Full-Term!

Has anyone seen my belly button? I seem to have temporarily misplaced it!
37 Week Belly

The 37-Week milestone brings two beautiful words: full-term! How sweet it is! Now, whenever Riley's born, she's likely to thrive, even if she does decide to come before August 24th.

I spent the days leading up to 37 weeks battling a horrible cold. My head felt like it weighed 50lbs. with all of the congestion and sleep was non-existent. Of course, there's not much a poor pregnant girl can take to alleviate those symptoms, so I had no choice but to tough it out. I can finally say that I am starting to feel human again. I can't wait to actually taste what I am eating.

As always, my timing was impeccable! (Can you sense the sarcasm?) To make matters even worse, the nasty cold showed up just in time for our 2nd Annual family vacation on Hollywood Beach last weekend. It did put a little damper on my plans, as I was planning on going down early on Friday, but, I felt horrible, so we didn't make it down there until Friday night. Ultimately, it actually turned out to be a nice time and I think the salty sea air and the high humidity actually helped me. I felt much better by Sunday and now, it is finally breaking up and I can somewhat breathe out of my nose again. I took some pictures at the "Robinson Retreat" for you to enjoy. As I previously mentioned, there were 3 of us "Preggos" in our bikinis, so it really was a sight to see. My Sister and Cousin are both 28 weeks along, so we all took a picture together. My cousin Jeff also joined in the action, since he has a belly of his own. The people walking by on the Boardwalk got good entertainment that afternoon. Good times, GREAT memories!

At my weekly checkup today, all went well. My GBS test from last week came back negative, which is good news. Just one less thing to have to worry about. I had my first internal examination (oh, joy!) and the verdict is zero dilation. My cervix is still closed for business!!! This is fine with me, since I am yet to pack my hospital bag.

Stats, thus far, are:
Mommy's Total Weight Gain: 41 lbs. (looks like I might be neck & neck with Tyler's pregnancy, when I gained 44 lbs. total)
Mommy's BP: 117/71
Riley's HR: 156 bpm
Fundus Height: Whelp, I forgot to ask him what this was.....so I'll call tomorrow so that I have accurate records. Darn pregnancy memory!!!

I also saw the Hematologist today, for a follow up. My anemia has improved, which is good. He wants me back to do another follow up 2 weeks after Riley's birth, to see if things are back to normal postpartum. I presume that they will be, especially since I will continue my prenatal vitamin until I am through nursing.

12 DAYS TO GO!!!!! And so it goes...