38 Week Update

I come bearing pictures. Okay, picture.

Alright, alright. I can give you a few more. The last time you had a picture of just me was at 34 weeks; I've been slacking:

She's bigger and lower. But, I don't appear too much bigger than when I was pregnant with Lucy:

 

I am definitely lower though! Perhaps my butt is bigger too? I blame the shirt. Alright, enough of my huge photos...

How far along?

I am 38 weeks, 6 days, going on eternity! I swear I have been pregnant forever and I wish the risk of "going early" would have never been introduced to my psyche. I only have 31 hours before I check into the hospital! Only 30 hours before I leave for the hospital! I am going insane waiting...

Baby is the size of...

a leek? Again, no idea what that is. She is so strong and she seems pretty big, but I seriously do have a feeling that she is going to be about the same size as Lucy was, especially with the picture evidence I showed you above.  According to BabyCenter, she is approximately 20 inches long and anywhere between 7 and 8 lbs. We will soon see.

Symptoms:

I  have been pretty achy. My hips hurt pretty bad lately. I had a theory that it was related to my intake of water in the evening. I think I am still kind of right about it; however, not just my hips hurt anymore. My pelvis literally aches. I told Heath that from my boobs to my knees just aches sometimes. She is definitely taking a toll on my body! I think it's because she's so low and I stand/walk weird to compensate.

I still have the usual: swelling in my ankles and feet, leaky breasts, gassy, occasional nausea, headaches that come and go, and the crazy common Braxton-Hicks contractions.

This week though, I have added a sinus cold, thing. I am not sure if it is allergies (because I don't generally have allergies), or if it is pregnancy related. I read online that it can happen due to the increase in hormones late in pregnancy. Either way, I am stuffy. I wish it was running! It just stays in my head and causes me to sound weird and I can't breathe sometimes. Bah.

Anything New?
No! Nothing is new. I am going insane! Okay, so I'm a bit dramatic. Some of you ladies understand the feeling of the last weeks, right? I did have my doctor's appointment. I was almost 2 cm; Dr. B said she could call it 2 cm dilated. So, that is what I am going with. From zero to two? Sounds good to me. I better be more now, with all the Braxton-Hicks that I've been feeling. I look at it this way, two less centimeters that I don't have to contract through!

She didn't really mention if I was effaced or not; but, she did say that Olive's head was down. In fact, she poked Olive's head and Olive hated it! She moved like crazy and did quite the number on me. Dr. B also stripped my membranes. I have had a lot of people ask me what that means exactly. Well, here you go:

According to the first site listed on Google (something mommies.com), "Stripping membranes is a relatively simple procedure that can be performed in the doctor’s office and is usually performed during a routine exam. The doctor or midwife places their fingers into the opening of the cervix and attempts to gently separate the amniotic sac from the uterus."

We also did a stress test, with Olive hooked up to a monitor for about half an hour. She passed with flying colors. :)

New with Heath?
He is babying Lucy like mad. You can definitely tell that he is a first child and I'm a second. He is so concerned about Lucy with the transition. I am probably a bit more concerned about giving Olive the individualized attention that Lucy received as a baby.  I know that we will both have to meet in the middle. :) It's that odd balance that I have talked about in previous posts.

Lucy has been able to fall asleep in our bed the last two nights, "because they are the last few nights where it will just be the three of us," Heath says. He was really thrown off this morning when I said that this will be our last evening at home without Olive. I wish we had something planned...

New with Lucy?
Besides being spoiled by Heath, not much. Her world is about to be thrown through a loop. I don't think she knows what to expect or that it is even happening. We talk to her about Olive, but she has no sense of time. Overall, I really do think she will be alright through the transition. I think this because I know that with Lucy, Heath often felt like he couldn't take part since I was breast feeding. So, I think there will still be plenty of Heath and Lucy rolling around on the floor moments, while mommy holds Olive.

I really do think that Lucy will be excited to help out with Olive too. She loves to play with her baby dolls. I just need to get her some "real" diapers for her dolls and some other baby items that she can use on her babies, while I'm using them on Olive. :)

Anything else?
I better not complain anymore. I'm becoming quite the downer lately. I just can't wait. I try not to ever wish time away, so I'll have to do something more tonight than sit in front of the television...hmmm...any suggestions?