Pregnancy Update: 34-36 Weeks — grateful mindful mommy

It’s getting pretty difficult to keep up with posting here, but it’s a great practice to journal and remind myself of all the things I’m grateful for. I’m committing to continuing to take a few moments now and then to jot a few things down to document this journey.

Update on baby:

He is GROWING. These pictures below are from week 34 when baby was the size of pineapple. We are at week 36 now, and I can FEEL him getting bigger. The skin around my belly is tight and itchy from stretching; my belly button has basically inverted; and I notice a visible change in my bump growth on a daily basis.
He’s moving and grooving. I’ve been going to antenatal testing twice a week, and it’s actually been my new favorite morning activity. I’m placed in a dimly lit room with some spa music playing, and I sit there for about 30 minutes as we monitor baby’s heart rate and movement. He’s usually great, and we’re done in 30 minutes. However, this morning, we had a little bit of a scare. His heart rate dropped significantly, and we had to prolong my monitoring to two hours to make sure it was just an anomaly. Fortunately, everything after that was fine, so he was likely just sitting on his cord momentarily.
He’s consistently head down and ALMOST in optimal position. The ideal position is left occiput anterior (see photo below). Baby’s head is consistently head down, and he’s primarily on the left, but he’s not yet engaged / locked in. I still feel a lot of movement from side to side, so I’m hoping he is descended and locked in before the induction!

Update on mommy:

I have good days, and I have bad days. On the good days, I float through the day with a smile on my face and an unflappable “it is what it is” attitude. On the bad days, I find myself worrying about baby’s health and getting into mental spirals as the “what if’s” play one after another.
I am finally at a point where I’ve come to accept that we are inducing early. When I first heard the news, I was NOT pleased that I would have to veer from my birth plan. That said, now I’m ready for whatever is best for baby.
I feel comfortable stepping out at work too! I have a wonderful team, and we have a clear transition plan. I’m so thankful for my manager Siobhan, my right hand Maria, and my company for being so supportive.