How far along are you? 38 weeks pregnant — woohoo! It feels like these last few weeks are taking FOREVER… I’m so ready just to pop this baby out and get back to “normal” life.
Best Moment this week? Well, everyone in my fiction workshop is quite interested in the baby. Each week, several ask me, “When are you due again?” One older lady in my class has two kids of her own, so she thinks I look “small” like everyone else does; all the rest of the typical university students in my class think I look “big” (which makes me laugh). After my last class, my prof commented, “Well, if we don’t see you in class, we’ll know it’s because you’re having the baby…” Yep!
My mom and my brother came to visit this weekend (for just a day), which was a lot of fun. We took them to the beach in Sidney. I took tons of pictures of them and the girls and thought I might as well include myself in the moment.
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Prayer requests? Um, a short, easy labour? 🙂 I keep saying I do not want to have this baby on Sunshine’s birthday (my due date is a week after). And in my midwife group, there are two midwives that I really like, so I’d love to go into labour when one of those two midwives is on call.
Baby’s growth? Everything normal for 38 weeks pregnant. I measured 37 inches at 37 weeks and all the midwives are sure that the baby is head-down.
Medical Stuff? My iron levels are still low, but since I’m already taking an iron supplement, my doctor didn’t want to increase it. She recommended I try to just increase my dietary intake of iron, so now I’m reading the nutritional labels on everything I eat. (Did you know that a serving of Mocha Almond ice cream contains 6% of your recommended daily intake of iron?)
Oh, and I came back GBS positive (again) despite my attempts to boost my immune system and fight off the bacteria… I’m not impressed about that, but I’ve been positive with all three pregnancies now so I guess there’s not much I can do about it.
Sleep? Terrible. My back has been sore (between my shoulder blades) lately, and laying down doesn’t help. I’d love to stretch out flat on my back, but of course I can only do that for a few minutes before my tummy gets too heavy. I tried having a bath the other night, to see if the warm water would help my muscles relax and take the aches away—only to realize that of course I can’t lay on my back in the tub, and laying on your side isn’t terribly comfortable in a tub. My body pillow helps with supporting my legs and tummy but hasn’t helped with my sore back as much.
Weight Gain? Um, lots at 38 weeks pregnant… I don’t even want to know. I don’t like being this heavy and I can’t wait to lose the baby weight!
Movement? Lots of kicking/punching (or something) against my right side, as baby seems to like having his or her back against my left side. A few times the kicks have been big enough that they made my whole tummy jump, which makes me laugh. Baby still likes having a bit of a workout after I lay down at night.
Labor Signs? Not yet… just lots of Braxton-Hicks, but that’s normal for 38 weeks pregnant. I didn’t notice any labour signs with either Sunshine or Lily until I was actually in labour and having contractions.
Pregnancy related books you are reading… I’m still working through Birthing From Within by Pamela England. I heartily recommend it. She has so much wonderful advice, while still being honest about the fact that labour is tough and painful. I’ve also picked up a copy of Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth, which I appreciated reading before Lily’s birth.
Follow along with my pregnancy…
- Pregnancy third time around!
- 21 weeks and craving sushi!
- 26 weeks and loving my maternity clothes!
- 32 weeks and baby kicking!
- My homebirth story!
Is this your first pregnancy or your third? After having my fifth baby, I compiled all my pregnancy notes and research into a book for new moms! Beginner’s Guide to Growing Baby: Tips to Help You Through All Four Trimesters includes everything I’ve learned through five pregnancies, as well as the wisdom and advice of my good friend, Anna Eastland. She’s a mom of 9 babies, including one in heaven. If we could have you over for coffee and sit down to chat about bellies and babies, this is what we’d tell you! Between us, we’ve got you covered for everything you need to know about a natural, healthy pregnancy!
Beginner’s Guide to Growing Baby is available on Amazon.
4 Comments
You are so close! I can’t wait to see a baby birth update.
Nat – yeah, I know the GBS is normal so I’m not too worried. I’m also not in the high-risk category for it to cause problems. 🙂
Kristy – if I’ve learned anything from hearing/reading pregnancy and birth stories, it’s that they’re all different! 🙂 Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Bonnie 🙂
This is Kristy from ‘Raising Godly Daughters.” Thank you for the comment you left on my blog. 🙂 You are so cute by the way! And so close to having your baby. I’ll pray for you that you have an awesome labor and delivery!! I had GBS with one of my pregnancies. It’s such a weird thing. I always wonder how I had it with one and not the other 5. Have a blessed week mama 🙂
All sounding good. The presence of GBS is normal… common sense hygiene practices and keeping everything outta your vagina during labour, especially after membranes release, will keep it at bay. I’m sure you already know all that, just commenting for anyone reading who might not! 😉 Thinking of you as the time draws closer. May it all go well and you have the blessed, peaceful birth you’re working towards. xxo