Baby Girl - Week 37

Baby Blog

How Far Along:  37 weeks – I’m considered early term now (full term is 39 weeks). Baby girl could come at any time, and if she did, she would be strong and developed enough to not have any complications.

Maternity Clothes: Yup. I was packing my hospital bag, and didn’t pack any maternity clothes. I did pack loose clothing and comfy sweats, but it’s weird to think that pretty soon, I won’t be strictly wearing maternity clothes.

Best Moment This Week: Spending time with some close friends this past weekend. Life is about to change - a lot, and so going out with friends (without needing a baby sitter) won’t happen for much longer. With the busyness of life, I’m trying to soak in as much of life as it is now before Baby Girl gets here. I think this means Chris and I should go on one last date night before she comes, too. :D

Gender: Girl.

Movement: Often. She’s been getting the hiccups a lot lately. It’s funny, but feels a bit weird since it’s a consistent pulse.

Size and Development: She’s about the size of a wintermelon (whatever that is), and weighs probably 6-7 pounds and is around 19 inches long. Now that everything is developed, she just continues to gain weight and is practicing skills for the outside world like sucking, gripping, inhaling, and exhaling.

Food Cravings: The usual hot chocolate and sweets. Still love me my condiments.

What I Miss: Being able to lift and move things as well as squat and move like I used to. It’s nice to have people offer to help, but sometimes, I just wish I could get stuff done myself and move around like a non-pregnant woman.

Sleep: Sleep is still going well. My hips often hurt in when I sleep, but I can usually turn over and it will ease the pressure. I wake up often to pee, but when I’m asleep, I’m out.

What I am looking forward to: This is my last week of work at Sylvan and my last full week at the Café. Things have been crazy with work, events at church, getting ready for Baby Girl and Chris working to get ready for Christmas at church. I’m so excited for things to slow down a little before Baby Girl arrives, and working one less job will help with that!

Symptoms: My foot is still causing me problems, but it’s not hurting quite as bad or often, which is a huge blessing! I also still get heartburn occasionally, mostly after eating greasy foods. And I’m waddling – a lot! :D

You Know You’re Pregnant When: You make a crockpot of soup for dinner, and realize the next day (after eating leftovers) that you forgot to put ANY seasonings in the soup. I thought it tasted a bit bland, but just didn’t realize I didn’t put anything in it. I thought it was even more ridiculous that I didn’t realize it until after I ate leftovers. You also know you’re pregnant when you go through toilet paper like water. I swear we have to buy a 12 pack of TP every 1-2 weeks. Chris reminds to me to “spare a square,” but I just pee a lot!

Baby Girl - Week 36

Baby Blog

How Far Along:  36 weeks – 4 weeks! 1 month! 30 days! We are literally in the last weeks of the pregnancy – crazy!

Maternity Clothes: I actually have an update on this one! I forgot to write about it last week, but I finally broke down and bought a nursing bra. I was starting to fall out of my normal bra, so I thought it was time to get a bigger one. Since I was buying a new bra, I thought it would be smart to go ahead and get a nursing bra while I was at it.

Best Moment This Week: Yesterday, Chris and I were talking about her name. We were discussing how we want to spell it and what her middle name should be. It was fun to call her by name and pick the perfect spelling for our girl’s name.

Also, today at my OB appointment, my nurse checked my cervix and she said that things are progressing. This made me feel so good that body is doing what it’s supposed to do. It also made me super excited to know that we are getting so close!

Gender: Girl!

Movement: There’s still lots of movement, but it’s sometimes a little uncomfortable.

Size and Development: She’s still about 18 inches long and around 6 pounds – about the size of a honeydew melon. All of her systems and organs should be in full working condition, but her lungs still have a bit of maturing to do.

Food Cravings: Still hot chocolate and sweets – basically any junk food. I’m really trying to get my fruit and vegetable intake, but it’s hard when they don’t sound good. 

What I Miss: This is kind of petty, but I miss eggs cooked over well and cold deli meat. All eggs need to be fully cooked and deli meat needs to be heated up to kill any bacteria. It’s not all bad, but eggs benedict or a cold turkey sandwich sound pretty good.

Sleep: Sleeping is still really good. It takes a minute to get comfortable, but I’m happy that I’m still getting really good sleep.

What I am looking forward to: That moment when I realize I’m going into labor. Maybe my water will break; maybe I’ll just start having contractions – who knows? But I’m excited for that moment – to know I’m getting ready to meet my baby girl.

Symptoms: I still have a really bad pain in my left foot. It’s in the ball of my foot and sends a shooting pain to my 3^rd and 4^th toes. I thought it might be plantar fasciitis, but I have no heel pain, so I’m really not sure what’s going on. I think it’s due to the extra weight I’m carrying, and I hope it goes away after her delivery.

You Know You’re Pregnant When: You stick a bag of lettuce in the freezer while putting away groceries. When I realized it, I tried to defrost it, but that didn’t go over well. Early on in my pregnancy, I knew I was pregnant when I poured water in my cereal. I definitely got a kick out of that one.  

Baby Girl - Week 35

Baby Blog

Starting this week, I’m adding one more question/answer at the end: “You Know You’re Pregnant When…” These are things I’ve done this week or throughout my pregnancy that just prove (on top of my protruding bump) that I’m definitely pregnant.

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Maternity Clothes: Really?!

Best Moment This Week: My SD baby shower! My good friends Lacy, Brie, Micah, and Briana threw me a shower here in San Diego. I had some friends and family come in from out of town, too, to celebrate with us. It was a lot of fun, and I feel so blessed to have great friends who treat us like family here in SD.

Gender: Girl!

Movement: Yes. There’s less flipping and flutters and more major pokes and jabs. I think she’s just losing room in there and doesn’t have the space to flip flop around.

Size and Development: Baby girl is now the size of a coconut (which actually seems smaller than a butternut squash from last week, but we’ll say it’s a large coconut). She’s about 18 inches long and about 5 and a half pounds. Her hearing is fully developed and her circulatory and musculoskeletal systems are also developed. She’s pretty much done with development, so now she’s just gaining more weight and her lungs are maturing a bit more.

Food Cravings: Sweets and hot chocolate. In fact, my friend Micah, who helped throw my baby shower, made hot chocolate to serve at the shower. It was so thoughtful of her to provide the drink I’d been craving!

What I Miss: Currently – Eggnog. I really wanted some eggnog, so I poured myself a glass and then realized there is egg yolk in eggnog. Some eggnogs use pasteurized eggs, which would be safe to drink, but the brand I have does not. Sad face, commence.

Sleep: Sleep is pretty good. Still lots of tossing and turning

What I am looking forward to: Working on her room. Chris and I bought the paint needed to paint the dressers, and we have all the plans needed to finish the room. Now it’s just a matter of finding time to get it all done. Chris is converting one of our dressers into a changing table, and he’s building a Murphy bed so we can still use the room as a guest room when needed. Then we just need to paint the furniture and build the crib, and we’re good to go! (Pictures to come!)

Symptoms: Tiredness, sore back, and a new one: a shooting pain in my left foot. It’s as if there is a nerve in the ball of my foot that when I walk on it, it shoots a pain through my 3^rd and 4^th toes. At first it only happened occasionally – now it’s all the time. BOO! Can’t say for sure it’s a direct symptom, but since it started during the pregnancy, I’m claiming it as a symptom.

You Know You’re Pregnant When: You get a letter returned to you because you tried to mail it without an address written on it (but I did remember the stamp)! You know you’re pregnant when you plan all day on going to a meeting at 7:30pm, then at 8:40pm you realize you forgot to go to said meeting.

Hope you enjoyed my new segment, and I’m sure there will be plenty more to come! 

Baby Girl - Week 34

 Baby Blog

How Far Along: 34 weeks

Maternity Clothes: Yup.

Best Moment This Week: Hitting 34 weeks seems big because we only have 6 weeks left to go. But probably the best moment is going through her little clothes from her shower. I started taking the tags off her clothes and prepare to wash them so we can get them put away. Do her laundry makes her coming even more real. I just can’t wait to meet her!

Gender: Girl!

Movement: Lots of movement. I often have a foot or butt in my ribcage, but I love feeling her move!

Size and Development: Baby girl is about 4.5-5 pounds and is around 18 inches long - about the size of a butternut squash! Her lungs are still developing, and she can recognize and react to simple songs, so I guess I should start singing her lullabies!

Food Cravings: Hot chocolate. I’ve been getting a little tired of having to drink mainly decaf, so hot chocolate has sounded really good lately. I also have really gotten into hot chocolate made with chocolate almond milk.

What I Miss: I miss flipping over in bed with ease. :D I sleep well, but toss and turn often, so flipping over has become quite the task.

Sleep: My sleep is really good – until last night when I got really sick. I think it’s a virus of some sort – so much for getting the flu shot. HA.

What I am looking forward to: My San Diego baby shower is this Saturday. I have a couple of friends coming from out of town for it, and I’m so excited to celebrate our baby girl with our SD friends.

Symptoms: Some heartburn and feeling a bit uncomfortable. She’s getting heavy, and rolling over in bed is becoming quite the task. Also, I may have had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions. Since I’ve never had contractions before, I’m not sure that’s what it was, but it’s definitely possible. 

Baby Girl - Week 33

Baby Blog

How Far Along:  33 weeks

Maternity Clothes: Yup.

Best Moment This Week: My Sacramento baby shower! My best friend, sister-in-law, mom, and mother-in-law (thank you all) threw a baby shower for me with my friends and family in Sacramento. We had lots of fun and got lots of clothes and goodies from our registry. Thank you to everyone who came and/or sent a gift. We are truly grateful!

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: Lots. My mother-in-law saw my belly move when baby girl did a flip-flop in church. Ha.

Size and Development: Baby girl is about 4.5 pounds and around 17.5 inches long. Her bones are hardening, she can keep her eyes open while awake (which is kind of weird – ha), and her breathing is starting to coordinate her breathing with sucking and swallowing.

Food Cravings: Cheez-its and ice cream always sound good, but nothing that I feel like I HAVE to have.

What I Miss: Walking up our stairs without getting out of breath. That would be nice.

Sleep: Sleep is good. I toss and turn a bunch and have to go to the bathroom about 3 times a night, but when I’m asleep, I sleep well.

What I am looking forward to: I’m looking forward to getting her clothes and baby things washed and put away in their place. I’m also looking forward to my San Diego shower in a couple of weeks.

Symptoms: A little bit of heartburn and some breathlessness and fatigue. Overall, things are good and my symptoms aren’t too bad. I also do this thing when I’m really tired that if something is funny, I start laughing and then crying. I start crying so much that I’m not sure if I’m actually laughing with tears or crying for real. Stinking hormones. I’m not sure if this is an actual symptom, but my family thinks it’s funny. HA. 

Baby Girl: Week 32

Baby Blog

How Far Along:  32 weeks – Holy buckets! Only 8 more weeks to go! So crazy to think that I’m 8 months pregnant, and she’s going to be here in 2 months!

Maternity Clothes: Why am I still asking this question? HA!

Best Moment This Week: When Chris left for work, he kissed me and said I love you, then touch my belly and said, “I love you, too.” I just love when he talks to her!  

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: Lots of movement. I feel her many times throughout the day, and I love it!

Size and Development: She’s the size of a squash, which seems appropriate for this fall season. She’s 3.5-4 pounds and around 16 inches long. She’s gaining more fat under her skin, and she’s head down in preparation for birth.

Food Cravings: Ice cream – whenever we have dessert, ice cream always sounds good. :D I’m having an aversion to certain vegetables, so I’ve been pretty limited to salad, peas, and corn. So, craving sweets and hating most veggies – awesome! Trying to not go too crazy with the sweets, though!

What I Miss: Wearing my wedding rings. I’ve had some swelling in my fingers, so I’ve started wearing a fake ring because my wedding rings are a bit too small.

Sleep: Sleep has been really good, however, whenever I roll over, I feel like a beached whale trying to flip over. That is really the only time I’m uncomfortable – when I have to roll over.

What I am looking forward to: Our baby shower this weekend! We head up to Sacramento this week for the shower that my best friend, sister-in-law, and our moms are throwing. I’m so excited and can’t wait to see everyone!

Symptoms: Heartburn, growing belly, fatigue, and some swelling in my feet and fingers.

Baby Girl - Week 31

Baby Blog

How Far Along:  31 weeks – 9 weeks left - we are in single digits, people! 

Maternity Clothes: Yup. 

Best Moment This Week: We got out crib, we finally picked out the stroller/car seat that we want, and we got our first baby gift from our registry in the mail (thanks, Liz)!!! Things are just getting more real - and it's awesome! It's crazy to think that we are in single digits of weeks left until she gets here!

Gender: Baby Girl!

Movement: This girl moves a lot! She has times when she doesn't move, but I pretty much feel her all day. It's so funny to see my belly move and jump randomly. In fact, last night was the first time she kicked me right in the bladder. Holy moly, I thought I was going to pee my pants! 

Size and Development: She's about 16 inches and 3.5 pounds. Her irises can now react to light and all her senses are now working. Not sure what or how she's smelling, but its cool that she can.

Food Cravings: Still sweets. Although lately, I've been wanting more home cooked type foods. I think with the weather cooling off, I want my fall comfort food - hence mashed potatoes and meatloaf for dinner. 

What I Miss: Being able to bend over or squat down easily - it's the little things we take for granted. Actually, the squatting down isn't the hard part, it's the standing back up that is more of the challenge.

Sleep: It's still good. I've been blessed with still getting good sleep most nights. It helps that I usually go to bed exhausted. Ha. 

What I am looking forward to: Setting up her room. I can't wait to get everything painted, set up, and put away and make the guest room her room. 

Symptoms: Mainly just fatigue. The heartburn hasn't been too bad this week - thank goodness. For the most part, I just get tired and worn out easier. Overall, I can't complain too much.