Pregnancy Update: Weeks 36-38 + What’s In My Hospital Bag
I made it to the last month of my pregnancy and slowed down big time! Contractions, cramps, waddling, naps, and lots of relaxation before our babe makes his or her debut. Plus, I packed my hospital bag and I’m sharing what’s inside!
For more pregnancy updates, You can catch up with my first trimester recap here, plus weeks 13-20, weeks 20-24, my second trimester recap, weeks 28-32, weeks 32-35, our babymoon, and my prenatal supplement routine. All recommendations are based off of personal use and preference. I know pregnancy updates can be triggering for some, so please know this is just a recap of my experience, hoping I can help someone else!
I can’t believe this is going to be my LAST pregnancy update. The past 8 months have FLOWN by! Before we told our family and friends, I never thought the time would pass and since then I can’t believe how fast everything has been happening!
For Mother’s Day, my husband made me a photo album of my pregnancy journey and let’s just say I was BAWLING. It was the sweetest gift ever and I can’t believe how quickly time passes!
The three photos below are spaced almost 10 weeks apart and it’s just NUTS!
I’m officially in the final countdown (side note: you can read that like the song in Pitch Perfect before the finals – skip to 0:57 to see what I mean), and can’t believe I can go into labor at any minute.
Given all the contractions I’ve had for the past 8-10 weeks, I’ve been saying “this babe is going to come early” for WEEKS. Now that I’m approaching 38 weeks, I’m not too sure. Watch, joke’s on me and I’ll have to get induced at 41 weeks – oy!
At my last ultrasound (at almost 37 weeks), our babe was estimated to be 7 pounds, 4 ounces already. Ultrasound estimates can be way off, but WOWZA! Babies can add a half pound a week, so I could be tipping 9 pounds if I go to 40 weeks!
How I’m Feeling – Physically
The last month of pregnancy is NO JOKE. For all the mamas out there who work full-time up until labor, I don’t know how you do it! I wrapped up with my 1-on-1 clients a couple of weeks ago and thank goodness – I just don’t have the energy! (I’m currently adding clients to my waitlist for when I go back to work in August/September!)
My workdays are much more relaxed, working ahead on recipe development for the summer and planning for after maternity leave. I’m usually a last minute kinda gal, but working ahead has been so nice, I’m going to try to keep up with it (jokes on me as a new mom, right?!)!
I’ve also been taking many half days, sneaking in naps, or days off because I’m just too exhausted or uncomfortable. Listening to my body has never been easier!
The past two weeks have been full of stronger contractions (but still not “labor” contractions) and more cramping (which is new). I thought I was going into labor, but nope – false alarm, my contractions never progressed!
And with all of the contractions I’ve had, I couldn’t believe that at my almost 37 week appointment I wasn’t dilated yet – ZILCH! I go back to the doctor today, just before 38 weeks.
How I’m Feeling – Mentally
As uncomfortable as constant contractions, cramps, and confined baby kicks are, the anxiety of labor coming is probably the hardest thing I’m coping with right now. As a mom, I know I won’t be able to control everything that happens with my child, but as a type A person, not knowing when the baby will make his or her appearance is HARD! Whenever I get a contraction I think, “is this the start?!” Or if the baby moves in a weird way that feels new I think, “is this the back labor people talk about?”
Everyone says that “you’ll know when you’re in labor,” but what about those people who don’t really and then give birth in their bathtub?! (Seriously, that’s my greatest fear for the safety of our child.) Or maybe I have a high pain tolerance given all of the medical tests and procedures I’ve been through in the past (not likely, I know).
Not being able to concentrate fully on work and having some extra free time right now definitely doesn’t help (because sometimes you CAN read too much!), so I keep telling myself to SURRENDER. I wrote more about that on Instagram here.
My pre-labor mantra is going to be “surrender to what you cannot control.” I can’t control the pain, the timing, the interventions that may or may not be needed, so I’m trying to surrender. Sometimes I feel totally peaceful and like it’s working, and other times, well, not so much! Already feeling sleep deprived also doesn’t help much!
One thing I feel totally at peace about, however, is our birth plan. The hospital supplies a checklist template you can use, and while it’s great to pick out preferences, my priority is to have a safe and as easy as possible delivery. I haven’t thought too much about the specifics because from what I hear, it usually doesn’t happen as you plan. For once, I’m not planning! I’m expecting to want an epidural, and I’m OK with it. Other than that, I don’t have many preferences listed.
I love hearing what others went through when it comes to labor or how you dealt with the uncertainty, so if you’d like to share, I’m all ears!
My Hospital Bag
Now I know there are a gazillion and one blog posts about hospital bags and what to pack, so I’m going to keep this as short as possible. I’ll be sure to update this list after the birth to reflect what I actually used while in the hospital.
- Toiletries for me (toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, body wash, etc.) and medications (packed my prenatal vitamins)
- Lavender essential oil
- Towels and flip flops
- Nursing pajama set and robe (my friend got this for me, so I packed it, but honestly hear that many first time moms just wear the hospital gown the entire time)
- Nursing bras (I have this one and this one)
- Nursing pads
- Fridababy MomWasher Peri Bottle for PostPartum Care (heard good things about this one for after delivery)
- Technology – chargers, iPad, and phone
- Healthy Human tumbler (keeps water sooo cold – wouldn’t have survived pregnancy without this tumbler!)
- Snacks for after labor (88 Acres bars, SkinnyPop popcorn, SunButter, GG Fiber crackers)
- Tootsie Pops for early labor (if needed)
- Pair of sweatpants and loose t-shirt and a sundress to come home in – the weather has been crazy, and I figured these are the most comfortable options
- Earth Mama Diaper Balm for our babe and Earth Mama Belly Oil for me
- My mom will pick up and wash the coming home outfit for our babe, depending on the gender
We only live 20 minutes from the hospital, so I know my husband will run home to shower and pick up anything else we need!
What we’ve done lately to prepare for the babe:
- Got blackout curtains for the nursery (so far everything is white!)
- Moved furniture around in the nursery
- Washed the bassinet sheets and a couple of swaddles
- Confirmed we still like the names we chose
- Went on more date nights
- Slept a ton
- Ate banana ice cream every night. And felt 0 guilt.
And now it’s go time… any day now! We can’t wait to introduce you to the newest member of our family! Any guesses – girl or boy?!
XO