Week 39 - Little bae is now FULL term and time seems to be standing still this week as we eagerly wait for his arrival.
👶🏽 Baby Status
This week baby is approx 51cm and 3.4kg. He's now considered full term and could arrive any day! Baby's skin has turned from pink to whitish-grayish, though he won't have pigmentation until after birth. This is because the thicker fat layer has been deposited over the blood vessels. Cool fact is that baby's brain is now 30% bigger than it was just 4 weeks ago.
🤰🏽 Mama's Status
This week has been much cruisier and less pressure. Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (blood pressure) has been manageable with medication and hospital visits every 2-3 days. So I'm incredibly grateful that we haven't needed to go down the induction path and baby can come on his own time when he's ready. I've moved away from induction techniques and am focusing more and more on relaxation techniques as the body can initiate labour when it is in the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation response). Feel like I've come full circle here and am honing in on natural therapies that relax the body to support spontaneous labour when the body is ready.... rather than trying to induce contractions when the cervix hasn’t ripened or force the body Into something it’s simply not ready for.
More discomfort at the moment with the weight of the uterus and baby moving deeper into the pelvis and have felt more 'Lightning' this week. Oh and the veins in my boobs are unreal! I'm now sleeping in a weird seated position because even laying on my side is crushing. Guillaume and I fully thought baby was going to arrive last night (39 weeks and 6 days). I started getting contractions around 5 mins apart that lasted around 60 secs and came with intense back pain. Though this subsided after an hour or so. So who knows - could be tonight!
Diet and Cravings: Poke bowls and pizza
Pregnancy Exercises and Yoga: Beach walk and ocean swims are really all I can muster right now when swelling allows for it. I do this once a day. It doesn't sound like much but it's my max at the moment - by the end of the walk my hips are sore, my legs are swollen and the soles of my feet are in pain from holding the extra weight. I can't wait to be able to move and run again!
Self Care Ritual This Week: Prenatal Acupuncture this week has been my go to.
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✌🏽 Thanks for taking the time to read and connect. I'm sharing my pregnancy journey online for friends, family and other mamas out there. If you have any questions, tips or anything you'd like to share, please comment below.
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