Pregnancy Update: (almost) 39 weeks

I'm a couple of days shy of hitting 39 weeks and this will be my last pregnancy update as I'll be induced later this week. Woo hoo! The finish line is soooo close. I know that the induction/delivery process is going to be like the last 6.2 miles of a marathon (some say that the race "starts" at mile 20 because that's when things start to get REAL hard). But overall I feel pretty calm about the induction. I know that the process is out of our hands and we just need to roll with the punches. I trust my healthcare providers and know they'll make the best decisions for me and baby.

Baby size: The baby is the size of a small watermelon this week and weighs over 7 pounds. Our baby was estimated to weigh 7 pounds at our 37 week ultrasound, though, so if that is accurate, he or she might weigh close to 8? That said, weight estimations are notoriously inaccurate. I'm carrying pretty small so I just struggle to believe we have a bigger than average baby in there. But we'll see. I was also told at my appointment last week that the head is measuring 96th percentile...  I wish I could have unheard that statistic because that has increased my anxiety about the delivery a bit! :P

Here's one last bump photo. This is me at 38 weeks, 2 days. I knew we were going out for one last date night so I actually put on make-up for a change! I've given up on blow-drying and straightening my hair, though, as the pain from my RA flare makes this impossible/not worth it!

Feeling: It feels surreal to know we'll have a baby in our arms by the end of the week! This pregnancy has not been easy for me but, with the exception of the last 6 weeks, it has gone by pretty fast! I know it's going to be challenging to care for a newborn but I think I will prefer it to the final stage of pregnancy, especially with all the complications I've had. I'm also looking forward to having WAY fewer doctor appointments!

After feeling pretty comfortable pregnancy-wise, I've started to have some pelvic pain. Hopefully this means that the baby has dropped!

GD/RA management: My gestational diabetes has felt a little bit easier to manage lately. After not having anything sweet for 2 months, I've let myself have some sweets at the end of the day, which hasn't impacted my blood sugars. Also, now that I'm in the final stretch, I've had a few 'cheat' meals, like the baby brunch Phil's friends hosted for us. I didn't go crazy but they had purchased special GF desserts so I sampled a couple of the cookies. I've watched what I eat so closely since getting the GD diagnosis - so much so that I pretty much did not gain any weight in the 3rd trimester. So I feel like it's ok to ease up a bit in these final days.

My RA still sucks. I have had a flare for about 4 weeks straight now. I got a one day break after 3 days at a higher dose of steroids but I had to taper back down as the high dose isn’t safe for pregnancy for more than 3 days. I’m so sick of icing joints and being in pain. Last night the flare moved into my knee so I am hobbling around and in quite a bit of pain. I’m really hoping the flare in my knee gets better before I get induced as I would like to be able to walk during labor and right now that isn’t really possible. :( I can’t wait to start a new, breast feeding-safe RA injection after the baby is born!!

Blood clot management: As I mentioned in my post on Friday, we found out I have a genetic mutation that makes me more susceptible to blood clots. So I will stay on my blood thinner injections for 5 months post partum, but will get to drop down to 1 injection a day. I have a follow-up appointment with the hematologist in May and we'll discuss how this will impact my life going forward. I'm sure I will have lots of questions for him in May!

Sleep: has gotten more difficult. I have the hardest time falling asleep and am often up past midnight which is SUPER late for me. I don't even stay up that late on the weekends when I'm not pregnant! I get up every 2-3 hours to go to the bathroom, too, so my sleep is very interrupted. Since I working from home, though, I can get up about an hour later than usual which helps. I was never a napper before getting pregnant but these days I take naps almost daily! I tried not napping to see if I would go to sleep more easily and it made no difference. So naps for the win!

Recent baby prep/decisions/purchases: We only ended up having to purchase one item from our baby registry (the car seat adapter for our BOB stroller). We were blown away by the generosity of our family, friends, and co-workers! That said, we did try to not 'over register.'

I packed my bag for the hospital last week and Phil installed the car seat this past weekend. Also, the glider that Phil's mom purchased for us was delivered last week. It is soooo comfy!

Oscar has been breaking it in for us.

So...  what's your guess on the gender? Early on I was so sure it was a boy, but now I am less sure. Phil is guessing girl. He never did open the envelop with the gender that was given to him at our 20 week ultrasound!! He clearly has THE STRONGEST will power (I could not have that information in my possession!). 

I'll "see you" on the other side of this pregnancy! Send us good thoughts/prayers for a successful induction that doesn't end in a c-section (I really, really don't want a c-section!!!).