Something's up

Weeks 37-38: Generally this period has been more of the same, but in the last 5 days or so (end of wk 37 into wk 38), I've become consistently uncomfortable. Standing up is now a matter of a pained unfolding, walking only partly unkinks that below-belly muscle, and my joints et al. make even a couple of blocks feel like a major undertaking. This may wreak havoc with my commute to work. Also, rolling over in bed at night is not just hard but also somewhat painful, again involving those same belly/hip muscles. I don't know if my belly is just getting larger (although some more t-shirts have been lost from the repetoire) and starting to sag/pull against nearby parts, or if it's something more, but it's a drag, and I'm glad it didn't start before this.

For medical context, I don't think I've had much in the way of contractions, and certainly there's no dilation (and only a little softening) of the cervical realm. [And who designed this rebuild-the-port system??] My doctor says "we're more happy the more uncomfortable you become," which indicates that the aching is probably a sign of some kind of progress, but there's no evidence that the baby has dropped either. So, um, just more for the grump bucket, I guess... Doc is talking about induction either next week (if there is cervical progress) or the week after (if we have to make it all happen from scratch) -- I'm working down the list of old wives' remedies (spicy food, sex, next comes bumpy drives, heh), but it's pretty much up to Speck from here!