36.5 weeks!

It is already the middle of July.....that means, at the ABSOLUTE most, this baby will be here in 5 weeks!  Hopefully, a bit sooner though.

I do really feel like my body has tolerated being pregnant well.  I keep expecting things to take a really bad turn for the worse, pain wise, or fatigue wise, etc.  I am definitely feeling more pregnant, and uncomfortable, but I am not ready to say 'get this baby out of here!' just yet. 

As of this coming Saturday, I will be 37 weeks, which is considered full term.  If the baby comes any time after that, the likelihood that she would would have to spend time in the NICU is very slim.  That is encouraging.

I feel like I have what I will need to look after the baby for the first while at home.  I picked up a few things today to round out the packing of my hospital bag.  I will still have a few things to put in there at the last minute, but I have most everything I will need ready to go.

At 36 weeks, my biggest complaints are still sore feet, poor sleep, numerous urgent trips to the bathroom, hemorrhoids (ugh), and feet in my ribs.  It is fun to feel the baby roll and move in my belly.  I am glad that Jay has gotten to feel it, and see my belly roll now that the baby is bigger.  But for the most part her feet are consistently parked somewhere near my ribs on my right side.  It isn't usually painful, but just uncomfortable.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning.  The baby is still doing well.  Heartbeat was 165, my blood pressure was 124/64, my weight was...uh, well maybe I will keep that to myself, ha, but I feel like my weight gain has slowed down (thank goodness) and I seem to be in the 0.5-1lb gain/week now.  If I keep up this pace, I imagine by the time the baby comes I will have gained pretty close to 35lbs, which is the high end of normal for my starting weight.  The doctor did an internal exam and found that my cervix has thinned out but is still closed and that the baby's head is down and low in my pelvis.  That doesn't really surprise me, as I don't really feel like my body is close to going into labour.  However, it is definitely progressing in that direction and now I will see my doctor every week until this baby decides to show up.