39 Weeks

How far along? 39 weeks

Weight gain? 40 lbs

Baby is the size of - a watermelon

Stretch marks? I'm seriously beyond shocked (as I'm sure some of you are as well) there have been no signs of stretch marks

Sleep? Sleep, I get it when I can.  I've found my best sleep comes in the early evening when I'm too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

Miss anything?  Sleep and moving with ease

Cravings? Apples covered in about half a jar of peanut butter, sea salt and Nutella.  I've devoured a canister of toasted coconut almonds this week.  I'm still eating Lucky Charms daily and craving Dr Pepper.

Anything make you queasy or sick?  Nope, other than things prior mentioned

Symptoms? Pain, pain, pain…  so much pain that I'm actually looking forward to delivery day knowing that it's the only thing that will make this pelvic pain go away!  I've done lots of deep squats and sat on a large exercise ball this week to help ease the pain and it does help momentarily but I can't do that stuff around the clock, although, the thought has crossed my mind!

Belly button - In or out? It's an outie and it's definitely not cute by any means! (You can see it poking out in this weeks picture)  My "turkey timer" says he's done…hehe!

Wedding rings - on or off? They are still off

Any movement? Jaxon isn't slowing his movement down just because he's out of space.  The OB says it's a great thing and that most people don't feel their baby moving much at this point.  I sure hope she's got good hands because she's going to have to catch a circus monkey any day now!

Happy or moody? I've not been a beaming ray of sunshine but I've not been a thundercloud either.  I've tried to laugh as much as possible and not let my uncomfortableness show so much.

What emotions have you been experiencing this week?  This week I've still been stressing over going back to work after Jaxon is here.  I finished up my FMLA paper work and got it turned in this week, it wasn't easy I won't lie.  I'm in disbelief that this is (possibly) the last week, I'm nervous, I'm scared, I'm excited!

Looking forward to - Seeing John hold our son for the very first time.  I know it'll absolutely melt my heart a million times over.  Maybe this sounds a little selfish, but I'm also looking forward to not having to share my body with Jaxon; it's getting beyond painful.  I'm looking forward to bringing him home and starting our new chapter in life as parents.

Week 39 Fun Fact - Jaxon is still continuing to gain weight with each week.  He's in position and according to the OB, he's pretty far down into my pelvis already.  The last part of that was of no surprise, trust me, I know he's down there! (But exactly how far down down was a surprise, continue reading)

Me & my cousin Leslie.  She found out this week that she is having a little mister as well.  His due date is in October! 

Source

Week 39 started off pretty easy, I thought that I'd finally figured out how to ease the pelvic pain after positioning myself differently two nights in a row and waking up pain free.  Much to my disappointment, that only lasted two days…bummer!  But oh my, those two days of relief were AMAZING.  It was so nice to be able to move around with ease and feel human again!  We had another visit with the OB on Friday.  I like our choice of for an OB in that they let you have options as far as whether or not you'd like to be checked for progression during the visits.  At our last visit I was disappointed to find out we were only at 1/2cm and no effacement so I was on the fence about being checked this week, I didn't want to disappoint myself again if there had been no progression.  But, if I was going to have to go into the office, I was going for more than just to pee in a cup, check of the weight and BP and be informed that our due date is getting close.  It was a pleasant surprise to find out that I'm now dilated to 1.5cm, 70% effaced and he's down to a +2 station.  The OB said that he was at a +2 and mentioned that he was really far down into my pelvis.  I didn't think much of it because all anyone ever mentions is dilation and effacement.  Well I googled what the stations meant and holy smokes a 2+ looks like he's just ready to fall out according to the chart I found!  If only it were that easy but it definitely explains why the intensity of the pain has increased so much lately!  For anyone that is like me and only paid attention to dilation and effacement, I've added a diagram to show you the different stations.  After seeing this diagram, I'm ready to camp out in the parking lot of the hospital! No joke! I'm not the woman that wants to forgo the drugs, I don't want to feel him coming out.  Trust me, I know I'm a woman and I know what an amazing moment it will be to deliver Jaxon but I don't need to feel everything to know and appreciate what an amazing thing my body has done!

Yet again this week I've had returning to work heavy on my mind.  I finally got the paperwork finished up and turned in to HR.  It was beyond hard to turn in papers saying that I would return to work in only 9 weeks.  9 weeks…that seems like such a short amount of time at home with my little fella before returning to work.  Thank God they are willing to let me work from home initially when I return so I'm not stressing over a pump/work routine in the office.  At least I'll be at home and I'll be able to more easily transition.  I know that nothing is going to take the sting away completely but being allowed to ease back into work won't be as traumatic.

Jaxon's room has completely transformed over the past few weeks!  It's amazing to see the transition from a plain room to a Gamecock inspired nursery.  I did have my doubts when I agreed to using garnet and grey thinking that it would be too USC for me because everyone knows I'm a Vols fan!  The nursery turned out really well and we are both proud of it!  Here's a few pictures!  I made the crib skirt and the curtains.  My mom helped me out with the curtains since every time I'd get in the floor to cut fabric or measure my feet would swell up horribly.  Mom also hand knitted the quilt that is wrapped over the railing of his bed, we both LOVE it! 

This week also marked an important date for John & I!  Four years ago, I sent him an email telling him that I recalled him mentioning that he'd be home for R&R around the first part of June and that I would like to see him while he's home.  He'd tried for the longest time, years actually, but something told me that day that I should take a chance.  Just as luck would have it, the very day I sent the email, he was on his way back to Afghanistan and he'd just finished up his R&R.  It was disappointing at the time but now we know it was just part of God's plan.  It would now be 6 months before we could go on that first date so while we anxiously awaited those months to pass, we sent novel sized emails to one another daily.  When I picked him up at the airport that December, it felt more like I was picking up my best friend and soulmate moreso than picking up someone I hadn't seen since high school.  So where was our first date you might asked?  It was to Boston and New York!  His cousin was getting married and as anyone in contracting or military knows, you make the most of every single day of R&R leave and that is exactly what we did!  4 years and it just keeps getting better and better!