37 Weeks - FULL TERM!

We are officially considered full-term today! Anyone else want to get in on the Baby Pool to guess when she will arrive? We've got 29 guesses so far!

The little bean is probably somewhere near 7 pounds and 20 inches long by now. We have officially reached watermelon status! Her growth has started to slow down, and her organs are all ready to go. Her immune system is continuing to develop, and will continue to do so after her birth. She's still moving around quite a bit, some days more than others. I don't get the hard kicks very often anymore, but she's constantly rolling and shifting around. I feel her "dipping" a lot, a term I heard on TheBump.com. It feels like her head is knocking on my cervix. And I'm definitely waddling now!We met with our pediatrician yesterday. We liked her and the practice, although Mike isn't thrilled about the fact that there are 12 pediatricians in the practice. He'd prefer to have a smaller group so that we can get to know a little more about all of them. We'll stick with this ped for now, since she has privileges at our hospital, but in the next few months, we'll probably end up switching to someone closer to where we live.

I'm still not really feeling any labor action. I have been noticing some Braxton Hicks contractions again, but they aren't all that frequent. I'm wondering if I've just gotten used to them, and I'm actually getting them more than I think. I do get cramping now and then in my lower abdomen, almost like menstrual cramps. I don't know if that's any sort of contraction or not. I think that's just a sign that my cervix is getting ready for things to come. I'm still waiting for a real contraction to come - I'm pretty sure I'll know it when I feel it! It's really a surreal feeling to know that labor could begin anytime. I am so excited for it to happen, and trying not to over-analyze every little thing that happens with my body. These next few weeks are going to be a roller coaster ride, I'm sure!

I go to the doctor again later next week. I got tested for Group-B Strep on Monday, and I'm still waiting for the results. If it comes back positive, that means I need to be sure to get to the hospital 4 hours before birth so that I can get antibiotics to protect Baby. I'm hoping that the test comes back negative so that I can stay at home as long as possible before heading to the hospital! I was hoping to have the results already, but I guess I'll probably be waiting until Thursday now.

37 Weeks
(I have a dress on today, so no bare belly pic, sorry...I'll try to get one for you later this weekend.)

Now that I'm on maternity leave, I've definitely begun my nesting. As I posted earlier this week, I got all my cooking taken care of for after baby arrives. I've also been working on the nursery, packing my hospital bag, diaper bag, making the hospital iTunes playlist, and compiling all of my childbirth notes. This next week should be a bit more relaxing now that I've gotten the big stuff crossed off my list. I'll be spending time napping, relaxing, sewing, doing baby's laundry, napping, relaxing, washing baby toys, napping, and so on. :) One more important "To Do" on the list is to install our car seat, and put together the stroller. Mike and I are planning to do that tomorrow.

Until next time...have a great weekend!