: Yes!!! lots! He is always rockin' and rolling!! I love it! I am going to miss feeling him!
Food Cravings: ham and cheese ... and CHARDONNAY.
Anything making you queasy or sick: no!

Gender: BOY!

Labor Signs: Nope ... augh.

Symptoms: "stabby stabby hoo-haa pains", snoring, excrutiating thirst, and ... bodily ... cleansing ;)
Isabelly Button, In or Out? no change ... mostly flat ... maybe a TAD out, but definitely doesn't look like an 'outie'.
Wedding rings on or off? very unfortunately off. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy! but definitely "done"!
Looking forward to: meeting our little guy!!!!