Is that a hand poking out? 36 weeks 4 days

On Tuesday I had my first weekly doctor appointment and thus my first exam. I've been advised not to have exams done until absolutely necessary (39-40 weeks) because they can cause infections and because if any progress has been made then you tend to get overly excited for no reason. I agreed to the exam because, well, I'm impatient and excited and was really curious to see if I had made any progress. And good news! I'm 1cm dilated and 60% effaced! And now I'm really overly excited, and Jimmy even more so. I ask him at least once a week to go on a walk with me and he usually turns me down, but now he wants to go for walks every day to help move things along. Of course we both know it will happen when it's supposed to happen, but we're just so darn excited!

I've been having more of those stabbing cervical pains lately. I'm thinking the more pain, the more progress. The last couple days I've had quite a bit of these sensations so who knows maybe I'm 3cm by now! Sheeyeah, right. I can dream, can't I. I'm still feeling pretty well most of the time. It's getting harder to get comfortable when I sleep and I need help sitting up and tying my shoes sometimes. And today I noticed that my cankles are coming in. My legs and feet feel tight and a bit swollen, but I'm not waddling quite yet. I still haven't felt any contractions but apparently I could still be having them. My stomach does tighten up regularly so I guess this could be pre-labor contractions, they're just undetectable. Pain-free contractions - love it.


I cannot believe I only have three and a half weeks until my due date. It's so weird that Zoey can arrive pretty much any day now. Jimmy and I are so excited we can barely stand it.

• How far along?: 36 weeks
  
• Weight gain: 18 pounds
  
• Maternity clothes: blah. I miss real pants.
  
• Sleep: Lots of tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable and getting up to pee a lot.
  
• Stretch marks: I don't want to talk about it.
  
• Movement: Lots of big, weird movements and the stabbing pains down low and in my legs.
  
• Gender: Girl!!!
  
• Best moment of this week: Hearing I was 1cm dilated on Tuesday!
  
• Food cravings: Nothing notable really. I've actually had some nausea lately and haven't felt very hungry most of the time.
  
• Belly button in or out: In!
  
• What I miss most: Booze and real pants.
  
• What I'm looking forward to: My appointment next Tuesday. Anyone think I can get to 2cm by then? :)

Nighty night!
Ash