Most Pregnant Ever - 38 Weeks

Yep, this is officially the most pregnant I have ever been.  With Andrew I never made it to 38 weeks.  I'll admit that a little part of me was hoping not to make it with this one, either, especially after my appointment on Wednesday.  Of course after that appointment J informed me that he needed to stay in until at least this afternoon because he has HazMat training at work today until 3:30 and will lose that certification if he misses it. Yeah, I know - priorities  :)

So anyway, here I am in the midst of the waiting game.  I've been working from home the last few days trying to take it easy. I do plan on going for a walk this afternoon to maybe get this show on the road.  I don't really want my water to break at the gym in the middle of an elliptical workout, but I kind of want to get things moving.

Then there is the other part of me that is freaking out about the fact that things could happen any time now.  The impact this will have on Andrew weighs heavily on my mind. I know he's not even 2.5 and he won't really remember not having a little brother, but I still worry. He's been our world for so long and now we're going to rock his.

Andrew has been awesome the last few days and it makes me love him even more (which I didn't even know was possible). He's been a rock star with the sleeping in his bed, he hasn't had any major tantrums (I know there will be many more to come, though), and he's just been so much fun.  Even though I worry about it I can't wait to see him as a big brother because he is going to be great.

Here he is last night reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" with J. He cracks me up  :)

So that's what's going on here.  Just waiting to see when things are going to get going.

How far along? 38w0d and baby is the size of a pumpkin. Or as pregnant chicken says - it's the size of a baby now.  He should be around 7 lbs and maybe 19-20  inches long at this point. He may have hair (Andrew had a little fuzz when born) and is currently swallowing proteins from the amniotic fluid and will produce some fun meconium for his first bowel movement.

Weight loss/gain:  My scale had me at 36 lbs. The doctor's scale had me at 34 lbs. I'm going with them  :)

Maternity clothes: Obviously yes.

Labor Signs:  Every once in a while when I'm walking around or standing my hips will feel like they are about to fall out of the sockets.  I know that's due to things spreading.  I've been having a lot of tightening across my belly and don't know if those are actual contractions since they aren't particularly painful, or if that's still just BH.  I never noticed any real contractions with Andrew until my water broke so I'm not sure what's going on.

Name: We quickly discussed it the other day. When I mentioned Elliot to J he said he doesn't mind it.  Not a ringing endorsement, but it's better than the "No!" I got any time I mentioned Owen.

Sleep: Sleep has been ok this week.  I wake up a lot, but for the most part I've been able to fall back to sleep. I'm trying to get as much as I can now because I know the exhaustion that is to come soon.

Best moment this week? Finding out that things are happening down there.  And the fact that Andrew has slept well in his bed 5 out of 6 nights.

Movement: Still quite a bit considering he should be running out of room in there.  I found out his spine is to the left of my belly, which explains why I feel most movement in the upper right area of it - that's where his legs/feet are and he likes to use them.

Food cravings:  Trying to eat as much produce as possible, but I keep breaking in to the cookies and sweets.  I kind of feel like I need to take advantage of being pregnant while I can so I can eat crap and have an excuse.  Yeah, that's healthy!

Belly button in or out?  In and it's going to stay there.

What I miss?  Not feeling like a whale.

What I'm looking forward to?  Maybe having a baby this weekend???  If not my next appt on Monday to see where things stand.

Milestones:  Most pregnant ever!

What I'm nervous about: Starting to get nervous about L&D.  Things went well with Andrew, but I was on the stupid IV pain meds so my memory is very hazy.  I am bypassing those this time and going straight for the epi.  I really just hope things progress as quickly and smoothly as they did with him.  I also worry about what we're doing about Andrew once things get started.  I hope my water doesn't break in the middle of the night like last time.  Hopefully it happens at a good time to be able to get someone here.

And here is the lovely 38 week belly:

And a front shot: