Holiday Hiccups

So much to catch up on! For starters, we will have officially reached 37 weeks tomorrow! That means BB Robinson is a FULL TERM BABY!! Such a blessing! My weekly visits to the doctor started last week. The doctor said his head is very low and his heart sounded great. I am somewhat expecting an early arrival (somewhat) from this little guy. Every woman in my family has delivered early. Now that he is full term, I welcome the idea of his arrival at any time. We are as ready as we will ever be.

He has been quite the active one this holiday season. I think he just wanted to make his presence known. On Christmas Eve, the Braxton Hicks contractions started get a little more intense. The only comfort I could find was by sitting on a birthing ball all night while watching Christmas movies with the family. I knew it wasn't the real thing but I was so uncomfortable. I was 35 and a half weeks at that point so of course I don't expect to feel wonderful, but it really was the beginning of constant discomfort. Here are some belly pics from Christmas morning at 35 weeks and 5 days:

Business was pretty slow between Christmas and New Year, so I tried to take it easy. I wrapped up the finishing touches on the nursery, took care of all my baby gear warranties, and organized all my baby paperwork (from gift receipts to medical files...I don't think I've ever been this organized in my life-its the magic of nesting).

On New Years Eve, he was a party animal. We stayed pretty low-key just because I had not been feeling great. So we watched the IU v. OSU game at my parent's house and stayed there for NYE festivities. At around 8:00 pm that night I started getting really sharp back pain. Oh crap. Then my belly started tightening up. The pain would wrap around my whole torso. I started timing the tightening. They would last about a minute every ten minutes. This lasted about 3 hours pretty consistently. My belly bump took on a whole different shape as well. It was sticking out farther and much lower. Even my dad noticed the difference in appearance. 

However, I didn't want to be one of those first time moms that freaked out about something normal and went into the hospital only to be sent home. So I prayed and just began to trust my body. I told myself that if they got more intense and lasted all night I definitely would call the doctor. However, by the time we got home around 2:00am or so, I just felt exhausted from going through the rough night. The contractions had stopped though. I still get them intermittently, but not as long as I did that night. Since then, I feel so much more pressure on my pelvis. I think he was just dropping that night. So I am very anxious to see what the doctor says at my next appointment this Friday. Until then, I have told myself I am not going to be more than 10 minutes away from my family or Ryan at any time...just in case I need a Taxi ride up to IU North soon! I am so excited to meet the little love of our lives.