It’s Friday, June 22 as I write this. I’m going to schedule this to go live Monday, June 25, my actual due date. It will be interesting to see if anything “happens” between now and when it goes up! In fact, I think I’ll put a “Number of times I’ve edited this post” count at the end of this post. I have/had a doctor’s appointment Friday afternoon and he’s suppose to “check things out” down below to see where I’m at.

40 weeks. I can’t believe I’ve made it this far. It’s amazing what my body can do to be able to grow a human. As uncomfortable as I feel, I’m pretty damn proud of myself. The end is finally here, or at least near.

Edited Friday, June 22 @ 3:47 p.m. to add: The doctor decided not to check my cervix and all that jazz, which was annoying. You know how much I psyched myself up for that? I go back to see him at 3:40 p.m. today. Then maybe – MAYBE – he’ll have a peek. Ugh. If not, then I go back on Thursday before he buggers off to work at a rural hospital ER for the weekend. Damn him for being such a nice guy to the failing rural health clinics.

How far along? 40 weeks

How big is baby?  She’s probably about the same as she was last week, if not, a little bigger.

Total weight gain/loss: I gained another pound or so, probably all in water retention judging by the size of my feet. Have I showed you my elephant feet? No? Well, I better then:

At least they’re pedicured!

Maternity Clothes? I’m making do with what I have, even though the summer heat is making me miserable.

Stretch marks? I like to call them my tiger stripes. They’re not too out of control, but they’re definitely there. It’s weird because I have quite a few on my right side but only one on my left.

Sleep: It’s still very hit or miss, but soon I’ll at least be able to be comfortable sleeping again. I miss sleeping on my stomach SO much!

Movement: Still quite a bit, although I feel a lot of downward pressure into my pelvis. I have no idea what’s going on.

Food cravings: Last week I craved poutine. I succeeded in satisfying that craving when Kyle and I went to Costco for groceries and we stopped at their cafeteria for lunch. Mmm … cheese curds!

What I miss: Normal-sized feet (still). I tried to put my flats on just to m0ve our truck out of the driveway and they barely fit. *sob*

What I am looking forward to: Getting this baby out of me. Kind of. The thought of labour terrifies me, but I just have to remember the HUGE reward at the end of it all.

Milestones: Nothing new – we’re just waiting now!

Photo:

Edit count: 1

I’m now on maternity leave and just waiting around for something to happen.

It’s painful. I keep thinking that I “feel” something happening, that the baby could be coming, but then it stops and I wonder if it’s all in my head. Every cramp, twinge and bathroom trip leaves me suspicious. I am my own worst enemy.

I’m so ready for this all to be over. I’m not mentally prepared for the whole labour and delivery part, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I’m waiting for that “burst” of energy that every past-pregnant woman has spoken of that happens before they went into labour, but so far, I’ve got nothing.

I’ve started trying the “get labour started” tricks – drinking raspberry tea, “bouncing” on an exercise ball, eating spicy food, etc., but so far (as of 5:30 Sunday evening), nothing. I told Kyle that he’s to take me down a bumpy back road while he’s on days off this week. I’m going to get this baby out one way or another.

Waiting, waiting, waiting … It’s the pits.

How far along? 39 weeks

How big is baby?  She weighs about 7.5lbs and is about 20.5″ long, according to BabyCentre.ca. I’m okay with that!

Total weight gain/loss: I’ve gained a couple more pounds, which I’m certain is all water weight judging by the size on my enormous feet and ankles.

Maternity Clothes? I’m definitely done shopping. Don’t be surprised if I wear clothes at all from now until the baby arrives. I’m not even joking.

Stretch marks? They’re there. Oh well. I’ll just deal with them later.

Sleep: I’m up all the time. I’ve been able to manage the “waking up sweating to death” bit, but getting more than 2 hours of sleep at a time is proving to be a challenge. The worst thing is that almost everytime I wake up, I wake Kyle up, which makes me feel horrible especially when he has to go to work in the morning. I really should just sleep in our spare bedroom, even though I’d have to deal with a potentially smelly Campbell.

Movement: Still lots, which makes me wonder whether or not Baby is ready to arrive. They (whoever “they” are) say the movement slows down when they’re “in position”, but my doctor said she’s head down. I don’t know. I’m completely lost.

Food cravings: Salt! Which is horrible because my feet are so swollen. And I’ve really been wanting fish & chips. Weird.

What I miss: Normal-sized feet.

What I am looking forward to: Baby arriving any day now, and a new chapter of our lives!

Milestones: The baby furniture is all in the room and ready to go! I feel SOOO much better now that it’s all there. Maybe that’s why I’m growing impatient.

Photo: No photo this week – Just know that I’m pretty much the same size, Baby hasn’t dropped, and I’m feeling like a whale.

As time ticks along and the countdown to my due date gets smaller and smaller, I’ve been asked a lot about how I’ve been feeling. I think it’s safe for me to say that I’ve been feeling a lot of things. Scared, excited, nervous, anxious, tired … but most of all? Done.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. Other than the nauseous feelings at the beginning and how uncomfortable I am now, I’ve felt great.

But I’m done. I could go into labour as soon as I walk through the door at home on Friday and be okay with that. My ankles are now cankles, I’m tired all the time (again), I’m too warm, I can’t sleep … it’s ridiculous. And yes, I know, I’ve heard it a million times already, “Enjoy it now because you won’t get any sleep once the baby arrives!” True, but at least I won’t be uncomfortable. I don’t miss not sleeping – I just miss being comfortable during whatever sleep I get, 2 hours at a time or not.

So I’m done. I’ve over being pregnant. It’s been a wonderful, eye-opening journey, and of course, I’ll do it again, but I’m done. Little Baby Evans, you can arrive any time you like – after work on Friday :)

How far along? 38 weeks

How big is baby?  She may weigh between 6.8 and 7lbs, according to BabyCentre.ca. I’m okay with that!

Total weight gain/loss: At my doctor’s appointment on Thursday last week, I checked in at a couple decimals over 150lbs, which, according to the doctor, is fantastic! So I guess I’m not a whale – Yay!

Maternity Clothes? I went and bought nursing bras on Saturday. How fun! I’m so glad they actually look nice and have underwires. My boobs couldn’t handle not having underwire support. Not even kidding. I’ll probably have to buy a wireless one for at night, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Stretch marks? There’s a new one on the underside of my belly that I couldn’t really see unless I twisted and contorted. Kyle was the first to point it out, but it’s quite faint compared to the others I have.

Sleep: Our weather has been whacked (rain-sun-rain-rain-rain-sun-rain) so our furnace has actually been kicking in. This results in me sweating to death in the middle of the night. I also have to pee all the time as Baby gets all ready to make her arrival. Silly child!

Movement: She’s still moving around quite a bit, but I’ve also been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and some light cramping (which is normal at this point in pregnancy). You can really see her sharp little limbs when she stretches out, although I can’t figure out if what I feel is a knee, foot, hand or what-have-you.

Food cravings: Of course, because my feet are swelling and I have to limit my salt intake, all I want is salty food. I have movie theatre popcorn complete with butter and a flavour shaker last week and that was a bad, bad choice. My ankles looked like they were going to burst. :(

What I miss: Need I say it again? Being comfortable.

What I am looking forward to: My last day of work on Friday! I can’t believe it’s right around the corner, and to be honest, I’m going to miss work a little bit! I’m sure that once my year off is all done, it’s going to seem like the time flew right by.

Milestones: I started packing my hospital bag and the diaper bag last week. It’s about time I prepared a bit more! Of course, now that I have things more or less ready to go Baby will be late.

Photo:

And here’s another with me NOT in my baby-bump gear, just for comparison :)

Kind of looks like a swallowed a basketball.