37 Weeks

Full term!

How far along: 37 weeks

Baby is the size of: a watermelon!  I definitely feel like I'm carrying a watermelon around with me each day...
Sleep: Okay....potty breaks a couple of times a night, but I'm usually able to get back to sleep pretty quickly.
Cravings: Not much.  I've been really thirsty, so drinking lots of water, juice, and tea. 
Symptoms: Swelling and aching feet seem to be my biggest issues lately.  Also, I'm hot all the time.  I get flushed easily, and am waking up in the middle of the night soaked with sweat - yuck!  Emotions seem to have gotten the best of me lately....crying out of exhaustion.  Oh, and also cried yesterday over smudged toenails after I treated myself to a pedicure.  Yikes!  My poor husband....he is a trooper!
Milestones: Last childbirth class is this week!  Hospital bag is just about packed and ready to go.  We met with the maternity coordinator at the hospital and finished up all of our paperwork.  We toured the hospital and were able to see the labor/delivery rooms, as well as the mother/baby rooms.  My long-term sub started spending some time in the classroom with me this week so that she can take over soon.  It is getting so close, yet at times still feels so far away...

Mark started a new job this week, so we are relieved that he is back to work!  Also, a big prayer answered is that we will be able to get the baby's insurance through his work.  We were very stressed about finding a policy for her (since to add her to my insurance at school is $532 A MONTH! CRAZY!).  Mark is loving the new company and the work he's doing.  Such a blessing!

As each day passes, I get more and more anxious about our little girl's arrival.  I am such a planner, so it is hard for me to wait patiently for her to come in her own time.  Babies are so unpredictable, and at this point it makes me so nervous to think that she could come today or she could come three weeks from now.  Trying not to get too wrapped up in the waiting game....

Tator tot casserole is calling my name.  Off to enjoy the evening with my honey!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Man with a Belly

Childbirth classes continued this week -- and Mark got to wear the sympathy belly!!

It was quite entertaining, but he was surprisingly honest about it afterwards.  He admitted how difficult it was to carry around the extra weight and have the restricted breathing, although it was only for 10 minutes.  Perhaps he gained some new appreciation??

Belly to belly!

Oh boy, I feel that every part of me is swelling.  My face, hands, feet, etc.  Here are my poor little tootsies after my 12-hour day at school today.  I guess it's my fault for working 12 hours....

Check out those sock lines!!!  I need a pedicure...
23 DAYS TO GO! :)

36 Weeks!

Only 27 days 'til due date!  Here we are:

My goodness, she just keeps growing and growing.  I feel much bigger than just two weeks ago.  Here's the side-by-side:

(No, I did not shrink height-wise...just the way hubby took the picture, I guess!)

How far along:  36 weeks

Baby is the size of: still a honeydew...but next week it goes up to a watermelon!  Baby should be somewhere between 5 and 6 pounds

Sleep:  A bit better I guess....still up often to go to the bathroom.  Also, SO hot at night!  But with the snow days and holidays in the past couple of weeks, I've been able to sleep in a little (if you call 7:30 sleeping in!) and that seems to help.

Cravings: GIRL SCOUT COOKIES will be the end of me.  Why did we order six boxes??!?

Symptoms: Same as always.  Swelling has started this week, so I'm wearing my wedding ring around my neck on a chain, and my tennis shoes untied.  Fun!

Milestones: We continue with our childbirth classes, and also took a breastfeeding class this week.  It's all a little overwhelming, but also exciting.  Makes everything seem so close and so real - very soon we will be holding our baby girl in our arms. :)  I can't wait!

Today I came home to this in my living room:

After our breastfeeding class on Tuesday, I came home after work on Wednesday to a swaddled baby doll on the couch.  Mark was worried about not being able to swaddle the baby doll at our breastfeeding class, so he went to my sister's to borrow a baby doll.  She gave him a crash course on swaddling, and he brought the doll home to practice.  How cute is that?! 

Then, he decided he would use the baby doll to start training Harley and getting him ready for baby girl's arrival.  He was doing some reading and decided he would put the baby in the bouncer so that Harley would get used to seeing the "baby gear" around the house.  Harley did surprisingly well, and we are teaching him "gentle" when he is around the doll.  He won't be my only baby for much longer!

He doesn't look too happy about it...

Snow Day #2

This snow day has been much more productive!  Yesterday, I did NOTHING and stayed in my jammies almost all day.  But, considering I had another freebie day off ahead of me, I figured I better get some things done today.  Soooo, I have:
-done 4 loads of laundry (and counting!)
-cleaned bathrooms
-grocery shopped
-went to Target
-done some much needed filing (my "to be filed" drawer was overflowing!)
-started packing my hospital bag
-worked a little in the nursery

Now I am on the couch with my swollen feet up -- I am worn out!

I have been promising a nursery reveal for awhile.  Well, I can't quite call it a "reveal" as it is still not 100% done....however, hopefully you will be happy with some nursery "progress".  It is getting very close to being ready for our little girl.

Here's the view as you walk into her room:

Her quilt is hung on the wall, and the rest of the bedding is all complete.  I finished the crib skirt and bumper pads during my Winter Break.

This corner has the glider and a couple of vintage framed needlepoints (courtesy of Aunt Debbie, circa early 80s!).  Also finally found a curtain for the window.  I was going to make one, but the bedding had me just about sewed-out.  This one was on sale at Pottery Barn Kids, and is nice and thick with a black-out lining.

This area needs some work.  I'm not sure what is going to go on the walls here, but I am just happy that I've gotten some things organized in this part of the room.  I still want to make a mobile, and was thinking it might be cute hanging above the changing table...

It's coming together.  I am losing energy by the day, so I try to go in there and do a little bit at a time.  Can't wait to have the baby here to complete it!

Snow Day!

Spending the day inside, snuggled up in jammies.  I did throw on a coat and boots over my PJs to run outside for a few minutes and play fetch with the puppy.  He is so cute out in the snow!

My kind of Monday! :)

Catching Up

Well, I'm behind on my weekly baby posts  - are you surprised?  I needed a little break, and my first week back at school was exhausting and hectic. 

Here's my pictures for 33 and 34 weeks.  I can't believe we are getting this close already!

How far along:  34 weeks
Baby is the size of: a honeydew melon (somewhere between 4.2 and 5.8 pounds!)
Sleep: Sleep?  What's that?  Oh, it must be that thing that happens between my hourly trips to the bathroom!  I've been a little more comfortable at night since I've been seeing my chiropractor the past couple of weeks, though.
Cravings:  Not much of anything.  My appetite has diminished lately....I think there's just not enough room for much food these days!
Symptoms:  I had one day of slightly swollen feet last week...let's hope that doesn't happen again.  Otherwise, more of the same --- achy, tired, in the bathroom ALL THE TIME (thank goodness for the office ladies at work - they come down and cover my class for me so I can go tinkle!)
Milestones: 
--Started childbirth classes this week.  They are every Monday night for the month of January.  I'm glad we opted for the 5-week class because I thought it was a lot of information in 2 1/2 hours on Monday night.  Interesting....and poor Mark.  He looked a little bewildered by the time we left.  But it was fun to meet some other couples all expecting around the same time as us.  Every mom in there had a very different belly -- I am still amazed how differently each woman carries a baby, even if their due dates are just days apart!
--Also, we had our maternity pictures taken today, which was lots of fun.  Hopefully I will have those to post on here in the next couple of weeks!  Took some at home, including some pictures in the nursery.  Then we went to Union Station for the rest of the pictures.  I am very anxious to see how they turn out.  I'm not exactly confident in my appearance these days...feeling very large.  However, I know I wanted to have pictures to remember this pregnancy, which (overall) has been wonderful.
--We bought some things for the baby that we didn't receive at showers.  Used some gift cards to get our carseat/stroller.  Mark put it together on New Year's Eve.  I fell asleep at 11, but he was sure to wake me up at midnight and give me a New Year's kiss. :)

It's past my bedtime!  This momma is off to bed!