Jeni's Pregnancy Journal

Well, at this point I think I'm going to stop posting to this blog. I kept it as a place to record all my thoughts about pregnancy. I wanted to capture the important stuff so I wouldn't forget. It's all over now. No more pregnancy.

If you're a reader of my regular blog, I will continue to post there.

Thanks for all the input, thoughts and comments!!

JeniQ

Sorry, no Week 38 update for you. I’ve been busy.

Dave and I are delighted to introduce you to our gorgeous little man.

Henry David Dickens was born at 1:34 AM on Sunday, March 2nd. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 20.5″ long.

Paparazzi

Henry3

Family

Signs that my body is getting ready to be done with pregnancy

• My acne is starting to erupt again.
• We've now moved from the constipated end of the spectrum to the diarrhea end of the spectrum (diarrhea is a prelabor symptom).
• My hair is starting to come out. Not the great clumps of it that I predict will happen once I deliver, only one or two hairs here and there. But throughout most of my pregnancy, I've lost no hair whatsoever, not even the 100 strands a day you're supposed to lose.  

That's all. No baby as of yet. :)

Stats:

• BP = 110/78
• Pulse = 103
• Weight = 152
• Belly Measurement = 36 cm

The baby's heartbeat was 152.

Another cervical check, another doctor. She said I'm about 1.5 cm dilated and didn't give any indication of effacement. She said "We'll see you next week...unless we see you before then." So, nothing new to report.

Check back in a week. :)

I just measured my girth (around my belly button) and it was 41".  :)

OK, we have finally arrived at Week 37, the magic week. At this point, if the baby arrives he should be well-suited for living in the outside world. Oh, I'm weighing in at 148 pounds today.

Common medical opinion is that the baby can come anytime in the next 5 weeks. Who knows when it will be?! Isn't that crazy and exciting? This might be the last bikini shot we get.

Week37

The baby is quite active - he stretches pretty frequently and when he does that, his feet stick out the left side of my belly. Not painful, but I'm glad there's a limited amount of time left for that experience.

In terms of symptoms, probably the worst these days is the swelling. Ugh. It's also more difficult to get up from sitting or lying down, or to roll over from one side to the other. In general, I'm more uncomfortable that I've been yet. However, I don't yet feel "over" it, for which I am thankful. I'm sure if this goes on for another three or four weeks, I will be!

Braxton-Hicks contractions are happening every day, some days more than others. Still nothing painful, they're all just "practice contractions."

I definitely have some worries about the upcoming events in our lives. I worry that the baby will have some problem that we have not been able to detect so far during the pregnancy. We opted against most of the pre-natal testing they offer because those tests tend diagnose your probabilities of having problems, not actual problems. However, neither of us has any indicators for the most common kinds of birth defects or genetic and chromosomal diseases.

I am also a little worried about the birth itself, though not as much. I've heard so many different labor stories that I am not planning too much in advance. I think keeping an open mind and not having hard and fast expectations is probably the best way to manage a scenario that you have so little control over. On the other hand, part of me intuits that because my pregnancy has been so easy and straightforward, so will my labor and delivery be. You can all laugh at me when you find out I'm wrong about that one. :)

Here's Billy spending some quality time with the baby.

BillyBaby

It’s the calm before the storm. Changes in your baby's weight have leveled off with only a few ounces of fat added this week. At this point your baby should weigh in at around 7 lbs and 20 inches (with boys somewhat heavier and longer than girls). Happily, as far as internal organs go, they are now developed enough to function in the outside world although the oh-so-important immune system is still developing and will continue to do so after birth. With a large boost of antibodies provided by breast milk when nursing begins. Fighting infection and staying healthy should be well within their physical capacity when your little fighter is born.

Source

This is too cute, from a friend of Cristin who is due soon:

"I am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30 days in which she can either gather her belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, she will be physically removed from the property.

She's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 days from this day that she doesn’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion."

Stats:

• BP = 112/77
• Pulse = 109
• Weight = 149

The baby's heartbeat sounded good and the doctor performed another cervical exam. I'm still at 1cm but 80% effaced. This doctor, a different doctor, wasn't making early delivery predictions like the doctor from last week. But he didn't think we'd be inducing at 42 weeks, either.

A little bit disappointing but it's nice to have a bit of a calmer approach. It sounds like all the practice contractions I've been having are doing their job, softening the cervix and getting it ready for delivery. I think it's a total crap shoot when the baby will come and starting next week (when hopefully the crib is in our house and assembled) we'll be ready for it. I've already started packing my bag!

Here are six signs that you'll soon be in labor.

My list of reasons why it's great to have a fall/winter/chilly weather pregnancy.

• Getting to indulge at all the holiday parties!
• Not having to worry about shopping for or wearing a maternity bathing suit.
• Not worrying about shaving my legs after I've gotten so large as to be unable to reach them.
• Not having to buy maternity shorts - they just look so unattractive.
• The hot flashes are easier to take when you can cool down just by stepping outside.
• When the baby arrives, the weather will start turning nice again. I think the nicer weather and the time change will make it a little easier to go about losing baby weight.

Some negatives about wintertime pregnancies.

• Missing out on adorable summery dresses and tops.  
• My shoes stopped fitting a few months ago - it would have been nice to switch to sandals but it was too cold. Thank goodness for my easy on/easy off/easy on the bunions/easy on the wallet Crocs!