30 pounds, baby (and me)

I've been eating like a good little pregnant lady. Lots of fats, green veggies, cholesterol (3 eggs a day would do the trick, I can do two), tons of fruit and any read meat I can get into my gaping maw. And, recently, it appears I have gained about 30 pounds!!! Which is just about right. "They" say 25 to 35. I'm in the final days here, have been preggo longer than many (Lan popped at 37.5 weeks!), and a pound a week here at the end is what we aim for.

Arrgh. Remember when I was tiny! I DO!!! This photo was taken in early October, at Kitty's girl's night out (Kitty popped almost three weeks ago!). I got knocked up about 5 weeks later. And got boobs by week 1 of December, so, yeah. I've been packing it on, steadily, ever since. Woo hoo?!

39 weeks means we are but days away from the EDD, the estimated due date, which really just gives pregnant people something to schedule life around and obsess about. Most first-time moms like myself (socio-economic, health-wise, etc.) are 1 week and 1 day late.

While I might be chronically late to social events, I really don't wanna be late on this one. If only because I want to go to grad school. Classes start on August 24th... EDD is is August 10th... if we're late, I think I'll have to defer.

The midwives (and all sane people) prescribe staying at home, doing lots of skin-to-skin time with baby and NOT doing things like going to classes for two weeks. Two weeks is MINIMUM -- we shouldn't even leave the house (a tiny walk in the garden or around the block is fine) as the no-longer-preggo body has some serious healing to do. Yes, there's the whole lady parts that are healing, but don't forget, internal organs have to settle into the right spots, we want the bleeding (!) to slow each day, the uterus has to shrink back to size, we have to learn how to breastfeed...

So, c'mon little lady. We're ready!

About 39 weeks, according to BabyCenter
"How your baby's growing:
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

"How your life's changing:
At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay.

"While you're waiting, it's important to continue to pay attention to your baby's movements and let your caregiver know right away if they seem to decrease. Your baby should remain active right up to delivery, and a noticeable slowdown in activity could be a sign of a problem. Also call if you think your water may have broken. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in about 8 percent of term pregnancies. Sometimes there's a big gush of fluid, but sometimes there's only a small gush or a slow leak. (Don't try to make the diagnosis yourself. Call even if you only suspect you have a leak.) If you rupture your membranes and don't start contractions on your own, you'll be induced."