39 Weeks

How far along? 39 Weeks and 1 Day

Size of the baby? Baby weighs 7lbs and is approx 20 inches long - about the size of a mini watermelon

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes! There are still a few non-maternity stuff that I can wear, but that's getting pretty limited

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? All the time- I love watching my belly move with the Baby

Labor Signs? I'm in pre-labor.. meaning I'm having contractions but nothing constant or would make me think that I need to start timing them. The hospital bags are packed, my Dad is in town, and we are ready any day now!

Sleep? I toss and turn a lot now and waking at least once a night to pee. I miss sleep and can't wait to sleep on my stomach again

Cravings? Cookies

Symptoms? Baby has dropped some and my acid reflux was doing much better but it has returned

Exercise? Haven't been able to get that in

Weight Gain? More than I care to admit - 33lbs. My weight jumped this last week by ~4lbs. I'm retaining much more water and my ankles are very swollen. I will say that I usually don't eat before my doctor's appointment, but I did today - so that may account for some of the gain - but definitely not all of it. The doctor seemed a little worried at first and did a few additional little tests but didn't see anything that would raise concern - most likely just water.

Best Moment of the Week? We finished our baby class last night and graduated. I think we both feel about as prepared as we can at this point.

37 Weeks = FULL TERM

How far along? 37 Weeks and 4 Days

Size of the baby? Baby weighs 6.3lbs and is approx 19 inches long - and I'm definitely running out of room. I'm at the uncomfortable stage.

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes! There are still a few non-maternity stuff that I can wear, but that's getting pretty limited

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? All the time- I love watching my belly move with the Baby

Labor Signs? Braxton-Hicks contractions are now a normal part of my day. I've had maybe 1-2 true contractions, but nothing to get excited about.

Sleep? I toss and turn a lot now. And waking at least once a night to pee. I really didn't do this early on in pregnancy, so this is a new (and not so great) thing. I love sleep. Once I'm up it takes me up to 2 hours to fully fall back to sleep so this momma is tired!

Cravings? Back to Mexican and sweets!

Symptoms? I got some relieve this week.. Baby has started to drop (visibly so) and thus my acid reflux is much better - but I'm still tired of dealing with it

Exercise? At least once a week

Weight Gain? 28-30 lbs (yikes) but right on track!

Best Moment of the Week? These last 2 weekends were filled with baby showers and we feel beyond blessed and loved.. and a little intimidated. We cannot believe how generous our family and friends are - we got almost everything that we need any anything else we can get as we need it (bottles, mainly). Dad and Jen came in for the shower as well and we loved getting to see them again - it means so much to us that they flew out for the shower. Next time we see Jen we'll have a little one for her to meet :)

I love seeing Rich's reactions to everything. He seems to be getting more and more excited (and overwhelmed). He wanted to take inventory last night of all the baby items and he gets really excited and cute when going through everything. He has been a super-stud of a supporter... he took my mom to get some final things for the baby yesterday which I am so appreciative for since I had to work.

35 Weeks - Christmas and New Year's Recap

Happy New Year's! We spent the evening at my Mom's house and celebrated a bit early .. I was le tired! So we were home and just finished brushing our teeth at midnight then off to bed! We're fun like that.. ha! We're planning on a games night tonight and we'll do our new year's predictions as well. I'm excited to see what everyone said last year for the predictions!

How far along? 35 Weeks

Size of the baby? Baby weighs 5.25lbs and is approx 18.1 inches long - and I'm definitely running out of room. I'm at the uncomfortable stage. Feet are swollen and sitting removes any extra space that there may be left in there. But only 5 more weeks - I can do that!

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes! There are still a few non-maternity stuff that I can wear, but that's getting pretty limited

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? All the time- I love watching my belly move with the Baby

Sleep? I toss and turn a lot now. And waking at least once a night to pee. I really didn't do this early on in pregnancy, so this is a new (and not so great) thing. I love sleep

Cravings? Back to Mexican and sweets!

Symptoms? Acid reflux.. still. I'm really getting tired of dealing with it

Exercise? At least once a week

Weight Gain? 24-25 lbs (yikes)

Best Moment of the Week? It has been a great few weeks. Dad and Jen were here for Christmas and we spent many evenings with them. Then we celebrated Christmas with Rich's family and then at my Mom's house with that side of the family. This year Rich's Dad joined us for Christmas and I truly enjoyed having him there with us. We've made great progress on the nursery (thanks Mom and Rich!) and now I only have to add decor to the walls. For Christmas, I got many great gifts, one of which included gift cards to IKEA - so we bought 4 bookshelves yesterday for the house ... so excited to put them together and get the completed feel in the house.

Happy New Year Everyone!

32 Weeks with Photos(!) & Thanksgiving re-cap

More pictures are below - but here is a comparison of some points throughout my pregnancy:

Holy Cow! I cannot believe that we have only 8 weeks before meeting Baby!

For Thanksgiving this year, Rich and I flew out to see my dad and Jen. A great trip and no issues on the plane with baby! The doctor had me take a children's aspirin before the flight to thin my blood and Rich let me have the aisle seat so that I could get up and walk during the flight. With his long legs - that was very nice of him to do :) Have I mentioned just how great my husband is! He's everything I could ever want. Dad grilled the turkey again and it was as moist as ever - Jen made her "nasties" (mashed potatoes) which are truly fabulous! We had all the traditional fixings and loved every bite.

The semester is finally winding down for Rich and after next week, he won't be so crazy with school! Perhaps we can start talking baby names and getting the nursery more in order. We're having his graduate student colleges over on Saturday night for a little Christmas get together - so I've been decorating, baking cookies, and now I just need to clean the house so that it feels more presentable.

Ok the 32 week update:

How far along? 32 Weeks

Size of the baby? Baby weighs 3.75lbs and is approx 16.7 inches long.

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes! There are still a few non-maternity stuff that I can wear, but that's getting pretty limited

Gender? Surprise! Although my Nana is claiming that we know Baby's sex and are not sharing (haha!) I promise - we don't know. I couldn't keep that a secret.

Movement? All the time- I love watching my belly move with the Baby

Sleep? Not great, but it could always be worse

Cravings? Pears! Those have recently become a favorite - though they have to be soft and juicy

Symptoms? Acid reflux.. still. I'm really getting tired of dealing with it

Exercise? At least once a week

Weight Gain? 21-22 lbs (yikes) - I go to the doctor tomorrow and will get a true amount

Best Moment of the Week? I've had many good moments this week - but decorating the Christmas tree with Rich was definitely my favorite!

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

28 Weeks and Baby's first wedding!

29 Weeks

Thanksgiving - 30 weeks

31 Weeks!

29 Weeks and Birthday!

I'll update later with pics, but I shouldn't use the excuse that I haven't taken the 29 week pic yet to not write this. I want to have this to look back on a remember my pregnancy.

In approximately 11 weeks, we'll meet Baby - I'm so excited and very much at peace about being a mommy. I took a class this week about breast pumps and decided that I want this one: Medela Pump-In Style. This will probably appear on my/Baby's Christmas list. At approx $260, it's not cheap, but since I'll be going back to work full-time it will be worth it. I also learned about nursing bras and tanks and holy cow.. there is a lot of stuff that you need for breastfeeding.

Okay - weekly (aka whenever I remember) update

How far along? 29 Weeks

Size of the baby? Baby weighs 2.5lbs and is approx 15 inches long.

Maternity Clothes? Yep - maternity pants are nice and comfy! I got some awesome shirts for my birthday despite saying I didn't want clothes ... very happy that my mom didn't listen to that :) I really enjoy feeling like I look cute with the bump and new/nice clothes are a way to do that!

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? All the time - Baby kicks and moves like a rockstar. We had a doc's appointment this week and Baby's head is already down and will probably not move from there! I noticed last night that my tummy was starting to feel tight - as though I'm running out of room, so I'm sure I'll be growing lots more in the next 2..5 months. I've noticed that there isn't enough space between my belly and the steering wheel to put items such as the muffin plastic when I grab a muffin for breakfast

Sleep? Not as great recently due to a bad cold and acid reflux

Cravings? Not really.

Symptoms? Acid reflux.. still.

Exercise? I'm still getting a few times a week in

Weight Gain? 18 lbs - right on track

Best Moment of the Week? A busy couple of weeks - Baby was in their first wedding: Krista got married!! My b-day is tomorrow so we've been enjoying family time and birthday cake! I got some good work done in the nursery, though I still have a long way to go - starting felt good.

Update - Week 26.5

How did I miss week 25 and almost 26! Yikes!! Not that excuses are okay, but we've been going through quarter close at work, so I've been working a bit longer than normal.

How far along? 26 week, 4 days

Size of the baby? Baby weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and is approx 14 inches long. From my weekly email:

"Baby may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. Baby's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when Baby's born and takes that first gulp of air. And Baby is continuing to put on baby fat."

Maternity Clothes? Yep - though I'm still rocking some non-maternity shirts

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? YES!! Richard felt Baby move for the first time last night. He had really been wanting to feel Baby and hadn't been able to for the last 3 weeks. So we were going to bed and I thought I felt a little kick so I grabbed Richard's hand and put it on my belly and we just relaxed for a few minutes and Baby started kicking!! They were the biggest kicks I've felt yet. So glad that Richard was able to feel our baby.

Sleep? I've always loved to sleep and that hasn't changed.

Cravings? Not really.

Symptoms? Acid reflux :(

Exercise? I'm still getting twice a week in - I need to work on taking walks in the evening when it's nice outside

Weight Gain? ... I think about 15 lbs (according to my scale at home). We go back to the docs in 2 weeks so we'll find out then.

Best Moment of the Week? Richard getting to feel Baby kick!

Pregnancy Update - 23 weeks - ish

Okay, so I missed last weeks posting.. mostly on purpose. I had a doctors appointment so I though I would wait until after then to update. Doctors report looks good. Belly is measuring at 25 weeks (totally okay) and Baby's heart rate is still fast but perfectly normal :) I also feel like my belly has truly popped! I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take a 22 week pic, but the comparison of 21 weeks to 23 weeks shows the pop-age, see:

21 weeks

23 wks

24 weeks

On the sad note - I gained 7 lbs!! Yes, I know I'm supposed to gain weight - I'm pregnant, but 7lbs in 4 weeks = too much! I should be gaining at about 1 pound per week, so it's back to focusing on eating healthy while making sure myself and Baby are getting the nutrition that we need. It also doesn't help that I'm in the middle of quarter close so not able to workout. New goal - try to improve that. Step 1 - I went to the office gym during lunch today .. and it felt great! I can just tell that I haven't worked out in a week - all my muscles wanted to move and be worked. It was just a short workout, but better than nothing!

Okay - on to the weekly stats (which are really more for me to remember points along the way)

How far along? 23 week, 5 days

Size of the baby? Baby weighs just over 1 pound, is over 11 inches long (thanks baby email for being so precise, not). Total weight gain for me = 15lbs (per the doctor), 12 lbs (per my scale at home).

Maternity Clothes? Oh yeah! Maternity pants are actually really comfortable! I can also wee why women get stuck wearing "mom" jeans with the really high waist - all my pregnancy pants are over the belly so I'm getting used to something there.

Gender? Surprise!

Movement? Definitely feeling little movements - feels like bubbles in my belly.

Sleep? I've always loved to sleep and that hasn't changed.

Cravings? Not really.

Symptoms? Acid reflux :(

Exercise? None last week, I failed! But I did do 30 mins on the elliptical today during lunch.

Weight Gain? See above :(

Best Moment of the Week? My Dad was in town and I got to spend some great time with him. He's planning on being here for 3-4 weeks around the time that Baby is due! So excited that he'll be here to meet his grand-baby rather than us having to call to tell him.