34 weeks

Weekly Update: 

How far along: 34 weeks, 5 days (sorry, I will get back on schedule soon...hopefully)

How big is baby: Babies at this week are still honeydew-sized, or cantaloupe in size. Actual numbers for this week are 4.75 pounds and almost 18 inches long, on average. Based on his ultrasound size 2 weeks ago, he should be somewhere in the heavier side of 5 pounds. 

Total weight gain: Uh, I don't know where my math went wrong or how it is even possible for me to gain this much weight for another week, but I think it's a whopping 3 lbs this week bringing me to 28 pounds total. I swear I haven't drastically changed my eating habits or activity habits, but I do want to point out that I am really swollen in my hands and feet these days. I'm hoping all these pounds are really just fluid pounds sneaking on my scale. 

Maternity clothes: I sort of dread wearing real clothes. Scrubs and a maternity top with tennis shoes is fine every day, it's having to wear normal clothes at other times that is the problem. I will say that I would love for the weather to remain cold because I can hide my super-swollen feet in my winter boots (which are extra-comfortable as well). 

Cravings: Been craving fruit and vegetables this week. Perhaps I'm deficient in something and my body is finding it in fruits/veggies. Otherwise, I've started having anti-cravings... aversions, perhaps. I used to love eating oatmeal for breakfast... I can't even fathom the idea of eating it now. Yogurt is the same thing - it's really difficult to get it down these days. Oh well, I haven't been that picky throughout the pregnancy so I guess it's time. 

Sleep: I don't like being hot when I sleep - I love being cold. Now that the weather has shifted toward cold, I thought I would sleep better and not wake up hot. Nope, still hot when I wake up. It' snot affecting my sleeping, but I just don't like waking up hot throughout the night. I will not miss my body temperature dropping back down. 

Movement: Some days I think he's trying to plot an escape route and he's testing all sides to see the easiest way out. He frequently beats up my right side (but I am still very thankful he hasn't migrated up into my ribs). The last couple days, he appears to have found my sciatic nerve and just taps it every now and then to see if I'm paying attention. I haven't had any back pain or sciatica, but he just hits it every now and then for a brief moment and then it's gone. 

Best moment this week: Baby shower #1 - complete! Thanks Ginny and Lauren for a wonderful shower and a lot of fun! Also, purchased some super-comfy pajamas for my upcoming hospital stay - thanks, Randy! Round 1 of baby clothes have been washed. I officially start my weekly OB appointments now (one week early because of my swelling and my diastolic BP was a little high this last visit). Starting to get comments that he looks as if he has "dropped". I haven't decided if he has or not, but he has been really low the whole time so I don't think he had far to go. I can feel things shifting that direction, but no huge noticeable difference. Any difference in the pictures?

What I miss: Wearing my wedding band and engagement ring. I have been without the set for several weeks now and I feel so naked. I know I could wear them on a chain around my neck, but it's just not the same. I really want to wear my rings again! 

 

What I am looking forward to: Need to have the hospital bag packed this weekend. Two more baby showers coming up in the next 2 weeks. On Thanksgiving Day he will be full-term, so I have my own little mental countdown to that day... I figure it will help me get through the last 5+ weeks a lot faster if I break it down into two countdowns (one to full-term and one to due date). Otherwise, it still seems like I have a lot of weeks left 'til he shows up. 

Pregnancy rant: It's not a rant, but I have enjoyed all the baby name guesses and comments these last few weeks. Apparently it's difficult to wait until his name is revealed so I have several co-workers who have "named" him based on their own preferences or guesses. I promise we aren't keeping it a secret because we want to make everyone crazy, it's really just our preference at this point. It all comes down to 2 reasons: #1: we couldn't decide on a name for a long time. We had a short list of names we were working from, but we kept wavering and adding a name here or there to consider. Because we waffled so much, we want to meet him and really be sure that the name we have selected fits him before we share it (reason #2).  Just as simple as that. I promise we aren't just trying to be dramatic or have some super-crazy-off-the-wall name picked, we just want to be sure we have the right name before we share it. 

I promise that the nursery pictures will be up soon... like hopefully to have them up this weekend. We just need to clean up the nursery from the baby shower and snap some final photos for your enjoyment! Don't forget to vote if you haven't already! You only have a couple weeks left - the poll closes on Thanksgiving!