38 Weeks! We’ve arrived at “term!” It’s exciting to be here. This pregnancy has gone so quickly…. too quickly. I’m in no hurry for our babe to arrive, though I am excited to meet him or her when they decide they are ready. Early on in the pregnancy, it was a concern if we would get this far along without complication or intervention.

In 2003 I had a LEEP procedure as a result of an abnormal PAP and presence of “pre-cancer cells.” This procedure reduced the size of my cervix. The cervix is important–it holds that baby in place. When I became pregnant, the concern by my doctor and later my midwife, was that with my diminished cervical measurement, I would go into pre-term labor and potentially miscarry. This concern grows as the baby grows and places weight on the cervix, testing its competence.

I met with specialists, was put on “restricted activity”, and had several ultrasounds throughout my first and second trimesters to monitor my cervix. With each passing week, the measurements, while short (2-3 cm; 4-5 cm is optimal), remained consistent. I wasn’t effacing or shortening. Once I reached the 24 week mark, my appointments with the specialists stopped. After this point in the pregnancy, the intervention of surgery is not an option as it becomes too risky for the babe. I was happy to have reached that point, to have maintained my cervical competency, and not have to have surgery. I was still concerned, the babe was only going to get bigger–would my cervix hold? Would we miscarry or would we have to spend time with our little one in NICU?

This fear has been removed the past few weeks as we reached the mid-30 week mark, where babes have a high probability of birth without complication. I am so glad that my cervix championed through our pregnancy. So very grateful for a wonderful pregnancy, certainly the most awesome experience of my life.

I’m anxious for THE day, but in no rush. At my appointment on Tuesday with the midwife, I told her I didn’t feel like I was close or big enough to go into labor soon…. she assured me that is not an accurate indication of whether I am or not! Babe is still head down and sitting low in the pelvis, also not an indicator of going sooner rather than later. We should have another couple of weeks before the babe arrives, but time will tell. The next full moon is April 4, so maybe we’ll have an Easter Baby? Going to try to enjoy every day I have of being pregnant, of this experience, of husband-wife time, of the anticipation and preparation…and thank God for it all.

38 Week Highlights:

• Belly growing little by little each week–belly button is stretched completely, but hasn’t “popped”
• Enjoying the nursery setting and reading stories to LoCo from our library selections gifted by so many
• Ready for bed by 8:30 pm every night 🙂
• Pushing 30 lb weight gain
• Babe still very active with movement throughout the day–seems to still have room to stretch
• Many trips to the bathroom throughout the day, but able to sleep through the night without waking to go
• Starting to get serious about selecting a name for LoCo, I think we are set with the girl name, but still working on a boy name
• Hospital bag is almost ready

Hubby wasn’t available to take photos today so attempted “selfies” and captured these in our brand new guest bedroom! :))