37 Weeks

I'm 37 weeks 1 day today. We had another doctor's appointment this morning and nothing really has changed. My blood pressure was way up, 129/85 - which is a huge leap from what it was last week, 116/80. But since it's not over 140/90 the doctor wasn't worried. I bet it will be next week, if this pattern keeps up. So for me my blood pressure is high but compared to other people it's still doing ok. The cramps are apparently caused by the baby's head pressing down on my lower abdomen and internal organs, etc. And unfortunately there is nothing they can really do about it. The solution is to give birth. Which won't be happening naturally anytime soon. I'm still not dilated to even a one, I'm probably dilated to 1/2 or something. But since I haven't really had any contractions I'm not surprised. So, for at least another week, I'm going to be pregnant and in pain. But baby is still moving all the time so there are no worries really. Brady's happy, he wants this baby to stay in until the last possible time. I just don't want to be pregnant anymore. I can't sleep past 5 in the morning without a heavy sleep aid dose. And getting up every 3 hours to pee is really awesome. It's even more frequent during the day time, too. Anyway, that's about it for now.

36 weeks

Technically this is a picture taken about a week ago, just over 35 weeks. Today I am 36 weeks 3 days. I had my most recent appointment at the doctor's on Monday. He said my blood pressure was up a little, although it still seemed normal for me. However, I had lots of kidney problems when I was younger and so the doctor thinks I'm prone to hypertension (which I think is just a fancy word for high blood pressure) during pregnancy. So, he said that I should lie down on my left side whenever I can. And since I am done at work now and don't have much to do that is a lot. My next appointment is on Monday so we'll see how the blood pressure is doing. I've also been having bad cramping pain in my lower belly which is usually accompanied by severe back pain. If I lie down the pain is usually manageable, or goes away completely. The baby is still as active as ever so the doctor said he can live with the pains if I can. So that's where we are and we'll see what happens in a few days at the next appointment.

In other news my sister had her baby two days ago, on the 23rd. She was a whopping 10 lbs 1 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. I can't believe how big that baby is! My poor, rockstar sister was in labor about 38 hours. Her labor slowed down in the middle, or maybe she just took forever to dilate all the way, but the doctors/nurses didn't want to help her along so she suffered through it! I think she was in labor for maybe half that time before she got an epidural but once she got it, she felt a lot better. Anyway, both mom and baby are doing great and I think they are going home today. Chloe sleeps a ton so hopefully she's keeps that up once they're home.