37 Weeks!

Today I am full term!

Size of baby: anywhere from 4.5 to 6.5 pounds
Movement: Tuesday and Wednesday were quieter days, then Thursday picked right back up to the constant rolls
Maternity Clothes: I feel like I wear the same things all the time, but I quit caring a long time ago.  Comfort is where it's at right now.  My few non-maternity items, like my gym tops, are just going to make it. 
Food cravings: If I could eat peanut butter and honey on an English muffin for all 3 meals, I would.  That was breakfast and lunch yesterday.  Not much else sounds good these days.
What I miss: sleep, not having heartburn, and my belly button...... at least I can still say there are no stretchmarks and no swelling (I am still comfortably wearing both of my rings), so I am happy about that
Sleep: I don't even know why I have this on the list.
Symptoms: almost everything gives me heartburn
Best moment this week: even though it instilled a lot of fear in me, probably my doctor's appointment this week, which came with the realization that this baby really is coming soon.... terrifying, but really exciting
What I am looking forward to: this won't be changing from here on out - everything.  Getting our baby here and being a family.... hearing the doctor say, "it's a ____!".... and seeing the look on Chris's face when he gets to hold him/her for the first time

This week went by really quickly, and its hard to believe that 30 weeks ago I was having my first doctor's appointment.  And now here I am with my, medically speaking, fully-cooked baby.  If pregnancy goes by this fast, I can't imagine how quickly the baby will seem to grow up.

Monday through Wednesday were uneventful days.  We were supposed to have our pre-admission and hospital tour appointments on Thursday, but we aren't having those until this week now.  Still, we had our weekly OB appointment.  My weight and blood pressure are "perfect" according to the nurse, and I'm GBS negative, which means no antibiotics necessary once labor starts.  We talked in much more detail about several birthing aspects .... what if the baby flips back to breech, when would we talk c-section, what kind of epidurals are available, how mobile will I be during labor, what kind of monitoring do I have to be under..... My OB is awesome though.  She never makes us feel rushed and she always answers all of my questions.  Everything else was pretty routine.  We have an ultrasound scheduled for next Friday, April 1, to check position and estimated weight since I still measure small.  I will be a day shy of 39 weeks at that point, and it will mark one year since Chris and I got officially engaged!  Our doctor felt my belly and said she thinks the baby is still head-down, but we will check, and I'm guessing that since growth looked fine a few weeks ago, its going to be fine next week too.  Our doctor isn't worrying much about it, so neither are we.

I got another "you're about to pop" comment on Thursday.  Let me tell you how awesome that made me feel, especially since it came after my doctor's appointment, and thus after finding out that I am still small.  Had we not been handing over our very expensive bedding and Chris's suit and tux to this lady to dry clean, after the third time she said that comment to me, I would have asked her just how long she had to spend cracked out to achieve that nasty red color in her hair, and then I would have asked her if she has always had a half-inch gap between her two front teeth.  BUT, I said nothing of the sort.  After she told me 3 times that I looked like I was about to pop, she then told us that she has 3 kids and they are just awful..... hmmmmm, when your mother is such a prize, no wonder....

Something else started breaking my heart this week..... Bailie is spending less and less time sleeping on my side of the bed.  It's becoming her ultimate rejection.  I think she really senses that the baby is coming soon because she wakes up, restless, at 4am, just like me, and she is much more clingy to us in the evenings.  She used to only spend a little bit of time laying beside the couch on a given evening, but now she seems glued to this spot.  On Friday, her old foster mom Nadine, and her son Alexy, came to visit us for a couple of hours.  It was very sweet to see her playing with Alexy, who is about to turn 7, because she behaves with him very differently than an adult.  Even though Alexy would rough-house with her exactly the way Chris does, she responded much more gently with him than she does with Chris.  It was nice to see that she knows the difference.

This has been a very lazy weekend.  On Friday, Chris told me that it was quite likely that he would be called in to work over the weekend, but it didn't happen yesterday, and I think we're out of the woods for today, so we have just been laying around the couch.  I was glad he hasn't had to go in - we only have a few weekends of calm left together, and I want to savor every one of them.

I made it to the gym 3 times this week, and I've also been able to get out and walk Bailie since everything is finally melting!  Its been warming up a LOT this week, and while 28 degrees may sound pretty chilly, it was very comfortable when I walked Bailie just an hour or so ago!  I know that my days of actually going to the gym are numbered, and soon I will just be down to walking Bailie a few times each day, which I suppose works out because I was SO exhausted this week.  I have also been ridiculously hungry, which makes me think the baby's packing on a bit more weight right now.

That's it for now.  In theory, since I am full-term now, the baby could come any time, BUT I'm pretty sure s/he is going to keep cooking for a while.  I remind myself and Chris of this only so that we know to be extra prepared, or at least as prepared as we can be.  I ordered a few things online yesterday that should be here in a couple of days, and after that, we will have done everything that we know to do as first-time parents to get ready for this baby.  We at least have diapers, bottles (should formula-feeding be necessary), and clothes.... babies don't need any more than that, right?  Oh, and if anyone reading our blog finds themselves wondering at any point in the next 3 weeks if we have a baby yet, just go to this website and it will answer your question:

http://haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com/

Trust me, you will know when the baby comes!

I will probably have a bump picture on Tuesday, and I will try to remember to take and post some nursery pictures then too.