Pregnancy: Week 37
Only a couple more days and I'll be 38 weeks. THIRTY-EIGHT!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's how week 37 went...
I really took it easy this week after our beach adventure last weekend. I had another doctor's visit on Tuesday. It went fine, as usual, but I have to admit that it didn't really go how I had wanted it to. She checked at 36 weeks and I was about 50 percent effaced, so I was really hoping to be a little more this week. Unfortunately, after poking around on my belly and successfully giving Violet a full body massage, she determined that it wasn't necessary to do an exam this week. She said Violet was really high (my ribs could have told you that) and it didn't feel like she was engaged in my pelvis at all. That paired with the fact that I haven't been having any contractions or really felt any different at all made her confident that I'd see her for my normal appointment next week and not sooner.
Hearing that she wasn't engaged at all really disappointed me. I wasn't too surprised because the pelvic pressure I've been feeling had really let up and I felt like she was even higher than last week. Seems like most women drop a few weeks before delivering, so this all made me feel like it was going to be a long time before she was ready. I can't lie, I was bummed out all day. I know she'll come when she's ready. And I really believe that your body and baby knows when the right time is. However, I'm really selfish and really ready to meet this little weeble already. So, I was hoping that the right time would come sooner than later.
All of this brings me to yesterday. I had a terrible time sleeping. I couldn't get comfortable and tossed and turned all night long. When I got up yesterday morning I just didn't feel well. I had a slight headache and felt fatigued and achy. I had only been up for about an hour when I noticed a continuous dull ache in my lower abdomen. I brushed it off at first because, honestly, when you're pregnant you're feeling something weird and new all the time. But after another half an hour I noticed that some sharper cramps would come and go. It felt exactly like menstrual cramps.
I knew it was possible that what I was feeling was the infamous "Braxton Hicks" contractions. To be honest, the whole concept seems so elusive to me. Everything I've read and heard about them begins with the whole "everyone is different" precursor. The most consistent description I've gotten is that it's a tightening and doesn't hurt. Just a tightening and loosening with no pattern. Well, guess what. My whole situation is tight as a drum. You could bounce a quarter off of my belly. My uterus is hard as a rock. It's tight always. Always. So, that description just doesn't help me out much.
So. I did a search for some insight as to what early contractions feel like (the real ones). And ended up on a forum where 90 percent of the women reported that they started off low and achy and much like menstrual cramps. That was enough to make me call my doula for her opinion. She thought that it very well could be the early stages of labor, but warned that some women stay in that state for days or even a week or two. It's also kind of hard to say because Violet is so high and it could just be her trying to descend.
Oh, and how could I forget the fun nerve spasms. Sounds like the fairly common case of sciatica. It's happened a few times over the past few weeks, but it was excessive today. The bend of my right leg where it joins my body will suddenly feel pinched and a pain will shoot down my leg. It's honestly crippling. Every time it happens it's like I loose control of my body and just start wiggling around to relieve the pain. I have to change positions for it to ease up. It's really fun when I'm sitting down and it happens and I just about (or do) wiggle into the floor suddenly. Sciatica is caused when the weight of your growing baby and uterus presses on the sciatic nerve that is located in your lower back. The increased frequency of it today makes me think she has moved/is moving or changing positions. So, maybe she is really just descending after all.
Either way, something has definitely been happening. Early contractions or descending... It was pretty consistent all day yesterday. I took a warm bath, a nap, and went for a long walk. The feeling stayed the same. Even through all my woes and discomforts, I know that at the end of this pregnancy rainbow, a sweet little baby will be the pot of gold!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's how week 37 went...
 |
| It's happened! I have a ponytail! |
I really took it easy this week after our beach adventure last weekend. I had another doctor's visit on Tuesday. It went fine, as usual, but I have to admit that it didn't really go how I had wanted it to. She checked at 36 weeks and I was about 50 percent effaced, so I was really hoping to be a little more this week. Unfortunately, after poking around on my belly and successfully giving Violet a full body massage, she determined that it wasn't necessary to do an exam this week. She said Violet was really high (my ribs could have told you that) and it didn't feel like she was engaged in my pelvis at all. That paired with the fact that I haven't been having any contractions or really felt any different at all made her confident that I'd see her for my normal appointment next week and not sooner.
Hearing that she wasn't engaged at all really disappointed me. I wasn't too surprised because the pelvic pressure I've been feeling had really let up and I felt like she was even higher than last week. Seems like most women drop a few weeks before delivering, so this all made me feel like it was going to be a long time before she was ready. I can't lie, I was bummed out all day. I know she'll come when she's ready. And I really believe that your body and baby knows when the right time is. However, I'm really selfish and really ready to meet this little weeble already. So, I was hoping that the right time would come sooner than later.
All of this brings me to yesterday. I had a terrible time sleeping. I couldn't get comfortable and tossed and turned all night long. When I got up yesterday morning I just didn't feel well. I had a slight headache and felt fatigued and achy. I had only been up for about an hour when I noticed a continuous dull ache in my lower abdomen. I brushed it off at first because, honestly, when you're pregnant you're feeling something weird and new all the time. But after another half an hour I noticed that some sharper cramps would come and go. It felt exactly like menstrual cramps.
I knew it was possible that what I was feeling was the infamous "Braxton Hicks" contractions. To be honest, the whole concept seems so elusive to me. Everything I've read and heard about them begins with the whole "everyone is different" precursor. The most consistent description I've gotten is that it's a tightening and doesn't hurt. Just a tightening and loosening with no pattern. Well, guess what. My whole situation is tight as a drum. You could bounce a quarter off of my belly. My uterus is hard as a rock. It's tight always. Always. So, that description just doesn't help me out much.
So. I did a search for some insight as to what early contractions feel like (the real ones). And ended up on a forum where 90 percent of the women reported that they started off low and achy and much like menstrual cramps. That was enough to make me call my doula for her opinion. She thought that it very well could be the early stages of labor, but warned that some women stay in that state for days or even a week or two. It's also kind of hard to say because Violet is so high and it could just be her trying to descend.
Oh, and how could I forget the fun nerve spasms. Sounds like the fairly common case of sciatica. It's happened a few times over the past few weeks, but it was excessive today. The bend of my right leg where it joins my body will suddenly feel pinched and a pain will shoot down my leg. It's honestly crippling. Every time it happens it's like I loose control of my body and just start wiggling around to relieve the pain. I have to change positions for it to ease up. It's really fun when I'm sitting down and it happens and I just about (or do) wiggle into the floor suddenly. Sciatica is caused when the weight of your growing baby and uterus presses on the sciatic nerve that is located in your lower back. The increased frequency of it today makes me think she has moved/is moving or changing positions. So, maybe she is really just descending after all.
Either way, something has definitely been happening. Early contractions or descending... It was pretty consistent all day yesterday. I took a warm bath, a nap, and went for a long walk. The feeling stayed the same. Even through all my woes and discomforts, I know that at the end of this pregnancy rainbow, a sweet little baby will be the pot of gold!
Some photos from one of my walks this week.
We're lucky to have all of this literally right outside our back door!
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