39 Weeks - FULL TERM!

At 39 weeks pregnant, Cayetano is as big as a winter melon. Baby measures about 20 inches long and weighs about 7.3 pounds. Baby's probably able to flex his or her limbs now. Baby's brain is still rapidly developing—he's getting smarter by the week! Baby's nails may extend past the fingertips now.

How far along? 39 weeks

Weight gain/loss: 38 pounds.

Sleep? Terrible. I've been up in the middle of the night for a few hours the last couple of nights thinking I was maybe going to go into labor, but no such luck. And even when I am able to sleep, I wake up at least every hour and a half to pee. Yesterday I was so tired I came home early from work and took a nap from 5-6pm - not exactly my norm for a Thursday evening.

Best moment this week?I've been having one with the kids this week- trying to focus on spending time with them before Cayetano starts being the center of attention. On Saturday I took Joaquin to the mall and we went shopping, had sushi and cookies and had a great time just one on one. Twice this week Joaquin has gone with Jay to the big pool after work to swim laps with him (this is such an awesome development!) so Emi and I have had some one on one time as well. One night we went to Trader Joes together and then picked up dinner, where Emi had her first ever cherry soda. She LOVED it. The next night we stayed home and I gave her a mani/pedi. I love my kiddos and I especially enjoy spending time with them one on one. No breaking up fights or dealing with them competing for attention. Just good quality time.

Movement:He's squished. I'm squished.

Food cravings:Stuff that isn't hot. It's unbearable being in the heat lately so eating hot food sounds quite unappealing lately.

What I miss?My chin. Holy smokes. I want my normal face back.

What I am looking forward to? Being done of course. But I'm just trying to take one day at a time so I will repeat my response from last week and say date night with Jay. It may be our last one for a while (oh dear, I hope so!).

Milestones: Well, I am actually full term today, which is wonderful. There is zero medical reason for baby to need to bake any longer, which is a relief. And based upon my very different experiences with Joaquin and Noemi, I am grateful to get to this point. I am hoping that Cayetano takes after his big sister and is a good eater and sleeper and generally makes life easy on us (well, in realistic baby terms anyway).

What I'm nervous about:Where my water might break. Haha. I am constantly planning for that happening. I am even driving around with a doggy pee pad on the seat of my car. I'd really hate to ruin my brand new (to me) car!

Appointment Update from Yesterday (TMI Alert)

Still 1 cm. Sigh. My OB stripped my membranes (you can google that if you want to, but there's a reason I'm not giving all the details here). I felt crampy and had a few other signs of possible labor last night but no such luck. I'm back at work today and hoping not to be here next week.

Single Digits!

I'm one day late on this post, but woohoo! Single digits until my due date. Today I have only 8 days to go. But let's be honest, I'm hoping for 1 or 2.

38 Weeks

At 38 weeks pregnant, Cayetano is as big as a winter melon. Baby is about 19.6 inches long and his head is about the same circumference as the abdomen. Average baby weight at 38 weeks is 6.8 pounds. Baby may have about an inch or so of hair already. Baby's also slowly shedding that white goo on the skin (called vernix caseosa).

How far along? 38 weeks

Weight gain/loss: 38 pounds. Back on track with that 1 pound per week pattern. Oh well.

Sleep? Eh. It's been worse this week. Between the heat and my discomfort and late pregnancy insomnia I am fairly tired.

Best moment this week?It's not really a moment. Since Monday, I have been virtually back/pelvic pain free. I swear, it's the closest thing to a miracle I've experienced. I really thought I was doomed for severe pain with every step until this baby came and then all of the sudden I have been able to move about freely (well, as freely as one can when a 38 pound basketball is attached to them). I need to bring that physical therapist a bottle of wine!

Movement:Yep, but nothing new here.

Food cravings:Anything I don't have to prepare. I am not at all in the mood for cooking or even preparing food these days.

What I miss?Mezcal. My ankles. Energy. Yoga. Running. Sore muscles from a good work out. Good coffee. Can I keep going?

What I am looking forward to? Well, it's Friday so I will focus on date night tonight!

Milestones: Each week is a big one now. Plus, now that I am not in huge pain I am hoping to get one more week in. So, I guess the milestone is moving away from the whole LET ME BE DONE NOW attitude I had a week ago. It's nice to be a little more relaxed about things. Don't get me wrong, I'd be fine if he came tonight.

What I'm nervous about:Transitioning at work. I still have a few items on my plate to deal with and setting another person up for my job is a little awkward. I am hoping the transition goes smoothly for everyone and that I am not the cause of too much stress.

One Belly Pic

This is the only one I've posted of this pregnancy. I'm not a huge fan of myself in pictures pregnant. This was 37w4 days.

Appointment Update

No big news here. I'm about 1 or 1.5 cm. My OB said could be tomorrow, could be a few more weeks. In the very short time she was checking Cayetano's heart rate, I had 2 contractions so she said it's very hard to say what could happen as I can go from 1 cm to ready in a very, very short time. I'll be satisfied if this kid is born in the hospital!

37 Weeks - WOOOOHOOOO!!!

At 37 weeks pregnant, Cayetano is as big as a head of romaine lettuce. Baby measures about 19.1 inches. Average baby weight at 37 weeks is 6.3 pounds, and baby is gaining about half an ounce each day. Baby's practicing some cool new skills: inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping, and blinking. In less cute news, baby's getting the first sticky poop (called meconium) ready for his first diaper (sounds like a job for Dad).

How far along? 37 weeks

Weight gain/loss: Still 35 pounds. That's two weeks in a row of not gaining weight. Double woohoo over here!

Sleep? It has been super hot lately so sleep is difficult. Plus it is still painful every time I have to get up to pee. Just a bit longer until I can at least sleep on my stomach. Although I don't think the heat issue will get better any time soon. Plus I am remembering the really lovely post-birth night sweating issue. Ick.

Best moment this week?This morning. Waking up 37 weeks pregnant. I wasn't super worried for the last few days about making it to today but it was still a big relief to be officially "term". 37 weeks is now considered "early term" and not "full term" so the general consensus is that it is still too early for baby's debut. That being said, getting to today means no NICU team in the delivery room ($$$$$), no car seat challenge (which means being separated from baby for 3 hours or so plus additional delay getting checked out of the hospital, and - thank god - only one glucose test (assuming good results) instead of tests every 4 hours (each of which requires a foot prick that is painful for baby). We were in the hospital for about 4 days with Joaquin and only 21 hours with Noemi. I am hoping we are in and out quickly again this time. I know lots of moms like the extra time with nurses but I feel the opposite. I don't like sleeping in a hospital bed and I really don't want to pay 20% of the huge bills that come with a longer stay.

Movement:He is still moving and gets the hiccups a lot. But I can tell he's running out of space in there.

Food cravings:Lots of fruit. I love this time of year. Otherwise, my appetite is fairly suppressed these days.

What I miss?My chin.

What I am looking forward to? Meeting Cayetano. I keep reminding myself that it's best to be patient. But at this point I am also so excited to hold this new guy and get started on the next phase.

Milestones: Obviously, getting to 37 weeks is a huge milestone. Otherwise, I think I've also done a really good job of preparing work for my absence as of this week, so that is another nice milestone.

What I'm nervous about:This cut on my foot. It still hurts after a week of antibiotics and I am tired of the nuisance of the pain and the medication. I need to go back to urgent care for them to take a look and it is just a pain in my buns taking all of this time at the doctor. I feel like I spend way too much time with medical professionals lately.