40 week pregnancy update

Finally! Here we are at 40 weeks, my due date is today (technically) and so this could quite possibly be my final pregnancy update. What a nine months it has been!? Though I am more than ready to get on with this labour and delivery now, it looks like this baby is not in any hurry to budge,  so I think we will have to be a bit more patient and wait to see when he decides to make his much awaited appearance!

In the meantime, here is what has been going on lately...

How far along? 40 weeks!

Total weight gain/measurements: I took some final measurements this morning and my waist is now 32" whilst my tummy is 46"! I did a final weigh in and in total I've gained 45lbs this pregnancy! That is such a huge amount I feel but it's just one of those things that has been out of my hands. Once the baby is here there will be all the time in the world to worry about slimming down again. 

Maternity clothes: I've ditched the jeans this week in favour of comfy leggings. My whole outfit is from H&M today, apart from my trusty Converse! I picked up some essentials the other day to keep me comfy in the early postpartum days and also to prevent me needing to wear jeans at the moment- I'm definitely done with them for the time being! 

Stretch marks: No new ones except for the one that appeared a couple of weeks ago. That seems to be growing a bit as the weeks pass but hopefully I won't be getting too much bigger now, so with a bit of luck, the worst is over. As much as I joke, I know they are not the worst thing in the world and I'm more happy that baby seems to be healthy and doing well.

Sleep: I've not been sleeping well...but that's not exactly news these days. I am really looking forward to my first night not being pregnant so I can lie flat on my back just the way I always have preferred. In the meantime, I am just using cushions and pillows left, right and centre to keep some sense of balance and even weight distribution.

Best moment this week? We were prepping ourselves mentally for the possibility of a c-section delivery as my midwife was convinced the baby was breech. I had to have an extra ultrasound scan to confirm either way and, thankfully, the baby is NOT breech and is head down! I can't tell you how relieved I was to find that out as I was really beginning to think that the chances of a natural delivery had gone out of the window! It was a really weird few days of trying to quickly educate ourselves on c-section deliveries and everything we would need to be prepared for, whilst not really knowing if that was going to be the case for us or not. With labour, I always try to be open minded as there really are no guarantees about anything but at least I now have the confidence that so far, everything looks like it should and there is no reason at this point as to why this baby can't be born naturally.

Miss anything?  Reaching my ankles :( I literally have to have Eddy put my socks and shoes on for me as I just cant get down there anymore. I feel like an eighty year old lady at the moment!

Movement: Plenty of movement all the time!

Food cravings? Not so much and I have to say my appetite has diminished somewhat over the last week. I think my stomach must know I am about to pop as I really don't have much space in there at all!

Anything making you feel queasy or sick? Heartburn :(

Gender: Boy!

Labour signs: Braxton Hicks contractions are still part of our daily routine it seems!

Symptoms: A couple of new suspicious symptoms particularly over the last few days have been my raised body temperature and crazy spot outbreaks. I am finding myself having hot flushes quite frequently and especially at night time. My face, which has been pretty calm for the last few months is suddenly breaking out loads! I don't know what that is all about really, but it's not ideal timing lol. I have also been experiencing a lot more pressure in my pelvis which leads me to believe baby's head might be engaging. The only way I can describe it is to imagine walking around with a small but heavy football between your thighs...not pleasant! lol- The late pregnancy waddle is back! Finally, my feet and legs are also swelling in the evenings now. I know I had a lot more water retention swelling in my last pregnancy, so i've done pretty well to get to this point, but my feet are quite puffy in the evenings at the moment.

Belly button in or out? Out!

Wedding rings on or off? On!

Happy/moody most of the time? Happy! But also anxious and a bit nervous too. It's quite a roller coaster experience in these last days and weeks as I feel a bit like a ticking time bomb, which does make it hard to relax.

Looking forward to: Finally meeting this baby! We found out we were expecting last May and it just seems like months and months ago now. I feel like I have been pregnant forever so I am looking forward to being on the home run and finally getting to see what this little one looks like.

That is pretty much everything I think- Wow!

If we are still pregnant next week, I will do another update, if not, I'm sure there will be a little introductory post to our new addition!- Watch that space!

Thank you again so much for joining us in these weekly pregnancy updates. It has been quite a journey and I will always look back on these updates and remember the wonderful ups and downs of pregnancy along the way!

Love Bunty

xXx