37 Weeks!

Wearing some clothes that had been too big for a while... 

Also, you can't see it, but I'm wearing heels!  

I don't know what I was thinking haha

Not looking quite as big as I feel :)

How far along:  37 weeks!  I’m measuring about a week and a half ahead… 

How big is the baby: Junior is the size of a bunch of Swiss chard (that’s random)!  My midwife estimated (when I was 36.5 weeks) that Junior was about 7.5 pounds.  That would make him over 9 pounds if I got to forty weeks… We’ll see if she was right or not!

Total weight gain/loss: As of my midwife appointment this week, I’m now up 27 pounds.  That was a big jump… But I’m swelling more and I hadn’t gained any last week.  Oh well, I’m getting close to the end.  Hopefully then it’ll start going the opposite direction!

Maternity clothes: I’m actually outgrowing some of my staples… I had to go through a bin I have of the next size up maternity clothes to find some jeans, etc. that I can wear now!

I am starting to day dream about my other clothes… I know it’ll still be a while before I can wear my pre-pregnancy jeans, etc… But I am looking forward to it!

Stretch marks: They’re still coming :( Boo!

Sleep: I feel like I’m sleeping less… Waking up a lot with pain and trying to roll over.  Then I decide I might as well go to the bathroom while I’m awake.  Then I come back to bed and have to re-attempt to get comfortable… Quite the process :)  Soon I will be sleeping less for very different reasons!

Exercise: I went to the track on Sunday, Y on Monday, and Y on Thursday!  Yippee! This is what happens when my walking partner is back in town :)  All three times I did between 2 and 3 miles.  I did less because I got there late, not because I had to stop early :)

Best moment last week: We had our maternity pictures done!!! I can’t wait to see them :)

I also had some fun birthday celebrations… a lunch with my mom, a breakfast with a friend, and I’ll have dinner tonight with the family :)  Woohoo!

Movement: He’s still moving a lot, but not quite as much as he was… I feel his head SO LOW!  I said this week that I didn’t think I’d be feeling the baby THIS low until I was in labor! Haha :)

Food cravings/aversions: I had a delicious cheeseburger this week :)  I can’t really think of any specific cravings/aversions… Oh!  I had been wanting dark chocolate for a while and I was given some for my birthday – Perfect timing!  (Thanks, Mom Appleton!)

Other symptoms: Junior has definitely dropped… So I’m having a lot of pelvic pain, hip pain, etc.  He also likes to hit some nerve that makes my left leg numb?  It’s fun ;)

Gender: As far as we know, he’s still a boy!  (I can’t even imagine what it would be like to think you know the gender and then find out when the baby is born that you/ultrasound techs etc. were wrong!)

Labor signs:  Like I said, Junior has dropped.  So that’s a good sign!  I’m having a lot of Braxton Hicks; they’ve definitely increased in frequency and pain.  Still nothing like labor, I’m sure! 

Belly button: It’s basically flat now… Depending on how he moves, sometimes it even starts to stick out.  But it isn’t an outie yet

Weddings rings: Still on, but they’re definitely getting tight!

What I miss: The lack of pain before he dropped ;)

What I am looking forward to: Setting up the nursery – SOON!  Pete is just about done with the master bedroom.  We should be moving in there in the next couple of days and then he’ll work on painting the nursery!  YAYYYYY!!!

Also getting together with my family tonight (Friday) for my birthday!  It’ll be fun :)

Weekly Wisdom:  It hurts when the baby drops… be prepared!  It gets hard to walk, sit, lay down, stand, etc! :)  But, at the same time, it’s great progress and you know you’re getting close!  So, it’s painful, but exciting :)

In case you missed this on facebook... 

I felt like it looked like I had a beach ball in my shirt! haha :)