Week 37.

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

How far along: 37 weeks

Total weight gain: +32 total.  This is +2 from last week. 

Here’s a picture of my 37 week bump:


Side-by-side comparison (sorry I didn’t do any silhouette pictures before 34 weeks). 

Sleep habits: Sleep has been great with the exception of not being able to sleep on my back.  I get up to pee and fall back asleep very quickly.  I also find I’m able to stay up later at night (past my pregnancy 8 p.m. bedtime) and still wake up at a decent hour and have energy throughout the day. 

Maternity clothes: They’re getting tight.  As evidenced in my 37 week bump picture, my bump has grown.  The blue belly fabric is fitting very snugly.  I am usually fine in the morning, but once I eat lunch and have my post-lunch pregnancy swelling, I’m in absolute misery.  I refuse to buy more maternity pants at this point, so I’ll just have to deal. 

Best moment of the week:  Joe’s parents came and picked up Anna to bring her to her great grandmother’s house.  I got to spend the majority of the day all by myself, and it was heavenly.  I watched a scary movie (Insidious), I ate the delicious jambalaya that my father-in-law made for me without having to share, and I even took a nap.  It was glorious! 

Food cravings: Nothing at the moment.

Symptoms:  Not many at this point with the exception of just feeling uncomfortable and miserable.  This is the most pregnant I’ve been.  I had Anna at exactly 37 weeks.  Today I’m 37 weeks 1 day (I post a day after I hit my weekly milestones).  I was really hoping I’d go into labor right at 37 weeks, but that obviously didn’t happen.  Does that make me horrible that I’m so ready to evict this baby? 

It just gets frustrating when doing the simplest of tasks requires great effort.  Plus, I just feel like crap – fatigued, pressure down low, have to pee every 10 minutes.   Also, I’m really anxious to meet him.  I can’t wait to see what he looks like – will he have hair or be completely bald like Anna?  How big will he be?

I honestly worry the most about my water breaking while in public.  I’m tempted to start traveling around with a spare change of clothes and garbage bags to put on my car seats while I’m en route to the hospital. 

Movement:  He’s slowed down a lot.  I usually have 10 minute kick sessions every few hours.  These sessions really make me want to run out to get an epidural.  The kid likes to head-butt/punch some very sensitive organs/areas.  Most of the time if feels like shockwaves going throughout my entire body.  I don’t remember the kicks being this forceful with Anna, but maybe I blocked it out. 

The nursery:  I haven’t done much with the nursery this past week because there’s not much left to do at this point.  My friend Allison made some amazing artwork for behind his crib, so I’ll get that hung up as soon as possible.



This was the inspiration:


One canvas will be an old Chevy truck and the other will be a big J. 

My friend Kent is making some cool bunting (flags) to hang in his room. 

This is just an example of bunting (of course the colors will be aqua/chocolate/orange to match his room colors):


I still need a few odds and ends décor stuffs, but I’m basically done.  I just need the baby now.

Oh, and my sister gave me all of my nephew’s clothes, so J is well stocked until he’s at least 2!  The kid can wear two or three outfits/day and never wear the same thing twice.  It was fun washing and putting away everything.  Now I feel like things are finally ready for him. 

Oh, and I found the most perfect orange rugs at Big Lots.  I could kick myself because I actually saw them a few weeks ago, but being the cheap bastard that I am, I decided not to get them at the time even though the rugs were only $5 a piece.  I needed three. 

When I couldn’t stop thinking about them, I went back in to buy them, but there were only two left.   I bought them, but the odd person in me feels like I need one more to make it more symmetrical.  My mother-in-law went to the Big Lots in her town to see if she could find me one more, but they didn’t have them there.  I even looked online for them…no luck.  Oh well.  Lesson learned – just buy what you like the first time – don’t wait around.

Here’s the rug:

What I’m looking forward to:  Having this babeh!

What I miss: Nothing at the moment.

Last appointment details: I got scolded for getting off of Procardia, but I don’t guess it mattered since I’m still truckin’ along.  She also checked me and said I’m 50% effaced (not 80% like the L&D nurse said) and 1 CM dilated.  She said he’s hanging out low, locked and engaged at –3 station.  I got the GBS (Group B Strep) test, but I’m already deemed as being GBS+, so I’ll need antibiotics as soon as I get to the hospital.  I was GBS+ with Anna as well. 

Here’s a station diagram to explain:

Dilation and Effacement diagram:


Next appointment:
My next appointment is Thursday, March 22.  I will be meeting with a new OB since my OB is on maternity leave.  I’m not sure if she will check me or not, but my regular OB said that she wanted to do a growth u/s at 38 weeks to see how big J is and then discuss the possibility of a c-section.  I’m not on board with that at all, so I’m curious to see what this OB recommends. 

See ya next week (maybe!).