36 Weeks

How Far Along:  36 weeks

Baby Size: Honeydew Melon

Total Weight Gain: 21 lbs. My appointments are weekly now so at the last one I was down 3 to 18 and then this week back up to 21.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity and non-maternity.

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep:  I am sleeping well. I get sore and stiff when I’m sleeping though so it takes me a little longer to get up.

Best Moment of the week:  Hearing that the baby is head down and in the correct position.  One less thing to worry about J

Miss Anything?: The ability to move around.  I have good days and bad days now. Sometimes I can barely move and some days I’m totally fine.

Movement: She moves a lot but I don’t think she has much room anymore so not really flipping around.  Just punching me.

Food Cravings: I have been craving fruit again.  So lucky that I was pregnant over summer when the good stuff is in season.

Anything Making you queasy or sick: Just uncomfortable when I eat too much.

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs:  No.

Symptoms:  Gigantic belly! J

Belly Button in or out: Flat.

Wedding Rings on or off: On.

Mood:  Happy, emotional, tired, excited, overwhelmed, anxious, etc, etc, etc.

Looking forward to: Meeting my baby girl!!

Exercise: Doctor told me to slow it down now because I was having a little bleeding and she doesn’t want me to go into labor early.  She recommended I stop working or slow down but it’s hard with my kind of job so I compromised with the exercise (I’ve taken it down to really low impact) and told her I would take it easier at work. I also quit my day job about 2 weeks earlier than I had planned so I can rest during the day since I have to work at night. The Last Month: I have to say that this last month feels different.  I’m anxious and huge and uncomfortable.  I’m such a cliché now.  I walk around rubbing my lower back and when I get to the end of a long work shift I can’t help but waddle a little bit.  I still can’t believe I made it all the way to the end feeling absolutely great though.  I guess I got lucky.  I only have a very short time left so I’m trying to enjoy it, even though I’m dying to meet my baby and get my body back to feeling like myself again.

Baby Shower with The Family

Baby Shower with The Girls

New Green Smoothie

• Baby Kale
• Baby Spinach
• Lime Juice
• Coconut Water
• 1 Green Apple
• 1 Banana
• Ice

Mmmmm, healthy :)

What I'm Reading

Amazing! Love it!  Anyone with any interest in children, disabilities, differences, humanity, tolerance, understanding should pick this book up.  

34 Weeks

How Far Along:  34 weeks

Baby Size: A butternut squash.

Total Weight Gain: 21 lbs. I should be slowing down now because it is more uncomfortable to eat but of course me and my huge appetite have not really felt like eating less.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity and non-maternity.

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep:  I am sleeping well.  I’m either getting up to pee less or just getting used to it.  I am starting to feel really tired again, just like the first trimester.

Best Moment of the week: Spending lots of time with the hubby taking our baby classes and squeezing some dates into our precious alone time before the baby comes.

Miss Anything?: Being able to bend forward and stretch out my back.  It is weird to just not be able to do things that you have been able to do your whole life.

Movement: Tons of movement.

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular but even though it is uncomfortable to be really full, my appetite is huge.

Anything Making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs:  No.  My doc says I could be having some Braxton Hicks but am not really feeling them or am not recognizing them as contractions.  I am trying to pay a little closer attention to tightening in my belly now.

Symptoms:  Butterfingers. I drop everything! I have read that this could be due to my joints, ligaments, etc loosening up.

Belly Button in or out: Flat.

Wedding Rings on or off: On.

Mood:  Good but more emotional lately.

Looking forward to: Baby shower with my family this weekend.

Exercise: I haven’t been as good about exercise this week. I might try to get back on it to boost my energy. Funny: Well my nickname at work has officially become Prometheus.  For anyone not up to speed on their Greek Mythology, he was credited with the creation of man.  I had to look this up, since I haven’t exactly been studying any Greek mythology lately J  This is what you get when you have a dodgy British manager at work with a quirky sense of humor.  Here he is, dodgy "Peeta" aka Peter.  He thinks he's so funny.

Nursery

First, I will start with Blake's closet.  I used a cabinet above an open shelf in her room for Blake's wardrobe.  I already use the regular size closet for my clothes so this was the only place I had left.  It worked out perfectly because I could customize this space with paint and a homemade chandelier, making it a cute display for her tiny pink clothes and shoes.

From a wider angle, you can see exactly how the cabinet sits in the room.  The clothes hanger bar is just a shower curtain tension rod that I got from Target and hung in there.  I added baskets to hold the loose items like swaddle blankets, hats, headbands, and socks.  I always love matching hangers for a clean look and these were very cheap (like less than $2 for a semi-big bundle of them) from Target.

{The shelf underneath is yet to be styled so I tried not to show that for now.  Also to the right, is her bathroom which for now is just painted pink and does not have accessories}

  

Blake's tiny shoe collection.  We have tons of clothes but might need to expand this area.  I have a feeling she will just be in socks for a while so I know I have time :)

Another angle to show the chandelier.  This is the same one that I made a while back and used to hang in my old walk in closet.

I painted the stripes on the wall, which was not that bad actually, using a laser level, painters tape and a little bit of patience.  Also, if you are prego, ask for the safe paint at Home Depot that doesn't give off as strong of fumes.

The framed prints came from Etsy, the changing table pad and polka dot cover are from Pottery Barn Kids, and the baskets are from Babies R Us. 

The crib bedding is from the Harper collection at Pottery Barn Kids and the adorable elephant was a gift.  I made the hanging letters with materials from Hobby Lobby. 

Her hamper is from Babies R Us and the "baby" sign hanging from it came on a baby present gift bag that I saved because I thought it was so cute.  

 These pillows were also a gift and are from Home Goods.  It's amazing how well they go with the nursery decor.  I am still planning on getting some kind of chair for this corner, rocking or otherwise, but for now they are just hanging out in this corner making it cozier.

And last, this is my somewhat small collection of cloth diapers.  I have started with the Sunbaby brand of pocket diapers because they came recommended and were the cheapest to buy in bulk.  I currently have 24 of them and am starting slowly with a hybrid approach, where you do both disposables and cloth.  I will be sure to have a post later on to update how the cloth diapering is going.  It seems to be a great debate so for now I have no expectations except that I really want to give this a try and I hope it works out.  It's so much cheaper and better for our planet.  

Next, I need to add an area for a baby library, find a chair, finish her bathroom, and style that clutter filled shelf.  More on that later...