SO Pregnant! : 36 Weeks Pregnant

We are officially in the last month of my pregnancy! 36 weeks down, 4 to go!

I have to say, although I've had a few complications, this pregnancy has been fairly easy.

These next few weeks are going to fly by and I am hoping to enjoy them.

This week at baby girl's appointment her weight was 5 pounds 14 ounces and her height was about 19 inches (about the size of a Crenshaw melon). At this point she should be gaining about an ounce a day. Baby's lungs are still maturing, but by the end of this week they should be ready and she will be considered "full term". If she were to be born now or in the next few weeks she would likely be just fine and require no extra time in the hospital!

Growth: This week my belly is measuring 45 inches around! My fundal height is right at 37. In my last appointment we did measurements during the routine ultrasound and the Dr also felt my belly to give us an idea of what she weighs approximately. Like I said before, she is around 5-6 pounds. This may be off by just a few ounces to a whole pound. For me, this is the smallest I have been in a pregnancy at this far along. But you never know! She may be my biggest baby! My total weight gain however....it's the most I've had in all my pregnancies. I've gained a total of 25 pounds.
Movement and position: Baby's movements are much like a newborn. Slow-like when she's content, but she also has little "fits" where she is a little more aggressive. She doesn't have much room anymore (I wonder if she is as uncomfortable as I am?). She is still head down and at station 1.

Dilation/effacement: 1.5 cm dilated, 50 % effaced. I may or may not be checked every appointment depending on what signs of progress I've had that week. I also have the option of getting a membrane sweep each time to "get things going".

Labor Signs: I have been taking Evening Primrose Oil as suggested by my midwife and to my surprise, I have seen some progress! After taking it for several days, the baby has certainly "dropped". I have strangers tell me how "low" baby is. Also, I've had lots of sharp pains in my cervix area, which is a sign that things are thinning out and changing. I'm not 100% sure it's because of the EPO, but I have hope. I've been getting lots of frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. They become regular until I change positions or activity, but they don't go away for a couple of hours. Maybe a little TMI, but I'm also losing my mucus plug.

Thoughts and feelings: Grateful! When I wrote my last post, I was very anxious to find out what was going to happen with my placenta previa. I expected to go to my appointment and have the doctor tell me we were scheduling a C-section. Many prayers were answered. In the final ultrasound before making the decision to go through with a C-section, we discovered that the placenta had gone from a partial previa about a cm over my cervix to almost 5 cm away from it! I was cleared to have a regular vaginal birth and taken off restrictions! Happy day! The next day, I met with a midwife to talk natural birth and come up with a birth plan that I was comfortable with. I'm very excited and very determined to do it! I have only 3 appointments left! Our bags are packed. Now we just wait for her arrival. Is this real life?? :)