I’m 39 weeks pregnant right now and already passed the point where I went into labor with Chase which means I’ve reached a point I never actually got to in my first pregnancy… The waiting game! I fully anticipated reaching my due date with Chase and never really played the “any day now” game but I definitely feel like we’re entering that territory right now and it’s really exciting.
Now that I’m 39 weeks, I wanted to share a recap of the last two weeks of pregnancy with you guys which you will find below!
Here are my past updates from this pregnancy if you’re just catching up:
- A Miracle On The Way
- The First and Second Trimester (So Far)
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 20-23
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 24-27
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 28-31
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 32-34
- PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 35-36
- What I’m Going To Pack In My Hospital Bag
You may also check out all of my weekly pregnancy updates from my first pregnancy on the Pregnancy page of this blog.
And now for my most recent updates…
Baby Updates
37 Weeks
38 Weeks
At 38 weeks, baby is the size of a winter melon! He or she is roughly 19.6 inches long and weighs approximately 6.8 pounds.
Weight Gained
My weight has been all over the place during these final weeks of pregnancy.
I gained a decent amount of weight in the first and second trimesters (above average) and then I’m not sure what happened, but my weight began to stagnate and then fluctuate and decrease by a few pounds. I initially blamed nausea that surfaced again with a bang almost daily several weeks ago and a dwindling appetite around dinner time but in the same breath I feel like I’m eating a lot and snacking constantly throughout the day.
I’m still within the recommended weight gain for pregnancy but went from a 30-pound gain to a 26-ish pound gain (again this is still fluctuating) which concerned me a bit.
Couple some weight loss with my belly suddenly measuring several weeks behind and that was the recipe for some anxiety over the past two weeks. During my 37-week appointment I was up 27 pounds (down a pound from the previous week) and at 38 weeks, I was down another pound. My doctor wasn’t concerned about my weight loss (apparently this is actually quite common at the end of pregnancy) but recommended an ultrasound at my 38-week appointment to check on our baby’s size when my belly measured 35 weeks since I’ve been measuring ahead almost my entire pregnancy.
You may read more about some of the stress surrounding the ultrasound in my Instagram post, but I was so grateful to learn that our baby is looking wonderful and measuring in the 60th percentile. (At my appointment the sonographer estimated our baby to weigh about 7 pounds 2 ounces!) Apparently our little one is getting everything it needs and growing just fine which was the biggest relief. I know Chase was a little baby but since we attributed his size to previous placental issues I do not have in this pregnancy, I couldn’t help but feel worried about our little one.
Workouts
Workouts are all over the place right now and pretty slow-paced. I’m working out 3-ish days a week and doing some modified boot camp workouts or strength training in our garage or at the gym. I also try to get out for a 2-3 mile walk with Sadie when I don’t get a formal workout in which makes me feel more energetic. My workout motivation is rather low lately but I always feel 10 times better from a physical standpoint when I move my body a bit during the day.
Symptoms
The biggest new-to-me change that happened during the 37th week of my pregnancy is that I began experiencing semi-frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. They never feel painful but they are uncomfortable, especially when they happen in the middle of the night. My whole stomach will feel hard as a rock for just under a minute and then go back to normal. There’s no pattern or predictability associated with the contractions but they’re happening randomly on a daily basis right now.
(Ryan hasn’t cut his hair since we found out we were expecting and is growing it out until our baby arrives! Check out those waaaves!)
I also noticed myself feeling more and more exhausted by the end of the day and that seemed to culminate around week 37. (Last week, during my 38th week, I thankfully got a random burst of energy!) During week 37, however, there was something about the arrival of 4 p.m. that made me want curl up in a ball and sleep for the rest of the day. That wasn’t possible with Chase in the mix and I think the exhaustion I’ve felt during this pregnancy can be largely attributed to running after a toddler all day long. There’s not a ton of sitting and relaxing when Chase is up and about, that’s for sure! (This is also one of the main things that intimidates me about newborn life this time around!)
As I mentioned above, a switch seemed to flip last week and I honestly felt better during week 38th than I’ve felt in months. I’m not sure what was going on, but I felt more energetic and my body felt more comfortable – less aches and pains – than it has in a long time. Some people said this could mean the baby is dropping and while I feel like this may slowly be happening, I don’t feel like labor is right around the corner just yet. Still, an unexpected burst of energy was a very welcomed treat, especially since I felt quite uncomfortable and rather cranky just one week earlier.
Food Aversions
Similar to the past two weeks, I don’t have any strong aversions but my appetite definitely decreases throughout the day. I often feel like I eat a decent amount before 11 a.m. and then have to stick with smaller snacks the rest of the day or I’ll feel overly stuffed. It’s almost like my food is sitting high up in my ribs if I overeat at the end of the day, so mini meals and snacks are key for me right now as the days go on.
I had a few days where I found myself snacking on crackers or a couple of pieces of bread before bed because my stomach felt like it needed something but absolutely nothing else appealed to me.
Food Cravings
Carbs, carbs and more carbs. I’m snacking on cereal, slices of bread and crackers like it’s my job right now. Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast and I’m eating a big bowl of it almost daily. I am also still on the fruit obsession train and eating my bodyweight in watermelon, grapes and berries. And then there’s always chocolate and ice cream which I find myself craving on a daily basis.
Sleep
I am still waking up constantly in the night to go to the bathroom (we’re talking five times which isn’t so fun) and struggled with a night or two of restlessness where I woke up in the middle of the night and tossed and turned for a couple of hours. At 38 weeks, I had a few more solid nights of sleep (maybe this is why I felt more energetic!?) which was so, so nice and definitely not the norm around here.
Any Baby/Pregnancy Related Purchases?
I started to organize my hospital bag and we brought a lot of stuff down from our attic that we used and loved when Chase was a baby.
This made me realize we don’t have a ton of newborn size clothes for either a boy or a girl. (Chase lived in a diaper for much of the summer since I basically hibernated at home with him for a while and it was SO hot outside that summer – record temps in Charlotte!) I ended up ordering a couple newborn-size baby clothes so our baby won’t be naked since I have a feeling I’ll be out and about with this little one a lot earlier than I was with Chase since I’ll have a toddler to entertain as well.
I also have two pairs of comfy nursing-friendly pajamas packed and ended up ordering the long sleeve + pants version of the short sleeve + shorts version of my previous favorite super-soft pajamas.
Belly Button In or Out?
My belly button is definitely out right now but not overly noticeable through clothing.
Feeling…
On a walk with Ryan and Sadie over the weekend, I told Ryan I’m feeling like my life is majorly in limbo right now. There’s so much up in the air which is just crazy! When will our baby arrive? What will labor be like this time? Will we have a boy or a girl? How will Chase adjust to being a big brother? What will blogging look like with two kids in the mix? How will our family dynamic shift? So many unanswered questions but this limbo time also feels really exciting!
I’m also feeling this odd sense of anticipation and a huge understanding of how completely my life is about to change in a very permanent way. I am on the cusp of meeting a little person who is going to completely capture my heart all over again and know that the feelings of love, devotion, protection and vulnerability I already feel will only grow by the day.
During my first pregnancy, I remember feeling so much love for Chase and excitement for the future but there’s something about this pregnancy that feels different. In a way, I spent a lot of my first pregnancy in disbelief (that’s probably the wrong word — but it was almost like an out of body experience at times if that makes any sense at all) and I spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to have a child and be a mother.
This time around, I know what it’s like to have a child and be a mother and something about this understanding has made me feel more emotional, more in awe of the miracle inside of my belly and more overwhelmingly ready to have another baby. I feel like I have a very real understanding of how the intense love I’m already feeling is about grow and blow me away all over again when I physically hold my baby and watch his or her personality grow and develop.
I feel all the more grateful and very aware that there’s a very real baby in my belly… my son or daughter. Knowing that this little one is going to rock my whole world in the best way and make my heart double in size is simply awesome. And knowing that I don’t know much about this baby at all right know — both his or her personality traits, physical characteristics, etc. — is also really cool. I can’t wait to learn about our baby and get to know every part of him or her. Any day now!!!
The post PBF Baby #2: Pregnancy Weeks 37-38 appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.
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