38 weeks

well, i am officially 38 weeks, and thus considered full-term, tomorrow. and i feel like it. the past week just sort of hit me physically. i am so achy and tired. my abdomen feels as stretched as it could possibly be, and so incredibly heavy. i'm also feeling pretty crampy, but not in the labor sense. i'm so ready for this baby to come! she has been head-down for a couple months now, but she likes hanging out posterior lately, with her little hands by her face. hopefully she'll decide to be anterior when i go into labor... with her hands away from her head. kind of funny, because i was sort of concerned about both. i know they are common and that posterior labor can be very painful, and a nuchal hand can cause a tear. my midwife told me a lot of women compare posterior labor to fast labor though -the same intensity- so i figure if i could deal with river's four-hour labor, maybe i'll be able to deal with a posterior labor, if that's what baby decides she wants to do. i have not been checked and i'm not really sure i want to be checked, so as of now i have no idea if my cervix has begun to dilate or soften. at this point with river, i had only dilated 1/2 a centimeter, and he ended up coming just two days after my due date and after only four hours of labor. checking is pointless, really, but i'm curious. however, curiosity killed the cat. or... makes a mama miserable if the result isn't what she was hoping for. ;)

on a different note, i'm still thinking this baby is going to come out a boy. maybe that sounds silly, but a part of me feels like i still should not get too excited about having a girl and just prepare myself emotionally for another boy... ha.

36-37 weeks

not much to report on. i noticed the other day i have gotten more stretch marks. i hadn't even paid attention. haven't really had any heartburn, insomnia is come and go, my braxton hicks are still frequent and strong, and i'm still emotional. oh, and i think i'm nesting. which is nice because i never nested with river. as much as i think i hate it, cleaning is pretty therapeutic and it takes a lot of stress out of my life when the house is in order. i can't function in mess and disorganization!

this baby girl can come any day now. i'm so excited! i'm crossing my fingers for the 7th or the 12th of october -- the 7th is my little sister emma rose's birthday, and the 12th is my grandparent's anniversary. mostly, i am looking forward to being out of maternity clothes and being able to pick things up off the floor without feeling terribly uncomfortable. i'm trying to remind myself not to get anxious. river came only two days after his EDD, and this whole time, without even realizing it, i've expected this baby to come close to her due date. however, that could very well not be the case. i'm trying to prepare myself to go over and not be impatient. she'll come in her own time!

34-35 weeks & in the clear!

i am now measuring within a safe range, thank god! at the visit with my midwife yesterday my fundal height was 32 cm, 3 centimeters from the 29 cm i was measuring two weeks ago. this means nothing looks suspicious and i will not have to get another sonogram to check on baby. i only gained a pound the last two weeks, which really means that austen has gained a pound, not me. i haven't had much of an appetite, so i'm not surprised. i was most anxious about my iron levels and my midwife called today to tell me my test results came back and i am in the clear to have a safe homebirth -- my iron levels have gone from a 9, up to 10.4! i have been crazy-consistent with my supplements the last ten days or so: one dropper once daily of vitamin B 12, two droppers twice a day of yellowdock, and two droppers twice daily of chlorophyll (you can't tell me homeopathic remedies don't work ;). mixing them in apple juice isn't too bad. i am still anemic and she wants to see me at an 11, so i am still going to take my supplements until the baby arrives. i am so relieved to be in the safe zone though, both with my iron levels and fundal height. i'm not worried about getting my iron levels up even more -- i know at this point it will be easy since it went up that much in just a week and a half, and my blood volume will not expand anymore during the pregnancy.

my next visit with my midwife will be a home visit. she'll bring the birth tub and bag of birthing supplies over, and the assistant midwife (who is also a sweet friend of ours and assisted at river's birth) and a student midwife will be coming over as well. cool story -- the student midwife is in the very early stage of her midwifery training and will just be observing, but she is actually a "horse midwife" and has helped the delivery of hundreds of horses! interesting, huh? :)

a rundown of all symptoms:

not as much heartburn, only sometimes. but certain foods still burn going down. aches & pains daily -- sometimes my back hurts so bad when i go to sit down or get up that i have to catch my breath. it has been like this throughout the pregnancy though. i still have excess saliva, mostly when i'm hungry or if i've just eaten something sweet or something that contains a lot of dairy. i avoid drinking glasses of milk because it produces so much saliva that it makes me sick to my stomach. my sense of smell hasn't been as out of control as it was with river, but most chemical smells still bother me, especially perfumes, body sprays, room fresheners, etc. still craving beef, not really experiencing food aversions to anything. i still experience light-headedness and nausea every now and then, but i think that's attributed to dehydration and lack of protein. i still have insomnia some nights, but not every night. it kicks my butt. the other night i was awake until six in the morning! the BH contractions are still as strong as ever and i don't notice a difference when i drink water. i will just continue with the comforting thought that my body is doing a lot of work now and that this labor will be just as fast, if not faster, than river's. baby is still moving around as much as her brother. her hands are down by her head a lot, which makes me wonder if she's going to be born like that. ouch... i really hope not.