Baby Jensen | Week 37

2/24/2015
37 WEEKS

 
Trimester: Third.
Baby: Size of a winter melon [19-22 inches, 6.5 lbs.]. At 37 weeks, baby is officially "full-term". That doesn't mean she's finished growing, although growth will slow down at this point. Baby is busy practicing for life after birth. If born now, baby girl would not require an incubator to keep warm due to presence of sufficient fat stores. Lungs are fully developed. At this stage the placenta weighs about 1.5 pounds. The placenta's job is nearly done by now. 
Movement: Not as frequent, but still feeling her plenty. Braxton hicks are definitely becoming more frequent and getting stronger but still not painful.
Symptoms: Frequent trips to the bathroom, back aches [haven't been as bad since resting more during the day], occasional heartburn [seriously so much better than the last couple weeks. Maybe because baby has "dropped" and hasn't been interfering as much with my digestive system?], colostrum production, moodiness, occasional shortness of breath, braxton hicks contractions, heightened sense of smell, and always thirsty.
Cravings: Most food sounds appetizing most of the time. I'm eating often but consuming smaller portions in an effort to prevent heartburn. Still can't get enough ice.
Sleep: Not bad. Still waking up about twice every night to use the bathroom. And still waking up with a raging appetite. The other night I had a dream that I was sitting in the hospital holding my little girl after giving birth. It was just the two of us in the room. I was holding her up on my chest, embracing her sweet delicious newborn smell. Ahh I can hardly wait for that smell! 
Exercise: Walking.
Stretch Marks: None.
Total Weight Gain: 24 pounds. 
Swelling: None.
Maternity Clothes: We've pretty much been staying inside due to the freezing weather. So I spend most days wearing leggings and sweatshirts, which is all that really fits right now anyways.
Belly Button: Out.
Doctor's Visit: Baby's heartbeat was 144, I'm still not quite dilated to 1 centimeter, but my cervix is thinning. Baby is resting VERY low and according to the doctor delivery day could be any day.
What I'm Looking Forward To: Next doctor's visit.
Best Moment of the Week: Packing the hospital bag. At the beginning of the week I wasn't sleeping well because I kept having this stressful thought of going into labor and packing a hospital bag last minute. I had been eager to pack our bag but held off because most of the things we will need to take are things still being used on a daily basis. But I finally filled the suitcase with a couple changes of clothes for each of us and baby girl's "going home" outfit. I set the suitcase in her nursery, then made a list of the items we will need to grab right before heading to the hospital.
We had a great experience touring the birthplace in Kalamazoo where we'll be delivering. It was a relief to finally learn exactly where we need to go once labor hits. The hospital has been around for some time but the inside feels brand new. The rooms are all private and include a large bath tub, and the staff is just lovely. I feel confident that we will have a good experience there. During the tour we were waiting by the elevator on the Labor and Delivery floor when a nurse came by pushing a newborn baby in it's little hospital bed. My heart stopped. Seeing that sweet, fresh, most precious newborn made things feel even more real. And since that moment, I've been feeling even MORE excited to meet my sweet girl.
Worst Moment of the Week: I've been emotional this week over really silly things, like when we weren't able to get the car seat base installed. I'm just really ready to have my girl here and be done with pregnancy. Not that pregnancy has been at all a bad experience, but I hormones are just all over the place and I'm feeling really ready to deliver this baby.