37 Week Update

I decided to blog on a whim, so forgive me if my thoughts seem disjointed. I haven't had time to put it together in my head.

We're officially at term. Not to be confused with "full term", which is at 40 weeks. I'm at just "term", or 37 weeks. If the baby were to be born today, he or she would not be considered premature. Baby is at a good weight, and all systems are mature enough to do just fine outside my tummy.

However, I know that every day that I stay pregnant is beneficial for Baby, because the eyes, brain, lungs, digestive system, and immune system continue to mature and develop. Thankfully, weight gain slows down significantly at this point. The baby is not going to grow a whole lot more.

I realized that somewhere, deep down, I considered the 37 mark to be some sort of threshold. Now that I'm in the "safe zone", it's like I suddenly expect this baby to show up any minute. I feel silly that I'm suddenly looking for signs of labor every other 10 minutes. It's ridiculous. The chances of my going into labor at 37 weeks are pretty small.

In fact, since it's my first pregnancy, I should fully expect to go to 41 weeks. And even though I've known this and been okay with this the whole time, I can't seem to stop expecting labor to be right around the corner. And now I'm beginning to understand the impatience that women experience as their due date gets closer and closer. I'm trying not to be impatient, but I can see how that's going to become more and more difficult.

Especially with people asking me if I'm in labor.

I get up a lot at work. I go to the bathroom, walk around, stretch, stand in one spot and rotate my hips a little... Staying in any one position doesn't feel good, so I try to move, frequently. And then my coworkers ask me if I'm in labor. And so I have to keep telling them that I'm just really uncomfortable, all the time, and it feels good to switch it up. I wish more people understood this.

Even women who have had babies before seem to forget the aches and pains that accompany the last few weeks, and when I'm waddling around, they look at me as though the baby is going to fall out on the floor right then and there. I just want to wear a big sign around my neck that says, "I'm not in labor! Calm down!" Perhaps I should take my own advice..... :)

What's new with me, besides being increasingly sore and uncomfortable and cranky?

My feet are swollen pretty much all the time. My ankles have been swollen for months, but now my feet are too. And my hands are starting to join in. I decided to start wearing my wedding ring on around my neck, because I don't want to wake up one day and not be able to get my ring off. Better to be safe than sorry.

I feel the pressure and weight of my belly not just in my abdomen and hips, but also all the way down my legs, as if I have weights wrapped around my thighs and my shins and my ankles. Doing anything is a chore now. And I clearly haven't reached the nesting phase yet, because I have a bunch of crystal bowls and trays on my counter that need to be washed and put away, and I couldn't care less.

I had another baby shower on Sunday, and I just had no idea how blessed I was, and how many wonderful women I have in my life. Art's mom is throwing me a baby shower next Saturday, which will bring the shower total up to five! Blessed indeed....

I definitely feel a lot more ready for the baby, but still not completely ready. Art has a final exam right before my due date, so I think once that's done, THEN I'll feel completely ready. So even though I am soooooooooooo ready to not be pregnant anymore, I keep reminding myself that the best time for Baby to come is after Art is finished with this quarter.

We'll see if my mind games actually work, and if I can actually trick myself into not being impatient. Of course, I do have my first cervical check tomorrow, and if my midwife tells me that I'm already dilating and/or effacing, all my level-headedness will likely go right out the window.

Stay tuned!