Signs of things to come?

There are some things that pregnant women report happening that seem to come just before delivery of their baby (or babies).  They are kind of informally the “signs” of impending birth, but some women never have any and some women have several.  When I had Lucy I had very little warning I feel like (except my water breaking, which is pretty obvious!) or at least that I paid attention to.  I hadn’t gained that much weight, wasn’t uncomfortable and kept rolling forward actively with our everyday lives.  Things are different this time around and now that I think I understand and notice those changes in my body more, I have been noticing some of these!  You can check out the list through the link above which generally includes the big changes women report, but is not all inclusive.  Lately….

• I’ve had some days of increased energy and feeling back to “normal”- called nesting.  Women have reported doing things like folding and unfolding and folding baby clothes, organizing the nursery, scrubbing the house from floor to ceiling and (my personal favorite from a good friend of ours) moving tons of heavy stuff, such as patio bricks just before delivering.  I have just had more energy and just tied up a few loose ends around here.  I have tried to make myself lay low since I know that I need to save energy for their arrival. Not gonna lie though- I have been so happy since experiencing this new “high”!  Feel a bit like my old self!
• I haven’t gained and lost a bit of weight (when I went to weigh in today) in the last week as compared to the week before where I gained 5 lbs. in one week!  Yikes!  The Dr. thinks that 5 lbs. was mostly due to swelling though (or at least that’s a nice way to put it!).  Many women lose a little weight just before delivery.
• The babies have started to drop, which means that their heads have started to move down into my pelvis.  When they are fully “engaged” it means the head is fixed in position for delivery.  Neither baby has dropped all the way, but about a week ago I noticed my belly looked different from my “top” view and a couple of days later my Dr. noticed too and my belly measured a little less or different than before.  I have also felt “lightening” which feels like the babies are applying pressure also- another sign.
• Braxton-Hicks or warm up contractions have become more frequent.  I really don’t feel these much actually and when I was monitored today at the hospital I had one every 6-7 min. and didn’t feel any!  In fact, last week when I was monitored, they told me I was having them too (but not as frequent) and I had always thought that feeling was the babies moving!  Whoops!  They feel like a subtle squeezing to me at the most but some women report they can be incredibly painful.  Anyway, these warm up contractions get your body ready for the main event so they are generally a not-scary thing.