Pregnancy: 38 Week Update

This week I'm in my 38 weeks, which means I'm due in two weeks! But bubba can come out any time now. I had the regular check up with the midwife on Thursday. As usual, I got weighed in and the scale was reading 70.1kgs. So, I had gained about 1kg in the last two weeks, but please note that I just ate an Oporto chicken sandwich just before I got weighed in. I reckon you can subtract a few hundred grams from the reading LOL. 

Thankfully the midwife that night was very nice and cheerful, which is completely the opposite of what I had last week. She told me that I'm already considered full term, so bubba may arrive any time soon. When she said that, I thought it was a very good call that I had moved my maternity leave forward by a week. Otherwise who knows what will happen at the office next week!

She checked bubba's position - bubba's head is already engaged in my pelvic bone. And also checked his heart beat. She said that bubba's heart rate is good and looks like he's happy inside (but don't get too cozy in there bubba!). He gave her a couple kicks as well while she was counting his heart beat, cheeky bubba! Oh, did I mention that bubba's very very active now. Not sure whether it's because he wants to get out of the womb or he just ran out of room to stretch.

As I was preparing my hospital bag the night before the check up, one of the bullet points in the list was to have your birth plan ready. By the way, I used the hospital bag check list from Baby Centre (http://www.babycenter.com.au/what-to-pack-in-your-hospital-bag). I hadn't thought about the birth plan, but I remember my friend saying that she did have a birth plan, which went out the window eventually as her water already broke, she was in severe pain, and can't think of anything else other than delivering the baby. And I had also read in the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy book what a birth plan is. It's basically just listing your preferences during and post labour so you don't have to make a decision on the spot while you're focusing on delivering the baby, that includes the preferred pain relief, whether you'd consent to a C-section, etc. Then I asked the midwife whether it's necessary to have a birth plan. She said, "only 10% of women make birth plans". Well, that makes sense, I thought, considering my friend's experience. "You just need to have make sure that you make informed decisions. And please do not oppose to C-section, although you are allowed to, because we only do C-section if something goes terribly wrong and we need to save both of you," she added. I nodded. Fair enough.

My tummy is getting more uncomfortable by the day. Getting very firm. Can't wait 'til bubba comes out and I'll be done with all of this! Err... not really. Actually the real hard work will just begin.