36 Weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

How your life's changing:

Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs!

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes.

Even if you're enjoying an uncomplicated pregnancy, it's best to avoid flying (or any travel far from home) during your final month because you can go into labor at any time. In fact, some airlines won't let women on board who are due to deliver within 30 days of the flight.

Eating in "Start collecting take-out and delivery menus from local restaurants. You won't have time to cook in the early weeks after giving birth. Even restaurants without a visible take-out business will usually accommodate a to-go order (especially if it's for a new mom!)." — Kristina

Well I have updates from the last few dr. appointments but I'll put those in another post.

When reading this information, I think I'm right on track. I am noticing a LOT more contractions that are starting to hurt a bit, but nothing super consistent. I know that I probably won't go into labor on my own so I'm not really concerned about these contractions. I time them and do my breathing exercises through them and they always end on their own. So I'm not worried. Yet. :)

I have no problem eating...at all. Last night I ate a TON at my parents for dinner. And I enjoyed it all. Typically, I do eat less at each meal and just eat more frequently but I can eat a lot if I'm hungry!

Walking, etc. is getting more uncomfortable but I don't want to complain too much. Sleeping is really the worst part. I can't get comfortable and rolling over is a nightmare. Who knew it could be so hard to ROLL OVER. But it really is. And then add to that how I'm waking up every 2 to 2-1/2 hours to go to the bathroom and it's just insane. But I guess it's good practice for me since I'll be up every few hours for a feeding in just a few weeks!

I'm hoping to go to Time for Dinner next week or the week after (maybe Tuesday, the 15th since I'm on "Spring Break") to get some meals for us while I'm out. I think I'll probably go through our fridge and freezer this week/weekend too. I have so much in there and I need to go through everything. Make some room for the extra meals I'll have! :)

I think that's it! I'll do another post about my specific Baby A updates.

Happy 36 weeks Annabelle!