Weeks 37-38

Advice Request

1) How did you keep yourself occupied at the end so you weren’t constantly thinking of when baby will arrive?

2) Should I get any nursing clothing (bras, tanks…etc) ahead of time or just wait? 

How I am feeling 

I am having some back pain, especially at night.  I am using heat to try to calm it, but it can get pretty bad.  Darren has been great and so supportive: rubbing my back whenever I ask, getting me extra pillows at night, doing extra work around the house so I don’t have to bend down…etc.  What a guy!  J  I think I have said this before, but if a little back pain is the worst I endure during this pregnancy (not the labor, I am not that naïve!), then I am not going to complain. 

Emotionally I am feeling really ready!  I am trying so hard not to be anxious and impatient, but it’s so hard.  I am just dying to meet Lilly and hold her and start this next amazing part of our lives.  I know Darren is very anxious as well.  He said today that he thinks this weekend is the last weekend we will have with just the two of us.  I am not sure about that one because I am only 38 and a half weeks, but maybe.  I certainly would not complain if Lilly decided to come early, but I need to drum up all of my patience and try to just relax because I do not want to be induced or get to the point where I am changing my mind about that.   

We had a Murder Mystery performance last weekend, which was amazing.  I played a pregnant “prize girl” on a game show.  It was nice of my director to write in a pregnant character for me so I could do this show.  Darren was in it as well and we had so much fun working together.  We realized after the show that it is probably the last time the two of us will be able to be in a show together for a long time because one of us will always have to be with Lilly.  It was also neat because although Lilly was here for the shows I did in October, December and February, she was hidden.  This time she was actually part of the show in a way!  She was on stage before she was even born.  J

Here is what I look like at 37 weeks:

Darren, Lilly and I celebrating Darren as Teacher of the Year at HGMS.  He should have been Wake Country Teacher of the Year, but I guess he'll have to settle for being New Dad of the Year instead.

Here is what I look like at 38 weeks:

Baby movement/progress:

I went to the doctor at 37 weeks and had my first “check.”  Let me say, I had no idea what this actually meant and I guess I was completely naïve to what happens and what it would feel like, but let me tell you, it was bizarre!  The midwife was able to feel Lilly’s head and informed me that Lilly was poking her hand every time she moved it.  Now, I have felt her move a lot and Lilly is incredibly active, but this news was so strange to me!  She also informed me that Lilly was at -2 station and I was 1 cm dilated.  I realize this is not much, but again, it made things feel so real and it reminded me that I am at that point in pregnancy where she could come at any time. 

When I went back to the doctor at 38 weeks, the midwife said her head is still down and that I am almost 2 cm now.  It’s nice to know some progress has been made, but I also know women who were several cm for weeks, so I am trying to take these numbers with a grain of salt.  The midwife also reminded me that dilation is not really an indicator of when I will go into labor because babies come when they want to come and every pregnancy and birth is different. 

Lilly is in a good position and the midwife was able to clearly tell me how she is laying now, so I can be certain that the really hard kicks I feel on my left are in fact kicks.  I don’t know if Lilly has been working out along with me during this pregnancy, but trust me, this little tot has some leg muscle!  Darren and Michelle have been able to feel her big kicks and they are pretty intense!  I love them though.  I love that she seems strong already.  I actually gasped the other day at work after a particularly hard kick, but I don’t think my students noticed.   

Shout Outs

First, a huge shout out to Michelle and Chad S. for loaning us their baby girl stash!  They gave us clothing, toys, towels, bedding, a boppy, extra bouncy seat, jumper and all kinds of random items that will be a huge help!  We had a great time going through all of it and seeing all the adorable clothes we will get to dress Lilly in. 

Second, a huge shout out to my teammates, students and parents for throwing me a surprise baby shower today at school!  I received a strange email from Amber today telling me to eat my lunch during our team time before lunch with a smiley face.  I was confused, but at least the smiley told me it was something good, so I just went with it.  Little did I know that the students had asked her to have a baby shower for me and Amber was helping them organize it for who knows how long.  I truly had no idea!  I was completely overwhelmed by the love and generosity of my students and their parents.  I wish I could post pictures that show the students all sitting around and watching Darren and I open presents (we have 129 students!), but I don’t know the rules about posting pictures of the kids, so you can only see a few backs of heads.  It was truly an amazing surprise and I am just so blown away by this group of kids and parents and how much love they showed us!    

Nursery:

Dare I say it…we have everything we need!!!  At least, everything I think we need.  The crib finally has a mattress (completely with double mattress pads and sheets thanks to some great advice from some friends).  We have received a lot of diapers, wipes and essentials that should last us at least a little while.  We also have plenty of clothing and then some!  Believe me, I know how fun it is to buy baby girl clothing, so I understand that people love getting outfits for Lilly.  I just hope she actually gets to wear all of them!  I know a baby can go through many outfits in a day, but I still think we could go a solid few weeks without ever even having to do laundry with all of the stuff we have. 

I am actually completely overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we have for Lilly and am determined to get everything organized this weekend.  I am a person who needs a place for everything and everything in its place, and right now, that is not what I have in the nursery.  I am so grateful that people have been so generous and given us so much, so I am not complaining at all, but it’s definitely a little overwhelming.  I am trying to just picture dressing her in all of the outfits as I go through them and that makes it much more fun. 

Labor and Birth:

 We had another meeting with Kalan, our doula, last week.  While it threw me for a loop at first when our original doula, Helene, told us she was moving to Texas, I am starting to think it was meant to be.  We both loved Helene and were very comfortable with her, but we love Kalan just as much and her personality fits perfectly with us.  Plus Kalan introduced us to a few ideas that I had not previously thought of, including everyone’s favorite topic, the placenta encapsulation.  She is also going to be available for us post partum to help whenever needed or to help me with breast feeding, which makes me feel really really good.  I know that it is going to be a process and it might be difficult, so knowing I have someone I can call who is trained and has a lot of experience is huge.  Thankfully, I also have amazing friends and family who have experience as well, so I know I will never be without support.  I told someone the other day that I am actually more nervous about breast feeding than I am about giving birth.  That may sound insane, but I know I can handle pain and that it will pass and the reward at the end is completely worth it.  Breast feeding is a longer process that has a lot of room for error and many people I know have had trouble.  I am staying positive though and leaning on the support and advice of others as much as possible.  It helps me to read books as well, so that has also helped.  

Weeks 35-36

How I am feeling 

Overall I still feel very good, but I am definitely feeling bigger!  It is getting harder to do certain things, but so far I haven't slowed down too much.  In fact, as you can see from doubling up on my blog again, I am staying incredibly busy.  The past two weeks have been the busiest I've been during my entire pregnancy I think.  This weekend was the run of the production I directed, "You Can't Take It With You" which meant 4 hour rehearsals every night, plus it was EOG testing for the other tracks at school so we had students straight until 2:30 and only a 25 minute break.  Let's just say that this was wreaking havoc on my back to the point where I went to a professional massage therapist on Wednesday to try to help, but in some ways it made it worse because my muscles were even sorer after she worked on them.  Darren has tried to work the kinks out as well, but he has to press so hard his hands get tired pretty quickly.  I guess if some back pain is all I have to complain about for my entire pregnancy, I am getting off easy.  And truly, I am not complaining.  I am so thankful for Lilly and I would go through 9 months of this back pain and more for her. 

Here is what I look like at 35 weeks:

Here is what I look like at 36 weeks:

 at our staff baby shower

my bare belly!  

Baby movement:

At my last doctor's appointment, the midwife said her head is down and she is in a good position.  I was pretty excited at first, but then she told me that is very normal at this point for a first time pregnancy.  I am still excited though, because we only have about one more month to wait before we will finally get to meet our little girl!  I could cry with excitement right now!  I am just so ready to be Lilly's mom!  I am already completely in love with her.  I love every little (and big) kick, nudge, punch and swirl that she makes.  I feel so lucky that I get to experience this.  I know Darren jokes that we would never have kids if he was the one who had to be pregnant, but I wouldn't trade this for anything.

I have figured out how to make her move when she is awake and stirring.  If I rub my belly on the right side, she starts to kick and squirm on the left.  It was really working the other night when Darren was feeling her move.  He was completely baffled that the movements did not hurt and he was just awe struck by the fact that our baby is almost here and he was physically connecting with her.  I am glad he can connect with her in this way; it’s such a special time and I am glad he gets to share it.

Shout Outs

We are so lucky.  Have I said that on here before?  We have the most amazing people in our lives.  Our teammates at Holly Grove threw us a baby shower on Monday and we were literally showered with love by the most amazing staff ever.  I was so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for Lilly.  So this shout out is for Sonya R, Kelly L, Carole S, Dave P, Shanequia H, Kim G and Amber C who threw this amazing shower and for all the staff members who celebrated with us.  We cannot wait for you all to meet the newest bulldog! 

Here are a few pictures from the shower:

Nursery:

We did some organizing today and are in the process of trying to figure out what we still need.  We are so lucky that we already have a lot of what we need for Lilly, but it will be fun to go shopping with some of the gift cards we received and buy some of the really cute things that we want!  I will probably recruit some mamas to come over and help me figure out what we need because I am still “in training” after all.

Labor and Birth:

Nothing has changed with our plans to have a natural childbirth and I am finding more and more people who are very supportive of this choice.  Granted, I still get people who think it’s fun to tell me their childbirth horror stories (really mamas…not the best topic of conversation for someone who is 9 months pregnant). 

I have been reading a lot more about breast feeding and talking to people about it to try to prepare myself as much as possible.  I really appreciate all of the advice people have shared with me because I know that the best thing I can do at this point is just learn what worked for others and prepare myself for the challenge.  I still welcome any other advice people have!