Sunday, July 13, 2008

37 weeks

How your baby's growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Despite several attempts otherwise, little Asher has made it to full term! Watch, now he'll probably go late, crazy kid. I am really grateful that he made it to full term though. I saw a baby on TV that was born at 34 weeks and was super small and had to be in the hospital for weeks. I feel so blessed that Asher won't be in that position.

I just wish I knew what was going on with my body. I had pretty intense cramping yesterday morning for several hours. It was the worst it's been yet. I couldn't even really tell if/when I was having contractions because the cramping never ended. I finally got in the tub and that helped tremendously. I would rather have rhythmic contractions than just constant cramps because at least you get a break between contractions. But when I don't have the cramping, I feel pretty darn good considering. I still feel like my pregnancy has been pretty easy physically. There's just been lots of drama.

And I did end up getting a hair cut on Friday. I got some more layering so it will now be much easier to just let it dry naturally, and I can still pull it back when I want.

9 comments:

  1. Hooray for full term. Boooo to cramps and contractions. I'm so excited to see your new baby boy. You look more darling every week!

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  2. I hate false labor and painful braxton hicks. I had it so much and it drove me crazy.

    I love your new haircut! A lot.

    I guess it's always good for them to get as much time as possible in utero, but I bet you're ANSY. lol

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  3. Yay! I'm glad you cut your hair, it's adorable. Will keep checking to see the "Asher-has-arrived" post.

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  4. Katrina,
    You look so good! I'm happy to read that Asher made it to full term. You seriously look great! Good luck with the next days and weeks!

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  5. Perhaps little Asher has a predilection for theater -- seeing as how he's produced so much drama prior to his arrival?

    You are darling and I love these updates.
    XOX

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  6. Hooray for 37 weeks! That's good news indeed. Sorry about the constant contractions. I'm totally with you--breaks in between are what make them doable. When you suggested Asher might be late it made me think of my cousin, who couldn't come to my baby shower because she was in pre-term labor and then ended up having her baby a week late after me (she was due before) to an almost 9 pound girl. These things really are so impossible to predict.

    On a separate note, I love your haircut and you're so smart to get a style that can air dry easily. You will love that after the baby comes and you barely have time to shower let alone blow dry your hair. I've been shopping around for a cut like that myself.

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  7. Oh Phew! I am glad you have made it this far. I wonder if all this cramping business keeps up if they will want to induce you. Hang in there. I am so excited for you to meet your boy!!!!

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  8. I know this is quite an old post, your LO is 8 now?! lol But I came across your post while googling for answers for myself. I read this post and shouted OH MY GOSH THIS IS ME! I too am a redhead and I too am 37 weeks pregnant on the nose. I woke up this morning with intense, constant, contraction like pain that radiates through my belly, abdomen, and lower back and NEVER. EVER. STOPS!! I called my OB who wanted to see me immediately and after some testing, it was determined that it is NOT a contraction nor am I in labor. I asked what it was and got no answer, only that I'm fine and can go home. I am SO TIRED from being in constant pain all day and after hours of googling, yours is the only story that sounded similar to mine. I have had a lot of strangeness with this pregnancy that I didn't experience with my first and that I couldn't find answers for online. I was wondering if there were any other symptoms like your non stop cramping during your pregnancy? Was your delivery normal? Did your epidural go normally? (I ask because during my first labor and delivery, my epidural only worked for 4 hours and then petered out and couldn't be refreshed in spite of several attempts from the anesthesiologist, resulting in my having my daughter without the benefit of numbness lol). In any case, I thank you for sharing your story, even if you don't respond, at this point I'm just very excited to know that at least one other woman on the planet has shared my experience lol. Thanks again.

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  9. I know this is quite an old post, your LO is 8 now?! lol But I came across your post while googling for answers for myself. I read this post and shouted OH MY GOSH THIS IS ME! I too am a redhead and I too am 37 weeks pregnant on the nose. I woke up this morning with intense, constant, contraction like pain that radiates through my belly, abdomen, and lower back and NEVER. EVER. STOPS!! I called my OB who wanted to see me immediately and after some testing, it was determined that it is NOT a contraction nor am I in labor. I asked what it was and got no answer, only that I'm fine and can go home. I am SO TIRED from being in constant pain all day and after hours of googling, yours is the only story that sounded similar to mine. I have had a lot of strangeness with this pregnancy that I didn't experience with my first and that I couldn't find answers for online. I was wondering if there were any other symptoms like your non stop cramping during your pregnancy? Was your delivery normal? Did your epidural go normally? (I ask because during my first labor and delivery, my epidural only worked for 4 hours and then petered out and couldn't be refreshed in spite of several attempts from the anesthesiologist, resulting in my having my daughter without the benefit of numbness lol). In any case, I thank you for sharing your story, even if you don't respond, at this point I'm just very excited to know that at least one other woman on the planet has shared my experience lol. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete