Week 38-39 Pregnancy VLOG, baby number 5 by Teresa Palmer
What’s baby up to?
Week 38
Our baby is about the length of a leek (around 50 cm / 19.5 inches) and weighs close to 3.1 kg (6.8 lbs).
Baby is officially considered full term now wooot wooot! with fully developed lungs, brain, and organs ready for life outside the womb. The only thing they’re really doing is putting on more fat each day to help regulate body temperature once born. Space is tight in there! It feels much for like rolls and stretches rather than big kicks! The hiccups are legit though! So frequent. Babies at 38 weeks are usually head down and many are engaged (mine is!)
Week 39
Our babe is roughly the size of a mini watermelon and weighs around 3.3–3.5 kg (7–7.5 lbs). At my 39 + 5 week scan baby was measuring 7lb 8oz! So 3.410kg to be exact.
We are officially on baby watch!! And the bubs organs and systems are all set now, these last weeks and days are about final weight gain and practicing breathing motions, swallowing, and sucking. The Vernix (the creamy coating) and lanugo (soft body hair) have mostly shed, though some babies still come out with a little “fuzz” or creamy coating. Prairie came out with back fuzz which is still a little bit there hehehe so cute!
Our baby definitely has regular movements now- it feels very routine. But they’re rolls and dips and twists. This little one is very active at night time and in the morning and less active during the day but never goes an hour without movement (and I’ve been verrrry diligently checking!)
Anything new these weeks?
Bye bye reflux! Thanks to the baby dropping lower into my pelvis the horrid nighttime reflux has disappeared yahooooo. Other things that have been new- very regular, if not constant lightning crotch! Sharp pains through my cervix whenever baby’s head presses against it. I find that when baby is very active I’m getting very consistent sharp pains through there and it feels like baby is trying to bust out my cervix/butt.
And errrrm there have been much more frequent toilet stops throughout the day to ummm clear things out I guess? That’s been a noticeable change.
So many more Braxton hicks, they’re happening every day now and sometimes there’s a little pinch to them. But I’m still going in the record to say I think baby is coming closer to September 17th!
Challenges
I BROKE MY TOE. I know what in the actual idiocy is that about?? I mean CMON Palmer! It was ridiculous and at 5am in the morning trying to get into the bath, pulling my pants down and at the same time flinging my phone which got caught up in my pants at such an insanely fast speed that I heard my toe literally crunch. Anyway of course it’s black and blue and here I am at 39 + 5 writing this from bed with an elevated foot. The first day was awful and I couldn’t drive/walk and today, the second day the swelling has gone down a fair bit and I can actually hobble on the side of my foot. All the more reason to let this baby take its sweeeet time coming here so I can be on the mend!
Reflections
So I’m having the opposite to most people at this stage where everyone is wanting the baby OUT and I’m cherishing the baby staying IN. Only because these last few weeks of pregnancy are just so special- they’re really my favourite weeks and I just don’t know if I’ll get this experience again. I certainly hope so but if not I’m cherishing these feelings and moments of just us two together enjoying each other. Soon I’ll be sharing this baby with the world. So these days even though they’re long, I’m loving the slowness of it and the excited anticipation. I’m really leaning into the unknown and feel so mentally and physically prepared (apart from the dud toe!) so here’s to enjoying this last week (or two!) and not wishing these precious days away.