38 weeks . . . she's almost here!

Well, I'm 38 weeks along now with our little girl, and since Eli was born at 38 weeks I'm guessing that it won't be long now! Last week I was already dilated to 1 centimeter and 70% effaced (the thickness of the cervix), so the doctor doubted I would go full term. Who knows? I don't think the stats really mean much, but I can tell that the baby is a lot lower than she has been, which is giving me quite a bit of discomfort this last week. So I figured I'd better record some of my thoughts and experiences of this pregnancy while I'm still actually pregnant!

I haven't blogged much about the pregnancy this time around, being with busy with Eli and everything else, but once again I think I've been blessed with a great pregnancy. I was much more nauseous than I was with Elijah, and lost my appetite for pretty much the first four months of pregnancy, but then I really felt fine after that. I haven't gained that much weight either - only 17 pounds so far (I gained 19 with Elijah). I've been more uncomfortable this time around though, and had more what they call "round ligament" pain. My muscles low in my abdomen are split apart from my last pregnancy so they don't hold things up quite as well this time around! And man can I tell.

Our newest little bean has been much more active than Eli was, so I'm interested to see how that relates, if at all, to their personalities. I felt this baby move earlier, and once she started she didn't stop it seemed like! Peak hours are 10:30 pm or so until about 12:30 am in the morning, and she can usually be counted on to do lots of interesting things during that time frame! Up until about a month ago she really liked to do flips, which took my breath away a lot. Then she settled down in to a lot of going side to side and kicking. it's only been in the last two weeks that the movements have calmed down as she's running out of room in there! Eli had the hiccups almost every day, but this time I have only noticed them maybe twice a week. Jon got to see and feel a few of the episodes though, which he thought was pretty cool (Eli always had hiccups about 3 in the afternoon, so Jon never got to feel them).

I look more pregnant this time around than I did with Eli, but I'm still not one of those super-cute baby bump pregnant ladies (who I dislike more and more the closer I get to my due date). God gave me big hips and my babies seem to just settle in and not show much. And I'm carrying low again, with plenty of room near my ribcage. I should be happy since that means I rarely have a hard time breathing or have indigestion, like a lot of pregnant women do, but I also don't have that cute baby bump think going on because of it.

I don't even look pregnant most of the time . . . phooey.

Jon and I finally decided on the spelling of our little girl's name (we have had the name for a bit but couldn't agree on the spelling, so I never blogged it as that requires spelling it!). We've christened her Matea (muh-tay-ah), which has a Hebrew origin and means "Gift of God." She will truly be our special gift, so we thought that was appropriate! And it is just adorable to hear Eli say "Matea" or "Tea" as he often shortens it to. Eli's ready for his sister to be here and keeps asking when Matea is coming.

Just yesterday Eli saw a few surprises on the bed that "Matea" bought for him (some trains of course). We explained that they were from Matea and she would give them to him when she was here. So all day long today I've been fielding the "Is Matea ready to come now, Mommy?" question, and the "I want Matea to come out so I can have my prizes!" statements. He told Grandma and Grandpa all about his surprises at dinner tonight, and then gave his pouty face and said he was ready for Matea to come out NOW! We asked him what would happen when Matea came out and he told us that, "Mommy will take off her shirt!" I think we'll leave the mysteries of childbirth unexplained at this point, so yes, Eli, Mommy will take off her shirt and Matea will come out! :)

Anyway, things are counting down to our little one's arrival, and we are all very excited. Eli may be more excited about the trains he's going to get, but even he is ready to see his sister and is looking forward to meeting Matea. I'm going to miss being pregnant (well, maybe not the last two weeks), but can't wait to see our little girl too (and put something pink on her)! :)