Our Story: Weeks 33, 34 and 35

Week 33

Major events: Ultrasound; follow up doctor appt; Ryan out of town most of the week

Size of baby: Pineapple

Sleep: No complaints

Cravings: None

Aversions: None

Movement: Yep! (See below for more on movement during this pregnancy.) This guy usually goes the most crazy in the evenings! I have also reached "watermelon-thumping" stage... my belly is so hard and there are spots that sound insanely hollow! It sounds like when you thump on a watermelon or cantaloupe (often, when I'm in the shower I think "what's that noise??" Then I realize it's just the water hitting my belly haha! One day, I noticed that for the FIRST time EVER this whole pregnancy, his feet were on my left side. I really didn't like it only because it was NOT what I was used to! (Also, weird that he still has room to roll from side to side?? I do think that he is head down at this point, so I guess he is just swinging his feet from side to side!) He really only spent a few hours like this before switching back to his usual position.

Belly button in or out? In

Weight gain: 25 lbs.

Missing: Bending. With Ryan being gone most evenings this week, all of Heidi's baths have been in a bucket on the bathroom floor because I can't bend over into the tub. This week has been tough on my body... either that or my body has been tough on the week!

Best part of this week: Got the nursery painted!! (Hey, it's a start at least!) and getting all of my "restrictions" lifted by my doctor as everything seems to be going the way it's supposed to.

Hardest part of this week: This belly gets so painful in the evenings. I don't recall the "pain" so much with my first pregnancy, but this time by the end of the day my stomach (think upper abs) HURT, especially if I haven't had any time to sit/lay down during the day. (It just feels as if gravity is YANKING my belly down!) My abs are painful to the touch and I am not able to get any relief from this pain unless I am lying down/reclining. It's tough! I am assuming that my abs are just separating more this time around than the first. Also, being alone/not having Ryan here to help has been very hard. He has been super stressed with work lately and I am stressed trying to get the house cleaned and ready for the shower at our house this weekend (!!!!) by myself. My worst moment was when I realized the vacuum that we thought was fixed broke again which resulted in me as a crumpled, sweaty, crying mess on the floor and Ryan receiving some pretty explicit text messages ;). Sorry babe!

Looking forward to: Baby shower this weekend - getting to see my mom, sister and so many friends!

Emotions: Very up and down... been feeling down a lot more but I think that's just because both Ryan and I have been stressed and I have felt very separated/alone... especially with him being gone.

Signs of labor: Possible Braxton Hicks contractions every now and then

At my ultrasound/dr. appt., we were able to confirm that baby is head down (woo woo!). The ultrasound was insanely boring, as he is really too big to see much on the screen at one time. Also, this whole pregnancy I have assumed that the chances of him coming early are good as Heidi came 3 days before her due date, but I wasn't sure if that really had any bearing on this pregancy or not. I was able to ask my doctor about this, and she did confirm that my chances of him coming early are pretty high, although obviously not a guarantee! Aaaaaa!

Week 34

Major events: Baby shower (or "sprinkle" if you will!)

Size of baby: Cantaloupe

Sleep: Fine fine

Cravings: None

Aversions: None

Movement: Tons of movement... legs/feet flipped sides again but it seems this was only temporary. I also had one scary morning where I hadn't felt movement between about 4:30 a.m. (got up to pee) and almost 9:00 a.m. I am not someone who keeps track of kicks or records how much it happens per hour or whatever (I think that's just a good way to really stress yourself out!) but I was aware that 4+ hours is a very long time to go without feeling movement, even in the morning. I started getting a little worried but by the time I had dropped Heidi off at MDO and had time to actually think about it he woke up and started rolling around again.

Belly button in or out? In

Weight gain: 25 lbs.

Missing: Hmmmm nothing!

Best part of this week: The shower was the highlight of my week! Also, spending some time with my mom and sister and SO many good friends at the shower!

Hardest part of this week: I have been feeling really lonely and very stressed...and not getting to spend time with my husband has made this week a thousand times harder. Things finally started looking up about halfway through this "week" just in time for the shower thank goodness! (My "weeks" are Wednesday - Tuesday btw!)

Looking forward to: NYC next weekend!! Eeee!!

Emotions: Struggling with "down" feelings this week BIG time, but once the shower was here I was feeling much much better (Ryan and I also finally had a big talk which needed to happen and this really helped me to feel so much more myself again.) Sooo basically I am consistently inconsistent emotionally! Expecting it to be this way for a while...(esp. knowing that post-partum is a crazy time hormonally as well!)

Signs of labor: None

Week 35

Major events: Took myself on my own little babymoon to visit my college roommate in NYC!

Size of baby: Honeydew melon

Sleep: Still somewhat decent surprisingly... I think the main issue here is just going to bed at a reasonable time - something that I am super bad at! I have always been a night owl and am the most productive at nighttime, so it's hard to get in bed early. I feel like by this point in my pregnancy with Heidi, I was getting up 2-3 times at LEAST per night, whereas this time around it's more like 1-2 times (and if I go to bed late enough then I can make it all the way through until morning haha).

Cravings: Yogurt/granola/fruit parfaits - I saw a lady carrying one around in the airport and I just couldn't get it out of my head!!

Aversions: None

Movement: Tons of movement always. His kicks hurt me a lot and it seems like he's trying to bust out of my right side!

Belly button in or out? In

Weight gain: 30 lbs.

Missing: Clothes that fit

Best part of this week: Hangin with my soulmate in NYC duhhh! SO nice to just get away and forget about all of the things that are currently causing me to be stressed and anxious.

Hardest part of this week: This week I had 2 pretty rough days (and they were back to back which makes it worse). Rough in a physical and hormonal way. Exhaustion has definitely set in and my body just felt so... uncooperative? I outgrew my maternity clothes several weeks ago and I started to let that frustrate me. I dreaded each time I had to bend over to pick something up and each time I had to go up the stairs. My belly hurt and was so uncomfortable and squished and full. The pressure on my bladder/front lower abdomen was so unbearable it made falling asleep difficult these last few nights. I also felt a ton of pressure upwards into my rib cage, and (those 2 days specifically) breathing felt impossible. I was always short of breath, winded and just struggling to get enough in to fill my lungs. Also, having a hard time emotionally (see below) and suddenly feeling SUPER stressed about how little time we have left. (If he's early - that means that this time 4 weeks from now we could be at home with a newborn. YIKES!!)

Looking forward to: Hopefully checking some things off of our "To Do" list!

Emotions: All OVER the place (this is an extreme understatement). You name it - I've felt it. I am also having a SUPER hard time coming to terms with the fact that this pregnancy is almost over. I'm ready to meet my baby... but I'm not ready to not be pregnant. I'm not ready to part with this belly. The house is not ready. His room is not ready. I just feel like nothing is ready!! (I do realize that IF he were to come tomorrow everything would be fine and we would survive. He probably won't even use his room at all for several weeks/months, but it DOES make me sad not having it prepared for his arrival.) I have been anxious, stressed, angry, depressed, excited, happy, sad, mad, disappointed, joyful... just to name a few. I can FEEL the hormones surging through my body and at times it feels like more than I can handle.

Signs of labor: None other than (maybe) some braxton hicks contraction here and there...

Some more notes on feeling movement throughout this pregnancy...

Feeling this baby move inside of me has been different this second time around. With your first pregnancy, each roll, kick, hiccup and movement is something to announce. To your spouse, friends, family... Call them in from the other room to come experience. But going through his experience for the second time, it's different. Not that those incredible moments are any less important or exciting (not in the least!) but the second time, it's just... different. Less public, maybe.

Throughout everything that I do the entire day, I am almost always feeling another life moving and shifting inside of me simultaneously. Whether I'm laying in bed, standing in line at the grocery store, washing the dishes, having a conversation with family or friends...but this time...it's more like a little secret that's just between me and my son. His movements are much more often something that only he, God and I are aware of in that moment. And no one else in this whole world. I do LOVE to share his movements and kicks with others but I also love those times where it's just he and I. I love bonding with him in this way.

And here are just few more pictures from these past 3 weeks...!

This is a MATERNITY shirt people. I thought I had reached this point waaay later with my last pregnancy (as in the last few weeks of pregnancy)... but I'm only 8 months pregnant (in this picture)!! Ugh! Frustrating that they don't make maternity shirts longer... what the heck!?