40 weeks

How your baby's growing:

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

How your life's changing:

After months of anticipation, your due date rolls around, and... you're still pregnant. It's a frustrating, but common, situation in which to find yourself. You may not be as late as you think, especially if you're relying solely on a due date calculated from the day of your last period because sometimes women ovulate later than expected. Even with reliable dating, some women have prolonged pregnancies for no apparent reason.

You still have a couple of weeks before you'll be considered "post-term." But to be sure your baby is still thriving, your practitioner will schedule you for testing to keep an eye on her if your pregnancy continues.

You may have a biophysical profile (BPP), which consists of an ultrasound to look at your baby's overall movements, breathing movements (movement of her chest muscles and diaphragm), and muscle tone (whether she opens and closes her hand or extends and then flexes her limbs), as well as the amount of amniotic fluid that surrounds her (important because it's a reflection of how well the placenta is supporting your baby).

Fetal heart rate monitoring (called a nonstress test or NST) will generally be done as well — by itself or as part of the BPP. Or, you may have what's known as a modified BPP, which consists of an NST and an ultrasound to assess the amount of amniotic fluid.

If the fetal testing isn't reassuring — the amniotic fluid level is too low, for example — you'll be induced. If there's a serious, urgent problem, you may have an immediate c-section.

Your practitioner will also check your cervix to see if it's "ripening." Its position, how soft it is, how effaced (thinned out) it is, and how dilated (open) it is can all affect when and how your labor is induced. If you don't go into labor on your own, you'll be induced, usually sometime between 41 and 42 weeks.

Pre-WW, pre-pregnancy and current picture comparison

Got the inspiration from someone on a fb group today to put my pictures all together and see what I look like now compared to what I looked like around the same weight while NOT pregnant...

First picture: side shots (had no side shot of me at my heaviest pre WW)
Left: 2 weeks pregnant
Right: 39 weeks pregnant

Second picture: face shots

Left: August 2011 at starting weight

Middle: NYE 2011 down 30ish lbs (lost another 5 before finding out I was preg) 2 weeks pregnant

Right: August 2012 up 35ish lbs (right around WW starting weight) and 35 weeks pregnant

Third picture: front shots

Left: August 2011 at starting weight

Middle: NYE 2011 down 30ish lbs (lost another 5 before finding out I was preg) 2 weeks pregnant

Right: September 20/2012 up 40ish lbs (about 5 more than starting WW weight) and 39 weeks pregnant

Another Rant

Dear she who shall not be named,
Just because you had a baby 26 years ago, does not mean you know more than I do about the way the body works. There are TONS of new research and discoveries as well as the INTERNET for those of us nowadays to learn from. Try tell me that you know more about how things work again because "you're OLDER" and I will unleash my hormones on you. Oh, any BY THE WAY... you're WRONG anyways.
Sincerely,
Allyssa

A Ju Ju Be Birthday!

So in this post, I mentioned I thought I was getting this bag for my birthday:

Well, instead I got an even BETTER bag! I got this one (as well as a few other fun things):

Here are my pictures of my pretty birthday gifts! Click to make them bigger! I really lucked out on the print placement on these ones. Because of the number of characters in this print, it's really easy to have your favourites cut off or have a funny placement of a lot of them.

front / back (with strap... love the donut chick on the strap)

side pockets / changing pad

organizing bag and coin purse front / back (coin purse is adorable)

Rant

Dear world,
Just because someone is pregnant and nearing her due date does NOT mean that her vagina is an appropriate topic of conversation... If you wouldn't talk about her vagina while not pregnant, don't talk about it while she's pregnant.
Sincerely,
Allyssa

Holy JJB obsession

Remember when I posted this? Well my darling husband just found me one of the prints that I was in LOVE with!! It's gonna come live with me in a couple weeks when MIL and SIL come for a visit! I'm super excited. The print has been discontinued for a while and the bag is still new with tags! Below is the bag:

Julia's Ribbons Be All

Now here's the rest of my Ju Ju Be stash as it sits right now:

Licorice Twirl Be Right Back 2.0 / Fuchsia Blossoms Be Light

Blush Frosting Be Quick / Tokidoki Iconic Be Quick (have TWO)

Citrus Sorbet Be All / Vanilla Earth Leather Be Major (wallet)

Be Connected stroller clips

AND (hopefully), this last one here (for my birthday):

Dreamy Diamonds Hobobe

Soon, I will post a LARGE post (or page) detailing all the accessories I want to match these main bags and which other bags are on my dream list! I have a dream of getting one bag of every type eventually :)

39 weeks

• Dr appointment was my last one before my Dr goes on holidays
• baby from U/S last thursday measures about 50th%ile for head and belly size. head is differently shaped (not basketball round but more oblong I think) and femur length is in the 90th%ile. sounds like we'll have a tall baby. estimated weight last week was about 8lbs
• t minus 6 days until my due date and a max of 17/18 days before we would be getting induced if baby isn't here
• I'm torn because I'd love my Dr to deliver baby but I'm tired of being pregnant. I'm hoping baby puts me in labour tonight and comes tomorrow before Dr leaves! lol :) best of both worlds!
• feeling stretched to the max!
• much more pelvic pain and back pain. it's so hard to get comfy at night and hurts to roll over to change positions and to get up to go to the bathroom

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

How your life's changing:

At each of your now-weekly visits, (we've been weekly for like 3 weeks already) your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay.

While you're waiting, it's important to continue to pay attention to your baby's movements and let your caregiver know right away if they seem to decrease. Your baby should remain active right up to delivery, so far baby is super active like ALL the time! lol and a noticeable slowdown in activity could be a sign of a problem. Also call if you think your water may have broken. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in about 8 percent of term pregnancies. Sometimes there's a big gush of fluid, but sometimes there's only a small gush or a slow leak. (Don't try to make the diagnosis yourself. Call even if you only suspect you have a leak.) Especially important being GBS+ as well. I hope contractions start first rather than water breaking. I'd rather avoid induction! If you rupture your membranes and don't start contractions on your own, you'll be induced.