Week 39

Dear Ellison,

You are 39 weeks old now! You are weighing in at around 7 pounds and are probably about 20 inches from head to heel.  You're about the size of a watermelon!  Your brain is still rapidly developing and your skin has taken on a paler shade thanks to a thicker layer of fat around the blood vessels.  You're now able to flex your limbs and your nails might extend past your fingertips.  You are continuing to build a layer of fat that will help regulate your body temperature after birth.  Here are the little details of the week...

How Far Along? Thirty Nine Weeks...7 days to go!

Weight Gain?  We'll see where we are at the OB appointment Tuesday.

Sleep?  I'm pretty much running on an every other night OK sleep schedule.  One night will be OK...I'll be up 3 or 4 times to run to the bathroom and change positions, but I am able to fall back asleep pretty quickly.  Other nights, I'll still be up 3 or 4 times, but I'll be wide awake for at least an hour before I can fall back to sleep.  And I mean WIDE awake.  I hear every noise in the house, hear Buddy everytime he moves, and spend an hour or so just laying awake thinking about all sorts of things.  Maybe my body is just getting ready for what's ahead, but I sure could use a good night's sleep before baby comes!  My OB said to take some Tylenol PM, so maybe I'll try that this week.

Miss Anything? My old body.  I definitely had some work to do before I got pregnany in this department, but at this point I'd be happy to have that one back!  I'm just so uncomfortable, and I know that even after the 12 pounds or so you lose right after giving birth will make me feel so much better! 

Movement?  While she's definitely still active, I can tell she's running out of room!  I keep trying to tell her that there's much more room out here in the world, but she's still feeling pretty cozy right where she is.

Food Cravings? Same old stuff.  I have really been wanting sushi lately, so Barrett and I headed to Cowfish today and I was able to make my own pregnancy-friendly sushi roll.  I can't wait to have raw tuna again!

Any Aversions? Definitely still eggs, but I have gotten a teeny bit better about chicken lately.

Gender? It's a GIRL ~ Ellison Gray.

Symptoms?  Still having Braxton Hicks contractions, still having some swelling in my feet and hands, still grunting when I get off the floor/out of the bed/off the couch...  Mostly, just feeling very, very pregnant!

Best Moment this Week? Probaby just being one week closer to meeting Ellison!  We hit single digits this week on our way to her due date!  I'm pretty much convinced that we're going to make it to her due date and probably a little further though! 

Looking Forward To...  We have our last schedule appointment with our OB this week.  Ellison's due date is Sunday, and if she doesn't come by then, we'll start really discussing induction.  Either way, I'm getting by with telling myself that even if she's late, we're looking at two weeks max until she's here.  I can not wait!!  This will also be my last full week at work.  I don't want to take any time off before she arrives, but if Ellison isn't here by the 2nd, I'll just work some half days so I don't have to start using my PTO or FMLA.  Working 8 hours a day is definitely starting to take a toll on me, and I am always so exhausted at the end of the day, so even if I'm overdue, it will be nice to sleep in and get home early.