36 weeks, 5 days

Well, it looks like Thursday I will be 37 weeks along in this pregnancy. This is a nice milestone because supposedly Sophia will be considered full-term at this point. Excellent!

Today I had the first of my weekly doctor appointments. I am down 3 lbs from last visit. But last visit my appointment was at 3:30 pm. Today I weighed in at 10:00 am. This makes a big difference in my world. I have always weighed less in the morning than in the afternoon. I learned this from many days at weight watchers. If I knew I had a "bad" week, I would make sure that I weighed in at a morning appointment that next week. :) I thought everyone experienced this. But the nurse taking my weight seemed surprised at this. So, my total weight gain is at 14 lbs, for which I am very, very pleased. It's hard enough carrying this extra weight after taking off 80 lbs. I've been pretty careful not to put too much on. I've been very lucky to be able to maintain a good exercise schedule up until recently when my midwife suggested I not exercise in the pool in case my water breaks early. Risk of infection...blah, blah, blah. Doc later said I could be in the pool theoretically up until the water breaks, but I might not notice it and that I was probably safe at least until 36 weeks. Well, that was pretty much at 36 weeks when I got that info. So, I've just been walking lately, which is no easy task at this point!

So, back to the doctor's appointment, blood pressure is still doing great. Weight is good. I did show positive for GBS, which apparently is fairly common (15-40% of all women have it), and I will undergo antibiotics during labor/delivery. It's a bacteria that is common in our intestines, but usually doesn't manifest with symptoms. However, it can be dangerous for the baby if it's not treated during delivery. I'm so amazed at all the testing they can do now days to prevent complications. There is still a small risk, but we just keep on praying.

My doc measured my dilation which is still not dilated. Then he measured my uterus and remarked that she was a big girl. This was not news to me. We knew that there was a pretty good chance that she would be bigger than your average bear. She's coming from a family history with >10 lbs at birth. The big news was that doc said he might want her to go ahead at get here around 38 weeks. Whew. That's a little scary. And exciting! But still, that's only just over a week away. He did say that maybe we would shoot for around the 17th which would be around 39 weeks.

So, it looks like we may have our little girl sooner than expected. I always thought she might be late. Just another example where I make plans/predictions and God laughs at me :) He knows best and we are just so excited for her to get here!