Monthly Archives: September 2019

38 Weeks

Baby Size

Caleb is the size of a mini-watermelon at about 19.5 inches long and about 6.8 pounds.

Pros

We are officially in the 4-week timeframe of when Caleb will arrive! Likely 3-week timeframe since I’m not entirely sure my doctor would let me go to 42 weeks. It’s nice to have the end in sight. I can remember being SO READY about a month ago, and I’m still ready now, just more of a tired and worn down ready.

I’ve felt quite good over the last week and haven’t had any bad days like I did last week. I went to my last home match for Atlanta United on Saturday, and it was refreshing to feel up for all of the walking that entails. And I shouldn’t get that much bigger either, which is a relief.

While our bathroom remodel is still underway (yes, we know we’re cutting it close), the toilet and new faucets were installed at the end of last week, so I no longer have to plod all the way down the hall for my 2am bathroom trips. That makes a big difference in being able to get back to sleep after! I’ve had a lot better nights of sleep lately, too. I am making an effort to start getting ready for bed earlier to do what I can to get more sleep.

Nesting continues, mainly in the form of cleaning for me. On weekends I tend to operate on the schedule of a puppy: having periods of hyperactivity where I’m extremely productive followed by needing to lay down or take a nap. And I usually repeat that cycle a few times during the day.

Cons

My BP was a little high at my doctor’s visit yesterday, so it’s something I am keeping an eye on over the week before my next appointment. My doctor said she’d hate for me to have the baby before I’m ready, and I told her we were in the middle of the bathroom remodel. The look she gave me was pretty great. Stay in a while longer, please!

37 Weeks

Baby Size

Caleb is the size of a canary melon at about 19″ long and around 6.2 pounds. 37 weeks is considered early term, so really from here on out, he’s the size of a baby.

Highs

We checked a few more items off the to do list this weekend! Josh installed the car seat bases into both cars (I watched so I would know what to do), and I added the infant adaptor to the stroller, so we’ll be all ready to go on walks!

I also started packing my bags for the hospital. I’ve been keeping a list on my phone (using the Cozi app that Josh and I use for groceries and chore lists) and finally started actually getting items into bags. One of the things I like about Cozi is that it will strikethrough your item once you check it off instead of deleting it, so I can still see everything on my list. I think that will be helpful when I’m rooting around my bags trying to figure out what I brought.

I’ve started going to the doctor every week now and had a good visit yesterday. Caleb had a strong heartbeat, and they were happy to hear he’s extremely active. I described his feet as “sharp” and got a good laugh as well. I shared my birth plan with the doctor and she gave it a thumbs up, and she also was very impressed when I told her I was still run-walking (even if it’s only once or twice a week). When I spend my time feeling really inadequate athletically, I’ll take any sort of praise I can get!

Nesting (or crazy pregnant lady energy) is in full swing, and the bathroom renovation with its dust just makes me more crazy. My rationale is that it’ll be easier to clean the dust every few days rather than wait until they’re done and have a lot of mess to clean. That makes sense, right?

Lows

Now that I’m more visibly pregnant, I’ve gotten a few more comments from strangers about it. It’s mainly people saying congrats or expressing their excitement for me, but one of the SAFE members at the Atlanta United game this weekend tried to tell me that I couldn’t go through the metal detector because it was a health concern and needed to have a pat down instead. I told him that I could go through a metal detector and that I’d rather do that than have someone touch me, and it took a little more back and forth than I would prefer before another worker came over and told him that it was ok. Got me good and riled up prior to the game!

Sleeping at night seems to be either really good or really bad. Sometimes I can sleep through the night, but I’ve had to get up to pee TWICE the last two nights which makes it much harder to get a good amount of sleep. Fingers crossed for a good night of sleep soon!

Other than that, there are just days that I feel pretty bad – yesterday being one of them. The cervical check at the doctor was less than pleasant, and then I had a terrible headache for the rest of the day. I just feel swollen and puffy and still so hot!

I saw a post on reddit about how being pregnant is like being a toddler because you just want snack and naps all the time and can’t control your emotions. Sounds about right.

36 Weeks

Baby Size

Caleb is about the size of a papaya at 18.75 inches long and 5.8-6 pounds.

Highs

I had another doctor’s appointment at the end of last week and got to meet another doctor in the practice who I liked as well. She did a quick ultrasound and Caleb was head down and face down, and she said that might be why his movements were more painful lately – since his back and his butt are what’s pushing out against me.

Saturday was my last baby shower! It was great to see so many of my friends from Berry and catch up with them. They spoiled me with great food and cute presents, and I really enjoyed the onesies they designed as well as the playdough babies.

More of a fun fact, but sometimes when Caleb is moving around, I’ll hear a click or a pop like when you crack your knuckles. I Googled it, and apparently it’s a thing! Pregnancy is so weird.

Another fun fact, shared with me by my friend Jacque, is that eating 6 dates per day in the last 4 weeks prior to delivery is proven to help shorten labor in a majority of women. 6 dates is a LOT in one day, and I’m still working up to that many, but I’m thinking that eating some dates is better than none! Although that story continues below…

Lows

Oye. In an attempt to get more dates into my diet, I bought a pack of Cashew Cookie Larabars. My friend Keri introduced me to them, and they only have 2 ingredients – dates and cashews! Since they have 2-3 dates per bar, it was a more tasty way to eat dates.

I noticed on Thursday that my lips were stinging, and then I woke up on Friday morning with tiny blisters on my lips. I am very thankful that they weren’t terribly noticeable, but it was both physically and emotionally disconcerting. Google was no help because if you search anything about blisters on your lips, everything says herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) which is not what I had.

The blisters persisted through the weekend, and Sunday night I was back on the internet trying to find an answer. The only thing I found that looked anything like what I had was a lady who wrote about getting blisters and a rash from eating mango because mago is in the same family as poison ivy, and the skin can have urushiol oil on it.

I’ve had poison ivy enough times that I realized that is what it looks like what was on my lips, so I typed “poison ivy on lips” into Google and found that not only are mangoes related to poison ivy but so are CASHEWS. And that the more reactions you’ve had to poison ivy, the more susceptible you could be to a negative reaction to cashews or mangoes.

Further searching let me know that others have had reactions to Larabars specifically, so needless to say, I won’t be eating them anymore. I’m not sure if it’s a pregnancy-related allergy or just the type of cashews in those bars, but I will likely avoid cashews all together now just to be sure.

I did a couple of baking soda paste applications on my lips to dry the blisters out, and now I’m just waiting on everything to fully heal up.

Other than that saga, it’s just the normal ups and downs of late pregnancy. Everything is big and heavy and swollen, and I’m tired a lot. But now I know it could be worse!

35 Weeks

Baby Size

Caleb is the size of a honeydew melon at about 18.2 inches long and about 5.25 pounds (though see the growth scan estimate below).

Highs

I’ve had a couple of weeks of feeling really good! It is amazing to me that I can feel better at 8 months pregnant than I did at 6 months or other earlier times. But that’s just how pregnancy is! Always full of surprises, so it’s best not to plan ahead too far and to enjoy the good times while they last.

I had a growth scan on Friday, and it was nice for Josh to be able to be there this time! No good pictures unfortunately since they said his face was too squished, but it was nice to see him for a bit. He’s also head down which I suspected from his movements, but it was good to confirm. They estimated his weight as 5 pounds, 11 ounces, which was almost directly in the middle of the growth charts. It’s just an estimate since they take the diameter of the head, the diameter of the belly, and the length of the femur and plug it into a formula, but it was good to hear that he’s estimated to be average.

Josh and I enjoyed a lazy 3-day weekend which was just what we needed. I turned my nesting energy on the HRV and full cleaned it out. It was full of grass and incredibly dusty, and now it makes me happy to see how clean it is every time I get in. All ready to install the car seat now!

Monday was a great mix of lazy and productive as well. I went to the river for the first time in months and did a nice 3.5 mile run-walk. I’ve definitely missed being out there, but I struggle to get up early enough to dedicate to the commute to and from the river for not being out there that long. Then I cleaned out the bathroom because our renovation started Tuesday! Because why would you start a major project at any time other than when you’re 8 months pregnant?

Lows

Fake fall is over, and we are back to humid and mid-70 mornings and mid-ninety afternoons. It’s just so dang hot.

My left foot has been achy/having some plantar pain, so it takes me a bit to get moving after I sit for a while. Still trying to get out there in terms of walking or run-walking 5 times a week, though! Surprisingly, that helps with the swelling in my feet.

I was lucky enough to make it through the majority of the pregnancy without having to need a bathroom break during the night, but now I get up between 2 and 4 am probably 5 nights a week. Luckily I’ve been able to fall back asleep most of the time!