37 Weeks, 4th of July

How far along? 37 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: + 20lbs from pre-pregnancy.
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? Yes
Sleep: This week I have been waking up nearly every hour. And, I'm so uncomfortable that when I do get some sleep, I wake up with a sore back/legs/neck. Ugh.
Best moment this week: Finding out that I passed my group B strep test (no antibiotics during labor) and hitting the full-term mark this week!
Worst moment this week: Just being all around miserable from being so pregnant. Yup. I've become that pregnant woman.
Movement: Lots & lots & lots. Lots of feet to the ribs, shoulders to the pelvis & head-butts to the cervix. Her new favorite play toy is my belly button. I think she thinks this is the escape hatch.
Food cravings: Between the heat, heartburn, & being so big that my stomach is displaced to the point where I get full after 3 bites, food doesn't even sound good to me.
Gender: Still a girl as far as we know, but Greg keeps having his doubts because we are getting SO MANY girl clothes as gifts!
Labor Signs: Still having contractions off and on this week but so far they have not lead to anything. Hopefully they will soon!
Belly Button in or out? Barely allowed to be called a belly button anymore. Looks more like a weird fleshy patch.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night. The dream that the house will be sold before baby G is born.
What I am looking forward to: Selling the house, getting the few little things left on our shopping list. Oh, and of course, holding our little baby girl!
Milestones: Full-term this week! Also, we got our hospital bag packed, we bought Brock's gift "from" his sister & Greg wrapped it, the carseats/bases and bassinet is cleaned, I am keeping up with thank-you notes as we get gifts for her, all the bottles/nipples are cleaned & ready to go, and most everything that we need has been either bought or given to us as a gift. Now all we need is our baby girl!
Technical baby news: At week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If (okay, as) you worry about giving birth, consider what it’s like for the little one. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.
18.9-20.9 inches, 6.2-9.2 lbs. Baby G is now the size of a watermelon. Oh. My. God. That is gonna hurt!








OB updates:
-Baby G is still head-down. Stay that way, child!
-Baby G's heartbeat: 144
-BP: 122/77
-My weight was actually down 3 lbs from last week but this further proves my point that the scale in her office isn't accurate. However, what my doctor said made me want to kiss her. She said, "Now, your weight is down from last week. Are you eating enough? Have you been feeling okay?" How refreshing (and a little odd in my experience) to hear a doctor say that you need to gain weight! However, I also know that every pound that I gain during pregnancy is a pound I have to loose after pregnancy. ::Sigh::
-I am 2cm dilated, 50% effaced, & my cervix is very soft.
-When I asked if there was anything she could do to help induce labor, she said that she wouldn't strip my membranes until 39 weeks and just to keep walking, eating spicy food, etc. I also went to the chiropractor this morning and HE got my hopes up when he said that they could do acupuncture to help induce labor! Then he told me that they won't do it until 39 weeks. What the hell? Why, if I'm full term at 37 weeks, do people act like I'm asking them to sign a deal with the devil by inducing me at 37 weeks, 2 days?
-Finally, my doctor told me that she is OUT OF TOWN NEXT WEEK!!!!! WHAT?! I realize that she doesn't in fact NEED to be there when Baby G is born, but since I don't know any of her partners I would like it if she were. On the flip side of that, she would only be there to deliver on days that Greg is out of town (since he is only home on the weekends) and I keep having a recurring nightmare that he will miss our daughter's debut because I can't get ahold of him in time to get to the hospital. So, if I have to choose my OB or my husband, I choose my husband.

I think.

4th of July:
Since I had to work the 5th, we didn't plan to do anything big, but we went to Peyton's 1st birthday party and she was so cute! She is already running around and has quite a few teeth. The cutest thing about her was her kisses! She was giving Greg, Brock & I kisses when we were leaving and it totally reminded me of Brock a year ago! Full-on, open mouth, slobber-filled kiss. Too sweet. Unfortunately, because her b-day party was on the holiday, we couldn't stay for most of the festivities but we did get to see her and watch her terrorize Brock (those curls are irresistible!).
After the b-day party, we went to Greg's mom and dad's house for a BBQ and fireworks. Brock was so funny when we got there because he ran into the house yelling for Gee-Gee and Papa and played with them for a few minutes. Then he saw Gee-Gee making corn on the cob and INSISTED that he have a piece. Uncooked. So she gave it to him and he ate it! He also ate two pieces of watermelon which he loved. He also tried a few bites of potato salad but didn't tempt fate with the Asian salad that she made. Then we went outside and shot off a few fireworks which he was . . . well, let's see. He was more entertained with the leftovers from the fireworks than the actual fireworks. He did think it was funny anytime they started smoking and nearly gave all of us a stroke because he would tear off into the yard and blow on the fireworks because he was warned that they were "hot". He did love the poppers and Greg bought him a few cars that shot off down the sidewalk and he got to play with the cars after the had cooled off. He FINALLY understood to look up at the sky when the fireworks were going off on the last one that we did and it pointed to the sky and said, "star". It was super cute! All in all, it was a fun 4th of July and next year will be even better!

Other news of note:
I would just like to point out that my mom (who was right on about Brock's birthdate) made her prediction for July 5. We were telling one of my dad's friends that a couple weeks back and he said, "Well, I think you'll go into labor on the 5th but not have her until the 6th.". Well, guess what? You are both wrong. It is now the 7th and I'm still pregnant! Maybe I will have her before my birthday. Which is the 14th for those of you who have forgotten and still need to buy my gift!

Okay, I'm done rambling now. If you've made it this far, you get a cookie. Just let me know so I can make it for you.