Week 37

Happy 2015!!  And...WE ARE FULL TERM!!!  Now I suppose I should use caution when saying that: "full term" is something of a floating date and also does depend on your specific baby.  Overall, babies born after 37 weeks have shown to do quite well and are not considered premature.  Lungs are usually developed and they have enough fat to keep warm.  An OB would likely not try to stop labor for women who have completed 37 weeks.  So most doctors, books, apps and websites will concur that 37 weeks is considered full term.  But I have been reading that really at the end of the day, the healthiest babies who do the best overall are those born around 39-40 weeks.  And then the number drops again.  Babies don't do quite as well if they arrive after 40 weeks due to an aging placenta.  But 37 weeks is still a huge goal for us.  Our baby is ready for launch!!  (I saw that on a Lilypie ticker and it made me smile).

Ready for launch!!

How far along: 37 weeks, 2 days
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a winter melon with a pretty wide range in weight and length: anywhere from 6.5-9 pounds and 19-20 inches head to toe.  As we know, babies greatly vary in size at birth so it's harder and harder to know "roughly" how large Baby is.  But I'm guessing ours is around 7 pounds if not a bit larger (since last Monday was 6lbs 11oz).  Since Baby is full term, everything is now developed.  Lungs and brain and fat stores should all be in great shape.  Really they're just hanging out in there now, feeling comfortable and warm.
Total weight gain: 31.2 pounds - and there we have it: broke through the 30 pound mark.  I'm comforted knowing some of it is the water/swelling I have going on though.
Symptoms:  I've had this weird jaw pain the last few weeks.  I can't bite down too hard on the left side of my mouth or it will hurt.  I don't know if this has to do with the relaxing of everything that happens near the end of pregnancy or what, but I especially notice it at night.  Maybe I irritate it more when I sleep on my left side.  Or perhaps I grind my teeth, which makes it hurt more.  But I'm hoping it will go away after I deliver.  I'm seeing more swelling in my hands and feet and like I've mentioned - the carpal tunnel in my hands is quite annoying.  I definitely feel like I’m slowing down - but at least don’t feel super uncomfortable.  Well, unless I eat too much - then it can be hard to breathe, but if I stick to smaller meals I'm perfectly comfortable in my midsection.  I've had a lot more discharge than usual, the last couple weeks - and I started wearing liners daily maybe a month ago.  *sigh* This is all very normal though.
Queasy or Sick:  Occasionally but it passes quickly - usually I just need to eat something in the morning.
Sleep:  Pretty good early in the week, but my left hand has now been bothering me more and more at night - I think I need to buy a left handed brace too.  Argh!!
Best moment this week:  This week overall has just been nice.  The week between Christmas and New Years is always my favorite week of the year anyway.  I love spending time with family, listening to Christmas music, seeing the Christmas decorations around town and eating all sorts of bad stuff (tho I promise I'm not going crazy and my blood sugar readings are still looking good!)  It's crazy to think how different life is going to be in just a couple weeks here, but I'm enjoying what's going on right now.  And I'm proud to say that I've even been cooking dinners for Hubby - I'm slower, and it's hard to do some things (wash dishes, even chop ingredients) due to the carpal tunnel and my huge belly, but I'm getting some good food on the table.  Go me and my 9 month pregnant self!

Hardest part of the week:  Really no major complaints.
Looking forward to:  Getting a few more things done around here before we meet our Little One.
Movement:  So much - but it's those rolling/shifting movements now.  The jabs are far less frequent.
Food cravings:  I continue to crave chocolate overall which is very odd for me.  I'm one of those rare ladies who does not love chocolate.  I don't dislike it - but I'm not fanatical like so many are.  But I really would love to eat some brownies or a slice of rich chocolate cake right about now.
Happy or moody:  Happy and still so oddly relaxed.
Labor signs: No
Belly button in or out:  Still in.  Quite small, but in.
Wedding rings on or off:  On, but I think I'm about done wearing them - especially my engagement ring.  It gets very tight sometimes and makes me worried that I might not be able to get it off at some point.
Stretch marks:  Those same 2 areas under my belly.  They don't look TOO bad, but I think they may get a little worse before all is said and done.
Learnings from the week: Since I'm at Labor & Delivery twice a week for my non-stress tests, I get a lot of time with the L&D nurses and exposure to that section of the hospital.  It's really great actually!  I've been able to ask so many questions and really feel like I'll be as prepared as possible for the day we arrive to have our baby.  I thought I'd share a few little learnings I've taken away (at least from our hospital) over the past few weeks:  You don’t need clothes for baby other than a going home outfit.  They are swaddled for the most part and the hospital has everything you could need for them (diapers, hats, blankets, etc.)  If you're in a suite where your Hubby/partner can stay with you at night you may want to have them bring additional warm clothing layers.  It seems most new moms run a little warm so they keep the rooms cool.  Please ask your Hubby to not treat the hospital room like a hotel room.  One nurse told me she's shocked at how many husbands sit around the room (or even walk in the hallways!) in their boxers or PJs.  And they'll put their finished hospital food tray outside the door.  There is no room service and the nurses really don't want to see these dudes walking around half naked!

None of this, daddies...at least not at the hospital.

Final Thoughts: Sometime in the last month+ my reading shifted from pregnancy books to newborn care books.  And OMG thank goodness I have because there is SO MUCH MORE TO KNOW about babies than there is to know about pregnancy! (no duh, right?)  My favorite so far is this one (be sure if you are reading this long after I’ve written it - to get the most recent edition.  They update the books frequently - which is also great.)  It’s from the same people as the Baby Bargains book I was pushing so much during my baby gear and registry research.  It’s full of great info and written in a totally fun (not dry) way that makes it very easy to read.  We're also reading this book.  I forget who recommended it to me, but it's a little less fun than the Baby 411 one, however still good info.  The third book I'm trying to rotate into my own personal reading club is this one.  I feel very strongly about wanting to breastfeed so any additional information I can get is good.