Pregnancy Update 38 Weeks

Talk about being at the pointy end of the pregnancy! Can you believe I am less than 2 weeks away from the due date?!? It’s gone fast hasn’t it?

Even though I am technically not due until 26th October, I have always felt like I will go into labour early, though they say you don’t with you first. Several members of my family have been 3 weeks early with their first babies so who knows. I was reading that some women experience some form of prelabour for weeks, days or several hours before their labour starts. Prelabour is basically some physical signs indicating labour could be starting, such as a bloody show, loose bowel motions, nausea, backache, period like pain, sometimes the waters might break or some mild to moderate regular or irregular contractions. During prelabour the cervix apparently softens and ripens, thins out and starts to open or dilate slightly, up to 1 to 3 centimetres or so.  They also say that if you have to ask “is this it?”, then it’s generally not. I feel like she is right there, knocking on the door to come out. When I go to the loo or crouch down, it feels like she is crowning a little. However I was told that when she crowns I will certainly know it.

Clint and I were talking last night and he was saying he was glad that he has had the bathroom to work on as it’s taken his mind off the impending birth. I guess he is a little anxious about the natural birth having only experienced a cesarean with Mackenzee’s mum.  It’s definitely a huge experience for both of us and it’s a little nerve-wracking to say the least!

I was speaking with a woman in the chemist today who has a 1 month old girl and she was saying her natural labour was just over 5 hours and she had an almost 9 pound baby just over a week after her due date. She said there wasn’t even time for an epidural so she just had some gas. She was saying that there were absolutely no signs that she was going into labour until the contractions started. She said her belly didn’t even drop. I can only wonder about what my situation will be, how will it happen, how long will the labour take…so many questions! My mum says it’s my story that I can annoy my children with on their birthdays for the rest of their lives.

Speaking of mum, she arrived on Friday with dad. I had the funniest feeling that I was going to have the baby last week so have been pushing them to get up here and pushing Clint to get the bathroom done. So now that they are here,it’s pretty much just a waiting game. They have enjoyed seeing my big tummy though and feeling the baby move around. Mum calls her by name and swears she moves when she does.

I wrote a birth plan this week. Is it wrong that it’s two pages long?!? I asked my doctor if she thought the hospital would take it seriously or laugh at me. She said the hospitals actually like it when you do one. Here’s hoping they like my two page novel then!

It was actually quite funny at my doctor check up this week. You see, I usually go first thing in the morning but they have moved me until the afternoon now so I like to have some lunch before I head off. We decided to be naughty the other day and have a pie, a beesting cake and a can of lift for lunch. Then just before left I was putting groceries away and that included these yummy jelly lollies with soft centres that I just had to try. So by the time I got to the doctor appointment and did my wee sample (mind you, it’s getting harder and harder each week to get the cup in the right place for catching if you get my drift!) apparently my glucose levels were through the roof! I told the nurse what I had eaten as I stepped on the scales and announced I was 1kg heavier than what I was that morning. “No shit Dick Tracey” she said “after what you’ve eaten, I can understand your glucose levels and your weight!” But just as a precaution, they did a prick test…which came back higher than they had liked. So I have promised to eat a healthier lunch before my doctor appointment this week.

I have been incredibly active this week. Not only was I on my hands and knees this week washing down the new mosaic floor in the bathroom and gone to the hardware store more times than I care to count, but I also drove my folks the 140km round trip so we can visit my uncle. Mum said she was laid up exhausted when she was in her final weeks of pregnancy so every one is surprised just how much energy I have.

How big is the baby: The books say that bub is about 49 cm long (19.2 inches) and approximately 3,200 grams in weight (3.2 kg or just over 7lb) and apparently the size of a pumpkin. Yeah…7lb…don’t you just love the thought of something that large coming down your birth canal. I keep hearing that you forget all the pain you go through when you give birth so I am hoping that is the case.

Sickness: My feet have been killing me. I think it’s all the extra weight and it looks like my arches have fallen as well. I had a little niggle of a cold again but seems to have lived a very short life and gone already which is good news as I need to be 110% well and full of energy for d-day.

Movement: She’s slowed up a bit. Usually moves a lot when I eat, drink or sit in a position that is uncomfortable for her.

Sleep: I have been finding it harder to get to sleep and although I hit the sack early, I tend to lay there and ponder stuff. I’m still waking up at least two times for pee breaks but my insomnia hasn’t been as bad this week.

Cravings: Nothing to report. No need for gherkins dipped in ice cream or sneaking off to eat dirt like they show in the movies. I actually look at the cupboard and fridge and wonder “what do I feel like” until something jumps out at me.

What did you buy this week: I don’t think I have to buy another thing for bub until she is 1 as we have received so much clothes in the last few days. We were so fortunate to receive a massive plastic tub of baby clothes this week from our friends Tim and Clair whose daughter Aadi has outgrown them. I swear it took me over an hour to go through it and sort into size bundles. I think I need more coathangers now (and perhaps an additional wardrobe!!). On top of that, my brother and his partner Tania have been visiting the sunny Gold Coast this week and, when we caught up with them, they had a gorgeous gift for us – a stack of cute pink clothes. Bub certainly is going to be the best dressed baby in town!

Highlight of the Week: Having my parents here and the bathroom finished…such a relief! Feel like I can relax and stop stressing now.

What we’re looking forward to: Labour starting! Bring it on I say!! I am tired of thinking about it and wondering…just want to get it over and done with and bring our beautiful little girl home.

Have fun!