pregnancy update--almost time!



We're almost to 40 weeks. My official due date is Monday...and I'll be honest, I wish it was yesterday. My current condition has left me at a comfort level of about -18. Sleeping is a joke, because I pee multiple times an hour. The Braxton Hicks contractions are often so painful, I am baffled that none of them are the "real deal" yet and it leaves me earnestly praying for the girls that choose the "natural" non-medicated option. And yes, I obviously will be opting for the epidural...I had moments of wondering if I may go without, but after the past few weeks of increasingly painful "fake" contractions...I really have no desire to experience the real deal in full swing.

However, I do have a strong and passionate desire to bring this little girl into the world. We have such a little bond already. Sometimes I just sit in her nursery and get teary eyed as I dream of her in my arms.

So far, she looks about as healthy as can be. They think she's already around 8lbs 13ounces (I'm hoping they are estimating a bit high--because I'm mildly terrified of giving birth to a baby over 9lbs but I trust my doctor and know that everything will be okay.)

This whole pregnancy thing has been such a learning, growing, crazy experience. As my husband has so kindly described it, it's the most "natural, unnatural thing". I've come to agree. Never could I have imagined what changes my body would go through. And never could I have predicted how my body would handle those changes.

For basically the first 5 months of my pregnancy I was very sick. I was on constant nausea medication. I lost a decent amount of weight, and would cry almost every morning when I had to run to the bathroom to vomit.

After that, I hit an exhaustion phase. The nausea slowly became less of an issue except for in the mornings, and I was able to eat more. The baby began to grow bigger, and I finally had to make the official switch to maternity clothes (Oh, and the pounds began to pack on! I had to make up for lost time I guess...:/) And never have I felt so tired in all my life, but it was fun to finally have a noticeable bump. Before that I more just looked like a pear shaped blob...and people couldn't really tell if it was a baby bump or just a seriously lack of ab workouts and one too many cookies.

Over the last 6 weeks or so, it's been a steady downhill of discomfort and more weird bodily changes. My baby is incredibly active, even now--at almost 40 weeks. It's like she's teaching a kick-boxing class in there. Constant side-kicks and upper-cuts. I've got to have some gnarly bruising from the inside out in there. I swear she likes to pound on the same places again and again.

Oh, and I'm not going to even try to describe to y'all how swollen my feet and legs have become over the last few weeks. I am not being dramatic when I tell you--I honestly have one pair of shoes left that feet and it's a pair of comfy flip flops that stretch a bit with the feet.

Like I mentioned early, it's probably the most unnatural, natural thing I ever will experience.

I know there must be truth when people say they somehow forget about so much of the unpleasant parts of pregnancy, or just that you love your child so much...because right now I am looking at these women who have done this multiple times and am completely amazed.

Because baby girl is already looking larger, my doctor has scheduled an induction for next Tuesday if I haven't had her by my due date. I'm praying hard that I have her before then--I really didn't want to be induced, but I also don't want the baby too big if she decides not to come. So, we'll see what happens! Hoping she makes her debut ASAP...

They did a quick ultrasound this past Monday to check on her size/weight. Above is a picture of her face and you can see her cute little nose being squished. She's pretty tight in there--another reason why it's so impressive she continues to be so active.

I can't wait to meet this little angel. She already has us both obsessed with her. She's such a blessing to us, and we love her so very much.

Oh, and I finally finished her nursery! I'll post pictures as soon as I can. I'm way too overly excited about how dreamy it turned out :)