Chestnut Week 36

Sorry 'bout the crazy eyes

I'm still here! Baby's still in my belly!

This week, I've still been mostly in bed.  I got out to run a few errands on Tuesday...and I really paid for it.  Early Wednesday morning, I started contracting and the contractions came about 3 minutes apart.  Pretty strong ones, too.  Chin woke up when he heard me breathing through the contractions. I said, "I think maybe Marcus is coming tonight."  We called our doula Tara and headed off to the hospital at 3am (my sister GT was home with Camille).  Of course, when we got there, the contractions wimped out and it was not true labor.  BAH! 

The midwife on duty (one I hadn't met before) did check me and she thought that baby was close to coming...maybe within 24 hours.  Chin, Tara, and I all independently and unanimously disagreed with her prediction. Evidently, she was incorrect!

Tomorrow, I will be 37 weeks pregnant.  I gave birth to Camille at 37 weeks exactly, the equivalent of tomorrow at 5:13am.  At 5:14am tomorrow, we will enter into unchartered territory.  I'm just going to keep growing this big, fat, wiggly baby until he's ready to come out. :)

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• Chestnut is size of a crenshaw melon - ~18.66 inches and 5.78 pounds.
• The baby's body is becoming chubby as fat layers build.
• In general, babies are gaining half a pound (225 grams) per week...or about an ounce (30g) a day. Baby continues gaining weight as fat deposits and is forming creases in the neck and wrists.
• You may feel contractions of the womb, called Braxton Hicks contractions, which can be used to perform and practice breathing exercises. You may be visiting your caregiver weekly up until the birth. Regular internal exams may begin, to see if your cervix has softened, thinned, dilated or if your baby's head is dropping into the pelvis. Any of these could be signs of impending labor but there are no guarantees and you could be waiting for weeks yet. Your baby is almost ready, a pair of kidneys and the liver has begun processing some waste products, the only organ still to mature is the lungs. 
• This week your baby may drop into the birth canal, this is called 'lightening' or 'dropping'. If this is not your first baby, this 'lightening' may not occur until right before labor. Your care provider may refer to it by saying that your baby is now 'engaged'. The majority of babies are now in the birth position, either head down (vertex) or butt down (breech), most will maintain this position until birth. Any movements that they make are more likely to be rolls from side to side.You may notice when this happens because it will suddenly become much easier for you to breathe. While breathing becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite. If your baby has dropped you may find yourself visiting the bathroom much more often as baby is resting right on top of your bladder again.
• Keep talking - by now he can recognize you voice, and may respond to any loud noises with a swift kick out.

Physical:

• Weight: 144 lb (+31)
• Belly circumference: 42.0 in (+13.5)
• Dilation: 2 (from Wednesday morning)
• Effacement: 90% (from Wednesday morning)
• Station: 0 (from Wednesday morning...although he was at +1 last time I was checked)
• Baby's head: engaged and ready to go
• Mucus plug: no sign of Danny Tanner yet. (As explained before, when you type "mucus plug" into Google Images, amazingly a picture of Bob Saget pops up!)
• I feel like a whale.  So, so heavy.  I'm carrying all the weight out in front, so my back is really paying for it if I stand for any longer than a few minutes.
• Sleeping has been okay.  Although there was only one night this past week when I could sleep for 6 consecutive hours.
• The skin on my belly is just hanging on for dear life.  This kid is growing beyond what I've ever experienced!

Spiritual & emotional:

• This week, I've been having to remind myself to trust my instincts.  I remember that with regards to childbirth, I often regret not listening to my intuition more.  I think it's always a good reminder to stay in-tuned with one's body and mind.
• I finally got to finish some projects around the house and it feels great!  (See the pictures of Camille's room below.)
• In counseling this week, we talked about my pattern of feeling overwhelmed, shutting down, wanting to run away, and being overly critical of myself and others (yes, that's a lot to talk about).  I feel like I'm getting a lot out of my counseling sessions and I'm starting to discover the things that have been inhibiting me from living a fuller life.  Hopefully I will know how to actually incorporate these lessons into day-to-day living!
• I [not-so-secretly] wish that my water would break somewhere cool and interesting this time.

I'm so proud of this re-organization effort for the kids' room! And notice that Camille is now in a toddler bed!

More details to come on the mobile & the room re-design...

Click here to see the comparison to my pregnancy with Camille (MacNut) at the same gestational age.