Week 36

The appointment went well today, nothing too eventful. She did the strep B test which was just a quick swab. My belly measured right on track once again and her heart beat sounded good. At this point if I went into labor they would not stop it, I can't believe I'm at that point. 1 more week and she's considered full term.

Symptoms:

Uncomfortable. My belly is growing and growing, which means Bria is getting bigger and bigger! This also means she's getting heavier to cart around and by the end of the day I'm exhausted and just feel like collapsing on the couch in a coma like state. I've taken a bath the last two nights and that felt wonderful, I'm going to start taking more of those. Turning over in bed is actually kind of painful and I have to have the body pillow under the belly to support it otherwise my muscles strain to support the belly.
The belly belt has been great for my walks and helps tremendously to support the ever growing belly bump. I'm very grateful for that.

Cramps/Braxton Hicks (BH). I get a few BH's throughout the day and they are a little more uncomfortable than they were in the beginning, but still not horrible. My belly just gets really tight and occasionally I'll get some good cramping going on. I doubt they are doing anything besides warming me up for the big show.

Exhausted. As I mentioned, I am completely drained by the end of the day, and even more so by the end of the week. During the work day I want to take a nap so bad I could cry. Needless to say I am not productive in the evenings after my walk. I'm hoping to spend the weekends nesting and cleaning since nothing is done during the week. On the weekends I usually fight naps because they seem like a waste of time, but I've given in the past few weekends and it feels great. I love my naps.

Lots of movement. Bria moved a lot this week and I of course loved it. I've heard towards the end they reduce their movement since they run out of room so I'm glad she's still wiggling away. The right side of my belly is really sore and hurts, I think it's from all her kicking :) Wednesday night I was dreaming about her moving all around in my belly and sure enough I woke up to her swimming around in there. I felt punches really low, where her head is, which made me nervous that she had turned around and those were her feet or something. So I couldn't get back to sleep because I was stressing out and praying she was head down and not breech. Although, first and foremost I want a healthy baby. Anyway, at the appointment today the doctor confirmed she is still head down and in the same position-whew.

New food obsessions:
1. Wheat English muffins toasted, one with butter and honey, the other with peanut butter and honey-yum
2. Honey Bunches of Oats cereal


Baby:

Your baby is gaining about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, your baby will be considered full-term. Most likely she's in a head-down position, but if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version, where she'll try to turn your baby by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.