37 Week Bumpdate + Introducing Gideon!

The day that I was planning on posting my 37-week bump date, I was in the hospital delivering our baby boy instead.

I had my 37-week bump date written early last week, and the morning of August 10th–when I was 37 weeks and 2 days pregnant–I was planning on getting up, driving to a park, and taking my last bump pictures by some gorgeous flowering bushes. Then my friend was coming over to hang out with me. I was planning on finally packing our hospital bags, and then going out later to celebrate my twenty-sixth Birthday!

What happened, instead, was that I woke up, hubby told me “Happy Birthday”, I got up, and that’s when I noticed the bleeding. We jumped in the car, sped to the hospital–and our son, Gideon Talakea’u Lotulelei, was born via c-section at 12:11 pm on August 10th–we share a birthday! He weighed 6 lbs 2 oz, was 19 inches long, and is perfect in every way.

I am writing my birth story, and will be posting that later this week, but for now–I wanted to go ahead and post my very last bumpdate, that I wrote the day before Gideon’s sudden arrival.

Today was the day that we were supposed to be meeting Gideon for the first time, but I can’t help but feel a huge amount of relief that the operation is over, our hospital stay is complete, and we are home snuggling with this handsome little dude.

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Note: This bumpdate was all written the day before Gideon was born!

Thank you, sweet readers, for following my very bumpy (get it? Ha ha!) journey. This has been a tough pregnancy, and I am so grateful for every one of you–and all the advice, encouragement, and prayers you have offered every week!

I only have a week left to finish reading books, wrap up final projects, and prepare my heart and mind for our baby’s birth day!! *I thought I had a week left, but I only had hours left!!

I ran into a friend at the grocery store, and she was asking me how I was feeling, when Baby L was coming, and what it was like to be done working–and I just kept hearing myself repeat the word “bizarre”. Here I have the entire English language at my fingertips, and the only word that aptly described all the changes in my life at the moment was–and is–“bizarre”.

At the moment, I feel oddly at peace, despite all the unknowns about the next week or so. We have prepared as best we know how, and now we just have to do this thing!

How far along: 37 weeks! Baby is now considered full-term, and this mama is SO relieved. Back when I first wrote the post about the placenta previa, the next two months seemed so dark, dire, and impossible. I am so glad we made it through without bleeding, bed rest, or a hospital stay. Thank you, Lord!

Due date: August 29th is my original due date. My C-section is scheduled in my 38th week. The date is a surprise (It was scheduled for Tuesday, August 15th). 🙂 But, needless to say, baby is coming next week!!

Gender: It’s a surprise!

How big is baby? Baby is about 6.3 lbs at this point according to my app (baby was born at 6 lbs 2 oz, so all the pregnancy updates were super accurate!!). Any final guesses on how big baby will be? I was an average-size baby in the 7 lb range, and Saia was a large baby. This little one is coming two weeks early, so he/she will be a bit smaller than he/she would be otherwise, but I am interested in seeing how big he/she will end up being!

This week, baby: Baby’s immune system is continuing to develop, he/she is still packing on 1/2 a lb a week (only one week left, baby! Pack that fat on!), but he/she is just about ready to be born!

How are you feeling physically: I am feeling great, this week! I really don’t have many uncomfortable symptoms at this point, and the fatigue I was feeling a few weeks ago has really abated. I can’t believe I only have one week left of pregnancy, and then about six weeks of healing from the c-section, and then I’ll finally be able to exercise again! I am so ready for this restrictions to be over, and to live a normal life again.

How are you feeling emotionally? I am feeling good! I only have a week left to protect this baby, and then it is go-time! I am nervous about the c-section, and the recovery–but I am feeling as prepared as I think I can be at this point. And I can’t wait to meet our baby!!

What I’m googling: “how to tell friends and family after a c-section”. Hubs and I both have big families, and large friend groups. I am unsure of how to go about contacting everyone near and dear to us, after a c-section. I am not sure if I’ll feel up to making phone calls, and I don’t want hubby to have to make two-hundred phone calls, either. Mom suggested calling a few, and then assigning those people to call others, and I definitely need to sit down and make a list, and come up with a plan of action! *I wish I had done this! But things figured themselves out. 

Purchases I’ve made/nesting update: A friend gave me a bag of really nice bottles (especially for breastfed babies), a few sleepers, and a nursing cover (thanks, Sunshine!). I did buy a few more maternity tops at a garage sale this past weekend, they were only fifty cents each, and great quality. I figured that I would be wearing them for awhile after the birth, so I might as well grab them while I could! This week, I need to go buy some snacks, slippers, and other assorted items for our hospital bag. Other than that, I feel as ready as we can be. We have a place for baby to sleep (we are using this SwaddleMe By Your Side co-sleeper and the Snugabunny Fisher Price rock and play), a ton of diapers in assorted sizes and brands, quite a few clothes, swaddles, and blankets and several places to set baby down (the Boppy lounger, and a Boppy bouncer). I am sure we will find things that we need, but that is what Amazon Prime is for, yes? And I definitely feel like I’m at the point where I think we have the basics covered, and I just want to see what this particular baby needs in order to thrive.

Sleep: I require about twenty-six pillows to be comfortable, and I do wake up multiple times a night, but sleep still isn’t too terrible at this point. I am just enjoying sleep while I can!

Best moments this week: Last midwife appointment–and going out to Chick-fil-a with Mom afterwards (thanks Mom!), preparing for my date with Hubs this weekend, and having the time at home to get final projects wrapped up.

Worst moment this week: Getting nervous about this upcoming c-section!

Movement: I can’t believe I only have a week left to enjoy this little person’s kicks and jabs! Baby is still moving A LOT!

Cravings/Eating: This weekend, I told hubby that I needed a chocolate chip cookie. Which is weird for me, since I rarely crave sweets. So I baked some oatmeal-chocolate-chip bars, and they were so yummy! I put the rest in the freezer for snacks later on.

Symptoms: Back and neck pain, fatigue, and baby bouncing on the bladder.

Looking forward to: Meeting our child next week!!!

To-dos for last week:

  • Finish reading c-section book
  • Finish reading nursing book
  • Schedule the car for a service Finally got this done, phew!
  • Wash mattress cover Washed, and back on the bed!
  • Pack hospital bags *in hindsight, I should have done this a lot earlier!! My little sister and brother had to run back to our apartment, and pack all our bags for us while I was having my c-section done. 
  • Schedule pedicure My Mom, sis and I are getting pedicures TODAY!
  • Go on one last pre-baby date with Hubs. We have this scheduled for this Saturday. 🙂

To-dos for this week:

  • Finalize and print up birth plan
  • Pack hospital bags
  • Enjoy date with Hubs
  • Finish reading nursing book
  • Figure out a plan for contacting people
  • (Needless to say I got none of these things done, and everything worked out okay, regardless.)

Well, that’s all, folks!

Did you have a surprise birth with any of your kids?

14 thoughts on “37 Week Bumpdate + Introducing Gideon!”

  1. Welcome Baby Gideon! Love your name! It suits you well. 🙂

    Bethany, he is so precious. Praises to God for a safe delivery! Mama, enjoy that baby and rest up. 🙂

  2. Congratulations!!! He is so precious. How cool that you two share a birthday!

    My little guy definitely surprised us when he was born a little over a year ago. He was due June 15, but I figured he’d be overdue (and I wanted him to be really overdue so he could be born on June 24, when we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist). June 7 was a Tuesday, and that week I had big stuff planned literally everyday-pediatrician interview, meeting a friend from out of town for lunch, pre-washing our cloth diaper stash, installing the car seat, etc.-and he came! And once he came, I realized how overjoyed I was that he didn’t come later (when I wanted him too) because I had that many more days of precious memories with him on the outside of the womb. And things worked themselves out in the end, even if it meant that getting out of the hospital took a while because my husband and the nurse were trying to get the car seat figured out 🙂

  3. Ohhh isn’t it a relief, dear daughter, to have the c-section and all the worried days of a high risk pregnancy behind you? God is SO good, and He answered our prayers so beautifully in that perfect little son you now hold. What a gift!!

  4. Yay! So excited for you! Your little guy just wanted to be your Birthday present! (You’ve probably heard that a lot now.) I love the name Gideon. I hope c-section post didn’t freak you out beforehand! It really did go well. Even recovering went normally. I think it just felt crazy to me after Rebekah and because I focused a lot on the procedure and didn’t give hardly any thought to recovery. And some women who tear a lot have really long recoveries from vaginal birth too. I am praying that your recovery has been smooth and easy so far!

  5. Congratulations!! My first two were born just after my due date, but for the third I was induced ten days early, which I didn’t expect. We met my midwife at the hospital for a “consultation” and ended up taking the baby home the next morning!

  6. Flynn’s birth was a surprise! He was supposed to be born on October 4th, but my water broke at home at 4:00 am in our living room (I was sleeping on the couch because our bed was too high to get my leg up and boost myself up haha)! I was in shock, so I quite literally CLEANED for a half an hour before even attempting to wake Aaron up!

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