Today is December 10th, and we are now less than a month from the "official due date." During the entire pregnancy, whenever asked when I am due, my response has always been "mid January", even though the calculated due date is really the 8th. I did this for two reasons... #1 - I know that first babies often arrive late and recently learned in our birthing class that an average spontaneous pregnancy lasts 41 weeks + 1 day, making my updated due date January 16th. Reason #2 - I don't want people calling/texting/asking me on January 9th - "are you still pregnant?! why isn't he here yet?!" This will annoy me to no end. The reason I am sharing this information on the blog is that I don't think any of you readers are going to be the type to do this to me. And also, I don't think very many people actually read my blog, ha! So there you go. ;)
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| 35 weeks + 3 days |
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| 35 weeks + 3 days |
I feel like this belly has really become all baby now. I can almost always poke around and easily feel one of his body parts through my skin. Most often its a foot or other small round body part up near the top of my belly, but sometimes there will be a large "lump" palpable near my navel, and I am quite sure it's his tiny tushie sticking out! A few times he has contorted himself into a position that is nearly impossible to determine, Erik and I try to make our best guess but most of the time we have no clue. It's a lot of fun to watch him wiggle around and try and figure out what position he might be in. The braxton-hicks contractions have really picked up recently. Some days I have them back to back but they always stop if I sit down and rest, and I have not yet been worried at all that I am having more than just normal "practice contractions". They are never painful, and I can't really pinpoint the beginning or end of the contraction, it's more of an awareness that my belly has hardened and then the feeling gradually fades.
Tomorrow I start week 36, and this sounds kind of negative but I sort of feel like I am waiting for that dreaded "end of pregnancy" feeling where women say they just want it to be over. Strangely enough, I can't imagine feeling like that. I get a little sad thinking about not being able to feel those kicks and movements anymore, and dare I say (and this has seemed to get me in trouble before) but the last few days I have been feeling awesome. Sleep has been great, which I give some credit to our new foam mattress, and my energy levels have been steady. Last week I overdid it a little and didn't allow myself much resting time, and I became quite fatigued by the end of the week and actually started to feel like I was getting sick. Fortunately, the feeling quickly passed and last Friday on my day off I was given strict orders by Erik that morning to do only three things that day. First, I was to watch the Price is Right (ha!) Second, I was to shop online for my annual Smartwool socks order that he always places for me at Christmastime, and third - I was instructed to sit and relax! I love when he gives me that kind of "to do" list...
My pregnancy app on the ipod says my countdown is now 4 weeks and 1 day (although I know it's probably more like 5 weeks) but still, it feels like the homestretch now! I was already feeling quite ready, but thanks to the generous gifts from my friends and recent order to Amazon, I can say we are feeling more prepared than ever. Thank you to everyone who came this past weekend, it was a really special day for all (three) of us!
