35

I am 35 weeks today, with 35 days until my due date! I was wondering how I would keep growing this last month or so, and I think "out" is the answer to that question.

It's hard to tell for sure, but I think I felt my first Braxton-Hicks contractions this past Sunday. Fun stuff. They aren't painful, just tight. It makes me feel like I'm getting closer to the end!

I've said this before, but I really feel blessed to have had a very mild and relatively comfortable pregnancy. Last night I didn't sleep well at all, but those occasions are few and far between. I'm experiencing a bit of that famous "round ligament pain" so I've been piling, wedging and positioning multiple pillows around me at night. Last night McKay and I were getting into bed when a craving for Arby's hit me. Because I've had so few crazy late night cravings, McKay has been anxious to be the knight in shining armor when they have hit. So he bounded out of bed, threw on some jeans and cruised to the nearest Arby's. Love me some curly fries and roast beef! What a good man.

We can't wait to meet you, baby!

thirty four . . . thirty five . . .

Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose! Tomorrow marks 35 weeks and I didn't even post for 34 weeks. I do have a picture from last week, though. Here for your viewing pleasure . . .

I can't believe I got this zipped up! It was a struggle, but I wanted to see if I could do it. Little baby must not have appreciated the additional confinement because she started banging on my belly to let me know I was cramping her style!

You're free! You're free!

I'm really starting to feel huge these days! Moving, in general, is getting tricky. Getting out of bed is laughable, and happens once or twice each night as our little jokester thinks it's funny to use my bladder as her pillow! But it's all part of the ride, and we're getting very close to the end! Nesting mode is in full swing. I love looking at adorable tiny clothes online, making lists of the things I still need/want, and hitting up Baby Gap's sale rack.

I have pretty regular dreams about having the baby. Although they are typically unrealistic . . . she's often a boy and there's usually no pain/tearing/trauma from labor (hope that dream comes true!). Breastfeeding must be on the subconscious brain all the time because getting my dreamworld baby to latch is almost always the main theme of my dreams! The other night, my "baby" was a little boy with several teeth when I was trying to teach him to latch. I'll have to take that one to the dream interpreter . . .

The only thing left for the nursery is a dresser. I've been hitting up KSL pretty regularly but have yet to find the winning piece (maybe we'll check out DI?). This hasn't stopped me from organizing, folding and refolding her various jammies, blankets, onesies, pants and hats . . . several times! It's unbelievable how close we're getting. Our emotions are all over the place and typically bounce around between fear, anticipation, gratitude, and over-the-top excitement.

It's the home stretch, folks. Thanks for following along! In roughly one month we'll be parents . . . any final words of advice?

the next 48 days

Down to seven weeks! It's hard to believe I am 33 weeks now. I remember how far away November felt in the early days. It seemed like all my friends were racing through their pregnancies and having their babies and I was still a bumpless, grumpy, boy-or-girl? first trimester-er. But, here we are! Time marches on.

The growing bump

Sometimes I wonder how pregnant I really look. I'm getting so used to this bowling ball that I imagine myself looking like a moderately normal person. Then I see the profile shots! And I remember. And I wonder how the next seven weeks will look! Here is me seven weeks ago . . .

26-week me! I've done lots of growing since then . . .

Baby stats of the week: she's around 5 pounds and 20 inches long this week! Her fingernails are long (and may need a trim ASAP once she gets here!). She continues to flail around inside, despite being more and more cramped in her quarters! We are getting so excited to have her here . . . and I can see how people get anxious toward the end. Every couple days I feel like I should be another week along. It's not that the days feel long, I'm really enjoying my schedule and have started to structure my days with little projects and goals before teaching my afternoon lessons. But still, in baby time, I feel like I should be about ready to deliver!

On a final note, I'm very excited for my ward baby shower tonight. A huge shout out and thank you to Kim Allgood (the champion of celebrations, cooking, and giving me mom/home advice!) for putting it together. Should be a party!!

With that, I better get to my structured day!

eight week countdown

Well, folks, I am 32 weeks today. With eight weeks until my due date. That seems pretty soon! Eight weeks is the amount of time between Halloween and Christmas. And eight weeks ago was right in between the 4th and the 24th of July. When I think of all the stuff I need to do/get before our little girl arrives . . . it feels like time is running out!

Stats of the week: I'm getting big.

So is baby.

Her immune system is getting strong and she opens her eyes when she is awake. She can perceive light and darkness through the ever thinning uterus wall. She's between 3.5 and 4 pounds and 17 and 19 inches long. Wow. No wonder she's jabbing and squirming around! I'd be claustrophobic if I were in there all bunched up.

I'm so grateful for how uneventful this pregnancy has been. My heartburn comes and goes, and I have some sciatic nerve annoyance every now and then (mostly when I clean the house . . . better pass that duty off to someone else!). But I'm sleeping well, and I'm feeling generally good.

Lots of fun stuff to look forward to in these next 8 weeks. Fallidays has arrived! McKay and I love autumn! To celebrate, we created Fallidays which runs from the day after Labor Day to Thanksgiving day. During this festive season we make soups and pumpkin treats and cocoa and wear sweaters and savor the beautiful leaves and crisp air. General Conference (and screpes) are coming up in October, and I have a few more baby showers to look forward to.

And though I can't wait to hold my baby and regain some mobility, I am enjoying relaxing evenings with McKay, staying up late, napping, and basically doing what I want! I hear it from a lot of people - and I'll do my best to enjoy these last weeks of pregnancy before my little girl is taking all my time (though I'm excited to give it!). Here's to a fabulous eight weeks.

thirty-one

One more week down! I'm two months away from my due date and I'm feeling good. My belly seems to be growing by the second. I run it into everything and find peanut butter smudges, make-up, and pen on my protruding bulge far too often! Thanks to Oxi-clean (five points to Kim for introducing me to this wonder product) my clothes have a fighting chance of making it through these next 9 weeks.

look at the size of that thing!

Our baby is still kickboxing a lot - especially at night! But she's filling up her little home so her jabs have less room to build momentum! That being said, I'm also feeding her well, so she's fattening up nicely, which means those elbows and knees she's throwing around are getting stronger!

It's been really fun for McKay to see and feel her moving these past weeks. It's exciting for him to feel connected to my 24/7 companion. This week he pointed out that my belly is "significantly bigger" than last week. Thanks, honey. But seriously, it's so fun to be in this stage of so much change and growth and movement! I'm glad he's excited (and observant!). I really can't imagine how much bigger I'll be by the time November rolls around.

31 weeks

On a final note, tomorrow I'm heading up to the Uintas with McKay's family. We'll be hiking an easy (or so I'm told) mile in to our camp site and staying until Monday morning. We have all our stuff in backpacks - including food (think oatmeal, trail mix and freeze-dried dinners) for 3.5 days. Am I crazy? Maybe. I have a little air mattress, fortunately. But 4 days in the wilderness with no couch/bed/shower/toilet (yep, we'll be digging holes)... Adventurous for sure! I do enjoy the outdoors, I've just never gotten so cozy with nature... and at 7 months pregnant! Fingers crossed...