36 Weeks

How far along?  36 Weeks, 4 Days

Size of the baby? The size of a honeydew, or still 17-18 inches  

Maternity Clothes? Sick of them.  So very sick of them.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep?  Sleep is good these days, to be honest.  I actually slept entirely through the night a couple days ago - woke up in extreme pain but I felt like I slept hard!  Sometimes I get up anywhere from 1-2 times a night.  Biggest issue with sleeping right now is trying to keep my wrists straight so that I'm not completely crippled when I wake up.

Best Moment of the Week?  Making progress in the nursery!  All her clothes are organized and folded and put away, the changing table is almost all done and set up.  I still need to get things "squared away" in there - like finding places for baby meds, my breastfeeding/post-labor supplies, etc.  Still want to find a glider and Brad isn't yet done with the crib.  Oh, and doing a little bit of decorations!

Movement?  Yes - and while I know I will miss it so much once I'm not pregnant, she's getting so big that it's just uncomfortable when she really gets moving a lot.  About twice a day she'll move like crazy and then the rest of the day it's little pokes and prods here and there.  

Symptoms? Swelling, duh.  It actually got a lot better this last week since the temps had cooled off some!  My feet looked like my normal feet again.  Still having wicked heartburn at times, feel like someone kicked me in the groin when I walk, and still dealing with this awful tendonitis.  Hope that goes away soon after birth!

Cravings?  Pineapple - fresh pineapple, pineapple popsicles, and I just remembered I have a recipe for a pineapple sheet cake...funny cause that's supposed to induce labor for some people and my craving hasn't been related to that at all.

Labor Signs?  New question here!  So far I've been having a fair amount of Braxton Hicks, and while I don't think I've dropped too much yet, I do feel that pain in the groin area. And I mentioned in my last post that I felt like I was starting to lose my mucous plug?  Still not sure on that one yet.

What do I miss? At this point I still miss all the old things - wine, beer, non-maternity clothes, pre-packaged lunch meat (yes, I even miss that).  But you stay pregnant for so dang long that you start to forget what those things were even like! 

What I'm looking forward to? Doctor's appointment on Thursday - I'll have my first cervix check to see if I'm dilated at all!  Probably won't amount to much, if anything, since I won't even be 36 weeks, but I'm hoping the Evening Primrose Oil will have done something for me!

Checking in + labor signs??

I have 5 days left before I am officially considered full term (37 weeks)!!!  SO exciting and yet so crazy to think about.  We've been busy getting all the "big stuff" done for the nursery, like getting her changing table and crib built/set up, the dresser put together, clothes and things washed up.  There's still lots to do, though - we're not yet done with the crib, which is alright since she'll probably just be sleeping in her little Rock N Play Sleeper for the first month.  I also need to look for a glider - I wasn't going to do one, but the more I think about it, the more I really think I want a chair that I can rock her in.  I'm not going to do too much with decorating the room since we're most likely moving in a few months, but that should be alright because the room is already pretty decorated with neutral things.


We have all the baby supplies we need for the most part, the only thing I can think of that we still need to buy is the Angel Care Movement Monitor.  But that's another thing that can wait until the crib is done.  And I still am not sure what I'm going to bring her home from the hospital in, I honestly doubt I'll do anything fancy. Probably a sweet white sleeper with a big 'ol bow...speaking of which, I've got to get on Etsy and start buying some of the bows and headbands I've bookmarked!


As for labor signs...while I'm sure there's some people that are interested, this is honestly more for me to look back on one day and see how things happened.  Here's what I've been doing lately to encourage "dropping":

• Taking 1000mg of Evening Primrose Oil with my prenatal.  Starting this Friday - when I'm 37 weeks - I'll increase to 2000mg
• Walking every night
• Sitting on an exercise ball during work

I considered doing the perineum massage (I'm not going to explain it, you'll have to Google if you want to know what it is, ha) but I think I'm just going to cross my fingers that the EPO works wonders!  

Anyway, today was the first day that I felt like maybe things were happening?  I'm curious to know if she's dropped or not - I don't necessarily feel an increase in pressure, I only say it because the last few days I've been watching my belly and taking pictures.  Today I felt like I had the "shelf belly", where the top is basically creating a small shelf under my chest.  And then - in TMI and also why I don't advertise this blog - I'm thinking I've started to lose part of my mucous plug.  I also felt a little crampy today, which is strange to feel after so many months of not feeling that way.  

We will see!  26 days to go!

35 Weeks

Sorry this isn't the greatest picture...I've started working from home and I can't do the bathroom pictures anymore!  But you can't miss the belly ;)

How far along?  35 weeks, 4 days

Size of the baby? The size of a coconut...which somehow seems really, really small for how very big my belly is??  

Maternity Clothes? Yes, but even those are starting to get a little small!  The tank I'm wearing above is a maternity tank and it's juuuust covering my belly.  BTW, I thank God for those maternity shorts - they're from Old Navy and are so comfortable, and best of all, they don't have one of those stupid belly bands that stretch up to your boobs.  Cause when you don't have AC and it's 90 degrees out - and even when you DO have AC - you don't feel like wearing a tight piece of spandex over your belly, under a shirt.  ICK.  

Stretch marks? None that I can see...

Sleep?  Getting harder and harder to get comfortable and stay that way.  I'm easily up 4 or 5 times a night, whether it's to use the bathroom or waking myself up when turning over, or getting a drink, etc.  My hands/wrists absolutely ache at night, it is terrible pain that I'm so, so ready to be done with.  Hopefully it goes away after the baby gets here.

Best Moment of the Week?  Finishing up ALL of our baby shopping!  We have 99.5% of everything we will need for when the peanut shows up.  Now, if I could just get this room under control....

[yes, this is going to be her nursery!  my goal is to have it ready by next week, which is good because next Friday I will be full term...]

Movement?  Yes, still feeling her move but I'm thinking it's starting to slow down a little bit.  I don't mind it at all cause I can definitely still feel her a lot, and to be honest, when she does move these days it can be super uncomfortable.  

Symptoms? Still swelling, although my doctor advised that I get a sweet pair of compression socks.  So now I walk around in my house all day in shorts, a tank and basically a pair of pantyhose pulled up to my knees :)  But I DON'T EVEN CARE - these suckers are miracle workers!  I am still swollen but not as badly as I have been, and the best thing is that the swelling isn't so uncomfortable.  I've also felt super sore in my groin area [sorry, I know, TMI, but I want to remember when these things happened!].  Not feeling many contractions at all.  I started taking Evening Primrose Oil this week, and I'm crossing my fingers that it's going to get my cervix all softened up ASAP!  I know you're supposed to want the baby to stay in as long as possible, and while I do want her in there for the next few weeks, I would be absolutely okay if she came around 38 or 39 weeks!  

Cravings?  No, none really.  However, one thing I've realized is that while I've been pregnant, I have not been able to eat cheese like I used to!  Like, cheese and crackers, or just a slice of cheese or a Babybel used to be my most favorite snack.  Now it's the last thing that sounds good to me.  Strange...

Gender?  Baby GIRL! Who is still nameless but after I cried last night when Brad told me he had some new names he wanted to consider - which quickly took those new names off the table - he told me that we'll pick her name by the end of the week.  Picking this baby's name has been an uphill battle and I'll be happy to explain once she's born or we pick a name, whichever comes first.  I'm thinking it will be the former, despite what Brad says.

What do I miss? Oh man.  Everything about pre-pregnancy, although I know that once she's born I will miss being pregnant.  But there is truly a switch that flips - at least it did for me - around 33 or 34 weeks.  Physically I feel okay, but I just feel different - more aches and pains, and just a general feeling of "I am ready to have this baby!"  I always got SO sick of women that started talking all the time about having their baby when they still had a month to go, but holy cow.  It's funny how life makes you eat your words :) In really good news, I will be able to have a glass of wine in just 4 short weeks!  Okay, maybe not that soon cause of how much I'll be nursing...but it makes me feel better to say that!

What I'm looking forward to? Getting that dang nursery cleaned up and put together!  I'll post pics when we've got it done!

34 Weeks

How far along?  34 Weeks, 3 Days (I've decided to just go by my official due date...it's easier.  But I'm mentally preparing for my 8/28 due date, which would put me at 33w6d.)

Size of the baby? The size of a butternut squash, or 17-18 inches.  That is crazy!   

Maternity Clothes? Oh Lord.  My smug days of "Oh, I'm still in the belly band.  I can wear regular shirts" is OVAH.  I am beyond DONE with maternity clothes, with dressing this belly.  Don't even remind me I still have [potentially] 6 weeks left.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep?  Some days are better than others.  It's harder to get comfortable sometimes.  Sleeping on my side most of the time has presented a new issue of having to put my arms in awkward positions underneath me, and after a couple hours I wake up cause they're either asleep or aching.  When I wake up in the mornings, my hands are always so swollen and achy.  And I have tendinitis in both my wrists which adds to the pain.   

Best Moment of the Week?  Doing baby laundry!  Brad was so funny, I had a load of her clothes in the dryer and he went to pull them out and came back and said something like, he had never seen so much pink in his life.  Haha!  Funny thing about pink - you might say your baby girl is not going to wear only pink, but something happens where before you know it, you've accepted it and kind of love the fact that she's got SO MANY PINK CLOTHES.  Plus, finding baby girl clothes in colors that are NOT pink is actually really difficult and then you better be okay with people thinking your baby is a boy.  Cause honestly it's hard to tell their gender when they're itty bitty.

Movement?  Yep.  I love trying to figure out "What limb just poked me?"  Her favorite move is still pushing her butt out on my right side.  No joke, I sometimes wonder, is my uterus ONLY on the right side?  Cause she has been on the left like, twice, in the whole pregnancy.

Symptoms? Swelling.  Swelling, swelling.  I think if there was one symptom I hoped to bypass, it would've been this one.  Physically I feel fine, not sore, achy, etc.  But man.  My hands and feet/ankles and I even think my legs are just swollen.  I went back to the dr on my own for a weight check (meaning, my dr didn't ask me to come in, I just chose to) a week after the 4lb weight loss cause I was freaking out so badly and I had gained FOURTEEN pounds in one week.  Now, I am the first to tell you that I didn't eat particularly well that week because I was trying to gain weight!  But when I told my nurse how much I had gained from the week prior (she didn't have my chart) her eyes bugged and she was like, "Are you swollen??" and sure enough, I was pretty dang swollen from the week before.  My doctor happened to come by and said to check my BP (for pre-eclampsia) and it was like, 127/86, which is a little high.  They weren't concerned but told me to check it occasionally at the pharmacy.  Last time I checked was on Saturday and I think it was 123/80.  So, word of advice, try everything you can to avoid being pregnant in the summer cause it's not fun.  And it doesn't help that my typically mild-climate area is having record high temps. 

Cravings?  Still nothing.  I drink lots and lots of apple juice, if that counts? 

Gender?  Baby GIRL!  

What do I miss? Feeling like myself.  I just don't feel "normal" these days.

What I'm looking forward to? Going to the Cities this coming weekend to get last minute baby/nursing things!  Can't wait!

32 Weeks/33 Weeks

So...big surprise this week is that I am not actually 32 weeks + 3 days, I am apparently 33 weeks today!  I went in yesterday for my check up and my doctor walked in and said, "So!  32 weeks and 6 days!" and I said, "No, 32 weeks and 2 days."  She insisted I was 32 weeks and 6 days, and said that my due date - August 24th - was based off of my LMP when I got pregnant.  When I went in for my dating u/s the tech had told me my estimated due date was August 28th because I was dating 4 days behind.  However, my doctor informed me yesterday that being off by 4 days wasn't enough to necessitate changing the original due date.  Not sure where on earth I missed this info along the way...I do think we had some kind of miscommunication with it because I'm incredibly attentive to these kind of things. And honestly, while it's a little exciting to say I'm 33 weeks today, part of me just thinks that my true due date is the 28th based on ovulation, but I guess we'll see!  

Also in other weird news I found out that I lost almost 4lbs at my appointment.  Definitely had me worried but my belly measured right at 32.5 and baby's heartbeat was good, so my doctor assumes it was from the mixture of the intense heat we've been having (and we don't have AC in our house!) and the fact that I was a lot more swollen at my last appointment, according to her.  She wasn't too worried about it and just said we would keep an eye on it. 

How far along?  33 weeks, I guess!

Size of the baby? The size of a durian.  What.  

Maternity Clothes? Yep.  Pretty much all maternity these days :)

Stretch marks? None, thank the Lord....although I'm still holding my breath to see if they show up.

Sleep?  It's not too bad.  I'm up 2 and 3 times a night which gets old, but for the most part I sleep well.  

Best Moment of the Week?  I think it's between hearing the heartbeat (never gets old - and she's down to 140!) and narrowing our names down to 2 options!

Movement?  Yes, still moving a lot.  Although this last week it seemed as though she moved less and I feel like it had to do with a growth spurt because I was SO hungry. 

Symptoms? Occasional Braxton Hicks/slight cramps, sore back/hips, heartburn, tiredness, swelling.  Nothing too bad.   

Cravings?  Honestly, I just haven't had much in the way of cravings.  It's been so hot that I don't care to cook, and it's hard to crave restaurant food when you're usually sick of all the same places you always eat at :)

Gender?  Baby GIRL!  

What do I miss? Missing normal clothes!  Cannot.wait to get back into regular shirts and pants!

What I'm looking forward to? My shower is this weekend, so I'm definitely looking forward to that!  Also, even though I'm not loving getting huge, I just read that these next 4 weeks the baby goes through a big growth spurt, and I'm looking forward to that!  

And just because it cracks me up, here's a couple pictures of my belly...gives you an idea how much this baby LOVES to curl up on the right side of my belly!  My stomach looks deformed when I sit like this...but that ridge going down the right side is her little back :)