37 Weeks

Well, I'm officially in the home stretch!  Hard to believe there's only 3 weeks left of this pregnancy!  I am definitely feeling "done."  With the arrival of warm weather beginning last week came very swollen feet and ankles/legs for me.  :(  They are huge and painful and my skin feels stretched way too tight.

At my 35-week appointment I was measuring 5 WEEKS AHEAD!  My doctor was telling me how she already thought the baby was 7 lbs.!  No, no, no, no, no.  We scheduled an ultrasound for my 37 week appointment to get a better understanding of the baby's size.  I'm hoping everything's looking okay and I'll be able to have this baby the way I'd like to.

I'm moving in a very slow shuffle these days.  I am pretty achy, lots of pelvic pain, and I go back and forth on wanting to cry or yell in frustration whenever I have to bend down.  Sleeping is a cruel joke because it hurts so much to lay down, and there's definitely not enough room in our bed for me to try to get in a comfortable position.

I was asked a few weeks ago by a stranger at the park if I was having twins.  Umm, nope.  I have a lot more kindness for little kids who come up to me and ask, "Do you have a baby in there?"

The best is still the kids' excitement.  Clara is always proudly announcing, "My momma's going to have baby!"  Both kids give Bob lots of daily hugs and cuddles.  I tell them I hope they love him as much when he comes out.  ; )

Bob is such an active little guy.  It's so bizarre to watch him these days since his body parts are getting bigger and his moves stronger.  It's fun to focus on him and wonder if the large knobby parts we see are elbows, or knees, or just what.

His full name IS decided on, but we are waiting to announce until after he's born.  The kids know it, and Clara calls him both Bob and his real name.  But Eli stubbornly insists that his name's Bob.  Or 'Bob Andrew' to be exact.  :)

36 Weeks

Update: I had my 37-week appointment today, along with an ultrasound.  This baby measured at 10 lbs. 15 oz.!!  What in the world?!  How I go from a 6 and 7 lb baby to 10+ lbs is unknown to me.  We were able to see some 3D pictures of him.  He definitely looks cute and very chubby and scrunchy!

My belly measured at 47 weeks!  I am 3.5 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  That's definitely the best I've ever been this early on.  I think I went into the hospital with both Eli and Clara at only 1 cm.  My doctor is hoping that I go into labor on my own here soon.  They will not induce labor before 39 weeks, and with his large projected size it would definitely be better for everyone to get this baby out before he has much more time to cook!  She thinks I need to plan on a c-section at 39 weeks if I haven't gone into labor on my own before then, for the safety of the baby.  :(  Having a c-section is a very scary and upsetting idea to me.  Of course I just want to make sure this little one arrives safely, but the fear of the unknown and having a big surgery and missing out on my last labor experience are hard things to think about.  I teared up a little after my doctor left and said a quiet prayer to calm my troubled nerves.  I hope I can be accepting of whatever outcome I end up with.  In the meantime, we've got plenty to do to get this house baby-ready!