Welp...TMI

The "bloody show" is occurring. 

37 Weeks Pregnant With Baby #2:

How far along? 37 Weeks 

Total weight gain: ~ 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Best moment this week: Spending time with family
Miss anything? Being able to bend over to reach things, being able to stand for more than 5 minutes, not being so emotional, not having anxiety attacks, not having teasing contractions

Movement: Super active

Food cravings: Pumpkin everything, olive garden

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Contractions, lost mucus plug

Symptoms: exhaustion, frequent urination, back pain, unable to stand for long periods of time, contractions

Belly button in or out? Out just a smidge

Wedding rings on or off? On, and very loose

Happy or moody most of the time: Getting a little better

Looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl

This week the baby is still approximately the size of a watermelon, at 6.30 lbs. in weight, and 19.13 inches in length.

"Your baby will weigh between six and six and a half pounds this week. Growth slows down at this point and your baby is busy practicing for life after birth. Your little one is plumper and if born now, he would not require an incubator to keep warm due to the presence of sufficient fat stores. Lungs are fully developed, which means he would be able to breathe on its own if born now. Usually babies are head down at this point, but they can drop right until the time of birth. If you're having twins, they will weigh between five and six pounds at this point, but if they are smaller, they may need to be kept in an incubator for some time after birth to keep them warm."

This week I went in for my 38 week update. I am still 70% effaced, and now am 3 cm dilated. She also went ahead and stripped my membranes, and said there is a good chance that I may end up going into labor tonight. I guess we shall see. Fingers are crossed. 

False Alarm:

No baby yet. 

Starting to feel anxious:

Not trying to totally jump the gun here, but I'm questioning if today is going to be the day. I woke up and 6am and haven't been able to go back to sleep. I've got the period cramp like stuff going on, which last time was my early labor starting at like 1:30am. Keeping an eye on it, so we shall see. 

TMI:

So I definitely feel like it'll be happening soonish. The past few nights, I've been having moderately strong contractions rather frequently for a few hours until around 2am, when the seem to stop and I got to bed. Today they started in late morning, but seem to have subsided a little, but I have pooped twice in the past two days (yes, I realize for most people this is normal), but in my case, I rarely go, so I'm thinking that that is all happening because of all of the movement and contractions, which hopefully means we're once again, one step closer. Heading for another NST this afternoon. 

36 Weeks Pregnant With Baby #2:

How far along? 36 Weeks 

Total weight gain: ~ 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Best moment this week: Having my baby shower
Miss anything? Being able to bend over to reach things, being able to stand for more than 5 minutes, not being so emotional, not having anxiety attacks

Movement: Super active

Food cravings: Pumpkin everything

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks

Symptoms: exhaustion, braxton hicks, frequent urination, back pain, unable to stand for long periods of time

Belly button in or out? Out just a smidge

Wedding rings on or off? On, and very loose

Happy or moody most of the time: Getting a little better

Looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl

This week the baby is still approximately the size of a honeydew melon, at 5.78 lbs. in weight, and 18.66 inches in length.

"Your baby weighs about six pounds (2.5kg) and will gain approximately one half of a pound per week from now until birth. The protective fat layer will make up about 15 percent of his weight at birth. Even though his gums have ridges that look a bit like teeth, the real ones won't make their appearance until about four or five months after birth. His cheeks are developing fat, creating that lovely chubby appearance. If you're carrying twins, you may go into labor anytime. Your baby is probably sleeping about 90 percent of the time. There isn't much room to move around anymore, although you will still be feeling regular movements. If you notice a dramatic increase or decrease in movement compared to your baby's normal daily activity, call your doctor immediately for further advice and directions. Don't wait for your next appointment, and never think your concern is silly. The doctor will probably ask you to come in for an ultrasound, so as to check your baby's heartbeat."

This week I went in for my 37 weeks update, and she started on the pelvic exams. We discussed that next week I'd like to get my membranes stripped to help hopefully jumpstart labor, so that I don't have to be induced in 3 weeks, and then she did the exam and said that she doesn't think I'll need it because I'm already 2cm and 70% effaced. I think with Sophia when I went in to have her after having my membranes stripped twice, I was 3 cm and 50% effaced. So I'll also be walking and sexing a lot. Haha. Also, later that day, I lost my plug at Target, and then went to my NSTs later that evening and they told me that I was having a lot of contraction activity, and I continued to until around 2am that morning, so fingers are crossed that she is coming soon.  Everything has been put together, her co-sleeper is up and in my room, her clothes have all been washed, the carseat has been installed, my hospital bag is packed except for my going home outfit, and toiletries. Sophia's "sibling gift" is already in the car so it doesn't get forgotten. My sister is going to come over today so that we can talk about what she'll need to know if it happens in the middle of the night and she comes over to stay with Sophia. It's all becoming very very real, and I'm so excited. 

35 Weeks Pregnant With Baby #2:

How far along? 35 Weeks 

Total weight gain: ~ 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Best moment this week: Taking Sophia to the snow festival and spending time with family
Miss anything? Being able to bend over to reach things, being able to stand for more than 5 minutes, not being so emotional, not having anxiety attacks

Movement: Super active

Food cravings: Olive Garden

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks

Symptoms: exhaustion, braxton hicks, frequent urination, back pain, unable to stand for long periods of time

Belly button in or out? Still just barely flush

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Getting a little better

Looking forward to: My baby shower

This week the baby is still approximately the size of a honeydew melon, at 5.25 lbs. in weight, and 18.19 inches in length.

"Your baby weighs about five pounds and a half pounds now. Your baby (not you) will start with a period of rapid weight gain this week. If you're carrying twins, they will weigh slightly less, as they don't have as much room to grow. The average birth weight of full-term twins (37 weeks or later, compared to 39-40 weeks for singletons) is around five and a half pounds each. However, one baby often weighs more than the other. From now until birth, your baby will gain approximately one third of a pound per week. A lot of this weight is the all-important brown fat to keep your little one warm for the first few weeks after birth. This brown fat contains more cells that produce body heat and this in turn prevents hypothermia. This brown fat appears on his upper spine, back and shoulders. When Grandma pinches his adorable chubby cheeks, it's the white fat that she's turning pink."

This week I started my NST's that will now take place twice a week, every week until the baby gets here. Today, I was told that my amniotic fluid is a little low, so I need to drink as much as I can to try and replenish it. It's not me a little nervous. 

34 Weeks Pregnant With Baby #2:

How far along? 34 Weeks 

Total weight gain: ~ 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? No

Best moment this week: Wedding dress shopping with the girls
Miss anything? Being able to bend over to reach things, being able to stand for more than 5 minutes, not being so emotional, not having anxiety attacks

Movement: Super active

Food cravings: Cereals, pasta, bread (basically the things I can't have)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks

Symptoms: exhaustion, braxton hicks, frequent urination, back pain, unable to stand for long periods of time

Belly button in or out? It is finally starting to stick out just a little

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Getting a little better

Looking forward to: My baby shower

This week the baby is still approximately the size of a honeydew melon, at 4.73 lbs. in weight, and 17.72 inches in length.

"Your baby weighs about five pounds (2kg) now. By this time most of the lanugo (body hair) is gone. His immune system is no longer relying on the antibodies from the placenta. This self-immunity is important to protect your little one at birth and for the rest of your baby's life. The vernix (thick white layer of protection present on your baby's skin) is disappearing; however, a little bit of it will still be left at birth. The digestive system is fully working by itself. Moreover, he is peeing up to a pint of urine a day into the amniotic fluid. Hopefully you've stocked up on nappies (diapers). Even though the placenta is capable of supporting your baby until birth, it will start to age this week."