36 Weeks Pregnant
Your baby continues to put on weight by about 1/2 pound each week. It's no wonder the womb is becoming very cramped. Your baby is gaining weight quickly because layers of fat pile on and help in both body temperature regulation and developing his immunity in preparation for life in the outside world. You may find you are carrying your baby much lower now (or soon will be) as the baby drops into the birth canal, readying himself for birth. Your baby is about 19 inches long and weighs from 5.5 to 6.0 pounds. The vast majority of babies born now will live with little need for intensive medical treatment.
My due date is fast approaching, being one month from yesterday. My contentedness with this pregnancy is running out. I know this is normal but I was hoping it would last longer. The biggest annoyance is the pain in my tail bone from the fall I took a couple of weeks ago. My midwife described to me what she thought happened since I was confused about how I could possibly hurt my tailbone by falling on my hands and knees. She said what probably happened was the impact of me falling made the baby's head slam into my tailbone and now it's inflamed and the muscles are trying to compensate for the torqued tailbone. It seems to be getting worse every day. Hopefully I can get into see the chiropractor at my next appointment since I missed it this week.
I had a good appointment this week. Everything looked good and I miraculously only gained ONE POUND! I must be nesting so much that I'm burning all the calories I'm consuming. I have now gained 23 pounds; MUCH less than my previous pregnancies.
I finally got to meet the midwife's apprentice who will be assisting during my delivery and Daniel and I both really like her.
I talked to my midwife about labor and what to expect since I've never gone through the actual delivery of my babies without a spinal or epidural. Hopefully I'm prepared enough for that. I also talked to her about my frustrations with Daniel refusing to be in the birthing tub with me and she explained to me that guys are different when it comes to birth- they don't see it as a beautiful process that should necessarily be treasured on every level, they're more concerned about the safety and messiness of it all. She encouraged me to give him a break and let him handle it as he feels comfortable because it's all he can really do and the fact that he's willing to be there with me through it all and not just say, "I can't do this" and walk out (apparently it happens sometimes!) is something that I should appreciate and accept. I feel much better about it now that she helped me put it into perspective.
I did the Group B Strep test and she felt the baby's positioning and heartrate, which were both good.
I go back in two weeks when I will be 37 weeks. Let's see where my patience is standing at that point...
