Week 38

Two weeks to go!!  AAAGGHHH!!!  Time crunch!!  Freaking out!!!  It's starting to dawn on me that this baby is coming very VERY soon, and that there's also a possibility that she'll come BEFORE she's due.  I've been having more frequent contrations, and they were pretty close together on Wednesday night.  So during my OB visit on Thursday, my OB did a physical exam and said I'm 40% effaced, and a fingertip's width dilated, and -quote- she hopes I make it to next week.  Umm... didn't she mean she hopes I make it to the baby's due date in TWO weeks, I asked?  So apparently the process has begun and the baby can come any damn time she pleases?!  No thank you, that's not how I had this all planned.  :-) 

So now things are a little more "on edge" at home and at work.  I rearranged some classes next week so that I'd be covered if I went into labor early, and I'm pretty stressed out about getting things done around the house before the baby comes.  So there's LOTS on the agenda for this weekend.  Hopefully we can wrangle a few friends to come help us out at the house. 

What Baby T has been up to this week:

• At 38 weeks, Calista is supposed to be closer to 7 lbs, but my OB still thinks she's still around 6 lbs. 
• Callie will continue to put on fat for the next two weeks to prepare for her entrance to that cold hospital room.
• She's producing a substance in her lungs called surfactant which keeps the air sacs from sticking to one another once she takes her first breaths
• She also has a firm grasp reflex - looking forward to holding her tiny little hand!

Pregnancy symptoms this week include:

• The usual heartburn & beached whale syndrome
• Frequent contractions - meaning maybe 8-10 an hour for an hour or so every day
• Dry-flaky skin and a very itchy belly!
• Cankles - aka swollen feet and ankles at the end of my long days of standing or walking around. 

What I miss/What I'm looking forward to:

• NOW I miss thinking I still had time to get things ready at the house! 
• I'm looking forward to not being pregnant anymore.  I've been feeling not-so-hot lately.  Just really tired, and not really myself.  I hear I'll feel better as soon as this baby comes out.