Bump date Weeks 38-39

The end is near…but how near!?

These last 2 weeks can be summed up in one word: HOT! San Diego has been hit with a heat wave and there have been some pretty uncomfortable moments. One night I even slept with a cold towel on my face and a fan on high directed straight at me. Not many houses near the beach in San Diego have air conditioning and ours is not an exception. I just keep thinking it’ll end soon and telling people I’m thankful I’m not yet on leave yet so that I can sit in my nice air conditioned office all day (but my last day of work was TODAY!!!).

I’m continuing to live and schedule my life just as I would if I weren’t possibly going to go into labor at any moment. Last weekend Asia and I had a fun day together starting with yoga and followed by the San Diego Restaurant Week kickoff event. There were over 40 vendors serving free samples of food and alcohol and although it was outdoors and 90 degrees, we had fun!

I also went to a friend’s baby shower on Sunday and have been meeting friends for lunch nearly every day (I figure I’ll be eating lunch at home for a long time so it’s ok to blow the budget for now!). Mike and I continue to try to get in quality time, including our weekly pre-work coffee date and Sunday night date night. Tomorrow is Asia’s birthday and we have a spa day planned so I pretty much am willing this baby to at least wait one more day.

How Far Along: Currently 39 weeks, this covers weeks 38-39

Baby Size: A PUMPKIN! That seems big guys! I actually laughed because last week our Pregnant Chicken email pointed out that our baby is actually the size of a baby now, not a piece of produce.

Labor Signs: Although I don’t have any Braxton Hicks contractions still (I think anyway…), I’ve had a few signs that labor is coming, but there’s no real way to know what it means. The baby is definitely sitting quite low – my doctor had to put the Doppler very low to get her heart rate at my 38 week appointment (she first put it in the usual spot and had to move it down). I’m also getting random shooting pains down low and have a general feeling of heaviness in my tummy that wasn’t there before. I’m still trying not to get caught up in the frenzy of when she’ll come (which is a big reason why I’m not doing cervical checks with my doctor) and am just assuming she’ll come late so that I don’t go crazy with anticipation. The math nerd in me has been appreciating this website I found which calculates the odds of going into labor on any particular day and the odds that you’ll go into labor in the next 3, 5 or 7 days. You can also look at a future date and see what the odds are that you’ll have the baby by then.

Symptoms: I think my feet have grown or are swollen, or a combination of both, as most of my shoes feel tighter (but still fit). My hands are also swollen a bit (my ring would probably come off with some effort but not easily) and in general my joints kind of ache a bit in my hands and feet. Never have I been one to have sensitive wrists during yoga moves, but lately I’ve noticed that some positions like downward dog are not exactly comfortable on my joints.

Maternity Clothes: Allison just got a bunch of her maternity clothes back from a friend and handed them all over to me so I’ve had a new outfit to wear every single day for the last week and a half! It’s been fun!

Movement: The hiccups continue, although not as frequently as in week 37. She’s also still moving a lot and sometimes it really hurts! Her head is down and body is on my left side so I get a lot of kicking on my right side. Sometimes she just jams her foot out and I can see it sticking out on the right side of my belly. I can push on it and she’ll move it in. I really enjoy feeling her move so I welcome all movements, even if they hurt sometimes.

Sleep: I’m still sleeping pretty well. Although I do wake up probably about 5 times in the night to either turn over or use the bathroom, I fall right back asleep and have been aiming to get 8-9 hours every single night, if not more on the weekends (if one more person tells me to “Sleep while I can” I’ll go crazy). The most annoying thing as this point is the fact that I’m usually a back sleeper and I have to sleep on my side  – because I’m putting all my weight + 40 preggo pounds onto one side, I wake up with my arm and/or hand asleep all the time! For a long time I still slept on my side, although some guidance suggests you should stop at 20 weeks (my doctor said it was ok), but for about 6-8 weeks it hasn’t been comfortable to lay on my back for very long anymore (even in yoga – I use bolsters and blocks to prop myself up or just lay on my side in savasana).

Exercise: At this point I hope to continue yoga, barre, long walks and squats until my due date as I haven’t had to change my habits thus far (yoga 2-3x/week, barre 2x/week, squats and walking nearly every day). I am loving prenatal yoga at CAP Wellness Center – it’s so nice to connect with other moms to be and the instructor includes special moments within the practice for us to bond with baby.

I am being more cautious about being overly tired after workouts – I don’t want to be low on energy or sore going into labor so I no longer sign up for classes in advance and instead try to play it by ear depending on how I’m feeling.

Today was my last 6 a.m. Xtend Barre class! I had a goal to make it to barre on my last day of work and I did it! Since I won’t be working anymore, I plan to take the later morning classes until baby comes.

Mood: Mostly happy, optimistic and excited. Sometimes irritable, mostly at work or when driving. Occasionally I get a little nervous for the birth and parenthood, but overall I’m looking forward to it.

Best Moments of the Last 2 Weeks: Mike and I have had some wonderful evenings and mornings together sitting our patio drinking coffee or eating together. I’ve also gotten to experience some pretty epic sunsets lately thanks to the hot weather! Mike was able to get this great photo of me on the beach last week during one of our walks. Since we decided not to do maternity photos, I was happy to get one beautiful and artistic bump shot to frame.

Missing: Running fast and hard, sleeping on my back, my old body, doing planks/push-ups/core work, not being winded when climbing stairs and walking, beer, wine…..

Looking Forward to: Seeing how my birth experience goes. There are so many possibilities and I am looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds!