39/40 weeks

Here is what is going on with Elisha this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay.

While you're waiting, it's important to continue to pay attention to your baby's movements and let your caregiver know right away if they seem to decrease. Your baby should remain active right up to delivery, and a noticeable slowdown in activity could be a sign of a problem. Also call if you think your water may have broken. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in about 8 percent of term pregnancies. Sometimes there's a big gush of fluid, but sometimes there's only a small gush or a slow leak. (Don't try to make the diagnosis yourself. Call even if you only suspect you have a leak.) If you rupture your membranes and don't start contractions on your own, you'll be induced.

As for me and Elisha... we are doing well.  I've had a few intense contractions this week, but nothing that has been regular yet.  So as of now, unless I go into labor on my own before then, we will be having a c section at noon tomorrow (May 24).  

This pregnancy, like my last one, has been free of complications.  I'm still sleeping through the night well, except for getting up a few times for bathroom visits.  I've never had any heartburn, swelling, or those other things that seem to plague pregnant women.  I've been a little tired, a little more hungry than normal, but nothing worth complaining about.  Just within the last week I've started to feel some pain and discomfort in my back, hips, and pelvis, but for being 39 weeks pregnant I think that's to be expected.

I've been lifting weights all the way up until this week, which I did not do in my last pregnancy, and I jogged until 7 months, and continued regular walks through this week.  As a result, I've gained significantly less weight than my last pregnancy and am hoping to return to a normal shape and weight much more quickly this time around.

We're cherishing every last moment as a family of 3 today, doing special things for Noah, and are thrilled to meet our newest addition tomorrow!