Baby is roughly the size of a mini watermelon at this point in pregnancy! No wonder I look and feel so rotund!
What’s happening to baby this week?
This is the week of pregnancy that you are officially FULL term. As of 37 weeks you are classed as term, though if you have baby between 37 and 39 weeks your notes will say early term. At 39 weeks you are classed as full term (as you are on your due date) and if you make it to 41 weeks you will be late term. 42 onwards is over due. Let’s hope for full term eh? Baby is still building up fat to help her survive and regulate her temperature for when she arrives, though she won’t be very good at self regulating and needs to be watched for signs of being too cold or hot. She could be as long as 50cm and weigh 3kgs already, the average babies are between 6.5lbs and 8.5lbs, though more and more are at the higher end of the centile scale. So what size is baby in relation to a fruit/veg this week? A mini watermelon! And now you know why Mum’s look so fed up at this stage!
The reality: How have I been feeling this week?
Oh come on baby! I was hoping you were going to be here by now! As this is third baby, and it would appear that she is still in the right position I had my fingers crossed that labour would be between 37 and 38 weeks, but alas it isn’t meant to be! Clearly I am making it a very comfortable environment for her and she doesn’t want to move. When I was walking into preschool earlier in the week I took a bit of a tumble and unfortunately I’ve hurt my knee, at first I thought it was just a few scraps and bumps but sadly it is really sore and seems to have jolted in quite a bit! Add that to the achy pelvis and hips and I feel like I am falling apart! I’m also still exhausted, despite having a few very early nights, I’m assuming that baby is getting ready and my body is tired due to changes and hormones ping ponging around. On another slightly negative note I have been feeling very weepy this week, again I think hormones and tiredness have a part to play in this, but it will all be worth it in the end!
On a positive note, excitement is blossoming in the house, Reuben knows that baby is coming home really soon and we have her room, her crib and her clothes all ready and sorted! Exciting stuff!
Cravings.
My appetite seems to have dipped slightly this week, though I’m still hungry and snacking on occasion (chocolate and biscuits… hey, I said I was weepy!) but largely I have been desperately tucking into stir fries and anything with copious amounts of chilli. Unfortunately this doesn’t have the desired labour inducing effect, I do have a real love of chilli anyway, but it is helping to increase my veg intake and make a healthier pregnancy than the previous chocolate, and sweets diet.
The bad, adorable and downright funny.
Funny:
Obviously my need to wee has increased desperately over the last few weeks, to the most ridiculous point now! I will frequently be sat relaxing and leave the desire to run to the loo until I really have to go, in this instance, everything is so crammed in their now that I cannot stand up properly and end up hobbling all the way to the toilet while clicking and creaking like a haunted house. Watching mummy walk like a hermit has been a source of amusement for all the boys!
Adorable:
Reuben helped me put baby’s crib together last week, and throughout the whole thing he kept telling me how much of a good big brother he was going to be, and when she sleeps here he will come and give her cuddles if she cries. Sweetest boy ever.
Bad:
Between impatience, over tiredness, weepiness and achy-ness I’m not sure what I like the least about this week. I’m hoping that she will hurry up and arrive sooner rather than later!
Harriet x
