36w0d

How far along? 36w0d or 90% or 9.2 months pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +29 pounds...seriously, where is this weight going, it sure is not all pumpkin seed.

Size: Honeydew or Crenshaw Melon. He's over 18.5 inches long and weighs about 6 pounds now.

Baby Development: Pumpkin seed is shedding most of the downy hair that covered his body and the waxy substance (vernix caseosa) that has protected his skin during his 9 month bath in amniotic fluid. He will be considered FULL TERM at the end of this week, eeekkk!

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I also think he may have dropped...looking at pictures from previous weeks, he looks lower than before.
Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :) I also managed to pull a muscle in my butt yesterday...how in the world does one do that when their only mode of exercise is walking?!?  Somehow I managed to do that and it hurts like heck.

Milestones/Best moment this week: I had my 36 week checkup early this week (on Tuesday) since my doctor had a conference the 2nd half of the week and is out of town today. I'm measuring right on track, heart rate is 140 and baby is head down, with butt facing towards my belly button, yay! I now know what I poke everyday is his cute little behind, LOL :) But it's just how I want him, now stay put baby and listen to your mother! I also tested negative for GBS (Group B Strep), which isn't a huge deal health wise if you are positive (they just hook you up with antibiotics to avoid passing it along), but it's one less thing I'll have to worry about once I go into labor and should be able to labor at home longer (if I get that option, read on for further details...)

So this photo was from yesterday morning...I was SO incredibly desperate to wear sweaters and jeans again (plus it was 40 degrees outside when I woke up, brrr!), I pulled out my old jeans...I wore them to work, with a belly band of course...and talk about uncomfortable. I will need to invest in a cheap pair of maternity jeans to get me through the next few weeks and the weeks after he is born, since it will be a while before these fit normal again :( And I was reminded how much a loathe belly bands.

So now onto some not so good news, my blood pressure was higher than normal and what my doctor was comfortable with. They rechecked it again after my exam and Group B test...it was down but not low enough. So she had me lay on my side on the table for 15-20 minutes with the lights off, hoping that would calm me down...but no such luck. It was down to 138 but that is still borderline hypertension. So I then had to do a 24 hour urine collection, so they can test the protein levels to determine if I've contracted preeclampsia since my last checkup. I have no other symptoms of pre-e, so I'm trying to stay positive. And I've been relatively high my entire pregnancy (I've been in the 120's for as far back as I can remember) so she wasn't overly concerned yet and wasn't ordering immediate bed rest or anything...but she wanted my urine tested as a precaution and no matter the results, I will need to be monitored a lot closer, just in case I take a quick turn for the worst. I know what symptoms to watch out for and if I start to have any of them, I'm to immediately report to L&D at my hospital. She also told me, if I do end up having/getting preeclampsia, she will be inducing me at 38 weeks (assuming my health stays stable enough to make it that far).


My blood work came back very normal on Wednesday, which was good news. She was happy with those results and based on what she saw so far, had a good feeling the urine results would come back good too...but she still wanted to see the results before any sighs of relief or taking any actions. I had dropped off my "collection" that morning at the lab and was to hear back from her sometime on Thursday with the verdict. Unfortunately, she was in a conference all day and I could see the results were in (I have an online "mychart" account with my clinic) I just couldn't see them yet. My doctor has to review them first and then releases them.


As of today, I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor for the results. I took my blood pressure last night and it was down to 127...so considering that, I'm taking no news as good news until I hear different. Just going to take it easy from now on and pray this little boy gets a few more weeks to cook!