October 13, 2009 - 37 Week Update

So it's the "top of t he 9th" (month that is)...



Chalk up another successful week! Although I am so tired at the end of the day, I even amaze myself at the energy I somehow still have even after waddling around playing "Mrs. Miller" all day! School has kept me so busy that it has made the weeks just fly by! Where has the time gone?!? Once upon a time (a few weeks ago) I was waking up at the crack of dawn not being able to wait to start the day and be productive! Now...even if I go to bed super early I wake up soo tired. It seems as though all of Hudson's gymnastics during the night leave me weary and puffy eyed in the morning! I leave so early for school in the morning, around 6am, that it's still so super dark and quiet in the neighborhood and along the beach. Two days in a row this week I found myself behind a Krispy Kreme donut truck as I painstakingly drove to school. I couldn't believe myself when I realized that I was actually driving faster to catch up to it as if I were the quintessential donkey chasing a dangling carrot attached to an unreachable string. Bless my pregnant heart, I "chased" that donut truck the whole way down business 17 both times only to have it make a left hand turn at Krispy Kreme and me, having to drive right on past. Well, at least the hot pursuit kept me awake in transit! I'm telling you, at this point in pregnancy, I've learned that I need every and any motivational opportunity to get me from point A to point B!

On a baby note...Hudson is doing really well!! Another really great week at the doctors! Although everything seems to be going well in there, there is no evident progress of any kind. Our doctor did say that he's definitely working his way down but has still not "officially" dropped yet. She also added that he may not even drop until labor begins! Nuts. I was really hoping for some kind of sign or "heads up" when things would get rolling! If he isn't even going to drop ahead of time, how the heck will I know when things are getting close!? It's all of the unknown that can be unsettling at times! If only God could email me or fax me a memo of what his plans are of the "big day" so that I could pencil it in on my trusty planner! Lord knows I like to be prepared at all times. Yes, I am "that girl" who tries to be prepared for any possible situation. At any given time, I have been known to have anything from boxes of band aides to can openers in my purse. So the thought of something so life changing happening in a matter of days/weeks and not knowing anything more than that....rattles me! As I've said before...God is always on time....always. I just have to trust that His plan will happen just as it is supposed to. Let's just hope and pray that it will happen before I start busting out of the wardrobe that I have left that comfortably fits my ever expanding abdomen. Speaking of abdomen....what the heck ever happened to my ab muscles...are they still there....anywhere? I sure could use them around when I'm trying to get off the couch or even stand up! I hope they make it back to where they once were someday! It just feels as though I have no strength at all in that area of my body!


Here's a "little" (please note the sarcasm) glimpse of what an ab-less girl looks like.


















Our "baby class" went really well this week. We finished up the breathing techniques (I'm horrible at all of them!) and we went on a tour of the labor and delivery floor. It was a very exciting and yet overwhelming night! We learned lots of wonderful information about the facilities and procedures but the best part of all was when we were getting a tour of the nursery and they brought in two brand new babies for us to see. A little boy and a little girl less than an hour old. Our hearts just melted. Everyone in our class just grew silent, and our instructor just gave us all a minute to take it all in. It's so easy to forget just "who" is about to arrive when you are worried about breathing, packing bags, waddling around with sore hips, etc. When we saw the faces of these two precious little ones, we were overcome with excitement and anticipation that we have one of our very own on the way...a very short ways away. Wow. What an awesome moment.

I just can't wait to see the face of this little angel that I've been dreaming about my entire life. Some little girls want to be princesses, rock stars, or veterinarians when they grow up...I've always wanted to be a mom....always.

I can't believe we have finally reached the end of our theoretical grocery trip! We have come to our final produce selection...we sure have come a loong way from a poppyseed! A watermelon...can you believe it!! Um, wait...yes, actually I can. This is a perfect illustration to demonstrate why my hips feel like they are being torn apart by a crowbar! God bless the human body!














At week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.

What's going on in there?
Your baby is officially baked this week! That means you could literally give birth at any given moment. A terrifying, exciting and overwhelming concept, all rolled into one.

Huge news this week:
You're carrying a full-term baby! If you were to go into labor today, all systems would be a go. Woohoo! Even though you can't wait for the little bambino to quite literally rear his head, keep in mind that your bun benefits from every day in the oven.
Other ticker-tape-worthy developments:
Baby's growth slows down dramatically this week, which is great news for your birth canal. His bones are still soft and pliable and will solidify after he's born. More great news for your birth canal. So if he's all cooked and ready to go, what the heck is he still doing in there?! He's busy practicing for "life on the outside," working on his breathing, sucking, sleeping, gazing and peeing abilities. The only thing he can't practice yet is his ability to scream at the top of his lungs when he's hungry—but he'll do plenty of that in a few weeks. At this point babies vary in size, but the average length is between 19 and 20 inches and most babies weigh approximately 6 pounds. About the size of an average large mouth bass caught in Minnesota by your cousin Earl.

Your Life:
If you can't stop Windexing everything in sight or you have a sudden desire to rearrange your linen closet again, then you're officially nesting. Nesting is the phenomena where exhausted and very pregnant women suddenly find the energy and the drive to clean like their life depends on it. Though many women think "nesting" is a wives' tale, it's actually not the stuff of urban legend, and many women get the powerful urge to ready their home for the impending arrival in the final weeks of pregnancy. (Kind of makes you wish nature had the forethought to send that urge to your partner every now and then, doesn't it?) Now's a good time to make sure your nursery is clean and ready for baby to spit and poop all over it. Spend some of that extra nesting energy stocking up on baby needs like diapers and wipes. You really don't need to be polishing the silver right now. Even if you're feeling super-energetic, make sure to get enough rest. You'll need your strength for labor and beyond.