Friday, November 15, 2013

Pregnancy Update: Week 36

How far along: 36 weeks, 2 days and I have three progesterone pills left. It's weird to think that the boys came at 36 weeks, 5 days.

How big is baby: The estimate is a little under 6 pounds (about the size of a crenshaw melon) and approximately 18 and a half inches long. I have a growth ultrasound on Monday, so it'll be interesting to see how the baby measures against the estimates. Of course, even the ultrasound isn't totally accurate.

Cravings/Aversion: I don't think there is anything specific, instead I just feel like eating a lot more than I have at any other point during this pregnancy. Although, I had a hankering for pizza several days ago and was not happy with the pizza I ended up getting. So I got pizza again a few days later and it still wasn't that great. Now I'm looking for really good pizza in town. Hubby and I are going out to lunch together on Monday before my series of appointments so we're going to go try some pizza at a nearby place.

Belly Button: Hubby called it a "belly knot" the other day.

Movement: Still plenty of moving around in there.

Leg cramps/restlessness: The leg cramps haven't made an appearance lately. At least, not the really bad ones. I still occasionally get woken up by a minor pain that I'm able to stretch out easily and go back to bed. I've been working really hard on drinking LOTS of water, some vitamin water, and eating bananas more often. I've also added in some protein shakes. All of that is also supposed to help with the restlessness, but it doesn't seem to be helping in that area. Luckily the restlessness is mainly during the day, not in bed at night. I'd never sleep if that was the case, so I'm counting that as a blessing.

Sleep: I've been sleeping fairly well. My main issue is my inability to move much and then waking up to some stiffness from being in basically one position all night long. I've also been staying up a little too late lately. So I sleep well, but don't get a long stretch of sleep. I need to sleep more this weekend.

Weight gain: I was surprised on Monday to see my weight the same as the week before. So I'm still at that 20 pound mark. Yay!

Appointment: Met with my doctor for a routine visit on Monday. My blood pressure was up a bit when the nurse took it, but Dr. M took is again after I had been sitting in the room for a while and it was perfect. They really shouldn't be taking the blood pressure of an 8 month pregnant woman after making her walk down the hall, get weighed, and walk some more. Let me catch my breath first, please! Anyway, nothing too exciting to report from this visit, except that this time I was measuring right on target. Next appointment is Monday the 18th.

Ultrasound: Having a growth ultrasound on Monday the 18th.

Non-Stress Test: First NST of this pregnancy is Monday the 18th.

Can you tell that I'm going to be busy on Monday the 18th?

The Big Brothers: Their language is really starting to explode!! I have a couple videos on our camera of Hubby reading a book to them. It's very cute to watch their reactions to the book and see them repeat phrases after Hubby. I hope to download those soon and get a post up for everyone to see. I also need to get a video of Ethan (maybe also Peter) singing the "Mahnah Mahnah" song. It cracks me up every time!

Names: No change here.

To-do List:
In progress/Finished

  • Pediatrician: Darn! I totally forgot about this. Need to make a phone call tomorrow.
  • Labor class is Tuesday. And I finally got a babysitter lined up too.
  • Postpartum class through CCL: We attended the class on Sunday and I'm glad we took it. It was a lot of review, but it was good to have that and it was good to see some examples of charts as fertility starts to return. Well worth it.
  • Plans for the boys: still coming together.
  • Still reading through several books on natural childbirth.
  • Baptism is scheduled and I've sent the date out to family. Very happy to have that on the calendar.
  • I attended the Babywearing Support Group in town this week and ended up "checking out" a wrap from their library. I'm a little shocked that I kind of liked the wrap, although it will take some practice. I also got to try out a few of the structured carriers, specifically the Boba and the Beco. I think it was the Beco that I liked the best, but I need to look them over again to remember.
Still to do:
  • Need a stroller still.
  • Disassemble one crib and rearrange baby room.
  • Go through all the newborn clothes and rearrange the boys clothes
  • Get a new dresser for the boys room so the baby's clothes can actually go into the baby's room
  • Move the car seats around and add the infant seat into the van
  • Get my Family Medical Leave paperwork submitted
Looking back: I read through my 36 week update from last time and I had forgotten a few things from that week. Specifically I had forgotten that it was at my appointment that Monday (I would have been 35 weeks and 5 days) that the doctor tried to remove the cerclage and was unable to, then discovered that I was already 5 cm dilated. I had forgotten that I went a whole week at 5 cm instead of just a weekend. It does make me wonder if I'm already dilated any now. It's funny to read what I wrote then and see how doubtful I was that I was going to make it to that Friday when in fact I made it to the following Monday.

Prayers: I still continue to pray for all pregnant moms, especially those struggling with difficult and/or high risk pregnancies. Prayers also for my prayer buddy, A; she especially needs them right now. And as always, I ask for continued prayers for me and this pregnancy, just that it continue to go well and we have a good birth.

I should be back for next week! Looking forward to making it to 37 weeks for the first time ever!

No comments:

Post a Comment