{week 38} Baby Lower could come any time in the next two (or three if s/he’s late!) weeks and it’s sort of blowing my mind…
I feel like with all of what is happening in life, mainly the COVID pandemic and all the related life changes, and Eloise starting remote school (and Daphne not going to preschool, yet), it hasn’t really crossed my mind that at the end of this pregnancy will be a newborn. Yes, I’ve been counting down the weeks and going thru the motions of what comes with being nine months pregnant, but I haven’t gotten to the part yet where I’ve really realized that we are going to have a new family member. And soon!
It’s exciting, and terrifying, and mostly exciting to think about having a new baby again. As much as it is to be a “new” post-partum mom and everything that comes with that (healing, hormones, lack of sleep), there is something SO special about having a newborn baby. And since this one is definitely our LAST one – ha! – I know those first moments, and days, and weeks will be so much more special.
But reverting back to being 38 weeks pregnant. It’s been SO hot in Seattle this week. A final summer heatwave that has brought us 80 degree weather and, for the past few days, smoke from local wildfires. And as much as I have always loved the “Indian Summer” that we tend to get in September to end each summer, I really am so looking forward to fall and the cooler weather. The heat tends to exacerbate my already swollen hands and feet (though not badly) in the mornings, and I really just want to be floating in a swimming pool!
I am still taking Zofran once per day in the morning, just to be sure to ease any nausea, though it’s probably pretty placebo at this point. But I’ve been able to take my non-gummy pre-natal vitamin again (without it making me feel sick) which is great since it’s a much easier form of iron for me to take. I only have a tiny bit of heartburn, but not much, though my appetite has decreased substantially.
My only real complaint, at this point, is that I’ve got a lot of leg/hip/groin pain (which has been pretty on-going this last trimester) and it feels like my leg is being pulled off! I notice it more when I am standing or walking for any length of time, or trying to move quickly (like changing directions). And, I have to pee. All. the. time.
I forgot to mention last week that my Group B Strep test came back negative. This is great because it means I don’t have to worry about getting a 4 hour drip of antibiotics immediately before the baby is born!
My 38 week check-up was pretty uneventful. My weight, BP, urine sample, and belly measurement all came in normal. Apparently the belly measurement, this late in pregnancy, is less important/accurate for growth as many babies are headed down into the birth canal. [And that is definitely true for Baby Lower right now!] I declined a cervical check this week since, truly and even my OB agreed, my dilation and effacement numbers don’t really mean much.
We are counting down the days, well hours actually, until my mom comes up for her visit! Just one more weekend of our family of four. [We have two close friends on-call in case I go into labor before my mom is able to come up on Tuesday, but we are really hoping she’ll be here when the baby is born!]
And here are the updates from Eloise. I (apparently) stopped doing updates after week 37 with Daphne!
Happy 38 weeks!
M