37 weeks!

Today I am breathing a sigh of relief. No preemie for me, and the window to have the baby at the birth center vs. the hospital has opened up. Yay for baking well, little girl!

The average baby is about 6 1/3 pounds right now and 19-20 inches long. At my last appointment they said she is on the small side, and they expect I should have an average sized baby (7.5 pounds) or a bit smaller. This past week my largeness has gone up another level. Or perhaps it's the loosening pelvis, I don't know, but I understand the beached whale comparisons ladies in late pregnancy make. Before it was uncomfortable to switch sides in bed, or get out of one. Now it's a project involving grunts and ouches and rests in between efforts. Three nights ago I was so uncomfortable at night. Couldn't sleep at all. Sounds and smells bothered me, my body felt off, and I had really bad cramps that wouldn't go away. So I gave up trying to sleep and took an hour long bubble bath at 3:45 a.m. The next night leg cramps kept waking me up, and when I woke up in the morning I heard myself screaming. Holy hell, my leg muscles still haven't recovered from how tightened they were...so now I have an attractive limp to go along with my waddle.

Despite all this we had a very busy weekend. It was our first year anniversary Friday (!!!!) and I had a meltdown about potentially leaving for a little vacation - the house isn't ready, I'm uncomfortable, we didn't plan ahead, there are so many projects, we can't board our puppy, etc. So we decided to go out around here and went for a nice dinner and a comedy show. We saw the Last Comic Standing tour, and they were much funnier when not on network television. I had to get up four times during the show to pee.

Yesterday and today we went to yard sales, flea markets, estate sales and regular stores in an attempt to get everything we need for house projects and the baby. I walked around A LOT. It was hard, and frequent contractions now don't make it any easier, but I keep telling myself that this preparation will make it that much easier during labor :) I've been listening to my Hypnobabies tracks each night and inevitably fall asleep. But every day I feel more excited and more calm about birthing so I think it's still working. After today I feel a bit more ready with the house, so that is good.

We got an awesome deal at the estate sale today. A wide dresser with mirror, chest of drawers and night table for $125! It's solid wood and dovetailed and in really good shape. Now that we have this, it opens up a big set of shelves for the rest of the baby's things. This weekend I got two baby monitors for free, a new Bumbo seat for $3, a playpen thing for $3, nursery lamp for $5, and a pretty white wicker piece with two shelves and a cabinet to organize diaper stuff. We also got a styrofoam head (like the ones you put wigs on) - I don't know what we're doing with it yet but it seemed like it will make a fun/creepy art project.

The main thing we're still missing is a co-sleeper or bassinet. We waited too long and now there are too many options and we're overthinking it. Then we watched 'Babies' (beautiful movie) last night and Gabe is convinced all we need to raise a baby is a bed, rug and leash. I countered with co-sleeper and he is trying to compromise with dresser drawer.

In this week's belly picture you probably can't tell, but I'm wearing my husband's sweatpants that are too small around the waist. I've gained 30 lbs. so far and the midwives say my weight gain is good and I should just eat whatever I want and it's fine if I get up to 140 lbs. Holy moly. I can't imagine carrying around another 10 lbs.

I'm no good at telling these things but I woke up this morning with a very weird pelvic pressure thing going on, and I think I may see some belly droppage happening. But I thought she did that before and turned out she was just shifting around.

Bake just as long as you need to, little one, but we can't wait to meet you someday pretty soon!

the view from below...

I can't tell if this picture is funny or terrifying.

undulating belly

Often when I look down this is what I see. I couldn't get my whole belly in the shot, so what you're missing is her feet pressing out of the left side of my belly. What you're seeing is her tushie/back pressing out of the right side.

36 weeks, 1 day

Check out what a difference one week makes:

The average baby right now is about 6 pounds. She's gotten so big that I see her body parts sticking out of my tummy. I spend a lot of time navel gazing and screaming. It's very freaky. But at the same time totally amazing. I can't imagine not being pregnant right now, but that day is going to come soon enough!

She needs to bake one more week at the very least to be considered at term, and then I can deliver at the birth center. I don't think she's going anywhere before then, though my body is definitely practicing. Lots of Braxton Hicks (or round ligament pain? dunno) and my pelvis has loosened enough that I've got the full on pregnancy waddle.

The chiropractor is definitely helping, though I can only do so much before I need to rest. The massage was really good too, up until I got really dizzy and nauseous part way through. I think I was 5 seconds from puking and passing out before I leaped up (ok, I can't leap up) and said I needed water and needed to cool off.

I'm still in mega-nesting mode. Lots of cooking and cleaning and giving my husband ultimatums about finishing projects soon. I try to be respectful and give him hours-long warning before my emotional breakdowns about us not having a homey enough home for our daughter. But we're slowly getting there - curtains are mostly up, picture frames are on the wall (pictureless), little girl's clothes and blankets are washed and summer sundresses are packed away.

We are so excited to meet our baby girl. I've been wondering for so long what she'll look like and how she'll be - it's going to be so surreal when there's an actual person in our lives instead of squirmy wiggles and hiccups in my tummy.

Casserole

That word makes me gloomy. Who ever gets excited by a casserole? I don't even much like the word, much less the reheated leftovers of rectangular mush.

But today I find myself with 10 lbs of potatoes. I also find myself with one month(!) left til my due date, and some frozen meals tucked away in the freezer will probably be appreciated later. But I need your help. I refuse to make any casserole with cream of anything canned soup, a prepackaged mix of any sort, or Velveeta (I'm not sure exactly what Velveeta even is, but a quick google search reveals it is in many a casserole.) I don't like 'baked' pasta, unless someone has done it without goopy noodles and bland cheese on top. (Ok, mac and cheese may be an exception in this category.) I'm not sure how rice freezes, or how reheated meat will still be good.

So something healthy, and when reheated will seem somewhat fresh and not mush. Any ideas for someone who is inherently biased against leftovers? I did think of shepherd's pie, but not sure how well that freezes.

Thanks!

35 weeks, 2 days

Baby is about 5 1/4 pounds and over 18 inches long. The biggest change this week is the amount of contractions. I went from occasionally wondering 'are these Braxton Hicks?' to them being a near-constant presence through the weekend. They were definitely not pleasant, either. I think the hardest part for me is knowing they will stop if I just sit and rest, but there's just so much to do. It's incompatible with nesting :)

The good thing is my back has hit that higher level of sub-standard that allows me to do a little bit more. Yesterday I went to the state fair and walked around a few hours. I crashed at the end, but I definitely would not have been able to do that just a week ago. Tomorrow I get both a massage and an adjustment - woo hoo!

Gabe & I got our maternity photos done on Sunday from the great folks at LunahZon Photography. Can't wait to see how they turned out! They will also be taking newborn photos within the first couple weeks of the baby's arrival.

Here's this week's decapitated belly pic, because I was blurry from a nap, allergies and poor focus on the camera.

Prenatal check-up

I am 127 lbs! My belly has a 40 inch circumference!

Everything looks good. There is a small question of whether that I'm-dying pain has been gallstones. And I described this other pain I've been having more and more frequently and those have been identified as Braxton-Hicks contractions. Aha! I seem to have them a lot lately so I'm going to be mindful of staying hydrated and timing them once in a while.

Speaking of hydration this peeing at night thing is out of control. I've always had a small bladder it seemed, so I didn't think much of getting up a couple times a night to pee. But last night I counted, and it was six times! That's an average night. But I assume in a couple months I would feel really lucky to get up at 3 a.m. just to pee, so I'll try to be grateful.

I asked about traveling around the holidays, since we're hoping to have the little lady meet some family in NJ. They strongly advised against air travel, because her immune system will not be fully developed and it's flu & RSV season. Airports and planes are a breeding ground for the germs, and that could make her very very sick. We may go up by car but it's hard to plan - we'll just have to see. It will make a big difference if she's born November 10th vs. December 5th, for instance. If she's a relatively calm baby or a fussy one. If she wails in the car or falls asleep. If she's in somewhat of a routine, and feeds well. If her mama is up for the long trip. It's about an 8 hours drive usually, plus there will be holiday traffic and frequent feedings and diaper changes. Times two. So no promises, but we'd love to plop her under a NJ Christmas tree for a meet and greet and photo ops :)

p.s. I have my first appointment with the chiropractor tomorrow morning. I'm already in love with her!