Week 38

I had my 38 Week appointment yesterday.

I gained two pounds, putting me at a grand total of 27 pounds!

My BP was 120/67.

I measure right on schedule at 38cm.

I am also just about 1cm dilated and 70% effaced.

Lots of progress from last week...sort of.

Fern always checks my ankles for swelling and yesterday commented that I'm starting to look like I'm really getting ready to have this baby. I'm still not quite sure what that means other than the fact that my socks make a stripe on my ankles and my face is getting fatter. She said that we should plan on two more weeks til it comes, but that it could happen at any time.

I woke up at 4:00 this morning and my feet and hands were so swollen that they were tingly and ithy and didn't even want to bend. Rich helped me wedge pillows under my back and butt so that I would HAVE to sleep on my left side. By 7, the swelling had gone down significantly.

At this point, baby weighs about 7lbs, and has a very firm grip. Its organs are now "fully developed" and ready for life outside the womb.

DesvousJunior keeps getting the hiccups like crazy! Fern says that means he or she will be a good nurser! Here's hoping!

Stupid Bassinet!

Last night when I discovered that the heat was turned down to SIXTY-THREE DEGREES, I chastised Richard. We had a good giggle about it and forgot about it immediately.
I went into the bedroom, then, barefoot and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and SLAMMED my foot into the bassinet at the foot of our bed. I gashed open the top of my toe which immediately started throbbing.
I looked down, expecting blood, but only saw a pink mark.
Richard said, "I bet it would be bleeding if it wasn't so cold in here."
Har, har.

Reality Check

I was telling one of my fellow pregnant co-workers how excited I am to meet this baby and that the last two weeks of pregnancy seem longer than the first 38.
She laughed and said, "Well...no matter what, it's going to happen eventually, right?!"
I managed to wait til she walked away and then I threw up a little.
This is actually happening.

Survival

OK, if yesterday was a bad day, last night was ...worse.
I tossed and turned (read: flopped and groaned) all night long.
I couldn't lay all the way down because I had such terrible heartburn that I was gagging (no more Greek for me), and when I tried to sleep in the recliner I woke up an hour later with a stiff neck.
I finally fell asleep in the nursery, curled up in my bathrobe with my Tums in my hands.
Surprisingly, though, today is a much better day than yesterday. I am in a much better mood, for the first time in a week (poor Richard!!) and have even managed to get some things accomplished this morning.
So...it looks like I'll survive today.

All that is holy...

I s.w.e.a.r., if one more person tells me how TINY I am or how TIRED I look, I'm going to lose my FREAKING mind.

I look tired and cranky?

Weird.

Week 37

I had my 37 Week appointment on Wednesday.

My blood pressure was high enough that I didn't "pass" until the third time she took it. Couldn't POSSIBLY have had anything to do with the flight of stairs I walked up immediately prior! Over the course of 15 minutes, my BP went from 138/96 to 106/72. Nice, huh? I focused on relaxing (a tactic that might come in handy later...), which made a huge difference!

I am still measuring right on track (37cm), and I have a "nice, soft" cervix and am not quite dilated to 1cm. I also gained two more pounds since my 35 week appointment, which brings me to a nice, even 25 pound total so far. YESSS.

So...we're moving in the right direction!

I admit, I was hoping she would tell me that I was dilated to 4cm and I would probably have my baby that night. I even fantasized about my water breaking on the way into the examining room.

Let me be clear--I'm not SO uncomfortable that I want to be done or anything like that. I'm sick of my job. I checked out last week. I packed up all my personal belongings to take home with me tonight. Hopefully I won't have to come back. Haha. Wishful thinking, I know.

I've been having quite a lot of cramping lately, and the BH contractions are getting more uncomfortable, but that's about it.

It amuses me that Richard is starting to get nervous. I'm enjoying it, to be honest. : )

This week, baby weighs about 6.5lbs and probably measures about 19 inches long. At this point, some babies have long locks of hair and others don't!

How I Told...

The girls.

It occurs to me that I never told anyone how I told my three closest friends that I was pregnant.

As you'll recall from Cara's post ages ago, I was the only one in our group that WASN'T pregnant.

I wouldn't say that I was heartbroken at being the only one without child, but I was disappointed and felt quite left out--even though I have wonderful friends and they would never make me feel that way! You know how it is.

Well, imagine my surprise when the very next week (literally, like four days later), my pregnancy test came back positive.

I stewed and stewed about a fantastic way to tell my friends that I was one of them now. I mean, think of it. What are the odds that all four of us would get pregnant at the same time? It needed to be fabulous.

So...I created a necklace for each of us. For Naomi, I made it with sapphires for September, for Sarah and Cara, amethysts for February and for myself aquamarines for March.

On the next day of our girls night (at the Sorenson's), I made sure to pick an outfit that would go with my necklace and wore it all day (and received many complements!). On my way to Sarah's house that evening she and I chatted on the phone. I told her I hadn't slept well that night and didn't feel very good. She said, "Are you pregnant?" I felt SO bad lying to her, but I lied. I didn't want to ruin my surprise.

As we all gathered in the living room with our cheesecake, I handed out envelopes to the girls, saying, "These are for all my PREGNANT friends."

Inside with each necklace was a card that read:

"A necklace to represent your little one (or something like that--I can't remember):

September 25--Sapphire

February 20--Amethyst

February 25--Amethyst

March 12--Aquamarine."

I waited nervously, playing with my necklace and watched my friend's brains twisting and turning. They were totally silent...until Sarah TOTALLY. FLIPPED.

I remember lots of screaming and crying and being called a liar by Sarah. Haha!! I SO deserved it, but it was totally worth it.

Until Sophia was born, we were all pregnant together. And then for ONE WEEK until Natalie was born, we were all pregnant together again (though, of course, we didn't know it!). I just can't imagine what God has in store for the four of us and our children that He would have orchestrated something so very special.