39 Weeks

A healthy range of weight is between 5 pounds and 11 ounces and 8 pounds 5 ounces. Your baby is probably somewhere in this range now. The umbilical cord doesn’t have any nerve endings (this means that you and your baby will not feel any pain when it is cut!) and is about 20 inches long and about ½ inch thick. It’s pretty common for the umbilical cord to get knotted at this point, because things are so crowded inside the uterus.

All of your baby’s organs, including the lungs are ready for birth now. Your baby’s immune system is gaining strength at this point. Right now, you are probably very uncomfortable and can hardly stand the wait. Try to take it easy and rest when you can, long naps and reading can help you through the last few days of your pregnancy. Remember that very few babies are born on their due date.

I am blessed to not be uncomfortable, swollen or impatient about baby's arrival. I feel pretty much prepared and I am excited, but not increasingly desperate for the time to come. So far!

My energy levels are good, my sleep is interrupted more by the other kids than by being so pregnant, and while I do get some aches and pains they are intermittent and not overly bothersome.

Baby is moving well. I notice movement after most meals/snacks, and generally between 11-11:30pm. This baby seems to like to stretch his or her legs which makes for fun belly shapes. Wee3 also likes to punch. The punching doesn't feel so great.

I seem to have a pattern of getting a series of stronger contractions in the evenings. I like them because it makes me feel like things are happening behind the scenes.

I have been doing some emotional/spiritual preparation. Today I spent some time with A Celebration of Pregnancy booklet. I got it through a wonderful ministry called Blessing God's Way. The booklet lists a whole bunch of scripture which is particularly encouraging for pregnancy and childbirth. I have also been imagining how I see the birth going and how I see myself coping with the unexpected. I have also been talking to the baby about the birth and how a nice anterior position would be most comfortable for both of us.

Napping has been a bit tricky. Micah is starting to grow out of naps, so in the interest of a decent bedtime experience we have been taking power snoozes of about 30 minutes. I get a glimpse of teen-Micah when I try to wake him up after only half an hour.

Did I mention that Dr. Lopez said he and Lucia are not expecting a big baby? He figures long, but not "big". We will see shortly!!

Speaking of expecting, Andrew and I realized last night that we would both be very surprised if this baby were a girl. That said, we were convinced that Eva would be a boy, too. Got talked into it by people's predictions. I'm getting really excited to learn all about Wee3!!

Thrashing Baby

Last night in the middle of the night I woke up to Wee3 doing some serious thrashing about. It was very uncharacteristic. So naturally I worried. That something was upsetting babe and/or that babe was making a big move back to breech or worse, to transverse.

Things seem to be ok today. I've felt some regular types of movements and I think baby is still head down.

The last part of yesterday baby moved from his/her usual right-facing position to left-facing so maybe he/she was just struggling to turn back over in the increasingly cramped quarters? Who knows.

The other kind of weird thing was that yesterday when I went for a walk my belly was rock hard for like two laps. A pretty long Braxton-Hicks. I finally stopped walking for a minute and just consciously relaxed and then things loosened up.

Grrrrrrrrrreat Prenatal Appointment!!

All signs of urinary tract infection are gone! I was dreading the possibility of needing antibiotics so that was a relief. Seems that the vitamin C tablets and copious amounts of cranberry juice did the trick. That or the sterile sample container vs the jam jar I used for the first lab test ;)

My blood pressure was good at 110/70, though perhaps slightly elevated due to the doctor's scale indicating a 22 pound weight gain since my first appointment!!! Definitely wrong. Most definitely incorrect. Heart good, kidneys good, reflexes good, no edema, fundus height bang on. Baby's movements very good. Too early to detect a heartbeat with a stethoscope unfortunately, but the movements tell most of the story.

I passed along my Dr. Sarah J. Buckley Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering book with a few chapters marked for his special attention (Ultrasounds, Undisturbed Birth, and Third Stage). He seemed interested in reading through it. He is also planning to attend the conference in Monterrey at the beginning of May at which she will be speaking. I'm SUPER DUPER EXCITED to be planning to attend this conference.

Then we talked. I told him that I have been thinking, dreaming and praying about the birth... and I am seeing it at home. His response? "Why not?" My heart leaped! I love how this has fallen into place so naturally. At first I received a lukewarm response to the idea from Andrew, Dr. Lopez and from Lucia. I didn't want to push for anything with which my support team was not comfortable so I focused on planning a waterbirth in hospital. But every time I thought about having this baby, I was labouring in water at home. I have even been looking at appropriate kiddie pools and daydreaming about it while I'm grocery shopping. I spoke again with Andrew about it a while ago and he was much more open to it, quite supportive in fact. Dr. Lopez's response seals it.

We are officially planning a home birth!

For those who are concerned about my and the baby's safety, here is a link that might help to ease your mind: http://www.gentlebirth.org/format/myths.html

I am thrilled for so many reasons. I won't have to endure the uncomfortable drive to the hospital or dance through contractions while trying to answer questions about who I am and how I'm paying or deal with the limbo that is triage. I will be able to focus entirely on relaxing into the process of birth and letting my body do the work God designed it to do. I won't need to worry about childcare (assuming Mom can be here at the time that baby chooses to join us on the outside). Eva and Micah will get a chance to witness the miracle of birth if they choose. We will all five get to climb into our deliciously cozy bed and get to know the new member of our family very soon after he or she is born. I will have my own food, my own bathroom, my own familiar spaces and things, my whole family surrounding me during and afterward. There is less risk of infection and unnecessary intervention. With no hospital staff waking us up to poke and prod us, baby and I will be able to enjoy the beautiful undisturbed restorative sleep of two people who have worked hard and need the rest. (I experienced this with Micah, coming home a few hours after his 1pm birth; that first night was a wonderful gift).

My hope and desire is for a straightforward, undisturbed birth and I believe I am doing my part to that end: nutrition, education, exercise and prayer. In the event that this birth requires medical help, I will have three skilled and prepared caregivers in attendance (midwife, OB/gyn and Pediatrician) and a top quality hospital within 15 minutes drive.

WOW I'm excited. :D

18 Weeks

Your baby is now about 5 ½ inches long and weighs about 6 ounces. During this week the baby will gain weight at an incredible pace! Now that all of the organs have developed the baby’s body will focus on gaining weight and size. You may begin to feel a bit off center as the baby and your uterus is getting larger.

Because the baby’s inner ear has formed its bones and nerve endings from the brain have formed, hearing has become very acute. Your baby can hear your heartbeat and the blood moving through the umbilical cord as well as your voice. They will even try to cover their ears if they hear a loud sound!

Baby becomes sensitive to light now, as the eyes are further developed and the brain is growing very fast. A little girl will have all the eggs inside her ovaries that she will need for her entire life. Little boys begin to develop the prostate gland. Meconium, or the first bowel movement continues to accumulate inside the bowel. Brown fat begins to cover the baby, so their skin appears less transparent.

This is the last week you would normally have an amniocentesis, if your health practitioner has suggested this test. Often between 18-22 weeks your health practitioner will order an ultrasound. You may begin to experience heartburn now, as the uterus begins to push upward on your stomach. Try to eat several small meals and stay away from high fat items. If you prop yourself up with pillows it can help with heartburn, too.

I'm feeling really good! Good energy, pretty good mobility, I can still lay on my back so I'm enjoying that while it lasts.

I started feeling the baby move for sure in this last week. Funny because we were with Al & Alice when I first felt Eva move. They bring on quickenings!

Movement?

I have been expecting to feel a flutter any day now. No flutters, but last night I felt some things that may have been Wee3.

There was like a pushing out feeling and then I felt a round protrusion in the middle left quadrant. Head? Bum? Perhaps. And then up near the top I felt what could have been a kick. Strange to feel a full fledged kick before feeling any fluttering. But possible, maybe. I guess time will tell. If this baby is kicking that strongly now, I cringe to think what his or her flailings will feel like a few months from now! ;)