35 Weeks and Party Time!

Highlights of the week:

- This little boy has officially dropped and I'm dilated to a 1, so things are just as they should be according to the doctor. I can breathe again!

- Baby dropping= momma waddling even worse than before... very cool.

- Non stress test was all good again. Another one Thursday!

- Tomorrow marks the beginning of week 36. One more month until I'll be holding this little tiny guy!

- Nesting like crazy. I keep reorganizing my closet and going through baby stuff. 

- Sleeping terribly. Too bad black eye circles aren't very attractive.

And the most exciting part: my gorgeous, lovely, wonderful roommates from long ago, Bridget and Stephanie, threw me a baby shower this week! Milo hit the jackpot... my friends have amazing taste!

LOVED my baby shower. My friends are wonderful!

34 Weeks

How far along? 34 Weeks, 5 days

How big is baby? Large cantaloupe- 19-22 inches and 5.5 lbs! Yowza!

Maternity clothes? Do sweatpants count?

Stretch marks? No, but I've never felt so stretched in my life!

Sleep? Ha! Kind of flying out the window. I'm tired ALL the time and still loving my afternoon naps. However, I also wake up all the time. Moral of this story: sleep is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.  

Symptoms? You already know. Heartburn, sore back (slash sore everything), headaches, sick at night, blah blah blah. Add to that: extra emotional and on a cleaning frenzy. I think this is my version of nesting!

Best moment last week? Seeing my little guy again! This one is bittersweet. Good because I love seeing him, and a little bit of a bummer because they keep being concerned about his growth and fluid. This week I had another ultrasound and a non stress test, and I think I'll be having them every week from here on out. But, everything looks great! So no need to worry :) (try telling that to a paranoid first time mom and having her believe it, but still).

Movement? He's wiggling "hello" as we speak! Whenever I eat sugar- especially fruit-, he gets really excited. He also likes to kick Trevor in the head when Trevor is listening to his heartbeat through my belly- little punk :)

Food cravings? I've been loving Subway these days... nothing like a delicious, giant sandwich! Also, my sweet tooth is definitely back. Hello Starburst jelly bean season!

Food aversions? Anything that will cause acid reflux, which seems to be just about anything. It will be lovely in a few weeks when food isn't such an issue in my life anymore!

Gender? BOY! And I couldn't be more excited about that! 

Labor signs? Contractions. Feeling huge. Does that count?

Belly button in/out? POPPED out. Trevor laughs at it every time he sees it. It's a funny little thing :)

What I am looking forward to: Baby shower! And seeing this little man again on Thursday. Trevor even gets to come! And more than anything, cuddling my sweet little Milo. OH how I can't wait for that!

Currently

Thankful for my job and the people I work with and for // Glad I have a husband who lets me keep the heat high enough to be comfortable all winter long and doesn't complain about it // Trying to keep up with my computer ever-so-slightly moving around on my belly due to a wiggling baby who is already a night owl just like his momma // Loving that I have a hot Valentine for the rest of forever // Promising myself for the zillionth time that I'll never put my pregnant self through the experience of Mexican food again (until next week, let's be honest) // Ready to move to Texas and live by my BFF (a.k.a. sister Sarah) and be done with snow every day // Loving that I'm caught in the middle of a great book (These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner) // 

And that's that.

Hi, I'm Stretch Armstrong

32 Weeks! And the beginning of February means that I'm officially having my baby next month (due date is March 26- so unless he's a week late... and let's all hope that doesn't happen)!

This week marks the beginning of every-other-week appointments, then every week starting at 36. The best parts of seeing the Dr. this week were 

1. Having him suggest a heartburn medicine that ACTUALLY WORKS! My throat doesn't feel like it's on fire all day! I'm in heaven! and 

2. I got a surprise ultrasound! Even though my fundal height measurement has been right on at every appointment, he wanted to just double check that baby boy was growing alright and that my fluid levels were good. The nurse was able to get me in for the ultrasound right then so that I didn't have to worry for a night or 2 before finding out if everything was ok (rookie mom... nerves... hormones... no sleep... a.k.a. I'm crazy). Everything looks perfect (and he is still DEFINITELY a boy)! He's even in the right position for delivery, which doesn't mean a lot since he still has time to flip every day if he feels like it. But hey, if he's favoring that position already, maybe it's a good sign! He weighs 3 lbs. 12 oz already. It is AMAZING to me how much they can tell from the outside. Hooray for healthy, happy, strong little boys!

Otherwise:

-Loving how pregnancy is the only time it's socially acceptable to comment daily on how large a woman is getting. I kind of love it.

-Sleeping... sleeping... sleeping... can't stop!

-Finally doing some shopping for the essentials. Got all our nursing gear last night after reading lots of reviews. We felt really cool standing in Walmart comparing notes on breast pumps and off brand Boppys!

-Craving things I never crave. Like that big mac on Friday that I polished off no problem... what can I say, baby wants some beef!

-Learning as much as I can about labor, delivery, breastfeeding, infant care, etc. before he comes... I don't want to mess this thing up!

-Pain inducing kicks. More than once I've uttered an audible "ow, geez!" in public (and much more than once when I'm not in public!). Just talking to my unborn child. So it looks like I'm talking to myself. It's fine.

-Loving the past 2 weeks of jogging. I've had consistently good runs every day of the last 2 weeks, no big cramps, no days where I felt too tired to finish, and no need for walk breaks (keep in mind- the treadmill is at 5.5, slightly under an 11 minute mile. DEFINITELY not a speed racer here!). This hasn't happened in months- usually I have at least 1 or 2 days of the week where I do a lot more walking and have to shorten my distance- which I don't mind- but it is refreshing to get some good ones in there! It's been a pleasant surprise and I'm thankful, especially because now I'm just starting to grow so much so fast that I think before long, the stress on my knees and back will be too much and I'll be a full time walker. 

-Nightly baths so my legs don't swell up- it totally helps!

-Drinking enough water to classify myself as a camel. So. Thirsty.

-"Listening to my body" has taken on a whole new meaning. Yesterday when we were shopping, I hit a point where I REALLY did need to sit. As much as I feel like a big pansy when I have to take a break and hit up the rocking chair section for a few minutes on a trip to Target, it just had to happen. I also can often be seen making smoothies at 2 a.m. and (always be seen) sleeping every day at 4 p.m. Yesterday I didn't take my afternoon nap and thought I was going to die by 9 o'clock. I think I might be 80 years old. Taking it a day (or hour!) at a time seems to be the way to go, and my body is getting really good at telling me exactly what it wants and exactly when to stop!

Right now, Trevor is in Galveston, TX for his last physical therapy school interview. Yes, he is staying at a beachfront hotel without me. He definitely deserves a quick glimpse beach in his life for the one night he'll be there- he's been working crazy hours and dealing with pregosaurus for a long time, and handling it like a champ! Boo, it's boring and lonely when he's not here, even though he's only there for about 24 hours and all I do is sleep anyways. Everything is just better when he's around! I can't wait to hear what he says about the school and how the interview goes!