Welcome to Week 39

Posted on May 23, 2010 by

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Sunday, May 23, 2010

38 weeks pregnant — now in Week 39!
14 DAYS TO GO!
I can’t believe we’re in Week 39. As in 39 out of 40. Wowwww. There are just TWO WEEKS LEFT — only 14 days!
Of course, in my not-so-secret thoughts, there are only six days to go — based entirely on the notion that my friend went eight days early, and we got our H1N1 shots together, so YES, THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE. Pregnant women can justify any and all crazy thoughts, I have learned.
But realistically, the baby really does have to arrive this week. Because you see, otherwise my blog layout will be unbalanced. In my sidebar, there is just enough room for the pregnancy to end neatly on Week 39. If I need to add Week 40, the trimesters will be unbalanced, and we couldn’t have that. See? …
It’s official: this baby needs to arrive before midnight on Saturday. I’ve set a deadline!
OK, enough insane “planning.” Here’s what happening with Baby Boy this week:
Baby’s size: He could weigh between SEVEN and EIGHT whole pounds, and might measures 21 inches. I was 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and Darling Husband was NINE pounds, SIX ounces, so I’m betting our little guy is at least eight pounds … 10 wouldn’t surprise me.

Development: He’s fully-cooked (and no doubt EAGER TO ARRIVE, right?)

Appearance: Continuing to chub up, so he can fill out those newborn onesies … or outgrow them entirely? Must re-think hospital packing job …

Weekly re-cap

Posted on May 23, 2010 by

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(May 16 to May 22)

Belly button: In for keeps.
Stretch marks: I thought I was in the clear, but I finally got a few purple-ish streaks on the underside of my belly. Damn!

Baby movement: There definitely isn’t room for him to move around much, so I’m just getting different body parts pressing hard against my skin (knees, feet, butt, etc.). This child is enormous, I am telling you.
What’s new? Tried out two Mom/Baby activities this week (swimming and a movie). It gives me hope that I’ll get some socializing in, once Baby Boy is here.

Energy level: Low. I’m getting as much sleep as possible (sometimes 9 or 10 hours), since everyone says that’s the best thing to do before the baby arrives, but the aching always wakes me up. Owwww, limbs.

Baby preparations: Birth announcements are addressed. I wish I was a psychic so I could print out the actual announcements in advance, too …
Cravings: Just snack-y stuff, since my body is all, “Meals! Ew!” lately. I think I forget what it’s like to have a stomach that actually fits comfortably inside you.
High point: Going to Mom/Baby swimming and the Mom/Baby movie with lovely friend C, and having a girly movie night with lovely friend A. It made me realize that my all-consuming loneliness during the first week of maternity leave is something that must be avoided during this year that I’m off work. I need to actively make plans with friends on a regular basis, to have fun and keep from going insaaaaaane.

Low point: Desperation to go into labour, since Baby was officially full-term as of last Sunday. I have spent much of the week Googling “early labour signs” and “ways to induce labour,” and basically obsessing over every possible symptom. I know — somewhere in the back of my brain, in the part that used to be smart — that I still technically have two weeks to go, but the irrational (pregnant) part of my brain is screaming that I’m SO DONE, SO READY, LET’S GO!

10 things that do NOT induce labour

Posted on May 23, 2010 by

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

37 weeks, 6 days pregnant
15 DAYS TO GO!
  1. Compulsive cupboard-organizing
  2. Obsessive scrapbooking
  3. Vacuuming
  4. Reading library books
  5. Watching Kirstie Alley’s Big Life
  6. Sewing
  7. Cleaning the bathrooms
  8. Lurking in the finished nursery
  9. Whining
  10. Wishful thinking

Ways to induce labour naturally

Posted on May 22, 2010 by

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Friday, May 21, 2010
37 weeks, 5 days pregnant
16 DAYS TO GO!
Just found this great list of ways to induce labour over at HisBoysCanSwim.com. I’m willing to try anything, so let’s see what it says …

1. Walking

2. Galloping

3. Acupuncture

4. Pressure points

5. Spicy foods

6. Sex and orgasms

7. Nipple stimulation

8. Pineapple

9. Dancing

10. Squatting

11. Relaxing

12. Meditation and/or visualization

13. Evening primrose oil

14. Red raspberry leaf tea

15. Castor oil

16. Herbs (such as black and blue cohosh)

17. Massage

18. Glass of wine (Consult your doctor!)

19. Stripping the membranes

20. Marching up stairs

21. Rent a sad movie and cry like crazy

22. A really bumpy car ride

23. Bouncing and stretching on a birth or exercise ball

24. Swimming

25. Mowing lawn or picking weeds

26. Jump on a swing and start swinging

27. Talk to your baby and tell him/her it’s OK to come out now

28. Watch a really funny movie and laugh until you pee

29. Get down on all fours and shake that booty


Hmmm ….

Meals? So over them!

Posted on May 21, 2010 by

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Friday, May 21, 2010

37 weeks, 5 days pregnant
16 DAYS TO GO!
You know the ironic thing about being on maternity leave (waiting for your baby to SHOW UP ALREADY), and having all the time in the world to cook?
You stop wanting to eat.
Very unfair, really. I have spent the last nine months being hungry, and wishing I had the time to cook more. Now that I’m off, I’m like, “Meals? Blah.”
Basically, I am just into eating healthy(ish) snacks throughout the day. I have been living off …
  • Water
  • Peanut-butter crackers
  • Glass after glass of skim milk
  • Bowls of Cheerios
  • More water
  • Apple slices
  • Popsicles
  • Granola bars
  • Raw veggies (from pre-made trays)
  • Yogurts
  • Oh, so much water
  • English muffins
I’m not sure if this meal-aversion is caused by my compressed stomach (because, really, there is NO ROOM inside me), the wicked heartburn, the lack of motivation to cook, the heat, the baby not needing as much food, or all of the above?

But snacking is certainly convenient for my non-existent new schedule of reading, pacing, watching TV and movies, re-filling my huge water bottle, and peeing nine million times a day.
Poor Little Dog is even familiar with my new pattern, and dutifully follows me from station to station. Couch, bathroom, kitchen, water cooler, couch, bathroom, water cooler, couch …

I’m Heather Laura Clarke. I’m a writer living in beautiful Nova Scotia, I have a 15-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter, I married my high school sweetheart, and this is the story of my handmade life.

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