Week 38 Bumpdate

38 Weeks and it feels like there are 4,586 days in this last month of pregnancy. 

Doctor update: I am 2.5cm dilated and 80% thinned which means not too much has changed since my last appointment. At this point it's still a guessing game, she said he could come in the next few days or it could be another 2 weeks. Friday night I began having back pain, nausea, and cramping sensation that almost felt like period cramps, according to a few people I've talked to this is my body's way of preparing for labor. I initially thought maybe I had the stomach flu, needless to say I spent the night curled up on the couch and last night wasn't much better either.

Not much has changed since my last update. Sleeping is still impossible, I've been waking up every 2 hours to pee and then I just end up waking up early because I can't fall back asleep. I've been having more Braxton Hicks contractions since my last appointment where they checked me for dilation which makes standing on my feet at work all day very uncomfortable. The swelling in my feet has started to return as well as in my hands, the doc pretty much said this is inevitable because I work 10 hour shifts and am constantly on my feet. I wear compression stockings and that helps but my feet still get puffy and hurt at the end of the day. I have been slowly losing my mucus plug over the last few days (TMI yes I know but it's a normal part of the end of pregnancy that no one really ever talks about). At this point I pretty much have to wear a pad every day and I even have a bag packed for work just in case my water breaks while I'm at work (which would be very embarrassing). 

I officially have my hospital bag and diaper bag packed and ready to go, the car seat is in my Jeep and I have both bags in my Jeep just in case I go into labor while I'm at work. I just finished sterilizing all of the bottles, pacifiers, and breast pump parts today (which took longer than I expected). The nursery is officially ready to go, we are basically just patiently awaiting Baby Rocco's arrival :) 

Here are a few pictures from our maternity shoot that I mentioned before with the amazing Emily Anne Photography http://emannephotography.com. If you live in NW Ohio and are looking for a great maternity photographer I HIGHLY recommend Emily Earl, she is seriously amazing and does great work. Like I mentioned before I debated doing maternity pictures because I didn't know if it was worth the money, but looking at these pictures I am SO happy that I decided to have them done. Pregnancy is such a beautiful journey and I want to be able to look back at these pictures and remember how much I loved my bump and appreciate all of the changes my body went through to grow our child. If you are one of those people that are debating paying the money to have them done I highly recommend that you just go for it because you will not regret it!

Until next time (hopefully by then we have a baby!)

Cara