37-38 Weeks Pregnant – Symptoms, Body Changes, Bump Update – Pregnancy Diary
When I got to 37-38 weeks pregnant, I got really excited – and nervous. My daughter was born when I was 37 weeks 4 days pregnant. I went into labor naturally after a failed external cephalic version.
So I was on super close baby watch those weeks – and for a good reason.
My baby was born when I was 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant. And once again, labor started naturally on its own.
Last Checkup at 37 Weeks Pregnant
At 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant, I had my last checkup.
I was very curious to see if they could check my cervix, which they typically don’t do until you reach 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Getting a cervical check is definitely a choice, and not a need. Some women might be afraid it could set off labor. Some people just prefer not to know to not get their hopes up, or get disappointed.
But I was way too curious to learn if my body was already preparing for labor, given how early my daughter was born.
So when the doctor agreed to do a cervical exam, and told me I was already dilated at 2cm and baby was sitting really low, I was not surprised.
Before my doctor performed the exam, I inquired about a membrane sweep, also called stretch and sweep. My doctor told me she could only do that if I’m already a little dilated. And since I was already at 2cm, she was able to do a quick sweep.
After the checkup and the sweep, my doctor told me this could go one of two ways.
I would either have a baby (or go into labor) within the next 48 hours, or nothing would happen.
But given how low baby was already sitting, she was positive I would go into labor very soon. And she was right, labor started 44 hours after the membrane sweep.
Starting all Things to Prepare for Labor
At 37-38 weeks pregnant, I was ready to prepare my body as much as possible for labor.
Before reaching 37 weeks, not all things are safe or recommended to do. After all, you don’t want your baby to come too early, where there is a chance of baby not being developmentally ready for life outside the womb.
Raspberry Leaf Tea
I started drinking about 2-3 cups of raspberry leaf tea every day.
I already started with one cup at about 35 weeks pregnant, which is safe to do, and slowly increased it.
Dates
In addition, I also started eating about 6 dates a day. I would usually fill them with a little peanut or almond butter, to make it a little tastier and add some healthy fats.
I couldn’t do all the dates and all the tea every day, because it does get a little boring. But I tried for at least one cup of tea and 3-4 dates per day.
Yoga and Exercise
Besides consuming certain foods and drinks, I also started doing yoga to help the body prepare for labor.
I also tried to go on at least one walk per day, sometimes two.
This late in the pregnancy, any type of movement really helps to get the blood flowing and maintain some endurance, which you’ll need to go through labor.
It also helped me calm my nerves, prepare me mentally for what’s about to come, and feel less stiff and achy overall.
Also, knowing that with a newborn and newly postpartum I wouldn’t be able to move as much was a big motivator. I really tried to take advantage of these last weeks without a baby to focus on myself and my body. And looking back, it was the best thing I did.
Symptoms
Nausea
The nausea that I felt at 35-36 weeks pregnant came back again at 37 weeks pregnant.
I had gotten maybe a week break in between the nausea attacks, but then it stuck around until the end.
I did not experience the same in my first pregnancy so it took me by surprise.
However, in my first pregnancy I also didn’t deal with nausea in the first trimester. I got lucky then.
This time, I had quite a bit of nausea throughout the first trimester. Luckily not as bad and I never got sick, but it was uncomfortable.
Contractions
Throughout my entire second half of the pregnancy, I dealt with Braxton Hicks contractions.
These practice contractions started really early for me, but I experienced the same in my first pregnancy, so I wasn’t surprised.
Towards the end of my pregnancy, the Braxton Hicks contractions got stronger. They can be uncomfortable at times, because they make my tummy feel really tight, but not painful.
But when I was at 37+4 weeks pregnant, all of a sudden in the middle of the night, I started feeling stronger, somewhat more painful contractions.
I did remember what real contractions feel like from the birth of my first daughter.
So when these contractions woke me up and didn’t fade, I started wondering if it is the start of labor.
While they weren’t too painful yet, I was too nervous to go back to sleep and started timing them.
After about 3-4 hours, they fizzled out, so I knew it wasn’t the real onset yet.
The following days, I kept noticing more intense contractions. To this day I am not sure if those were still Braxton Hicks contractions, or actual early labor.
The contractions didn’t really follow a pattern, but they were strong enough to make me question whether they were just practice contractions.
Nevertheless, they didn’t pick up and turn into “real” contractions until after my water broke at 38+1 weeks pregnant.
Baby Sitting Low
At around 33-34 weeks pregnant, I thought the baby dropped. I felt so much more pressure since then, But in pictures or looking at my belly, it doesn’t look like it dropped at all.
When I got to 37-38 weeks pregnant, it still didn’t really look like my belly dropped, but the baby was feeling really low.
I noticed yet an increase in bathroom breaks, and just more pressure in general.
During all my previous appointments, they couldn’t really tell me if the baby was low yet, since they never performed a cervical exam.
But when I was finally able to get checked at 37 weeks, my suspicions were confirmed.
It didn’t just feel like baby boy was sitting low, he actually was, and was ready to come out soon.
Body Changes and Bump Update
At 37-38 weeks pregnant, I had long surpassed the weight gain and belly circumference that I had at the end of my first pregnancy.
I wasn’t surprised though. My skin had already been stretched once, and this baby seemed to be bigger than my first.
I was a little confused, because I stopped gaining weight somewhere around 32-34 weeks in my first pregnancy, and thought the same would happen this time around. I even ended up losing some weight in the end, no matter what I ate.
This time though, the weight never plateaued, but increased until the last day.
At the end of the day this wasn’t a bad thing though. I was struggling with breast milk supply after the birth of my first child, and to this day I was wondering if it could’ve been caused by me not gaining enough weight.
Plus, having a toddler that I am chasing all day long I knew I would get plenty of exercise to lose the excess weight eventually.
Otherwise, I felt good in my body. Yes, the belly is big, it gets in the way a lot, and it adds a lot more pressure on your body.
But there is something about being pregnant that just makes me feel incredibly feminine.
And in the end I am just in awe of my body for creating this human, that I get to love for the rest of my life. No matter what my body feels or looks like in the end – I am just thankful for it for growing and giving me my baby.
Previous Weeks:
- 4-8 weeks pregnant
- 9-10 weeks pregnant
- 11-12 weeks pregnant
- 13-14 weeks pregnant
- 15-16 weeks pregnant
- 17-18 weeks pregnant
- 19-20 weeks pregnant
- 21-22 weeks pregnant
- 23-24 weeks pregnant
- 25-26 weeks pregnant
- 27-28 weeks pregnant
- 29-30 weeks pregnant
- 31-32 weeks pregnant
- 33-34 weeks pregnant
- 35-36 weeks pregnant