36 weeks prego!

So, obviously progressing in this pregnancy makes me slack on this blog! I'm trying, I'm trying :) I absolutely cannot believe that this week is starting my ninth month of pregnancy, unbelievable to think baby girl will be here 3 weeks or less! We had our 36 week appointment on Friday and our midwife, Sharon, said that baby has dropped in my pelvis and I'm about 1/2 a centimeter dilated. She also monitored her heart rate and my contractions for a little while and determined that are baby is super active (which I could have already told her haha), but she was very pleased with her heart rate pattern. I was having contractions the whole time I was monitored but they were just small Braxton Hicks and I couldn't even feel them but she said that is good news because my body is preparing for the real deal! We go back Thursday to check my progress and she may even strip my membranes if I've begun to dilate more! Yikes!


Baby Growth: At this stage, Kynslie is putting on about an ounce a day in weight. The average baby is about 6 lbs right now and is about 18 1/2 inches long. At the end of this week, she will be considered "Full Term" - yay!! I have been praying for this day since we found out we were pregnant!  Most of her systems are working just fine in there - she is just really concentrating on maturing those longs and packing on the pounds.

My Symptoms:  It is pretty safe to say that I am getting to the miserable point in pregnancy. I am SO worn down everyday and every little thing makes me so uncomfortable now! I am honestly ready for her to make her appearance now that we are coming close to the safety zone and will be full term by Wednesday, yay again!

 

I had a weekend of feeling just plain poopy. My throat was killing me and I've had the lovely head cold/sinus drainage since then but luckily I'm starting to feel better!

 

I'm still having Braxton Hicks contractions, off and on, but they don't seem to be getting any more intense than they have been. I have been feeling pain all the way to my back when I get them, though, which I'm praying is not a sign that I will have back labor, ughh!!!

 

She has definitely dropped and our midwife confirmed this at our appointment Friday! She said that Kynslie is at a -1 station already in my pelvis (0 station is exactly lined up with the pelvis) so she said this is best case scenario for a first time mom, yay!  I thought something was going on this past week because she felt lower to me and I starting feeling pressure and some weird sensations down below.


Weight:  I gained 1 pound since my last appt and honestly I'm losing track of my grand total! I think that puts me at a total of 35 gained

Belly Pictures:

 

And prepare to be terrified....here comes the belly and all it's glory! It blows my mind how big it is now, it's so weird toting it around everyday!

 

 

Gender: Little Lady!


Maternity Clothes: My choices are SO limited now! I thought it was bad before but now I feel like I wear the same thing all the time (probably because I do, haha) I literally live in Merlin's tshirts and oversized pajama pants at any point that I am at home! I can only fit into 2 pair of scrub pants so it's usually those or jeans and work tshirts to work everyday! Ready to wear cute clothes again!

Movement: She is still an active little thing! She constantly moves and stretches out and since there ins't much room left for her, it doesn't feel to good when she makes sudden movements. When we were at our appointment Friday, they hooked me up to the monitor to watch her heartrate for about 10 minutes and she did not like that thing being on her! She moved and kicked at it like crazy and it was like she was mad because everytime, her little heart rate would go up!

Sleep: This is getting worse by the day it seems. I'm having pretty bad pain in my hips and my back when I sleep. I still toss and turn all night to make it feel better and it usually will for a little while but once I'm in one spot for a little while, the pain comes back. No fun! And I still have to get up to potty every night too!

What I Miss:  Breathing like a normal person and not getting winded just after walking down the hall! I feel like I breathe and sound like a severely obese woman!

 

What I'm Looking Forward To:  We go back to the doctor on Thursday and she will check me again to see if I have progressed any since Friday when I was only 1/2 a centimeter dilated. She is also planning on stripping my membranes then if I am dilated to try to get her moving naturally. I'm not really looking forward to this because I've heard it is painful and uncomfortable but if it's gonna get her to come out, I'm open to anything! :)

Cravings:  The only thing I've seemed to have wanted this entire pregnancy is breakfast at Chickfila! Egg and cheese biscuit, hashbrowns and sweet tea! So good! I only allow myself to have it maybe once every one or two weeks so I don't overdo it but I'm definitly going to need someone on call to deliver it to me when I'm in the hospital! Any takers? haha


Best Moment of the Week:  Merlin and I decided to have a "date night" Saturday night and treat ourselves to dinner and a movie because we figure we won't be doing that again for a while! It was so much fun just to spend time together and focus on each other before the baby gets here!

Also, Merlin has been great through this entire pregnancy but just within the last couple of weeks, he has been so attentive and interested in everything going on with the baby. I guess because I'm so much bigger now and he said he feels like she's poking out so much more now that he feels like he has to be extra protective over us. It's so sweet though because he rubs my belly and talks to her all the time, I absolutely love it! He's going to be an amazing daddy!


Questions or Concerns:  Sharon (our midwife) had mentioned last week the possibility of inducing early (like, as in next Thursday or Friday!) to go ahead and get her here before Christmas because I'm terrified of going into labor with my Doctor and midwife out of town! But it will all depend on if I'm dilating and progressing from last week to this week. So we want to talk it out with her and see what the best option will be. Whether to induce a littler earlier than we planned or just wait it out and see what she does on her own!


Goals for the Week:  We have surprisingly got lots done now that Merlin is done with classes for the quarter and has so much more time now. The nursery is almost completed, we just have one more canvas of a scripture to get in and hang and it will be completely done (I'll post pics soon). I've packed my bag and her bag for the hospital, we have put the car seat in, her going home outift is ready (just have to pick it up) and started cleaning out and regorganizing closets so we can have more space for her things in the kitchen and other areas! So, for this week, I hope we can get more cleaning and organizing done since we are in the home stretch now!
Here is her super cute diaper bag from my sweet friend, Julia, all ready to go to the hospital!