Before I go into the 39 week update, I’d like to tell you about this dress. It’s a convertible dress from 2chix Maternity that I just received and decided to wear to my OB appointment. I KID YOU NOT, every single person that crossed our path that day commented on it. Seriously! I had people look into our exam room while we were waiting asking me where I got the dress. And that’s considering I look like a whale at this point in my 39 weeks (I’m a tall girl + pregnancy weight = makes me look pretty big in general).
Personally I wore the dress because it’s insanely comfortable- the fabric is very soft, light and  very flowy. I am in love with the color!  But I didn’t expect it too cause such a reaction from passerbys and the office staff at the doctor’s office. And it’s a convertible dress, meaning you can wear it many different ways (as a halter, criss cross, off the shoulder, one shoulder, tube dress, one shoulder, cap sleeve, etc) – I wore it criss-cross and then later in the day created a little off the shoulder look like in the picture. I don’t think it’s specifically a maternity dress but it definitely fits well in maternity even at my 39 weeks. You can buy it here in coral, blue and black and it can even be worn as a skirt. I know I’ll be digging it post-partum when I get my body back, so you’ll be seeing me in this dress much more.
STATS:
Her size: WATERMELON
How far along: 39 WEEKS!!!! It just doesn’t get old. I never thought I’d be that far along- it’s pretty cool.
Total weight gain: I’m at 175 lb. (+1 lbs this week, total at 39 lbs). It looks like I’ll hit the round 40 lbs of weight gain,which still blows my mind. I am curious and excited to see how it comes off though.
Sleep: Sleep is good, it’s just hard to get up 3-4 times a night, surrounded by massive pillows and dragging your huge belly over the edge of the bed. Luckily I can still do it without outside help 🙂
Maternity Clothes: Dresses, yoga pants and fitted tshirts is what I’m most comfy in.
Food cravings: SWEETS :))))))
Food aversions: Anything that I have been eating for a long time. I like change.
Symptoms I HAVE:
Heartburn that goes from mild to strong depending on what I eat
Low pelvic shocks from Alexis’s head once in a while
Occasional unreasonable irritability (twice so far the whole pregnancy, both this week)
And a new one these past two days: Bruised upper inner thighs ( from her head, I assume)
But otherwise, I am really comfortable and feel great!
Stretchmarks: I completely forgot about this  question, until reader “Lola” reminded me about it. I guess because there hasn’t been any change for so many weeks, I stopped updating it. So…. I still have no stretchmarks. The area around my belly button looks VERY stretched and very thin and I can see capillaries, but no actual stretchmarks yet. Almost every evening I keep finding a reddish spot and pointing it to hubby who assures me it doesn’t look like a stretchmark and he is always right, because the spot goes away the next day.  And I continue to be very diligent about moisturizing my belly with Mama Mio Tummy Oil and drinking lots of water . I have one week left and while it doesn’t look like I’m going to get any stretchies, anything is possible before and after birth.
Doctor’s Appointment: Everything looked great as usual. This time the doc couldn’t really feel her head, so he wanted to make sure she’s still head down. We got sent to an ultrasound. I was hoping to see her face one more time but she was just too low. She is head down and is measuring 7lbs 8 oz at the moment, though I know these measurements are usually pretty inaccurate. My AFI (amniotic fluid index) is perfect at 11.8, which is something I was concerned about knowing that it diminishes towards the end of pregnancy. And we finally got to verify that she is in fact a SHE! Andrew received a print out of her head and I got her circled labia lol
Movement: She has her active times during 7-10pm hours and morning hours. She sleeps really well at night. I wonder if that’s going to transfer into real world at all. I did read that there are some theories about that.
Belly Button: Outie
Gender: GIRL!
Best moment of the week:
Just being this far along and knowing Alexis is going to be here soon.
It was pretty nice to finish the nursery ( almost finish… I don’t think it’ll ever be 100% finished, since I am planning on continuously adding things)
Hanging out with my girls sans babies during a movie night that was more of a “let’s talk about penises and sex” night rather  than the actual “watching a movie” night.
What I’m looking forward to:
I am EXTREMELY curious to see how my labor starts! Am I going to be in early labor for many hours or will it hit me like a truck? And of course the question is WHEN WHEN WHEN!
I am not impatient to get Alexis out, aside from wanting to meet her and keep her safe, but I am very interested to see how the labor goes for me.
What I miss:
It’s 39 weeks, so that means I got the go-ahead from hubby to finally walk and be active and work as hard as I want ( he wanted me to take it easy before then). I’m enjoying this newfound sense of independence 🙂 I can finally see a glimpse of my normal life on the horizon and cannot wait for Alexis to come and change its definition. I can’t miss anything right now, because it’s not too long until I get to do it all again.
So another week of possible start of labor. Everyone is taking guesses and I am the only one who doesn’t have a clue!
I am planning a few posts for the next week, unless I go into labor. Here’s what I have in the works:
- Hospital Bags (what we packed)
- Â Organic Baby clothes and where to buy them
- Our Birth Plan
- A random happenings/picture post
Again: In case I go into labor, I will try to have Andrew do a quick post to tell you all that it’s show time. I will most definitely post something on my Facebook page and that’s also probably how I am going to be updating you all in the first day or so. So if I disappear with no posts, it’s most likely NOT due to labor.
I noticed you stopped answering the stretch marks question- have you noticed any yet? I was free and clear until 38 weeks when I got a TON! I hoped they wouldn’t be too noticeable since I went into labor at 39 weeks but after giving birth they were even more apparent.
Oh no, I keep forgetting! It’s not a standard question on the questionnaire and I keep forgetting to add it. Thanks for reminding me!
I’ll have to make sure to take one last bare belly shot before i go into labor or at 40 weeks. I keep getting too busy and taking pics while fully dressed
Glad everything is going great! You look great also 🙂 I gained 35 pounds with both of my pregnancies and lost it pretty much right away….because of the sleep exhaustion and forgetting to eat, bascially. I didn’t go into labor until 41 weeks 3 days with my first daughter. My amniotic fluid was perfect until then. Keep moving and feel good!
That dress is GORGEOUS! I’m not pregnant but I want one 🙂 Good luck Elena! I look forward to updates!
Thanks Carly!!!
I can’t help it but have to comment on your profile pics- you’re so beautiful!
You look gorgeous!! Certainly not even close to a whale…lol 🙂 You always look beautiful! Have you heard about Raspberry Leaf Tea being a great natural labor inducer? I’m not sure if it’s true or not…just wondered if you’d heard about it! I saw something about it on The Bump app! <3
Yeah I’ve been drinking it for a few weeks. It’s helpful for uterus muscles to prepare them for labor.
Heloooon, you do look absolutely adorable in this dress!
I cannot wait to meet Alexis too! 🙂
You look so cute 🙂 almost here! I’m gonna guess the 30th, just because it’s my dad and BFF’s birthday
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog! I’m due 1/25 with a girl as well. Good luck!
Oh cool! Good luck to you too!!!! 🙂
Ooooh..I was hoping you wouldn’t do anymore weekly post because she was here! You look great and I’m sure the 39 lbs. will melt right off. I lost 17 lbs. in one week! Can’t wait to see her!
If she comes, you guys will know it almost right away :)))
At my last u/s I was told my son was measuring 6 pounds. Less than 24 hours later I gave birth to an 8 pound 5 ounce boy. Very inaccurate.
Good luck and Congrats!
The numbers are so random. My son measured around 9lbs at induction and was 11.1 pounds when I delievered that day lol. Surprise! On the flip side, I have a friend who’s daughter measured 9lbs but was just over 6 at birth the next day! It will be fun to see how it goes.
On the flip side, my daughter measured 7lb 10oz and she came out 7lb 7oz. I think it’s a crap-shoot. Sometimes they get lucky, othertimes not so much
I have seriously loved reading your blog and I plan on using it as a resource whenever we have a baby. Hope everything goes well with you labor & I also love the dress!
Thank you so much! I hope it gets even better with Alexis here 🙂
Love the dress…I might have to get it.
Good luck with stretch marks. I also was free and clear through my entire pregnancy, but somehow after I had the baby a few light ones magically appeared on my love handle area! Ugh…not bad though and almost completely gone at this point (17 months later). You look fab. This is the rough part…just waiting and not knowing! Every day I was like “this is it” but ultimately never even went into labor.
Looking forward to your birth story!
Congratulations on getting this far! your little girl will be here so soon, and what a lucky little girl she is – to have such loving parents! You sound SO prepared!!! the dress is fabulous, too bad I am so short and can not pull off these kinds of dresses – it will be hitting at all the wrong places, but thank you for introducing us to 2chix – I like their clothes in general so it may be a good option for the second baby (whenever it happens). Good luck and enjoy the last few days of somewhat sound sleep 🙂 and after you have your baby remember that as a new mom you will learn very quickly and it is OK if they cry sometimes, and that you are doing everything right 🙂
My ultrasound tech got the weight of the baby EXACTLY for myself and also for one of my friends who seems the same doctor. I also read online that these were often inaccurate, but maybe they are becoming more accurate :-). I also never got any stretch marks, so it does happen!
You look amazing! Old wives tales include eating pineapple (gave me wicked heartburn) and spicy foods (also gave me wicked heartburn) to get labor going. Neither worked for me. I also walked around a ton, and “bounced” on a large stability ball. However, pitocin couldn’t even get mine out, so I’m a bad reference.
I have a convertible dress from Victoria’s Secret and wear it all the time. It’s my favorite.
I can’t believe how close you are! 🙂
Getting anxious for you! Ultrasounds measurements can be waaay off, or they can be spot on. I had a biophysical profile u/s done with my daughter and they measured her at 6 lb 5 oz, she was born 2 days later and weighed 6 lb 7 oz. 😀
What a lovely positive attitude you have!
It’s nice to hear you are enjoying your last few days of pregnancy rather than getting caught up on wanting the baby out! It must be hard not to go crazy wanting the baby RIGHT NOW!
My SIL is due in 2 weeks and was talking to her doctor about getting induced early as she couldn’t stand being pregnant any longer (it’s her third baby) But for a first time mama, it must be nice just to relax on your last few days without the baby. It’s great to see your doing just that!
Lou x
I lost 38lbs after my birth… don’t worry about the weight gain most of that weight comes off after the birth.
You look gorgeous! I remember being SO ready for my baby to arrive at this point, but take your time and make sure to get LOTS of rest while you’re waiting. I’m sure the weight will just pour off of you once your new little one arrives and you start nursing her. I was back in my regular clothes within 2 weeks thanks to breastfeeding! Can’t wait to see how everything goes for you!
Wonderful!!! You are looking as terrific as ever! Yes, I remember the “when” and “how” is labor going to happen feeling. Can’t wait to hear your story!
Congrats on the new one 🙂 It must have been fun to keep updates!
I saw that you were using the Mama Mio Tummy rub…how many tubes do you estimate that you used? I am trying to get enough to last my entire prenancy 🙂
I started in 2nd trimester and used 1 and a half but I did it twice a day and on my thighs/boobs as well