36 Weeks

36 weeks! The official start of the ninth month. Holy. Crap. I'm already on my once-a-week doctor visits, and everything is checking out right on track. Baby girl is head down, but looks like she is happy to stay right where she is for the next couple of weeks. This according to my internal exam, but I'll spare you all the details. 

We still have so much to do around here (does it ever feel done?!), but after this week, we should be in pretty good shape. We drove up to Port St. Lucie to Babies R Us to grab what we could from the last of the registry items, and my mom will be here this weekend with her sewing machine to help out with the nursery curtains. And the last of the DIY projects should be done by the end of the week, including the elephant mobile, crib skirt, and some digital typography that I am making. I can't wait to have it all done so I can take some pictures to show you guys! It's looking so cute!! A posting of the baby shower will also happen this week (I've just been such a slacker!). 

How far along? 36 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: According to the doctor’s scale yesterday morning, 38 lbs – 30 in the belly and the rest in my face.

How big is baby? About as big as a watermelon. (“I carried a watermelon,” suddenly comes into my mind . . . yes, a Dirty Dancing reference!)  It certainly feels like there is a watermelon in there!  

Maternity clothes? According to everyone who sees me, I am all belly. Only a few things still cover it, so I probably won’t be leaving the house much for fear of looking a little too white trashy.

Stretch marks? None so far. . . I LOVE my Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter! 

Sleep? Sleeping well, when the windows are open. Thank God for this cool weather!

Best moment this week? Finally washing, organizing, and putting away a zillion baby clothes and blankets. And yet, I'm still tempted to buy more clothes!! Gotta have something for St. Pat's Day, Easter, and my cousin's wedding in April! 

How are you feeling? Feeling ok. Apparently the belly has begun the drop, but no one told my lungs. Not only do I now have horrible discomfort in my hip joints and pelvis, but I still can’t breathe!  And thanks to the hip issues, heavy watermelon belly, and swollen feet, I am in full waddle mode.  “Lightening”, my ass! Everything just feels heavier.  I get lots of stares as Scout and I waddle our way around the neighborhood.

Miss anything? Thanks to the Publix deli guy, I am now jonesing for spicy tuna rolls again. He told us about a great local sushi joint that we will be trying as soon as humanly possible following Baby Tuna’s birth.  I wonder if they do take out?

Movement? All the time! We can even feel her stick out her little toushie from time to time.

Food cravings? Fresh strawberries, either with vanilla frozen yogurt and magic shell topping, or in a parfait with vanilla yogurt, granola, and agave. Looking forward to our neighborhood green market this Sunday so I can visit the strawberry lady. She always has the best berries!! I could also go for a bag of Sweet Tart Hearts. Or two.

Aversions? Nothing new.    

Anything make you queasy or sick? Not this week.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first and middle name ready for debut upon baby girl’s arrival. 

Labor signs? I may or may not have had my first Braxton Hicks contraction the other night. I’m just not sure since it didn’t really feel the way it was described it would. 

Belly button in or out? Mostly an inny, but definitely looking weird.

Wedding rings on or off? Most days, the wedding band is still on, but I’ve had to retire the engagement ring.

Mood? Happy, nervous . . .February used to feel like it was soooo far in the future. Holy crap!!!

Looking forward to: Our last ultrasound next week!! And finishing the nursery (for real this time!). And we still have to pack our bags for the hospital (thanks for all the suggestions!). 

35 Weeks and So Much To Do!

How far along? 35 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: According to the doctor’s scale, 36 lbs, which is surprising given how much cake I ate this past weekend.     

How big is baby? Dr. H. estimates close to 6 lbs (and that she will most likely weigh in the 8lb range at birth, which is a HUGE relief, and should quiet my fears of giving birth to a 20lb baby!).  The website compares her to a coconut. I’m guessing that’s a weight thing, cuz she’s also around 19-20 inches long.  That’s one big-ass coconut!

Maternity clothes? Um . . . ya. Though I’m down to the same 2 or 3 outfits cuz most of my stuff no longer fits.

Stretch marks? None so far. . . I LOVE my Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter! 

Sleep? Sleep continues to be ok. Hip pain makes it difficult to fall asleep, but once I do, I’m usually ok

(not counting the 95 times I get up to visit the bathroom or grab some honey nut cheerios).

Best moment this week? My baby shower! If I can get my hands on some of the pictures, I’ll do a post. A HUGE thank you to my mom’s friend Carolyn for arranging such a lovely afternoon. And another HUGE thank you to my mom for making sure there was a Publix cake!! So good! (And Kelly, I ate more than enough cake to cover your share!) And another HUGE thank you to Volkswagen for designing my car to work like Mary Poppins’ carpetbag. We were given so many wonderful gifts, and almost all of them fit in the back of my VW Rabbit. It was so amazing to see so many of my friends. As much as we love where we live right now, I miss those girls in the worst way! I just wish I had been able to spend more time with each of them.

How are you feeling? Well, my usually skinny feet and bony ankles are looking a little foreign to me these days, as are my hands and fingers. If you can overlook that and this awful hip pain I’ve been feeling the last couple of days, I still feel pretty good. I’m still able to waddle my way around the neighborhood, and Scout is getting better about not pulling so much. She was so used to the two of us running together, it’s been hard for her to slow it down.   

Miss anything? Laying down, sitting, getting out of the car, getting off the couch, getting off the bed and walking like a normal person.   

Movement? This little girl is such a squirm!!

Food cravings? Strawberries and vanilla frozen yogurt are big this week (topped with Magic Shell – yum-o) . . . and of course, peppermint.  

Aversions? Nothing new.    

Anything make you queasy or sick? Not this week.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first and middle name ready for debut upon baby girl’s arrival. 

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny…but not sure for how much longer.

Wedding rings on or off? The wedding band is still on, but I’ve had to retire the engagement ring (although today I was able to wear both thanks to the cooler weather.)

Looking forward to: Our last ultrasound in two weeks (when the doctor heard how big my brother was at birth – about 10 and a half lbs!!! – she scheduled one just to double check that Baby Tuna was not headed for a similar weight), finishing with the nursery, and the Hubs’ birthday tomorrow (we’re keeping it low key, but it’s another excuse for Publix cake!!!)

With only a month left in this phase of the adventure, it’s becoming massively overwhelming to think about how much is left to do. This could be why I can’t take a nap to save my life.

Still To Do List

 + Find a pediatrician

+ Thank you cards 

(of course they need to be purchased first)

+ Purchase items left on our registries 

(Thank God for gift cards!!)

+ Make and hang curtains in nursery 

(just waiting for the fabric to arrive)

+ Finish making the mobile and name letters

+ Put away and organize a butt-load of baby clothes 

(they’re all washed, but somehow I don’t think leaving them in a pile on the back of a chair in the living room is acceptable.)

+ DIY some maternity photos 

(This is an easy one, we just have to find the time during daylight hours)

+ Get a pedicure 

(maybe when my mom comes down in a couple of weeks)

+ Write out our birth plan

+ Get a baby book that isn’t pink 

(Why are they all either pink or blue?!)

+ Pick an outfit for Baby Tuna to come home in

+ Pack our “Go” bags

+ Get some last minute things to go in our "Go" bags

And speaking of "Go" bags, to my mommy friends out there, was there something that you brought with you to the hospital that you could never have lived without? AND . . . was there anything that you wished you had brought, but didn’t? 

34 Weeks!

How far along? 34 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: Probably 40 at this point.   

How big is baby? The size of a butternut squash. She’s anywhere from 5 to 5.8 lbs and about 19 inches. Baby Tuna can also recognize and react to music, which is pretty cool. I’ve noticed her reacting to strong bass for weeks now (like at the Gator game), but it’s crazy to think that if I start singing the same song to her every day, she will recognize it after she’s born.  

Maternity clothes? A lot of the maternity tops that I bought months ago are getting too short to wear now, and none of my shorts fit, which wouldn’t be a big deal, it being winter and all. But somehow the weather down here didn’t catch that memo.

Stretch marks? None so far. . . I LOVE my Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter! 

Sleep? Sleep has been ok this week. nothing to write a song about, but ok. My joints, especially my hips and knees, feel super stiff when I wake up.  

Best moment this week? The Hubs had a work party last Sunday (technically their Christmas party. . . go figure) and they had a mini shower for us, complete with cupcakes and a diaper cake, which was great since we haven’t purchased any diapers yet. At least now I know that if Baby Tuna decided to show up tomorrow, we’d be covered for a few days. Diapers are definitely on our “must get” list before she arrives. We also had dinner this week with our great friends Jason and Lara. I’ve known Jason for about 100 years, and we now live 25 minutes away from each other, but never see each other because we are slackers of our busy schedules. We had such a good time at dinner. . . we REALLY have to do it more often!

How are you feeling? Honestly, I’m ready to not be pregnant anymore, even though that means we will have a little one and that is slightly terrifying, so I much prefer she bake a little longer. I feel lucky that I feel so good this late into the adventure, but I do get super uncomfortable. Sitting for too long (like at the movies where you don’t want to get up, or on a car trip where you can’t) bothers my back and makes my toes puffy if I can’t elevate my feet. My joints also feel stiff by the end of the day, in spite of the exercise and stretching that I do every day. I also have a hard time breathing sometimes, as baby girl gets bigger and bigger.

Miss anything? I miss being able to sit comfortably for longer than 10 minutes.

Movement? I feel her moving all the time. I can tell when her head shifts to one side or the other (because the pressure changes on my poor bladder), and can feel her little butt wiggle around from time to time, too.  I felt the first “painful” movement the other morning, which wasn’t actually that painful, but it didn’t feel good either. I think she just wasn’t too pleased with the position I was laying in and wanted to let me know.

Food cravings? Well, I finally caved to the Frosty craving this week. . . and it was wonderful!!! May have to hit the drive-thru again soon. Froyo kind of fills the same craving, and I’ve also enjoyed that this week. All that calcium is good for me and the baby, though, right?! Haha!! 

You can't have a frosty without french fries to dip in. Yum-o!

I’m also loving crunchy things like ice and kettle chips. Besides that, I think I could probably eat pizza for every meal at this point, but I don’t cuz the Hubs won’t go for it. I’m trying to eat as much healthy food as possible, but the junk just sounds so much more appealing.

Aversions? Breakfast eggs (egg salad doesn’t bother me). The Hubs made some cheesy scrambled eggs the other morning, and I ate them, but immediately wished I hadn’t. They were delicious, but something about eggs is just a big turn off. Boo!     

Anything make you queasy or sick? Just eggs.

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first and middle name ready for debut upon baby girl’s arrival.  But don’t bother asking, because the Hubs will just tell you that her name is Shaniqua.

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny, but getting flatter and flatter.   

Wedding rings on or off? Wearing my wedding band, but have had to retire my engagement ring. I’m just so afraid of it getting stuck as my fingers puff up throughout the day.  

Mood? I’m one happy and slightly freaked-out little camper.  

Looking forward to: Heading back home to Melbourne for the baby shower this weekend. I can’t wait to see all of my old friends! And, you know. . .another excuse to eat cake!!!