38 Week Update and Last Letter to Our Baby!

Make sure you read the letter below for a very important update :). As always, click on the "Dear Baby series" tag to read the last 9 months worth of letters!

source

Dear Baby, 2/15/2014

Oh baby, let me tell you about yesterday. WHAT A DAY! I was supposed to have my doctor appointment at 10:30 on Thursday. My last day of work was Friday. But with the weather and road conditions, it was moved to 10:30 Friday and then to 3:30 Friday. So the plan was to go to work and, once I left around 2ish, that would be IT! It was so crazy busy in the morning. I hadn’t been in the office in days because of the ice on the roads and had SO much to finish. One of my coworkers helped, which was so sweet. Daddy had dropped me off, and then came back a little after 2 to get me and help me carry my things down. All I had felt up until about 1:30 was excitement. But then I started to get sad! I was checking my keys, phone, and computer back in and it hit me that this was it. I walked into Jennifer’s office to hug her and Susan, and almost cried. I really didn’t want to and was surprised I could stop myself! We left pretty quickly after that because we needed to get to the doctor, and I think a fast exit helped! We planned for lunch next week before I left, which helped too.

Daddy and I got to the doctor and did our non stress test. The doctor walked in and said we would be induced next Wednesday! I was immediately on edge because he has been saying 39 weeks unless there is an issue beforehand all along. So I asked why 38 weeks vs 39. Well the nurse hadn’t told me, but mommy’s blood pressure spiked. All along we knew that, if it spiked, it was going to mean immediate or very soon delivery for both of our health. (They took it again about an hour and a half later to confirm and, yep, it was still the same.) I have officially crossed over into gestational hypertension. We had a good talk with the doctor about the benefits to both of us of you being out at this point rather than you being in. There are some increased risks, but the increased benefit outweighs those. He walked out of the room and Daddy and I just kind of stared at a each other for a second. I don’t remember who spoke first or who said what; it was kind of a blur! I know at some point we both said something along the lines of “we’re going to have a baby in our arms next week!”. The doctor came back in after a few minutes to check the non stress test (and I am so, so thankful he gave Daddy and I those few minutes to absorb and gather our thoughts!). We made fun of him for his ‘official induction paperwork’... a papertowel that he handed Daddy that said “Wed 7pm”. Haha! That is definitely going in your baby book. He said to eat at 5pm and then meet him at the hospital. He checked me and I was 1.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced- progress so I’ll take it! I asked him to sweep my membranes, just in case that might help, which he did. He also did some labwork which came back showing that my levels are rising, heading towards pre-eclampsia. He said we will stick with Wednesday unless I have any pre-e symptoms before then.

We had our ultrasound and couldn’t see much of your face but your hair has grown!!! It almost looks like curls in the picture, but I guess we will have to wait and see. After our appointment last night, Daddy had planned a Valentine dinner at Alexander’s Mediterranean. We wanted to celebrate finishing shots, finishing work, and our last date night out! It was much fancier than anywhere we’d normally go and really fun to splurge. Daddy got veal parmesan and Mommy got stuffed chicken. SO YUMMY! We ended with a milkshake at Cookout :). We really enjoyed our last big night out, even if we were both still a bit shell shocked! We cannot wait to meet you and it is so, so real now. It is Saturday as Mommy writes this and we are hoping to have you in our arms by next Friday! Ahhhh!!!! I cannot even explain the emotion if I tried. Mommy has so much to get done these next few days, and since sleep is no longer realistic (I’m trying!!! but last night I finally fell asleep at 11:30, was up from 2-4, and then up again shortly after 6… at least I’m in a good mood!), I should have plenty of time to run all our errands. I will have to cancel girls’ night with some friends and mani pedis with Mandi, and move the work lunch a day or so sooner, but I’m not complaining too much :).

See you in less than a week, little one! Can’t wait to meet you!

Love,
Mommy

I got busy and missed my 37 week update, not knowing that my 38 week update would be my LAST ONE!

How far along are you?

38 weeks today!

Total weight gain:

I really ballooned between 36 and 37 weeks. I went from gaining nothing to only a 1/4 lb multiple weeks in a row, to gaining 2.5 lbs in a week! It shows, too! As of 37 weeks, I was up to 27.5 lbs. Hopefully that means baby had a growth spurt and is all ready to come out.

36 on the left, 37 on the right! 

How big is baby?

I'll let you know in a few days :).

Maternity clothes:

Hubby's tshirts plus my normal maternity clothes.

Stretch marks?

Just the 2 really tiny ones and 1 almost non-visible one. Seriously the biggest shock of my pregnancy. I expected to be covered! 

Sleep?

What is sleep? I'm sure I'll be asking that question for the next few months... or years! Still in a good mood during the day though, so I can't complain too much.

Best moment this week?

Getting the house tidied and organized. It seriously takes so much stress off of me to know we're leaving for the hospital with the house in good shape. Attaching the cosleeper to the bed was fun too, because I kept laying in bed imagining our baby being in there in a short time... even if the cat has claimed it as her own. Hmmm... also last days of just hubby and me cuddles! We've been enjoying cuddling on the couch watching the Olympics and some Netflix shows, just enjoying the simplicity of US. Good week and it's about to get better :). Oh and I can't forget the HUGE number of people praying for us; it has touched us beyond words!

Movement?

Penny might be slowing down the slightest bit, but still a lot of movement and still passing kick count tests. 

Food cravings:

Chocolate and beef, but not together. And milkshakes. I'm trying to reign it in!

Food aversions:

Nothing really!

Labor signs:

The only ones I'll share here is even more braxton hicks and definitely some discomfort as baby moves down!

Belly button in or out?
It will survive, people!!!! Flush/in!

What I miss:

Getting out of bed easily, not getting up to pee a million times a night, being able to roll over without effort!

What I'm looking forward to:

Seeing that sweet face, family cuddles, and finding out baby's sex/being able to use the real name. So excited about everything!!!!!!!

What I'm not looking forward to:

Um... labor? I don't know... I'm not dreading it but I know it won't be fun.

Gender:

We'll all know any day now!!! 

Today! 38 weeks!

And last, a huge thank you to all of you who have prayed us through this pregnancy! If I can be so bold as to ask that you pray us through the induction and labor over the next day or two, I would be so appreciative. We'll be offering up the trials of labor for those on our prayer list struggling with infertility/subfertility and anyone unnamed dealing with the same issues. Can't wait for my next post because it will mean baby is here and PICTURES!