I'm STILL pregnant...week 38

The title pretty much sums things up. So ready to meet our baby girl (and not be pregnant anymore!) Visiting the dr. every week now. I always go in hopeful that he'll give us news that says "Looks like you're very close! Go ahead and head over to the hospital tonight!", but no. I only get "She's happy where she is - see you next week". Harbor seems to have not inherited her mother's impatience, which I'm sure I'll be thankful for one day. Tomorrow is May 1st which means it's birthday month! We are so close!

How far along? 38 Weeks
Total weight gain: 22 lbs.

Baby is the size of: a small watermelon (about 19 1/2 inches long and 7 lbs)

Maternity clothes? even those are getting snug
Stretch marks? sigh...yes. I was so excited to not have any but I now have several on the very lower part of my belly. Bring on the cocoa butter.
Sleep: boo
Best moment this week: the weekend where I didn't have to do anything, ha!

Miss Anything?: walking normally, been craving iced coffee like crazy this week

Movement: stretching that sometimes makes me wonder if she can bust through my skin

Food cravings: juice, fruit, pink lemonade

Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: none........I think she's staying in there forever

Symptoms: swollen feet, itchy skin, aches and pains
Belly Button in or out? out...way out
Wedding rings on or off? off :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy but I have my moments. Josh has been very patient with me :)
Looking forward to: meeting our little angel! I can't wait to see her little face! I wonder if it will match the way I've imagined her or if I will feel like I've known her forever.

Week 34

If this pregnancy were a football game, we'd be at the start of the 4th quarter *holding up four fingers* and thank goodness. I know that I have had a ridiculously easy pregnancy so far and have absolutely zero reason to complain about anything at all, but I've reached the point where I'm ready for this kid to vacate the premises. No only because I can't wait to meet her, but to say that I'm uncomfortable would be the understatement of the century. I want my body back. I love you, Harbor, but really. This is getting a bit ridiculous.

How far along? 34 Weeks
Total weight gain: 17 lbs.

Baby is the size of: a cantaloupe (a little over 4 pounds and about 18 inches long)

Maternity clothes? ugh...clothes. The bane of my existence. Nothing is cute or comfortable. I'm starting to doubt it ever will be again. Just put me in stretch pants and lock me in a closet until this is over (hence the lack of photo...that was intentional)
Stretch marks? nope, and hopefully it will stay that way
Sleep: better in the last couple of weeks. I'm just so tired all the time I think my body doesn't know what else to do but sleep and gestate.
Best moment this week: a wonderful baby shower at work - we are so lucky to have so many great friends!

Miss Anything? Hmm, where to begin...

1. skinny jeans

2. sleeping on my stomach

3. turkey sandwiches

4. regular sized feet, ankles, and fingers

5. being able to lean forwards

6. NOT having to eat every 30 minutes

7. Shirts without an empire waist or side ruching

8. Shopping at Forever 21 without everyone's judgy eyes

9. Tying my own shoes

10. Being able to stay awake for more than 4 hours without wanting/needing a nap
Movement: Since she's quickly running out of room there's a lot more stretching than kicking. She likes to stretch her little booty up against my ribs and stomach. Mama is not a fan of this particular move. It is pretty funny when she gets going at school and my class can see my belly bounce around. Their reactions are hilarious. One kid said she was probably ribbon dancing.

Food cravings: sweets, fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick: not so much anymore, just strong smells of anything
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope (not that I'm entirely sure I'll know when they do come)

Symptoms: swollen ankles and fingers, fatigue
Belly Button in or out? Mostly flat but parts of it pop out depending on the time of day and how she's positioned
Wedding rings on or off? off - I've resorted to my huge fake ring that I can get on and off
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Starting our "What the Heck to Do With This Kid When I Bring Her Home" class on Wednesday. I'm reeeeeally hoping it will make me feel more capable of being responsible for this tiny person!

Week 31

I swear I'm not partial to the oddly numbered weeks...it's just that I've been so super busy lately! I'm working on my National Board Certification, which has been a huge time suck until I get everything finished, which is (thankfully) in the very near future!

Had our most recent check up a week ago, and everything looks good. Baby girl is still head down, so hopefully she'll stay that way for the last 2 months here. She's pretty much been that way since December, so I'm thinking she's comfy and happy like that. Her heartbeat was nice and strong and the doctor said she probably weighs about 3ish pounds. We have officially reached the point of going to for checkups every 2 weeks, so back to the doctor we go next Wednesday!

This picture pretty much sums up my tiredness levels. Check out those eye bags - yeesh.

How far along? 31 Weeks
Total weight gain: 12 lbs. (uh, yeah that would be 6 pounds in a month. ouch)

Baby is the size of: 4 navel oranges (16 inches from head to heel)

Maternity clothes? still fitting into some of my looser fitting pre-pregnancy tops and I can wear a lot of regular clothes just a size up from normal
Stretch marks? none - hooray!
Sleep: no bueno. I still have the weirdest dreams and I have pretty much since day 1.
Best moment this week: finishing the changing table (which is just an Ikea dresser) which was a serious accomplishment on mine and Josh's part. We worked a little each night and managed not to totally screw anything up!

Miss Anything? so many things...
Movement: I'm getting a sense of her sleeping and waking patterns, but I think she's just a really chill baby overall. Hopefully this is a reflection of her personality! I feel more stretches than kicks, although last week I'm pretty sure she was having some kind of dance party right before bed.

Food cravings: sweets, oranges
Anything making you queasy or sick: pickles
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: minus the giant beach ball attached to my midsection, a little swelling in my feet and legs, but nothing too miserable
Belly Button in or out? flat as a pancake. And kind of numb? Not sure how normal that is. Oh well.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy with occasional periods where I find everything incredibly irritating. Like the fact that our DVR hasn't worked for a week.
Looking forward to: finishing up the nursery - getting there little by little!

28 Weeks!! Eek!

Hello third trimester! I was curious when the third trimester actually started, so I Googled it and here is what I found:

"The third trimester begins in week 28 and ends with labor and delivery".

I think I stopped breathing for a second there. That whole ends with labor and delivery part put a lot in perspective - like how terrified I am of the whole process. I have admitted many times that I am a worrier, especially when it comes to anything medical or health related. I have NEVER been a patient in the hospital in my entire life...until 3 months from now. I can feel (and usually see) how much bigger and stronger Harbor is getting every week and all I can think about now is that she's coming out one way or another. All I can picture is that scene from Twilight: Breaking Dawn. Maybe I should have skipped that movie until after this little pumpkin gets here...

Long story short, I don't want to hear a single birth story from anyone unless it goes a little something like this:

"Oh it was the most wonderful experience of my life. I was so comfortable. It was all clouds and glitter and unicorns and then I woke up with a beautiful, healthy baby in my arms".

In fact, I'm officially making this my birth plan. (Do people actually do these? Do I need to do one? Can this one please apply?)

For now (when I'm not hyperventilating about actually having this baby) I'm enjoying my bump and feeling baby girl turn some somersaults every day!

How far along? 28 Weeks
Total weight gain: still just 6 lbs. I'll be curious to see if I balloon up in the last few months here.
Maternity clothes? yep. I've been bitten by the shopping bug again too, so I see a trip to the Gap outlet in my future.
Stretch marks? zilch! (Hooray!)
Sleep: ugh, awful. Such weird dreams and waking up every few hours
Best moment this week: the nursery is sort of starting to look like a nursery! An empty one, but still more like a nursery than a guest bedroom, which is what it was
Miss Anything? not worrying/feeling guilty about what I eat. I just want a dang turkey sandwich without the fear of listeria!
Movement: much more this week. I got a foot stuck under my ribs the other night (not as fun or cute as it sounds). She's also doing this thing where she'll stretch out, hold it for a few seconds, and release
Food cravings: sugar, sugar, sugar. And orange juice.
Anything making you queasy or sick: pickles
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: Nope.
Symptoms: some sciatic nerve pain occasionally, and round ligament pain as she's getting bigger
Belly Button in or out? half flat frowny face still
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy with brief moody moments. I have cried at least 7 times this week about tiny little nothings.
Looking forward to: getting the crib this week!!

Here's my 28 week pic (I know I missed 27. Gimme a break, I'm pregnant)

Please don't judge the messy hair. This was about 11:30 pm after a full day of work and a nap.

Also, here is a sneak peek of the crib!! I can't wait to show nursery progress as it comes together!

Registry 101

Let me start this off by saying that I have absolutely no idea what a baby needs other than the obvious things like clothes, blankets, and bottles. This fact made registering slightly comical. I tried really hard to be prepared by making a registry checklist based on safety reviews and recommendations from friends and family. That being said....

Right before Christmas, Josh and I set out on baby registry adventure number 1 to Babies R Us. We are fortunate enough that there is an incredibly huge and well stocked store right down the road from us. At this point in time, we still didn't know the sex of Baby H, but we had to take advantage of the time off Josh had between semesters since we figured this would be a lengthy process and said we would just register for the big items we could re-use later with potential baby number 2. So we show up at Babies R Us around 8:30. Nobody is surprised, I'm sure, to hear that we were trying to get this done within about an hour of the store closing. It's just how we roll. I'm feeling excellent at this point. My belly is full of Chick-fil-a, I have a pre-researched checklist in hand, and I'm ready to start shopping. Josh, I think, was more confused than anything, but he did get to use the scanner gun (and fix it's weird problems) so he wasn't totally bored. Anyways, we fill out all of our registry paperwork we set out with our scanner. After going reeeeaaallllyyyy slowly down the first few aisles, reading all the boxes and labels and scanning one or two things, we hit our stride. But the next thing I knew, it felt like we were scanning every item humanly possible. I will be the first to say that I knew babies needed a lot of stuff, but holy cow. There is an unbelievable amount of choices out there for Every.Tiny.Thing.

bottles
burp clothes
pumps (terrifying, I might add)
bathtubs
pacifiers
diapers
toys
jumpers
high chairs
play yards
I repeat, HOLY COW

Can we say overwhelming??? Thankfully, I was able to edit said registry online later and cut out some of the stuff I eventually decided was completely unnecessary at this point in time...and then add it again later (how could I live without a teething ice pack?)....and then delete it again (we can just use frozen fruit in the little snacker bags! Or can we?)

Coupled with the registry we did later at Target - which includes lots of pink! - for the fam that does not have access to a Babies R Us, I feel like our house will overflow with baby items before the little butter bean gets here. That excites and scares me all at the same time. I've said before that May feels like forever away and I wish I could just fast forward, but I'm starting to think that we need to slow this adventure down a little. Feeling Harbor's little (and not so little) kicks and jabs remind me every day that she's growing bigger and stronger by the week and will be here before we know it! And there's so much left to do!

I mean, look at this belly! 24 weeks. That's 6 months, folks. Only 3 and some change to go!!