36 Weeks

The final countdown! I am officially 9 months pregnant. Starting on the 10th month. Yes that whole 'nine months' pregnant is a myth... although to be 'fair' there are two weeks where you're not really pregnant, so I suppose that means that I don't start tallying the 10th month until week 38... but at some point I am legally tallying a 10th month and I think it should be noted that pregnancy is in fact more than 9 months (on average.)

I have had many friends who recently had babies (in October) that originally were scheduled for November babies. Stacy delivered at 35 weeks and my friend Angie delivered at 36 weeks. We'll see when little Mae starts to make her debut.

Last Monday we had another appointment and Mae's heartbeat was 144bpm and I was 1cm dilated. Which considering I was 1.5cm at exactly 40 weeks with Ace and zero before that ... I find it mildly encouraging that at 35 weeks I was already 1cm. With Ace the first 9 hours of 'active' labor I did not progress past that 1.5cm at all... so any advancement before the 'active' stage - I'm all for! Ace's labor and delivery story can be read here.

This past week and more specifically weekend, I have been cramping and contracting and extremely uncomfortable. I can't tell if these contractions are progressive or if they're just some practice... but I have had the braxton hicks with Ace (and Mae) and these have not felt like those. However, they do seem to stop if I get off my feet - so it's hard to tell. It is frustrating when I go out to do some shopping that I have to cut my venture short because I'm contracting too much to be remotely comfortable. Mae still is quite active inside - which makes me think she's tinier than Ace was. She keeps squirming around and kicking up and under my ribs, then she'll descend down and push on my cervix with some serious force. Good to know she's got some good strength and movement, but ouchie! Two nights ago I had some issues (I'm guessing) with my sciatica nerve. My entire leg felt pain, numbness like it was asleep, and that ache you get after a charlie horse. It was super awesome flippin' awful! Thankfully that symptom/issue has only occurred the once and subsided after about 20 minutes. Loving Husband was very helpful in the wee hours with helping rub, stretch, and generally hug is sad wife amid the pain.

Baby's crown to rump length is 13.8 inches. Baby might weighs about 6.3-6.5 pounds. I think she might still be a bit smaller than that - but we'll see. History shows I can grow them pretty big. :) In comparision to random objects she is now roughly the size of honeydew melon, a breadbox, or a 17" laptop screen. ;-) Her gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, although we'll have a few months before teething begins. We are down to the final week before Mae is considered 'full term' - after that she is good to go!

Life is going well even amid the discomfort. Holiday festivities are in full swing and Mae is along for the ride. Ace is excited for Christmas and his sister to be here. We'll see which one comes first. :) We're hoping the holiday comes first!