36 Weeks and Busting My Pregnancy Records

At the time I’m writing this (August 28), I’m still pregnant! I’ve made it to 36 weeks, a full week longer than my longest pregnancy! I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve been trying to take it extra easy or because this baby is just terrified of all the chaos that’s on the outside, but whatever the reason for his or her extended stay, I’ll take it!

Leading up to 35 weeks, I was super anxious. The doctors had always been like, “Thirty-five weeks is great — we certainly don’t want you to go any earlier.” So I felt a lot of anxiety in trying to keep this baby in until I at least hit the mark when my other kids were born (particularly after my pee scare at 29 weeks). So when those two days passed, I breathed two sighs of relief. Now, a full week later, I’m even starting to think I might go to term — 37 weeks! Could it be possible that I’ll avoid the NICU stay and have a baby actually rooming with me? Each day that ticks by brings me one step closer to that being a reality.

In a way, I almost feel like my due date has come and gone. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not actually due until the end of September. This is totally new territory for me! And then I have a totally different stress attack: What if I go to my due date? Or beyond!? I can’t really fathom getting much bigger. And I can’t really imagine it getting much more difficult to heave myself out of bed in the night. My pain is also not going anywhere, and I’m really ready for it to be done. But I’ll happily/grumpily wait it out, as this baby will come when he or she is ready. Maybe this is just the start of this baby breaking new ground; maybe this baby will be my SLEEPER!

Have you had a preterm baby and then gone to term? Tell us about it! —Erin