40 Weeks and My "Due Date Party"

Hey everyone, I suppose you can tell from my pictures that Baby Avery has not arrived yet, and I'm still pregnant...40 weeks to be exact.  Here's Brandon and I getting one last pregnancy photo shoot in before she arrives (thanks to the timer on my camera and some awesome weather outside). We are both very excited for her to arrive and with everything all ready to go, the countdown is on! 

We're ready for a family picture!

I've been loving our
"pregnancy hugs"!

So you may be wondering what I'm thinking about now that my due date has come and gone, but as I mentioned in my last post, I have somewhat of a "due date window" that ranges from April 9th (yesterday) to April 14th (this coming Thursday), so I'm not stressing because I know I've still got time.  Now even though Avery is not here yet, my body has begun warming up in some major ways.  For starters, she seems to continue dropping lower and lower into my pelvis as the days go by and I've been having lots more "pre-labor warm-ups" (or Braxton-Hicks contractions as you may call them).  It's kind of funny being a first time mom because I have no idea what "real" contractions feel like...you know those ones that mean: "It's time!" or "You better call your midwife!"  Everyone tells me that you will "just know" but for someone who has never been through it, those are not reassuring words! 

40 weeks

Here's what's been going on as far as contractions are concerned this week:

-each day they increase a little bit more in length and strength

-they range in feeling like the following two things:

The first type of "contraction" feels like: period cramps, as though I ate something that didn't agree with me, and feeling hungry all at the same time.  Sometimes these are also accompanied by: hot flashes and waves of moodiness (watch out!).  After chilling out this weekend I've been wondering if these "contractions" occur most when I feel stressed or overwhelmed, such as: when my mom and I went to Wal-Mart on a busy Saturday afternoon, when my computer was acting up, or when things got hectic at school this week. During all of these times I felt these period-cramp-type contractions. Now I've been taking it easy today (no stress) and I haven't had any...so we'll see?!

"How low can you go?"

The second type of "contraction" I've been feeling is a tight pressure right above my pubic bone and in my pelvic floor.  I've been feeling these a lot today, and it's nothing painful or even uncomfortable, just pressure.  I definitely like these more!

At this point I haven't had any that last long enough or that have a definite beginning and end, for me to time and track, but we'll see how they continue to progress.  We have a check up with our midwife tomorrow night so we'll see how she thinks things are progressing. 

Now you may think at this point in my pregnancy I'm so miserable, so uncomfortable, and so done being pregnant that I just want it all to end...but I don't!  Don't get me wrong, I want to meet her more than anything, but I've heard so many horror stories about the last few weeks of pregnancy that I always wondered if I was destined for that same fate, but I'm here to say that it doesn't happen to everyone (so stay positive other pregnant mamas out there!).  Avery sure has been treating me well and I continue to workout daily for an hour (mainly doing prenatal yoga or walking on the treadmill like I mentioned in this post).  I've found that I feel so much better when I keep up with these workouts so that my body stays active and flexible...not tight and tense.  Granted, I've been feeling quite a bit more tired than usual (there's got to be some statistic out there about that doing daily tasks at 40 weeks pregnant is like running a 5K each day something? Maybe I'm just making that up, but sometimes it sure feels like it!).  I make up for this fatigue by taking at least a 30 minute nap each day and by having 2 green smoothies a day...they give me the energy I need to make it through!  On top of all this, it really helps keep me feeling good to know that Avery could be born any day now!

Baby App says "It's time!"

Onto a fun note, I decided to have a "Due Date Party" yesterday, almost to poke fun at  "due dates" and the notion that you must give birth on your due date or something is wrong.  Check out what one of my pregnancy apps said yesterday on my so-called due date for the Countdown section..."Today is the day!!" Well clearly it was not the day...too funny!  So what did I do for my "Due Date Party"? I went to Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ of course!  You can read more about my love for Genghis Khan here.  Now although it was a small event (the only people that went were Brandon, my parents, and my brother), we had a great time!  The way I saw it was that the night would be fun either way.  First if the due date theory held true, we would be holding Baby Avery, or second we would be enjoying a delicious dinner with family down at my favorite restaurant. 



At Genghis Khan

We had a running joke all week about what I would do if my water broke as we were driving down to Genghis Khan, would I come home or go eat? What do you think a 40-week pregnant mama said? I'm going to eat! Ha- I doubt my family would have let me do that, but luckily we didn't have to worry about it since I'm still pregnant and it's a day later. 


Here's my delicious plate of: tofu, rice noodles, corn, onions, mushrooms, carrots, cilantro, chipotle seasoning and garlic all sauteed together on one mega Mongolian BBQ grill.  It was delicious and you can bet I went back for a second plate!  I think Avery liked it too because she was kicking and moving around while I ate. 



Gluten-free, vegan delicious meal!

Here's another pic of Brandon and I all smiles after our delicious "Due Date Party" dinner outside of Genghis Khan.   I guess I was so focused on the food I forgot to take pics of our other party guests...sorry Mom, Dad, and Andrew! 

40 Weeks and Full

So that's my update for this week...I wonder if this will be my last pregnancy update? Who knows? I've heard a lot of first-time moms go late, so I may have another week on my hands or maybe I'll have her tonight? I'll keep you all posted on here and let you know when labor begins (if I feel like doing a quick blog post at that point!).