40 Weeks - For the First Time!

I knew I would make it here, deep down - but I was really kind of hoping he might surprise me and be a few days early. But nope, I am 40 weeks and I'm seeing no signs of anything happening any time soon. I'm really, really hopeful that I'll go into labor on my own here in the next few days, but if nothing else, I'm going in to have my membranes stripped on Friday. Which means he should, fingers crossed, be here within the next week or so. Yayyy!!!!

Since I never made it this far with Grayson, I don't have a comparison photo or a comparison of what I was experiencing last time. I already had a week old baby at that point! So here we go, on to my first ever 40 week update.

Due Date

October 17th

This Week Baby A...

according to BabyCenter the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and is around 20 inches long, but Grayson was bigger than that and was born a week early, so I'm guessing this kid may be a bit larger than that :) He is all ready to go in there, so any time he decides to make his arrival we are good to go! 

Symptoms

Honestly we don't have a whole lot going on over here, unfortunately. I definitely feel like I have a full grown human being inside of me. I'm having some sciatic pain for sure, some cramping and contraction like feelings here and there, and just your basic exhaustion. But honestly, for as pregnant and huge as I am, I feel pretty dang good. 

Weight Gain

At my last appointment I was up 30, which I am perfectly happy with. I only got to 39 weeks last time and gained 34, so even if I jump up to a 34 pound weight gain before he gets here, I still technically did better than last time. So weird how I was basically competing against myself this entire time...

Gender

Baby Boy!

Food Cravings/Aversions

Cereal, mainly Frosted Flakes. I randomly needed toast with lots and lots of butter the other day. Some mornings I have to have Cream of Wheat. But really, nothing too crazy. I guess I just don't really do the whole craving thing that intensely. 

Movements

Some days he's super duper active, some days he's a little quieter in there. Typically when I'm really busy I don't notice him moving as much and when I'm being lazy he's all over the place. He definitely feels huge - my belly is allllll baby at this point. 

Sleep

Not terrible, but definitely getting worse. My hips have started hurting some, and it's just getting really difficult to flip from side to side. I generally sleep pretty soundly until around five or six, and then I toss and turn quite a bit until Grayson is up for the day. 

Daddy's Thoughts

I think we are all on the same page around here. On Sunday I asked him if he was getting anxious and he said definitely, but probably not as much as I am. Which is accurate. We've both been really prepping Grayson the last week or so, talking about how the baby will be here to live with us soon, telling him how fun it will be to hold and kiss and snuggle with the baby, what a good big brother he'll be, and so on. I think everyone in this house is ready at this point! 

Fun Moments

We finally got the baby's name hung on his wall, and I bought a few more things to go on the shelves in his room, so we've basically finished the nursery up. Yesterday I got everything else packed and loaded in the car for when it's time to head to the hospital. Basically every single thing baby related is done. Most of what I've been doing is snuggling up with Grayson, trying to soak up every last minute of one on one time with him. I don't know if I'm feeling extra emotional because he's not going to be my one and only soon, or if he's just become extremely adorable and sweet lately, but I have seriously just been enjoying every little thing about him the past couple of weeks. 

Looking Forward To... 

Going into labor! I can't say I'm totally looking forward to the actual process of giving birth, but I am looking forward to going after my VBAC. I really, really hope everything turns out the way I want it to, but I know if I do for some reason end up needed a repeat c-section that I trust my doctor 100% and will know I really truly needed to go that route. But in my mind, I am going to absolutely accomplish what I'm setting out to do. I really, really, really cannot WAIT to meet this crazy little fella that has been dancing around in my tummy for months. So ready to dive back in to newborn life!!!