So I had hoped that last week’s Baby Update would be my last one. It wasn’t. I’m still here, and I’m still pregnant!
How far along: 39 weeks! Soooooo close!
Baby size: Lil’ Ziggy is about 7.5 lbs and around 20 inches according to Babycentre.
Belly: You can definitely see a difference between last week and this week, I think. Not that I’m any bigger, but I feel like my belly is really obviously pointing downward:
Clothes: It’s been yoga pants and tank tops all week long. I put on a sweater for my OB appointment, but I had a tank underneath and it was back to that as soon as I got home.
I saw this on my Facebook Mommy group and thought it accurately described my life lately.
Movement: Baby is still pretty active, only now it’s a mix of Ziggy moving and my whole belly going hard (more on that below)
Labour signs: Well since last week, I’ve dilated another half a centimetre, I’m about 40% effaced (OB said it was more like 50% but he always errs on the side of caution…) and the baby’s head is engaged! That means his head is sitting very low in my pelvis, which explains the increase in pressure that I’m feeling. Since my OB appointment where I was checked for dilation and had a membrane sweep (Google it. On second thought, DON’T), I’ve been having slightly more painful cramping. It’s sort of like PMS cramps but a bit more sharp, and as I said above, my whole belly goes hard during it. There’s no real rhythm or pattern yet, and they’re not getting more intense over time, so they’re not real labour contractions. I’ve been getting Braxton Hicks contractions since probably about week 20, but they’ve never been painful or frequent until this past week.
What I miss: NOTHING! I miss nothing! I’m too busy thinking about the very near future when I get to meet my Lil’ Ziggy!
Preparing for birth: I got a big boost of confidence at my OB appointment this week. For any of you mamas who have had a membrane sweep before (also known as a stretch-and-sweep), you know that they are not. comfortable. at. all. BUT, my OB and the attending nurse were very impressed with how well I did! In fact, the OB said that most women have to swear or even ask to stop because the pain is too much. I was like, “what pain? I can do this all day!” Not really, but it seriously wasn’t that painful at all. Just intense pressure. And while I’m pretty sure labour is going to be a lot worse, it made me feel better being told that I have a high pain tolerance.
Baby’s hospital bag is packed, mine is… not so much! And before you clutch your pearls at the thought of me not having my hospital bag packed at 39 weeks, it’s because everything that would go into my hospital bag is stuff that I use all. the. time. Like my yoga pants. And my toothbrush. Even if I started packing now, the bag would be 90% empty until I actually go into labour.
Oh yeah, I haven’t sanitized my condo from top to bottom. I don’t know why that’s such a “thing”, like every pregnant woman is supposed to go crazy at the end and lysol the crap out of every surface in their house. I did wash my kitchen floor, but it obviously didn’t do anything to move things along. At least no one will judge me for having a dingy floor whilst I nurse my newborn. Plus, we live with a cat. Ain’t no way I’m getting this house spotless before the baby comes. I don’t think Lil’ Zig will care!
And I forgot one thing! If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen my first adventure in to freezer meals! I made 10 recipes in one day, and all I have to do is dump them into the crockpot and turn it on. Since each meal is good for four people, that means I’ll have 20 nights of NOT having to meal prep while dealing with all the joy that comes with new motherhood. I’m especially excited for the jambalaya, the sausage lentil soup, and the lasagna soup. You can find all these recipes on my Pinterest recipe board.
Help me get things going! What are some labour-kickstarting methods that actually worked for you? Keep in mind, I’m not keen on the chemical induction – see my Birth Plan!
I’ve linked up this post at:
Mom Blog Party via MomResource.com
Congratulations! I admire your high pain tolerance, I don’t know how high’s mine but surely not that much! You’re doing so well, Monica 🙂
Thanks Lily! Lil’ Ziggy arrived on Sunday and while my pain tolerance wasn’t enough to get through the whole thing drug-free, I’m very happy with how it all turned out :D.
You are so close! Wishing you lots of luck on baby’s birth (if it hasn’t happened already)!
Thank you!! It hasn’t happened already but my water has broken, so it’s only a matter of time now! 😀
Hey Monica! I really enjoy your pregnancy updates & congrats on all the freezer meals! Thanks for coming back to the Mom Blog Party. Looking forward to your updates! 🙂 http://www.momresource.com/mom-blogs
Thanks Saira! For the freezer meals, I’ll be a little more organized next time and cut up all the veggies first, then meat, and put it together like an assembly line. This was my first go at it and I just prepped things one recipe at a time. Took a lot longer than it should have lol!