Surro Files - 37 Weeks And Dilated!

The Bun

Baby is now about the size of swiss chard (19.25 inches) and 6.3 pounds.  For those of you who think that swiss chard is a type of cheese, you are not alone.  I looked for swiss chard in the cheese isle for days, before I Googled it and realized it was a vegetable.  Haha!  Silly me.  This week baby is now considered full term!!!  That means all of the baby's organs should be fully developed and prepared for the outside world.

Baby is the size of swiss chard.  Haha!  Ok, maybe not this big.

The Oven

The oven is trying to hang on.  Only 3 more weeks... Or less!!!  I've changed my sleeping arrangement once again.  I still can't sleep on my side.  Believe me, I've tried.  I want to soooooooo bad, and so I have caved in a few times and just said, the pain I'd have the next day would be worth it.  Well, the last time I tried, the pain was so not worth it.  I was in pain the whole day, vs just the first 10 min of the day like usual.  So no more side sleeping for me.  Sitting up wasn't working well either though.  I'd stay up for hours sometimes just trying to get some sleep.  Well, now I do reclined back sleeping.  I basically prop my biggest pillows behind me and recline back so my blood flow is still good, but I'm not sitting all the way up.  It's not too bad.  I still want to roll over on my side, but I really try not to.  As little as 10 min on my side puts me in pain for awhile.  Boo!

My poor little feet are also swollen.  It used to just be when I went on long trips, but ever since my last trip, they just haven't went back down.  I wouldn't say they're marshmallow feet by any means, but for me they're pretty big.

Lastly, this little cutie is riding pretty darn low now.  They're always sitting on my bladder if not punching it at the same time.  Good times.  Haha!  I'm still in good spirits most of the time though.  I'm ready for the end, but I can last a few more weeks if I have to.

The Happenings In the Kitchen

This week we had our 36 week OB appointment.  I was so excited for this appointment because I knew that they would most likely check to see if I was dilated or not.  I know that it doesn't mean much.  After all, a woman that's not dilated at all could go into labor tomorrow and another woman dilated to 3cm could still be pregnant 3 weeks later.  Even so, I like to know that my body is doing something and it's gearing up to birth this baby.  First up was the weight check.  I'm now 147 (my normal weight is about 105 give or take a few pounds).  I then peed in my little cup, took my blood pressure, and waited for the nurse midwife.  When she got there we did the Group B Strep test (not fun).  It's basically checks to see if you have a certain bacteria in your vagina or rectum area that could cause an infection with bad side effects for the baby if it's born vaginally.  I've never had it before and fingers crossed I don't have it now.  After the test swab, she checked dilation, station, effacement, and all that other good stuff.  Well, looks like I'm dilated 2-3 centimeters and very soft!!!!  Baby is still high though (-3 or -2) and my cervix is still thick.  At first I was pretty darn excited about all the progress, but then I realized that I was dilated this much with my second two children, so I could still go the full 40 weeks.  She also checked the baby's heartbeat which is in the 130's as usual and I'm still measuring 2-1/2 - 3 weeks ahead.

The Chefs

Sorry, no update from Belle this week.  I'm sure she's going crazy trying to get ready to come out here.  She flies out tomorrow!!!!!  She'll be staying over in San Francisco for a night though, so she won't be here till Wednesday.  I can only imagine what's going through hers and Adam's minds right now.  I know they're still trying to sell the house, so that's a lot to take on.  Their dog hurt his leg, so they've been dealing with that all week.  Legal work for the pre-birth order still isn't done, so we've been trying to work out some of those kinks.  Then after finding out I was dilated already, we were all sent in a tizzy hoping that baby would stay in till the parents got here.  Looks like Adam will actually be coming out sooner than shown below, but I kept the date the same till we find out.  Belle's friend was also supposed to come out with her for the first week, but she ruptured her eardrum, so that's not going to happen.  Luckily her other best friend is going to be able to come out, so they can be excited together getting things ready for baby.  So crazy!!!  I might only have one more update before this baby is born. 

Coming Soon !!!

June 25th - Belle Gets Here - Belle gets here to wait it out for the big day.  Lots of stuff to do!
June 26th - 37 week OB Appt. - Growth Ultrasound & OB Visit.
July 2nd - 38 week OB Appt. - Just a routine visit.
July 2nd - Adam Gets Here - Adam gets here to wait it out for the big day.  We're all ready to go!
July 12th - 40 week OB Appt. - Just a routine visit.  We will NOT make it to this appointment!  Haha!
July 13th - DUE DATE!!!!

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed and faces blocked out to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*