Bumpdate – 38 weeks

How far along: 38 weeks
How big is baby: About the size of a pumpkin, or around 21 inches long (that’s the average at this point). Weight is around 7 pounds (but sometimes it feels like much, much more).
Newest baby developments: He’s mostly just working on some last minute things, like shedding that skin-protecting stuff (vernix and lanugo) and producing more surfactant so that his lungs are sure to work well after he’s born. He’s also still adding on baby fat, and his brain and nervous system are continuing to mature.
Movement: He’s a good little mover, even though he’s really almost out of room in there. I’ve been mostly feeling stretches and twists and hiccups…there’s only the occasional real “kick” (but boy does it hurt when it happens).
Weirdest symptoms: I’ve been SO blessed this entire pregnancy with feeling pretty comfortable and mostly “normal.” It’s only right now that I’ve started to really feel all the aches and pains that everyone always complains about. My hips are hurting (especially when I first wake up in the morning), it’s really hard for me to stand up from sitting or laying down, and Braxton Hicks keep getting worse (still not measurable, though). I don’t want to complain, though, because I really did have it easy for almost the entire nine months.
Best moment this week: Overall it was just a good week. 🙂
Worst moment this week: Nothing terrible at all, I just wish there was a way to figure out when exactly your baby will be born. My appointments with our midwife are weekly now and she basically told me at this last one that it’s really not uncommon to go even two weeks past your due date. That would be FOUR more weeks from now, ugh. And since I’ve had a very typical pregnancy so far, my doctor care is pretty minimal and noninvasive…so I really don’t have a clue about whether I’m dilated or how effaced I am (if at all). I know that those factors don’t actually mean you can tell when you’ll go into labor, but I feel like I’m just sitting here super pregnant and in limbo and it’s not fun for a type-A person like myself.
Cravings: Still crunchy things, I guess. And also, oddly, certain smells. I’ve never heard of this before but I guess it’s a real thing. I just really want to smell some fresh wood right now (like at Home Depot), which makes me feel like a weirdo lol.
Looking forward to: Anything that gets me closer to meeting my baby.