Week 37 Update

I hit full term on Friday! The waiting game has officially begun! It is so crazy to me that Liam is pretty much done baking in my oven. He really isn't doing much in there other than getting chubbier and strengthening his immune system. I figured I would recap on how week 36 went.

The most exciting news of the week as you know, was that I am dilated to 2 cm, and I am 50% effaced.

This past week, I have continued to get a ton of cervical pains. They feel like sharp shooting pains that last a second, and they are completely random. They are gone by the time I say, " ouch! " They come out of nowhere and they will stop me in my tracks. I read and was told that that is just my cervix dilating. So, as crappy as it feels, it is a good thing! Along with the cervical pain, came the menstrual-like cramping. These cramps are more just annoying than anything. I guess I shouldn't say cramps, they actually are contractions, but they are bearable. They aren't persistent, nor are they time-able. It is just my body prepping for labor. It feels just like the cramps you get the day you start your period. Since I haven't had a period in 9 months, I forgot how annoying the feeling was. They wake me at night all the time, that seems to be when they occur most often.

Another symptom that popped up this week is some kind of weird ligament/hip pain. I will be walking and right where the top of my thigh is, will have a terrible shooting pain that lasts a step or two. It feels like my leg is popping out of it's socket or something. But, it only lasts a second, so I carry on with what I was doing. My waist and hips are aching too this week, I feel like an old lady. Since Liam has dropped, my hips/pelvis are spreading to make room for him, and to prep for labor, so things haven't been feeling too well.

Also, I lost my mucus plug on Thursday night, and more on Friday morning. I will save you the nasty details. It was exciting because I know things are moving along for sure now!

My ankles are still swollen, not all the time though. Today we spent a good amount of time in the BX getting last minute baby things, and by the time I got back to the car, I had cankles. The humidity isn't helping much with that...

I'm not as emotional anymore, which is a relief! A few weeks ago I would cry over everything! I have noticed this week I just always want to be close to Kyle. I am always wanting to lay on the couch with him and just smell him, that may sound odd to some haha. I have also been cleaning like a mad woman! Our house hasn't been so clean in months! I have no idea where I am gathering the energy from to clean. I wish I had this much motivation all the time! I am getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing corners, I'm organizing closets, cleaning out cupboards, dusting, you name it, me and the belly are cleaning it!

Liam is a little less active now. I can tell he is crammed in there. When he moves his legs/feet, I feel them move a inch or so, and then like pop into some place, like he is forcing them into a position. I am feeling a lot more pressure on my cervix because he has dropped. His butt is STILL pushing so hard on my ribcage, that the bruise he has caused hurts more than ever now. It is a constant burning pain that makes my eyes water sometimes if I move a certain way. It has been 2 months now of this pain, and it's only getting worse the bigger he gets. I just allow it to happen...The midwife said I can try and push his butt down to relieve some pressure, but I feel bad because it is not like he has anywhere else to put his little butt, so I deal with it. It has made the area around my right ribcage numb now. The nerve endings in my stomach are being smashed, so I can't feel anything when I touch that part of my stomach. It only hurts to sit or lay down, so I find myself always standing or doing something throughout the day to avoid feeling the annoying pain, which probably leads to the swollen ankles...

Other than that, things are going great and I am feeling fantastic. I don't feel 9 months pregnant. I am still climbing flights of stairs with no problem, still going on long walks with the spouse with no issues, I'm getting around just fine. I am just feeling great! I am realizing tasks like bending over even to put my jeans on, or getting out of our small 2-door cars are not as easy now, it shoots pains in my belly I think because I am squishing him, so I am having to ask Kyle for help more often now that the belly is getting in the way.

I have another midwife appointment on Friday, so if I am still pregnant then, I will let you know if I am dilated anymore! Fingers crossed I can get as much dilation done and behind me painlessly before the active labor starts!