36 Week Update

Well folks, I've almost made it! I'm 36 weeks pregnant, one week away from full term, and it's crazy to think in just 7 days time, little bubba will be fully cooked. My last update was at 32 weeks, and prior to now, I didn't really have much to update on, hence leaving so long between. I've made no secret of my easy pregnancy - I can hand on heart say I was all but unaffected until 35 weeks or so, but it would appear that from then I'm getting all of my symptoms in one go. At this point, it is now just a waiting game, and whilst I'm praying baby J makes a somewhat early appearance, instinct tells me he'll still be in there for a while yet. For now though, here is my run down of the past month of pregnancy...

Quick mention - who decides to take update pictures in an XS sports bra and Size 8 joggles?? Squeezing into these every few weeks is becoming a struggle...

The Good
My 36 Week Scan went well, I think. It was good just to get a little bit more of an idea as to what is going on. Baby is still healthy, with a strong heart beat and good movements, still lying head down, so I can't complain. He is however measuring small, she estimated around 5lbs at this point, which confused me as a google search told me that was around average for 36 weeks.. I'm well aware anyway that these estimations can often be well off, so I'm trying not to read into it too much. At our last scan, at 32 weeks, he was measuring in the 50th percentile for growth, but now he's dropped down to the 35th, whatever that means, but either way she wants us back in two weeks time for another quick scan to check everything is a-ok. Again, I can't complain, I get to see baby again! Also, she got a good solid view of his private parts, so that's the third confirmation that our boy is definitely a boy, I think I can relax now!

Getting Prepared pretty much everything is now ready for the arrival of the little one, it's felt it's taken us a long time to get to that point, and it has been more or less an uphill battle, but we're now finally at the stage where I feel I can comfortably go to the hospital, and know I can bring a child home and feel prepared (in materialistic things, not in mind, I don't think I'll ever mentally be prepared for a child until he's here).

More Rest I've definitely embraced the lack of energy in the past few weeks and put less pressure on myself to maintain the same lifestyle I had before. I'll be honest, I was proud of the fact I was so unaffected by pregnancy, I didn't want to have to admit that maybe I did need to slow down a bit, or sleep that little bit longer, or eat that little bit more. Really though, I just had to get over myself and listen to my body - I am extremely tired right now, I am growing a little person inside of me, I need rest, and in the past few weeks I've allowed myself to actually succumb to that.

No More Scales I've stopped weighing myself - I was still weighing myself 4/5 times a week up until 35 weeks, and with every step on I'd become more and more disheartened. I've always had slight issues with weight and weight gain, and obviously the latter is inevitable during pregnancy, so I've struggled with this towards the end. I've now accepted my weight gain though, and stopped tracking, I'll deal with my weight when I have a happy, healthy child and the ability to actually do something about it.

Jordan He's not getting much of a mention because it will go straight to his head, but I wouldn't have been able to cope with the past few weeks if it wasn't for him. He's had it lucky in that I've been unaffected and so he hasn't had to deal with mood swings in the early stages, but he's got his fair share in the past month and has coped with these better than I could have imagined. Plus he cooks me nice food. That helps.

The Bad
Hormones I've been overly emotional, angry, agitated, unreasonable. You name it I've been it. In the past few weeks I've been so up and down, it's surprising anyone has wanted to be around me at all, I'm like a volcano waiting to erupt.

Tiredness I expected to be tired, I didn't expect to be absolutely exhausted - I have no energy and I can't bring myself to do anything past 4pm. I'm such a motivated person, so I'll make to-do list after to-do list, but generally they are always left incomplete, and I'd imagine this will be the way it continues for the foreseeable future.

Rib Pain Baby J has launched his feet underneath my ribs since around 33 weeks, and has refused to move them since, I don't think he'll be happy until they are well and truly cracked. Similarly, other belly pain in the form of the skin stretching - no stretch marks still, but the top of my belly is definitely stretching a lot as the itchiness is almost unbearable!

The Downright Ugly
Lightning Crotch has well and truly arrived - every so often I'll take a step and it will feel as though I've been sucker punched in the vagina, literally. Ah well, at least I'm slowly getting prepared for the pain of labour...

Leaky Nipples Leaky isn't really the word, they only 'leak' if prompted to, but that doesn't make it any less frightening when it happens! Given that I don't plan on breastfeeding it's just an unwelcome reminder that my milk will still come in, and will still have to harden at some point, roll on that pain!

Swelling I am swollen EVERYWHERE. I'm no longer just fatter, I'm swollen. I feel like a little balloon, or rather a big balloon, and cannot wait to have this child just so that I can wear a pair of shoes without cutting off the circulation in my toes...

That's about it for my symptoms - still very bearable, and not bad at all given my stage of pregnancy. I'm still comfortable, and can sleep pretty much through the night, with the exception of one toilet break around 4am, which is fine by me, I'm taking full advantage of my ability to sleep normally right now, I don't imagine I will be in a few weeks time! I'll leave it at that, until next time, thanks for reading,