39 Weeks (June 20, 2014). Somehow it’s already a week before the due date; however, I’m not going to lie, knowing that my doc will let me go another two weeks makes it feel like we’ve still got some time. I’m starting to think my womb might be like the Ritz… this girl just doesn’t want to check out. So she continues to grow – as do I – and now measures (according to my phone app) 20″ long and weighs about 7.25 lbs. That’s crazy.
Symptoms
Well, I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m feeling a bit emotional/sensitive today. I really am not overly concerned with going late, as long as I go naturally, but somehow, after receiving the news last week and again this week that my body and baby have made no real steps towards labor, I can’t help but feel really sensitive/worried/anxious/insecure/etc.
I did talk with my doula yesterday, which helped a lot. She’s going to bring over another relaxation CD on Saturday and her fetoscope, which she’ll use to confirm baby girl’s position. That makes me pretty happy. The other positive is that we still have three weeks for my body and this baby to get ready to go. That’s a long time.
The selfish part of me definitely has waves of, “Are you f’ing kidding me? 3 more weeks??” I’m getting pretty sick of sweating and just find that I recognize myself less and less in this giant, sweaty body. To help make it through, I did break down yesterday and buy two new pairs of shoes. If I have three more weeks to go, I just couldn’t keep wearing those tennis shoes. I know it’s vain, but the frumpier I feel, the more emotional and blah I feel. SO, you’ll notice in my belly pic above, I purchased a pair of black slip-ons with a small wedge and I also bought a pair of camel colored ballet flats. It definitely helps a little. What wasn’t helpful was how un-fun my shopping experience was. I LOVE shopping. But I did not love it last night. I was hot and uncomfortable and sweating and had to try on about 5,000 pairs of shoes before finding some that fit. Ugh.
I think the timing of my half-time maternity leave and my last day working out kind of made me feel like D-Day was just around the corner and then the appointment yesterday just squashed that. Hopefully with Friday afternoon through Tuesday off, I’ll get my positivity and “peace” back.
AND, even if I do go three more weeks, that’s just more time to rest and relax, right? It’s time to be more positive. Really, no matter what, this is all great. We have a really healthy baby swimming around and we will meet her in less than a month. I’m done complaining… for today!
Playing House 
LOVE your shoes!!! And your belly looks much lower…I think this is good news. I think it’s 100% ok to feel emotional and a little “let it be over!” right now!!! This last month has been the ROUGHEST on me and I feel a new discomfort every day it seems..I think it’s natural we want to meet our babies- and get back to some “normalcy” as far as our bodies are concerned. There must be a reason God made this process 9 months (well 10 months) and not a full year right? I think it’s JUST long enough…any longer and we’d for sure go insane! ((hugs))
( I’m a lurker on your site, and I’m just about a month behind you in being pregnant 🙂 I know you know this, but everything can change literally overnight. With my sister’s baby at 37 weeks she was dilated and the baby was in the right position, and dropped, and ready to come out. At 38 weeks, she was no longer dilated and the baby had actually moved back up and was now breech. He ended up changing quickly again and still came a week early! You look adorable. Good luck
I love that you’re a “lurker”… Thank you for the story about your sister. It actually makes me feel a lot better. All the positive vibes are amazing. Congrats on your wee little one 🙂 hope you’re having a great pregnancy!
Good luck Melissa! I hope you get the birth experience you want, having your baby naturally is really such an awesome thing, and going full term is best for baby! Can’t wait to see your cute little lady 🙂
Any tips or suggestions on natural childbirth? I’d love any tidbits! Also, thanks, Lisa!
My tips are: walk as much as possible, even when it’s the last thing you feel like doing after a few hours of active labor-that always progressed me from usually a 4 to time to push! Don’t waste your energy making noise thru contraction, choose a focus object (mine is always the grid of the hospital ceiling tile…apparently I like to look up while breathing they contractions haha) and imagine each contraction like a wave! You will be great!
These are great! Thanks, Lisa! Can’t wait to share my story 🙂