37 weeks - full term!

Well technically today is 36w6d but eh, who cares? When you're already measuring at 42 weeks (!!!) I'm thinking one day doesn't make a difference at this point.

Funny story: Yesterday I had a dr appt and since I'm a house and can't breathe or move now (haha) I took the elevator the one flight up to my OB's office.  Another woman who happened to be massively obese joined me in there (like, really really large; needed oxygen, had a walker, etc.). As she got into the elevator she looked me up and down and said "You're huge!"  LOL! Ok then. Thanks, lady.

I really do look like I have twins in there now.

Weight gain: +19-20 lbs

Belly button: She's poppin'!  Half in and half out at this point :-)

Symptoms: Do I really need to mention how sore and uncomfortable I am? Look at me! 
Good news though is that acid reflux is mostly under control now thanks to 150mg Zantac twice a day.  And unfortunately, I developed a head cold over the past week which was miserable. But luckily it was short lived and is mostly gone now, thank goodness. I cannot imagine how awful it would feel to be in labor when your head weighs a million pounds, you can't breathe, and you are coughing and snotting all over yourself.   

Updates:  So as I said I had an appt yesterday. They did a BPP (Biophysical profile) which consists of a bunch of measures via ultrasound which ensure the baby's heart is fine, he's practicing "breathing" in there, has proper movements and muscle tone and is just ok in general and not in distress. He passed with flying colors!  They also measured my amniotic fluid levels again (it remained the same as last week - very high) and the circumference of his head (it grew just a tiny bit, still in the 97th %ile). Afterwards we met with the high risk OB to discuss the good results, get measured (I'm now measuring another week up, at 42 weeks, yikes) and talk about next steps.  

Our biggest concern right now is where I should plan to deliver. The hospital I was going to be at (and LOVE) only has a special care nursery and not a high level NICU.  Right now the docs *think* our son has Achondroplasia which would mean everything *should* be fine upon birth but they can't rule out other types of dwarfism that are more serious until after he's born. Therefore we could think everything's fine and then oh shit, he ends up breaking bones during delivery, or we find that he has too much compression in his spinal column and requires surgery immediately upon birth...  Overall the docs don't *think* that will happen but they also gave us a disclaimer that they aren't 100% sure. Now, I'm all for optimism and am really hoping it's Achon and there will be no major health issues but when does banking on optimism become reckless? Wouldn't it be smarter to already be at a hospital that is equipped to deal with those potential issues should they arise vs. having our little guy have to be transferred somewhere (and the two of us likely separated)?

The other thing we want to know from the doctors is if it would be safer to just schedule a c-section at this point. Again, since they really don't know what we're dealing with and if his head keeps growing it might be fruitless to try to push him through my pelvis and I'd just exhaust myself and likely do major damage to my ladybits just to have to be wheeled in for an emergency CS anyway... It just seems like a whole lot to go through if it's just going to have the same result in the end. (AND, if the docs are wrong and our son has OI trying to push him out vaginally could be really dangerous for him.)  I don't know. I really don't know anything.  I don't know what is best, I don't know how much the doctors actually know or are just saying they know, I don't know what is being smart and what is being overly-cautious...

But we really need answers to these questions NOW since I could go into labor at any time. We really can't pussyfoot around with this (yes, I said pussyfoot) because if my water breaks we need to know which direction to drive in and what to expect/what to tell the hospital!
::sigh::
Sometimes I think it would have been easier/better if we never even knew about his dwarfism until he was born. It's just making me crazy since we have no answers. BUT, if we decide to switch hospitals just to be safe and he really DOES end up needing serious help then it will all have been worth it.

Okay now I'm just rambling.  You can probably see that everything is just swirling around in my mind with no resolutions.  Luckily, the plan was for the docs to all speak to one another today and I should be hearing from one of them this evening on the consensus, or at least on their discussion and then maybe it's up to me and Hubs to make the decisions.  
One good thing (I guess) about this being so rare is that we are an "interesting case" to them so everyone's talking about us!

I've been doing lots of research on dwarfism and have joined facebook groups and made connections with other moms and gotten all kinds of info. THAT I am grateful for.  But this has definitely taken over my life. Reading about medical issues and all the different types of doctors he will need to see, and where the specialists are in the country, and what to expect, and what can go wrong... it's just a LOT. I wish I could close my eyes and wake up on the day after I give birth to a healthy little boy with Achon so that there's no more questioning, no more decisions to be made, no more waiting, no more worrying.  I just want him to be here in my arms now, and healthy.

Anyway, I'll end on a good note.  Yesterday during the BPP the tech offered us a 3D U/S.  It made my heart skip a beat as I considered whether or not to say yes because, as superficial as it sounds, I have been very worried about how our little guy looks. Now that we know he has dwarfism I know he will look different.  It sounds so stupid and I hate myself a little for even letting this enter my mind but even though he will be short - he will be a dwarf - I still really hope his face will be "normal".  That has been what has made me cry over the past week - the thought that he might be seen as ugly. It's one thing to have the added challenges your whole life due to being a little person but it is something else to be a little person who people see as funny looking or ugly or scary or something else negative.  Anyway, I said I was ending on a good note so here's the good part: We agreed to see the 3D U/S and it was such a relief.  He looks beautiful.  He looks like a perfectly normal chubby little newborn with big cheeks and my husband's nose and a sweet little chin...  Both Hubs and I broke down crying when we saw him. It was a good moment.

Here's a little wave from our little guy: Jack. We've named him Jack after his grandpa.
I cannot wait to meet him.