39 Weeks and Counting

I totally stalk my friends' blogs when they are nearly due. It just isn't fair if they don't update. ;) I know, I have been a very bad blogger. Life has been crazy busy, but that is no excuse. Thank you so much, everyone for your comments, prayers, messages, and for checking in on me.It means so much!

Today, I am 39 weeks day 4! I have been having painful Braxton Hicks contractions for quite a few weeks,but there still isn't anything regular enough to be considered labor. At my prenatal appointment on Monday, I was only 1 1/2 cm dilated. It was kind of a bummer, since I have been having so many contractions. I am trying to look on the bright side, and just keep taking a lot of walks and drinking red raspberry leaf tea. (It can only go up from here, right?) With my last pregnancy, I contracted strongly for the last 7 weeks of pregnancy, and it only took baby about 2 1/2 hours, once it was the "real deal". My belly is measuring 37 weeks, because baby is descending.Baby is an active gymnast,and in the course of an hour, moved from anterior, to transverse,to the posterior position. I am hoping I won't have to birth a posterior baby! I am trying to mentally prepare myself for the possibility that baby may bake for a while longer, as has been my normal history.

Here is my history of how long my babies have stayed in utero: (none of these were inductions)

Baby #1:  6 days past EDD (Estimated Due Date)

Baby #2:  2 days past EDD

Baby #3:  1 day before EDD (I was totally surprised with that one!)

Baby #4:  2 weeks past EDD (sigh....I thought I would be pregnant with that child forever! Labor was strong and fast, so it made the wait worth it!)


I hardly fit into my maternity clothes. You have no idea how much I had to tug on my shirt to get it to stay down for the picture. I have often wondered what you move on to, when you outgrow maternity clothes.

I am very clumsy as of late.  Two weeks ago, I went running down our front hill to open hubby's car door for him, as he had full hands. I didn't realize it would be so dewy, and I slid down very hard on my tailbone. Poor hubby  had to put down all his stuff to pick up his wife off the ground. :) I guess the neighbors got a good laugh on their way to work. I am glad that fall didn't cause any complications,and that I had time to heal from that back pain before labor started. A couple of days ago, I was heating up water for hubby's tea, and accidentally spilled the boiling water all over my hand. I am hoping this clumsiness is a temporary thing.

Even though I am very ready to give birth, I feel like this has been my shortest pregnancy ever. This has been my first pregnancy with only a smidge of nausea, (normally I throw up 4-5 times, daily, for the first 15 weeks) so that may be why this pregnancy seems shorter than my previous ones, to me.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what gender this baby is! Hubby has had a strong feeling that this baby is a boy. So far, he hasn't been wrong in gender assumptions. I, on the other hand, have only been right in guessing baby #4's gender. I had been feeling strongly that this is a boy, but now I am just in  too much suspense to try to guess. I told hubby that I am so glad that we didn't find out. I totally could have gone for it, if he hadn't been so against it. (Since we were having 2 medically necessary ultrasounds, anyways. I wouldn't have had an ultrasound just to ascertain gender.) But now that I am so close, I am so very happy that I didn't find out.For me, it would definitely be like opening my Christmas gift early. (Yeah....I totally did that as a child....no self-control. It was fun at the moment, but then I was bummed because the surprise was over.) I know everyone has different opinions on this, and what works for us might not work for someone else. I think it is fun to have some kind of surprises to announce when baby is born, like gender or name.

Though this has been my easiest pregnancy, even at the ripe, old age of 31 (wink), this pregnancy has greatly aided in building my Faith in Him. After my fertility returned after Baby #4, I prayed that the Lord would preserve me from morning sickness, if He desired to bless us again with another sweetie. I was concerned that I would not be able to take care of my other four children, very well, if I was having a horrible bout with morning sickness. I was so thrilled and ecstatic when I had a positive pregnancy test, a short while later. Then, I hit six weeks, and I felt fine, and I became so scared. A friend of mine had just miscarried, and it was the first time she hadn't had morning sickness in the early weeks of pregnancy. I prayed so hard that God would send me morning sickness, as a sign that baby was healthy. Every day that I felt fine, I was so scared that I was losing my little blessing. I should have prayed more and worried less. It was a very scary time for me. I felt a small hint of nausea, at about 8 weeks, but it was really mild. I think that whole experience just confirmed what a blessing this little one is to me, and helped me to appreciate life that much more. At about 25 weeks, I went in for a routine ultrasound to make sure that baby was healthy. Baby looked healthy, but my placenta was low-lying, which is indicative that I would need a c-section if it didn't move up. I ate a ton of protein to help my belly to grow, and thanks to the prayers of many, at my 31 week ultrasound, my placenta was no longer low-lying and I was cleared for a regular birth. Those six weeks were very stressful to me.Though of course, I wouldn't have wanted a c-section, I realized how blessed we are to live in a time, when a low-lying placenta isn't a life or death matter for mama or baby. I am grateful for skilled surgeons who do these necessary procedures to protect life. Now I sit and await His perfect time to bring forth this little one. I am grateful that even if my faith is weak, God shows me to never cease trusting in Him. He is always faithful.


Just for fun, leave a guess in the comments box as to when you think Baby J. #5 will be born and what the gender will be. Thank you again, so much friends for your continued prayers and encouraging comments. Blessings!