Pregnancy #2: 37 Weeks (and place your bets!)

 

And compared to 37 weeks with Lizzy:

How far along: 37 weeks. I'm now officially full-term :)   

I'd love to have you guys place your bets in the comments on when you think baby #2 is going to make her grand appearance! Just for a point of reference, my official due date is November 15th. Lizzy was due on the 14th of the month and I had her on the 10th, just for anyone who is interested in stats like that--more info about dilation/effacement can be found below! 

We're starting to get to the point now where a lot of the usual pregnancy update post that I do is pretty much the same from week-to-week, so I thought I'd update in paragraph form this time.

So, I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and was dilated to about 3cm, and was more than 50% effaced. I looked back at the updates from Lizzy's pregnancy to see when I was this dilated and effaced, and it was right in between 38 and 39 weeks...and I had Lizzy at 39 weeks 3 days. That totally sent me for a loop, because I had a realization that while unlikely, I could have an October baby. Holy cow, I am both so ready and so NOT ready for that. But then again, that's assuming that things progress with this pregnancy the same way that they did with Lizzy's pregnancy.  I sort of have this tendency to think 'well, that's what happened with Lizzy, so that's what's going to happen this time too', even though I know that's not necessarily, or even probably the case, and rather than bracing myself for an October baby, I really should be bracing myself for a November 15th baby (but if one more person tells me that I won't have the baby until 'the day after Thanksgiving at least', I am liable to punch them in the face, for real).

Also, at my appointment on Tuesday, the doc did a membrane sweep. And OHMYGOD did that sucker hurt! I seriously had to breathe through it! He did a number of membrane sweeps with Lizzy, and I never remember them feeling like that! Other than that, my belly does feel lower, and is starting to poke out the bottom of most of my shirts. Maybe I've dropped? I'm not sure.

At this point, I've gained 22-25 pounds, which is significantly less than the 40 pounds that I'd gained with Lizzy by 38 weeks. But it's the end of pregnancy, and I still feel huge (I think that's just something that happens regardless of how much you gain), and sore (hello exercise ball, my new best friend) and anxious to be back to "normal" even though I know full well it'll be some time before that's really the case.

I'm pretty tired. Lizzy is still getting up early in the mornings, and I keep finding myself thinking 'I can't wait until the baby is here and I can sleep for more than 2 or 3 hours at a time!'....which we all know is crazy talk and probably won't be happening for the next six months. I don't know why I keep thinking I'm magically going to be sleeping through the night again after the baby is born! Our hospital doesn't have a nursery (babies always room in), so there's really no possibility of that happening!

Justin and I have both been spending a lot of time cleaning and organizing, but it still seems like the house is destroyed as quickly as we clean it...not to mention the fact that there is still only one coat of one wall painted in the nursery! I'm trying to let go of my expectation for a spotlessly clean house to come home to...especially since it's not like I know when this baby is coming and can just spend the whole day before cleaning, you know?

I've had a couple of mental funk days recently, because there were a group of friends that were also pregnant along with me...and they've all had their babies already, and I'm the only one left. But overall? Things aren't bad. I feel pretty good physically, and I haven't been randomly blacking out this time like I was with Lizzy, so that's a definite plus. Oh, and also? I was still working at this point of being pregnant with Lizzy, and being at home is infinitely easier, even with chasing a toddler around all day...it just is!

Here's a couple more photos from this past weekend--the first is of my mom, my dad's cousin, me, and my sister (thank you Lisa for the dress! It's probably the most versatile dress ever because it works pregnant or not!).

This one is Lizzy in the photo booth that they did at the shower/sprinkle (which was AWESOME Court and Renee!). It totally cracks me up because she looks hilarious and crazy!