36 Weeks

Last month of pregnancy. Oh. My. Goodness. This has probably been the biggest week of changes yet. When I went in for my prenatal appointment at 35 weeks I was 1 cm dilated, 0% effaced. That was a Thursday afternoon and by the following Monday (last week) I started to feel like my belly was dropping. Sure enough, when I went in for my 36 week appointment on Friday I had jumped to nearly 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Even as a first time mom, I do realize that babies are just freaking unpredictable and even though it looks like things are progressing now, these measurements could remain unchanged for days or weeks. But, since Friday my belly has continued to feel lower and lower with increased pressure in my pelvis and some lovely lower back pain. I keep hearing "drop it like it's hot" playing in my head. It's possible Baby P could arrive any day now but he/she could also keep us waiting a bit longer. After all, the official due date is not for another 3+ weeks.

 

I've felt good enough and continue to have permission from my doc to work out 5 days a week, moderately. She even asked at my last appointment if I thought I'd continue up until delivery. I'm slowing down for sure, but as of today, I'm not quitting. People keep telling me I need to relax, rest, put my feet up, lessen my pace, and I know they certainly say this with the best of intentions. But I know my body best and I feel like continuing with regular exercise is what it needs. I've lowered the intensity and/or duration and I don't cram so much else into my evenings the way I used to. Trust me, my feet do get some time up and I do take the time to relax daily.

 

My next appointment is in 2 days but my doctor did say we could have a baby at any point now. I've made it a habit of doing these "bumpdates" close to the end of each week of pregnancy so that I have the most information I can gather. But, since there is no guarantees now that I'll make it to another week, I'll try to post my next update sooner rather than later.

 

Any guesses on when Baby P's birthdate will be?