Thursday, November 28, 2013

4 a.m. We Meet Again-Week 38

I am full term!  Woohoo!  I have reached the point where no position is comfortable and I am just ready to go to the hospital to GET THIS KID OUT!  Its funny, a few weeks ago I was really nervous about labor.  Now, I would welcome a real contraction like it was my best friend.  I am still nervous, but I have decided that pregnancy has got to be worse at this point.  At least with labor, I will have an epidural and the finish line in sight.  

At 38 weeks, regular sleep and I seem to have gone our separate ways.  I can go to bed at 8:30 or midnight, doesn't matter, and I will wake up like clock work at 3:30 or 4.  Then I am exhausted (and look like crap) for the rest of the day.  I am also getting very tired of having to go to work, mainly because I am uncomfortable, not sleeping at night and as stated above, look like crap.  Everybody has been really sweet to me at the office, but I swear if one more person says something to the effect of "you look ready to have that baby" or "you look really uncomfortable", I am going to lose it.  There is one secretary, a new girl, who loves to comment on how miserable I look every time I walk to the bathroom.  When I came back after the flu last week, she also commented every time I coughed about how terrible I sounded and how awful that must be as pregnant as I am.  Grrrrrr.  Shut up!  I do not need to be reminded of how miserable I feel!  I am sitting at a desk still trying to bill and get work done!  I can also tell the men at my office are getting really nervous about my being there.  I think some of them are worried I will go into labor at my desk, but to be honest I am kind of worried about that too.  I   have decided that as best I can I am going to try to keep "school hours" these last two weeks.  I don't have that much to do in the way of work, since I am trying to bring everything to a stopping point, and I do not want to be at work if something happens.  My greatest fear about labor at this point is that my water breaks while I am at my desk and I have to explain to someone what has happened.

At my 36 week appointment we got to see Peter again on ultrasound.  I know I am biased, but I can tell he is adorable!  He was head down and it looks like he has dropped.  He was sucking his fist, which the tech kept saying was a good sign that he would breastfeed well:)  She also told Jake and I the somewhat disturbing news that she estimated his weight at 7 pounds and 13 ounces!  At 36/37 weeks!  Big boy!  Of course my doctor said that the estimate is off a good bit of the time (both ways, meaning he could be bigger), but he did mention (as I was walking out the door) that if I carried Peter to term we may need to talk about a C-section because he is expected to gain another two pounds before birth.  Uh, doc, I think that is something to mention earlier in the appointment so that we can discuss it thoroughly, not as I am walking out the door!  I fretted about it for a week and then when I went back he kind of back tracked.  I have decided I am not going to worry about it yet.  My mother gave birth to me and I was a whopping 9 lbs., 14 ounces.  My sister was a fairly big baby too and was delivered the good old fashioned way, so I have confidence that I can do it.   Of course, I will likely heed my doctor's advice if he recommends I not try to deliver Peter because he is going to be too big, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.   At the 36 week appointment I was 0 for 0 on effacement and dilation.  However, at my last doctor's appointment I got the good news that I was 25% effaced and 1 cm dilated!  I have a long way to go, but that was certainly promising information and the doctor actually talked to me about what to do if I went into labor over Thanksgiving!  Now I have read in my books (and on the internet) that I could sit at 1 cm for weeks, but I also could keep making progress.  Here is hoping for the latter, instead of the former!

Stats Time:

How Far Along:  38 weeks.

Size of Baby: According to my app he should only be like 6 and a half pounds.  According to the trained professional, he is probably already about 8 pounds!

Weight Gain: The numbers at this point are just scary.  I hope this weight comes off fairly quickly.  Come on breatfeeding!

Gender: Boy!  Peter James Malatesta. 

Movement:  He moves quite a bit.  It kind of hurts now because he is so big, but I still love feeling him squirm.  

Sleep: I miss you.

What I miss: Being comfortable, breathing, talking without getting out of breath, sleeping, not being a crazy hormonal mess, you know, normal functioning.  On another note, I am also really geared up about eating some sushi soon!

Cravings: I went to the grocery store on Tuesday night to get some items for casseroles I am freezing for after Peter arrives and I bought the stuff for spinach dip.  I ate that whole bowl, pretty much by myself, by the end of the night tonight (Wednesday).

Symptoms:  Lack of sleep and fatigue.  

Best Moment of the week:  Going to the doctor and finding out that I had dilated a full centimeter since my last appointment!


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