{35 Weeks}
Most everyone that I talk to who are either pregnant now or have been recently, have warned me about the 36 week mark. They mostly say that is when “I’ll hit my wall” or my breaking point with my pregnancy. Not that I didn’t believe them but because I’ve been feeling so great this whole time I just sort of took this information with a grain of salt. Well, they weren’t kidding! I’m now well into my 35th week and feeling like I’m getting to the “I’m ready” point. I’m ready to have Abbey, I’m ready to be done with waddling, I’m ready to be done with not fitting into anything, I’m ready to be done being pregnant. SHIT, its only been 13 months total (or something crazy like that) that I’ve been pregnant I’m thinking that my body needs a break.
I’m getting super tired, not sleeping very well, getting more and more heartburn and just overall ready to have a baby. Obviously I want Abbey to be healthy and also ready to enter the world so I’m trying to keep that in mind as I gear up for my 36 week appointment on Monday. I might just break down and beg Dr. Caligaris for relief and have him admit me so I can have the baby finally but again, it needs to be healthy for her. As my sister-in-law, Sarah, always says, “baby always wins.” Just another very true reality for our soon-to-be-baby-world.
I hate having a “negative” blog post so I’ll throw some very great positives into the mix. Thanks to my mom and Kat I’m now feeling like I have all of Abbey’s goodies under control. As George’s Aunt Mungy stated, “Abbey didn’t get sprinkled, it was a full on shower!” She couldn’t be more correct, George and I are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends who have given us so much to help start our new life with Abbey. Clothes, clothes and MORE clothes have been either washed and put away or separated in pink bins for future wear. I can’t express how awesome it is to know that we already have a few outfits for the 18-24 month stage and even 2T!
{Belly Updates}
{How far along?} 35 Weeks 4 days and only 31 days till my due date! (Due date is exactly ONE MONTH from today, wow!)
{Total weight gain} From my last doctor appointment I had gained 22 pounds. I’m thinking that on Monday when I see the doctor again I’ll be pushing the 30 mark. I just feel like a waddling blimp at this point. Its okay, comes with the territory.
{How big is baby?} According to my website resources, Abbey should be 18 inches long and over 5 pounds now. I’m guessing that she won’t get to much longer but they do say that she should be packing on the pounds between now and delivery.
{Maternity clothes?} YES, the extra large type. I am now rotating the same 5 or so outfits to wear to work, good thing I work mainly with guys and they won’t notice.
{Sleep?} BAH! Such a sore subject as I love my sleep. I’m having the hardest time getting comfortable now and the tossing and turning routine just causes pain. I talked to Caligaris earlier in the week because I was concerned with the lower side pains and he reassured me that would be my round ligament stretching and to just be more careful when I’m moving from side to side. *I have a sleep question at the end!
{Best moment this week?} Lots of great moments! Being overwhelmed with the mountain of diapers from George’s diaper party, spending time with George’s family for Abbey’s baby shower, and then organizing all of Abbey’s goodies and putting her clothes away. Just gets me more excited for her arrival!
It's a mystery week - just kidding, we are at Week 35!
{Movement?} My little acrobat is super active mid morning (10ish) and then later on at night as well. Throughout the day she will punch or kick here and there but when she gets on a roll in the morning or night it is just so amazing to watch. I just look down at my belly and smile and talk to her of course.
{Food cravings?} On Monday I went to Just Crepes with a few co-workers and had the pizza crepe….dear GOD, I want to eat one everyday. I haven’t but I’m pretty sure I’ll be having one more before the week ends.
{Labor signs?} I am literally questioning every little ache and pain but nothing that screams LABOR pains as I’m sure they will have me screaming.
{Heart Burn} Back to yes! I swear if I have a drink of water I get heart burn.
{Belly button in or out?} Still in, guess my little turkey isn’t ready yet!
{What I miss} CHERRY COKE!!! (YESSSSSSSSSSSS) And after being around a few parties this past weekend I could use a glass of wine or beer please. I also miss reaching my feet! I can NOT put on my own socks, I about passed out on Monday. Not worth the effort, I’ll go back to sandals and just have cold feet unless I can get ready fast enough for George to put them on for me. Which leads me to my next miss, ENERGY! Oh yea and sleeping on my belly. See, told you I’m ready to have this baby!
{What I’m looking forward to} 36 week ultrasound! Next best thing to actually physically meeting Abbey would have to be the ultrasounds. Not too mention that we’ll be doing measurements at this one. I’m curious if she stayed head down from the ultrasound on the 26th of September and how big she truly is right now.
{Milestone} I’m staying active despite the loss of all energy….okay I’m TRYING to stay active.
{Questions}
- How strict were you on yourself about sleeping on your left side? It is like my body is rejecting left-side sleep these days.
- Did you hit the 36 week wall? Don’t be shy, some of you already admitted this to me!
- For contact wearers – were dry contacts/dry eyes an issue during pregnancy? Mine are getting so dry now every day.
The Herron Nest 
1. I was told that your body will wake you up if there is a problem…and I want to say I slept on both sides. I have a friend who slept in a recliner for like the last month of her pregnancy.
2. Sorry, to hear you have ligament stretching I had that and it totally sucked it was so, incredibly painful.
3. At 36 weeks I started my weekly pleading for an induction to my doc and each week he would laugh and say no you have to wait. It didn’t help that he mentioned once, that he might induce me early due to Aiden being ginormous…I clung to that and it didn’t happen. My induction was two days after my due date.
4. This might sound crazy, but after Abbey arrives you will have the best sleep of your life in the hospital that first night…send her to the nursery and sleep like a normal person till the next feeding. Everyone jokes that you won’t be sleeping for a long time, but just being able to sleep like a normal person is an amazing feeling. Ed and I slept ridiculously well in the hospital.
SAME BOAT!! My doctor keeps telling me that Abbey is measuring 2 weeks farther along but what will most likely happen (because my hopes are up) is that she will be right on time. Great advice on the first night at the hospital. I have also heard that and I’m a huge advocate especially if I can get some sleep 🙂
1. I agree with Corie, i think your body will tell you when to roll. I think I slept on both sides and I know I woke up at least a few times on my back in a panic because ITS BAD AHHH!
2. I don’t think I had any ligament stretching but I definitely hit th 36 week wall with the first one, and with my 2nd..i’m pretty sure i hit the wall at 15 weeks. I’m not a huge fan of pregnancy.
3. No contacts here…but will they make you take them out at the hospital? They made me take off my sports bra..which I found annoying. Can’t just keep the girls in place for this thing…fine FINE.
4. Also agreeing with Corie. USE THE HOSPITAL NURSERY. It’s the last time you’ll have a gigantic team of professionals to babysit. It won’t affect your bonding or anything and you’ll get at least one good night’s sleep before they let you take her home.
What??? They make you take out your contacts? How the hell am I supposed to see my baby? I guess my glasses but I would prefer my contacts. I’ll have to ask my doctor about this one. And again, WHAT?? They make you take off your sports bra? I might knock my self out without those puppies being tied down. LOL
Thanks for all the advice!
i slept on my right side with no problems for me or Ellie…i also used a body pillow between my legs to sleep. They started telling me they would induce me around 38 weeks as long as i was at least 1 cm. Yea well it ended up being 4 days before my due date and I was in labor at the time just not anything noticible. Hang in there at least till that point unless its unhealthy for you or Abbey 🙂 Definately send her to the nursery the first night…you will need your rest and relaxation to be a mother 🙂
Oh good, so glad I’m not the only one rolling to the right side for some comfort. I seriously have the worst hip pain if I stay on my left side for a whole night then I become restless then I don’t get any sleep then I become a crank-a-potomis! And NObody wants that! Yes, ma’am great advice, Thanks!!
I would sleep however you can be comfortable. I slept mostly on my right side and it did not seem to be a problem. With my first pregnancy, I was induced, I was so scared I tried to have them schedule the induction later. I did not hit a breaking point needless to say. With my second daughter, I was ready, and having been induced once and naturally gone into labor once, I highly recommend going in to labor naturally. With being induced there was no natural progression of the labor, I was sitting there sans contractions one minute, then I was like, huh, I think I had a contraction. And then I was like, Holy Sh*t, I AM having a contraction, what do I do, when does it end, why is it not ending, where is the epideral???? Because it was drug induced labor I went from 0 to 60 instantly. There was no break in between contractions with the induction. Luckily they had the epideral in me quick, but the short time I was in labor with the induction felt like an eternity. You will know when you go in to labor. Having been induced, I did not know what to expect if I went in to labor naturally with my second daughter. I asked my friend, and she had told me, it feels like period cramps. I was again past my due date and scheduled to be induced. The day before, I kind of felt like I was about to start my period, and then I completely freaked out when I went to the restroom and saw blood. “Knocked Up” had totally misled me into believing that the “bloody show” happened after u went in to labor. My friend calmed me down, letting me know that happened to her a day or two before she went in to labor. I went to bed that night and awoke at 3am with contractions. They were not bad, pretty much just like period cramps, and I was able to sleep for another 3 hours off and on. Then I woke up at 6am with very regular contractions. Brad and I took showers, packed things up, he wanted me to go to the hospital but I had heard from many women that they had been sent home, and I could deal with these contractions, they lasted a minute and there was a break in between! I was amazed at how easy that was in compared to the induction. Finally Brad had to basically tell me he was taking me to the hospital because the contractions were getting so close together. In my experience, they do not induce until 40 weeks. I know it may seem like torture, but you will make it! Abbey will come out when she is ready. Like you had said, it is about the baby now, not you. As far as sleep in the hospital, I never took this advice myself, but it is a good idea to send them to the nursery and get some sleep while you can. I was never able to let go of my babies long enough to sleep in the hospital.
Wow Corie I hated sleeping in the hospital and didn’t sleep at all the first night! Anyway. I slept on both sides while pregnant and now nursing. I can’t sleep on my belly while nursing – too painful! Yes I hit the wall too. Especially since w M I was dilated forever before my water broke (I walked around for A WEEK dilated 5 cm.) Don’t be induced if you don’t have to. I much preferred natural labor to induced. Good luck and cool you have lots of clothes and diapers. Thet grow so fast! I’ve had to sell N’s and 1’s because I had too many!
1. No, I was not strict on the left side sleeping. I figure that 100 years ago, they slept anyway they could get comfy and their babies turned out fine! So I just found what was comfy and went with it!
2. I had Emma at 36 weeks so yes, I was ready and so was she…. 🙂 any day now it could happen!!!
3. Yes, your eyes actually change during pregnancy (crazy!) Mine were really dry and my prescription changed in my glasses.
Can’t wait to mee Abbey!!!
I would even sleep on my back some times, just propped up by pillows, so I guess kind of sitting up. Helps with heartburn too! It’s totally ok to switch sides! Use a lot of pillows or a body pillow too, it helps! I used wake up because my arm was asleep from all the weight that I was lying on it.
I was definitely ready to be done by week 35, and also thought every little new sensation was a contraction or something. Especially when the dr. starts telling you you’re dialating a little, that’s when you start thinking you’re in labor all the time. I even had false labor with what I thought were contractions every 7 minutes and then didn’t have my son for 2 more weeks!!! So frustrating!