Week 40 (He's here!)

Ok I need to say this up front, this post is NOT my birth story.. that deserves its very own post. This will reflect the "week" leading up to his birth.. being that he was born 3 days after his due date.  So I got to be in week 40 for a few days.

Here is what we did in week 40...

We waited, waited and waited some more and had some really long pre labor! (More on the pre-labor details in my birth story).

I had my 40 week prenatal appointment on my due date, Wednesday Feb 20, and Jake came with me. I initially went into it thinking "hmm, maybe I will get checked (cervical exam) just to see where we're at". But in the back of my mind, I knew I'd be really discouraged if I was only 1-2 cm. So when the midwife asked if I wanted to be checked, we all 3 agreed to not do it. It is true that birth is very mental, and I didn't want any discouragement to prohibit my labor any longer. Besides, cervixes are finicky little suckers and can change on a dime. You could be 3 cm then 2 hours later be back at 1 cm. I had some really strong and frequent Braxton Hicks all that day, about every 5 minutes. These are not "painful", just uncomfortable. It just felt like my stomach was being squeezed on really hard, especially at the top and it makes it difficult to breath and sit comfortably. At the appointment she listened to his heart rate during one of these and he made no change. He was perfectly content in there. We started talking about ways to naturally get labor going. She suggested Evening Primrose Oil (taken orally.. you can put them in your hoo-ha but not necessary) and rubbing Clary Sage oil really good on my feet and to smell it also. So of course after our appointment we headed to Whole Foods and got the goods. That night we met up with Jake's dad at Red Robin (yummmm) and it was goooooood. After we got home Jake and I made our room very "zen like". Candles lit, and he played Native American flute music (hahaahah.. those of you who know Jake, this is so him). It was actually quite relaxing though. So he rubbed my feet for about 30 minutes with the Clary Sage essential oil (I had taken to Evening Primrose Oil by this point, too). Well, one thing lead to another and bada-bing, bada-boom we tried another method of inducing ;) Sorry if my parents are reading this.. but hey, it's what lead to labor, so I have to include it! An hour later is where the fun begins...

... to be continued ...

Total weight gain: 32 pounds 

Symptoms: heartburn, Braxton Hicks, pre-labor

Maternity clothes: no

Stretch marks: yes.. not a lot, but enough to tick me off

Sleep: hahahahahah techinically didn't sleep from Weds evening til he was born Saturday morning (you'll read why soon!)

Best moment this week: LEVI JACOB KING ARRIVED 2/23 5:22am 9lbs 21in :)

Miss anything?: can't think of an answer here..

Movement: he was moving down and out!

Food cravings: no

Food aversions: nope

Belly button: popped out, the turkey was done ;)

Wedding ring: tight, took it off during labor

Mood: laborious lol.. I was in the zone and conquering birth!

Looking forward to: getting this baby out!!!! Labor was LONG!

Baby bump: as popped as it ever will be

Me at 40 weeks 2 days about to get in tub at Birthing Center.. as you can tell, I tried to start laboring looking "cute".. lasted about 30 minutes. PS I am 6-7cm in this picture, can you tell? ;)

Stay tuned for birth story!! I promise to have it up soon! Jake will also be writing a post from his perspective. Can't wait to share!

xoxo

-We 3 (for real this time) Kings