The end is near!
This post I will be updating every week (on Monday) while I go, as baby can arrive any day now!
If you want to comment on when you think our little one will arrive feel free to do so.
Week 36
Welcome to 2020
At this point baby is physically ready to be earthside. Adding some fat, taking in nutreance and getting into position is what baby will be working on. One more thing baby will be working on is producing meconium, which is what baby’s first poop is.
For you get ready (if not already) for lots of interrupted sleep. For myself, I can’t go to sleep easy and wake up very early. I get about 4 hours of sleep on average now. This is your body’s way of preparation for the newborn stage or also known as the fourth trimester.
If your seeing a midwife practice and planning a home birth you should also be getting a care package around now. You have also started (if not already) seeing your provider weekly. For home births one of these visits will be in your home. This is so your midwife knows where you live/ how to get there/ parking situation and to see if there are any concerns. If your also having a Doula attend its a good time to have a prenatle visit. I like to do one of my last prenatle visits around 35-37 weeks. I usually do belly casting, exercise/stretching demos, and talk about a game plan, labouring techniques and alternatives.
This week I also got my maternity shoot done with one of my friends who happends to be an amazing photographer. Willow and Thistle Photography. She is one of 6 photographers I collaborate/work with.
Week 37
Belly cast time!
This week I worked on getting my pregnancy rituals done. I like to cast my belly at 37 weeks and that was my first fun thing to help count down.
Next was to get a pedicure done. I do this because:
- Self Care
- I can’t touch my toes properly anymore.
- I feel it gets me mentally ready for baby and relaxes my body.
When clients ask me what to do to help bring on labour I always tell them to go for a self-care of some sort. For me it’s a pedicure. I don’t usually get one done as I am a trained cosmetologist and know how to do my own really well. Getting your hair washed professionally is also one I recremended. When I worked in the salon I learned about pressure points on the scalp and use of essential oils that can help stimulation for labour.
How have I been feeling many of you might be experiencing now as well. Each pregnancy is different and so is each person, so if you have different symptoms or dont experience any of these thats still usually normal.
Braxton Hicks
These “practice contractions” are defiantly not practice. These are a tightening of the uterine muscles that usually last about 1-2 minutes. If you take a drink of water or move position they will usually stop. They help prepare your uterus for when labour starts. The can also help with dilation.
With my first I never noticed Braxton Hicks, my second I would feel them randomly and more once I was a week from baby time. This time they are much more noticable and frequent. Mostly its the tightening of my uterus that I feel but it can be uncomfortable. Location of baby also contributes to this as he is head down into my pelvis, bum ether on my left side or right down the centre and he likes to stretch his legs into my back right side. This can be fun as well because I can make out a cute little foot.
Loose Feeling Joints
This one can be hard to notice for some since there are so many changes in your body during pregnancy. For me I notice my pelvic bone slowly widen. I didnt notice this with my first but defiantly with my second and now again with my third. Often my husband will ask if a cracking noise was me and almost 100% it is coming from my pelvic area. This time he even commented on how my backside does look different, much more flat then normally. My suggestion to those who are effected by joint pain or uncomfortable movements is to go get a prenatle massage or make an appointment with a chiropractor. Because of this you might also be feeling sore ore some lower back pain.
Nesting
This is usually a mix of fatigue and bursts of energy. A need to clean, organize or change your surroundings. For me I become wide wake and can’t sit still. I have the need to move things around and clean everything even if I just cleaned it. This week I tackled our bathroom. Completely cleaned and organized the entire area.
Vaginal Discharge
Nothing to panic about. My first pregnancy I didnt notice a change until I lost my mucus plug, but this time its very noticable. Its just like when your the fertile stage of your cycle. It can look clear to whitish and somewhat stretchy to pink and mucus like consistently. Some will have small bits come randomly and others might get big glops all at once. This can also be a sign that labour is near.
This week I had my home visit by one of our midwifes. We are planning a homebirth this time since my last was less then 4 hours from the moment my waters broke to labour and baby being born. If you are also planning a homebirth this is what you can expect from a home visit. First they are there to make sure they know where to go. This way your not trying to explain how to get to your home while also labouring. Second is to make sure your space is set up for a safe homebirth. Third is to familiarize with the space. Knowing where the rooms are that you might labour or birth in, and where things related to a homebirth are located. You will also receive a midwife kit that has a bunch of items you might need at your homebirth. Each practice has their own way of putting one together. Lucky for my midwifes I also have alot of supplies from just being a doula, so we are well prepared.
Insomnia
It’s almost like your body knows having a newborn will also bring lack of sleep. Instead of letting you rest you get to be wide wake! For the last few weeks I have been getting up to pee or just can’t fall back to sleep at random times during very early morning. Usually around 2am and 5am. I found with my first two these wake up times were simalar to feeding times.
I also asked friends to take a guess on Facebook on when they think our little one will arrive. Here are the results:
Out of 16 of my friends they think baby # 3 will be…
Born the week of Jan 27th to Feb 2nd. Most thinking on a Friday, in the morning between 5am and 10am. Weighing around 7 1/2 lbs.
Now to wait and see what he decides.
Week 38
My first born came at 38 and 6 days (8 days early, from due date)
This week has been alot more resting. I did get a day where nesting took over and I cleaned my entire kitchen. Very satisfying and a great way to also help baby into position. Hands and knees washing the floor or just in a yoga poses was one of the many recremended to help naturally induce.
Midwife visit on Thursday and baby definitely has dropped as I am measuring a bit smaller due to his head right in my pelvis. I can also feel a larger amount of squishy space at the top of my womb. Much pressure is happening now on my cervix and a little bit of back pain. Braxton Hicks is now a great friend of mine and likes to show up at very funny times. Drinking cold water or just changing position usually make it go away. Baby’s movements have also slowed but still very much there. Now instead of moving around I get big pushes from his feet or butt. Trying to walk as much as possible, however the weather is very detouring.
Week 39
My second born came right at 39 weeks (7 days early, from due date)
This week has been an interesting one. Braxton Hicks has turned into prodromal labour. What is prodromal labour? Well it is when your getting contractions that last under 1 minute and come regularly about 5-10 minutes apart. They feel more like active labour and can painful and are very different from Braxton Hicks. These type of contractions are preparatory. They can last anywhere from 24-72 hours. Most feel them at night then notice they go away during the day. For me it’s the opposite which is a blessing as I am able to sleep. It’s very common to experience this type of pre-labour if your expecting your second or third baby.
Midwife check at my appointment confirmed that I was 2 cm dilated but definitely not in active labour as baby was in a good position but not engaged properly. (Wednesday)
Now to get baby engaged! Spinning babies is a great resource for how to get baby into optimal position. They can help with breach positions, rotating baby and prepping for labour.
Went into the hospital for a nonstress test just to make sure everything was good as I was experiencing prodromal labour for three days and baby’s movement was slowing down from his normal. It’s a easy routine monitoring that takes 30-60 minutes to do. Baby sounded great and we could also see that I was getting some real contractions other then the prodromal ones.
Contractions picked up later in the afternoon so our midwife came over for a check and to set up for a homebirth.
Our oldest making sure all of the midwife’s supplies was accounted for.
I won’t go into details for my birth story here. Next month I will add baby #3’s story onto the website.
Baby Boy joined us at 39 +4 weeks
ElderFlower Doula 