37 Weeks...and Going!

37 weeks--I made it!  I have officially made it to term.  I can have the baby at any time now, and my body is starting to get ready for the baby.

I am dilated to a 2, 50% effaced, and she is at a -3 station.  That doesn't mean a whole lot right now (in terms of how long before she comes), except that my body is getting prepared for labor.  I can be like this for a couple days or a couple weeks.  My amniotic fluid levels are good--not too high or low.  My blood pressure is also good. 

37 weeks is a milestone for me.  I have never made it this far in a pregnancy.  I am also experiencing things that I have never felt before, such as carpal tunnel when I sleep, mild swelling of my ankles and feet (and fingers during the night);  it is almost impossible for me to get more than an hour's worth of sleep at a time due to going to the bathroom, carpal tunnel pain, and being uncomfortable--the baby will shift herself so that if I lay down on my side it hurts.  There have been several nights where I will lay cross-legged on the floor next to the bed and fall asleep with my head leaned back against the bed because it is the only position that feels comfortable.  I am also officially waddling--not all the time, just mostly in the evenings or if I have done a lot of walking throughout the day.  I never did that with my previous pregnancies.

Not everything is bad, though.  I am also experiencing the baby move in ways that I didn't feel with the other two.  I am feeling her roll and stretch.  I can't remember ever feeling the rolling with Zuri, so if I did, it was only a few times.  By the end of my pregnancy with Kai, I had stopped feeling him altogether because of the amniotic fluid build-up.  This baby has also flipped so that she is now head-down.  Yay!!  I can't remember the precise day (I wish I had recorded it) but I pretty much know when she flipped because I stopped feeling all the kicking on my bladder and started feeling all the movement above my belly button.  For the record, I haven't felt any movement above my belly button with any of my pregnancies, so it was a new feeling for me--so cool!  Then I started to feel her rolling and stretching versus the kicks.  Another new feeling--hiccups!  I can feel when she has the hiccups, and it is fun.  I still have the pressure on my bladder because that is where her head is, but I am not feeling the awful jabs to my bladder.

It is so much fun to watch my belly as she moves around.  I can usually pinpoint where she is because my belly will bulge more in one spot and be tighter.  When she really gets moving I will stare at my belly as it shifts around.  In some aspects it feels like a first pregnancy for me because I am experiencing so many new things.

Another first: no restrictions (other than to know my limits and the usual pregnancy caveats)!  I think the strangest part is to be this far along and be able to move around as I wish.  Obviously I am being careful, although J thinks I do to much. 

I had another ultrasound this week, and they are estimating that she is about six pounds ten ounces right now.  My doctor said that the measurements could be a bit bigger than she really is, but he is confident that she is at least six pounds.  The relief I felt at hearing that news could not even be expressed.  I almost started crying (darn pregnancy hormones).  ;-)  I know only too well the dangers of a low birth weight, and I have been praying that this baby will be at least six pounds, so to hear that weight felt like an answer to my prayers.

I have also had the feeling that December 17th will be the day.  I have felt that for several months now, so it will be interesting to see what happens.  I would like to make it through next week at least--having her come Christmas week.  Things would just be easier to manage that week with Zuri and Kai.  Whenever she plans to make her debut, I am excited and can't wait to meet her!