Week 37 rings the bell of the full-term time: theoretically, from now on it’s all fair game, and I can legitimately go into labour at any time. Worried? Nah. Excited? A little bit. Focused? Very much.

Frosty’s developments

As mentioned last week, Frosty should be ready to make their appearance at any time. Being full-term at 37 weeks, though, doesn’t mathematically mean that Frosty is right on point: nature should know the best time to trigger the labour, hopefully meaning that labour will start when Frosty’s development and maturity are perfect for giving them the best start in life.

Smart babies tend to stay in their mothers wombs as long as possible, and I don’t mind keeping them here longer than the due date, even if that means stretching my gestation to week 40 or 41.

I am not feeling excessively annoyed by the bump, although sometimes it’s tricky to bend over, wear socks, get out of the car, and things like that.

Imagine doing all of that with this little tornado not giving you any break! They aren’t waking me up at nights as they used to do in the past weeks, and instead are being very more active during the day. I love we’re so synchronised, and I hope to get that also when they’re out.

It’s Frostober indeed

My friend Chiara has replaced October in her calendar with Frosty: therefore, since this is most likely the month when my baby will be born, October has turned into Frostober 🙂

I celebrated the beginning of the full term with an Instagram post: I finally sport a legit bump, although people still can’t believe I’m about to give birth ¯_(ツ)_/¯

View this post on Instagram

Hello, my name is Stef, and the little tornado inside my tummy is Frosty. We spent 9 months together: I nurtured them, they taught me many things about myself, life, love. . From today on, Frosty is ready to leave my warm oven, this now-too-tight Airbnb studio flat, to make their appearance into the real world. @franzvitulli and I are focused and ready for the next phase of our lives, and the very first real phase of Frosty's. . It's been the most amazing journey so far, I've been blessed with the best and most magical pregnancy I couldn't ever imagine, and I hope to keep Frosty with me for at least another couple of weeks. I am not ready to let them go, and to share them with anyone. However, today Frosty is full term, as it's my 37th week of gestation. From now on, it's all fair game. Bring it on. . . . #37weekspregnant #pregnantwoman #feelthebuzz #pregnancydiary #pregnancylife #pregnancyjourney #thirdtrimester #pregnantwomen #37weekspregnancy #ivfjourney #ivfsuccess #ivfsupport #ivfpregnancy #ivfcommunity #ivfsuccessstory #pregnancystruggles #babygrowth #pregnantstruggles #pregnantstruggle #givingbirth #givingbirthsoon #fullterm #fulltermbaby #fulltermpregnancy #fulltermtoday #fulltermnow #fulltermbump #fulltermpregnant #fulltermbelly

A post shared by Stefania Mattana (@eraniapinnera) on Oct 2, 2019 at 3:34am PDT

Oven updates

Again, this week I was expecting a big leap in weight. Instead, I went up from 50.6kg (111.55lbs) to current 51kg (112lbs). Only 400g of gaining, which I hope – and looks like! – mainly all baby weight 🙂

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It looks like the bump hasn’t dropped yet, which makes me think and hope Frosty is going to hang in there for a little while.

Meanwhile, the bump is taking funny shapes as Frosty moves around: they are being indeed restless as I mentioned earlier, and all this rolling and kicking and stretching change the shape of my belly. It’s either Frosty looks alike their mumma–because I don’t sleep much– or like their daddy–as he is restless even when sleeping.

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I also figured that probably my little tornado has always been that restless and active, but since they had more room before I wasn’t able to fully perceive the 100% of their movements.

Needless to say I’m enjoying every single seconds of this, even if sometimes it may get uncomfortable!

Sister was here (aka: why time flies?)

Like all the best things in life, my sister’s visit in Reading didn’t last long. We tried to get the best out of every moment we spent together, and that of course included lots of good food.

We hit the gym together as much as possible, and she witnessed Frosty’s movements when I was doing lateral raises on the gym floor! We clearly spotted two feet sliding from side to side of my tummy, it was funny and creepy at the same time!

Sara has started already to act like a legit auntie for Frosty by trying to empty the entire Primark as she couldn’t decide what to get for them. She eventually went for a full bag of stuff, leaving something on the shop floor also for other newborns 😀

It should be noted that the bag she put together included also some packs of candies for me – Frosty needs it, amirite?

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The most magical moments I shared with my sister were when laying on the sofa (or at bedtime), when I knew Frosty would be more restless than usual – we know by now they get more active when I don’t move and rock them.

Frosty did their best shows when Sara was here, moving around so much that at some point my bump got an impressive peak shape, like a bell tower!
I adored the idea of Frosty being able to hear my sister’s voice, and feel her hands through my belly. I wish they could remember that.

Coming up next

This upcoming week is going to be interesting: I’ll have another scan on Tuesday to check on Frosty’s growth and position. From that scan we should figure out whether I might need to induce the labour or not. I’m confident I won’t need that.

On the same day I’ll attend the last antenatal appointment hosted by the NHS Health Visiting Team. While it’s not a mandatory event, it’s highly recommended, so I’ll be there.

I do really hope to issue a new 38 week update instead of a post announcing Frosty’s birth; with babies you never know though, so cross the finger for us!