How far along: 35 weeks
Fruit-size comparison: A coconut (and I have to agree that she feels like the size of a coconut lol)
Developmental milestones: Baby girl is about done growing; all she needs to do it so plump-up. She should gain about another lb before birth.
Maternity clothes: I would say mostly yes, but while I'm writing this I'm wearing non-maternity clothes. Don't worry though, they are completely stretched to the max!
Weight gain: +19 lbs since pre-pregnancy
Stretch Marks: I've got plenty of kisses from heaven from carrying Dutch. I applied lotions and such daily with that pregnancy, but to be honest I don't think I'm even going to try to prevent future stretch marks. I absolutely love these badges of honor and I'm so proud to wear them.
Sleep: I'm not having any real issues here, except for the fact that I can't get enough sleep. I'm sleeping fantastically thank goodness. There was only one night this past week where I slept poorly and that was mostly due to a nasty cough I've developed.
Best moment of the week: Well I have to admit that this was a pretty big week filled with best moments. I couldn't pick just one! 1- This past week Dutch and I took some maternity pictures with Grace Hill Photography and they were simply awesome! I have posted a sneak peak below. She is so talented and does fabulous work. I love her ability to capture all of the special moments in our lives :-) 2- We had an appointment with our caregiver this week and it was a great one. I've gained 2 lbs, my bp was 100/60, and her heart rate was 127. 3- You know how I've been saying that I'm stressed about not being ready for Teeny Peep's arrival? Well this past week I was really able to tackle that list. I cleaned out closets, made multiple trips to Goodwill, did massive amounts of laundry, started organizing her closet, and started packing our hospital bags. Teeny Peep has things hung up in her closet, clean sheets on her bed, fresh burp clothes, and wrapped gifts to give to her brother when she arrives. I still have several more things to tackle on my to do list but I'm feeling a lot better about this now. 4- Besides myself, there is another girl in my smallgroup who is expecting, and we went out for dessert one night this week to celebrate and chat. It was awesome, and probably the highlight of my week. 5- In addition to tackling my baby prep list, I also crossed off so many things on my Christmas to do list. If you know me, and I think you do, I get such a high from being productive and crossing things off my list. I love it! This week I finished all Christmas shopping and wrapping, got our Christmas cards in the mail, and started baking cookies. It feels so good to know that this upcoming week is just about celebrating and not rushing around.
Movement: Since Teeny Peep is clearly running out of space (see obvious picture above), her movements are beginning to slow down. I can see still see her rolling and moving, but it is less pronounced.
Cravings: Nothing that I can think of here. I do just like to eat in general.
Gender: Baby girl!!
Belly button: I love my new outtie :-)
Wedding Ring: On
Anything making you queasy/sick: Left-over cooking smells in the kitchen are still rubbing me the wrong way this week. I'm starting to pick food to cook based on how it is prepared.
What I miss: Breathing without making noise.....The sounds I make just to breath are slightly embarrassing. Throw in a cold and it's just foul!
What I’m looking forward to: My next visit with our caregiver we will get to see Teeny Peep via ultrasound. We have not seen her since we were 21 weeks, so it has been a while. We will also start going for appointments every week now. That is mind blowing to me. At my last appointment my caregiver and I discussed that we are in "crunch time". This is happening?!?!!?!?!?!
Labor signs: I can tell that my body is beginning to release a lot of the hormone relaxin (which relaxes the joints in order to shift during labor & delivery). My hips are most definitely beginning to spread resulting in quite a bit of soreness. I've also been having more and more contractions (nothing regular or timeable, but definitely contractions).
Symptoms: My body is becoming more and more uncomfortable, especially if I try to push myself. I know you're not supposed to lay on your back when you're pregnant but I was always able to with Dutch. Not that I did it, but it was possible to do without any problems. I absolutely cannot lay on my back with this baby. I begin to lose my breath and I feel all of my internal organs squish. Heartburn is still present if I don't take my meds but nothing unbearable, and I waddle with the best of the preggos.
Nursery: There isn't going to be a new nursery. We plan on having Dutch and Teeny Peep share a room. It's not that we don't have the space; we do have another bedroom, but we would like our kiddos to share a room when they are younger. We're thinking this will be a great opportunity to continue building character with our children. And to be honest, Dutch didn't move into his nursery until he was eight months old, and even then only for a few hours a day until he was 11 months old, so the new baby will probably stay in our room about the same amount of time and then we will do a transition of some sort. Of course we don't know what it is like to have two children and exactly what it will be like, but this is how we think we are going to try to start.
Emotions: I'm feeling less anxious and starting to feel more and more giddy. I think that because I was able to get some things done around the house I am feeling more and more ready. Now I know you can never really be ready for a baby, but you know what I mean. I'm trying to do everything I can to help myself feel ready. Also, the Mr. and I realized that we are 2 weeks from being full-term?!?!?!?!
On Wednesday, we packed the car and headed out to the ranch. I don’t know how this happened, but we were out the door on time and didn’t hit any traffic! It was a Thanksgiving miracle! On our way, we stopped and had a picnic at a park. It was a gorgeous day!
