38 Weeks... FULL TERM!

We're full-term today!!! So exciting :) I'm so anxious to meet our little girl.

Last week at the doctor's, I saw Dr. Wright and he said he estimates she will be about 8-8.5 lbs. That is what the ultrasound said at 29 weeks, so that prediction is the same. I hope we go earlier than later! That's one good-sized baby girl.

Pretty sure she's dropped. I felt a noticeable difference in her position when I got up this morning. I can't really feel her feet up in my ribs as much as before... and I just feel kind of different. I weighed myself this morning and I was down about 5 lbs from a couple days ago... weird. 28 lb gain according to my scale this morning, and last week I was was at a 34 lb gain. Maybe I'm not retaining water as much as I was before? I certainly haven't been eating any less.

So Ben got super-sick yesterday with some sort of flu-bug... I did get my flu-shot so I should be ok, I hope. Like I said, felt a little funny this morning so I really hope I'm not getting whatever he had! It hasn't gotten any worse since I woke up, so I think I'm ok. I'm usually really hungry when about 10:30 rolls around and I need a snack, but not today. Not feeling hungry like usual. Maybe this is the "feeling-funny" thing that happens before labor starts?! Or it could be because she dropped and there things have moved around in there? She has been moving like crazy so far today... more than normal.  Who knows :)

2/28 update- Ended up feeling pretty sick last night... must have caught Ben's stomach bug. Thankfully it only lasted about 5-6 hours and then I started feeling better. I didn't have it as bad as Ben (wasn't puking) but still. Feeling pretty good today-pretty much back to normal.

Can't wait to meet her... and I have this feeling that is going to be sooner rather than later.

Side note--- If she is born on Wednesday, she will have a Leap Day Birthday!

38 Weeks... Woah baby!

37 Weeks

Due in 3 weeks!!! Could really be any time now.... :)

Had our final baby shower on Sunday, and it was wonderful! Our great friends Tom and Jenny hosted it for us. The guys had a diaper party for Ben out in the garage while we were inside. We all had a great time, and we got many more wonderful gifts for our baby! We are truly blessed with great friends :)

I've been trying to get everything done at work so my replacement doesn't have a ton to do. It's hard to work ahead, especially with spring sports starting soon... but I'm doing my best to get things prepared for her. I know I'm going to be worried about things here once I'm out on leave, but I'll just have to trust that everything is running smoothly.

I'm still feeling great! When I get up at night I have to get up slowly... she is getting heavier every day! I feel huge, but my back hasn't been too bad.
No major complaints here.

Nursery!

Here are some nursery pics I thought I'd share :)

36 Weeks

Time is FLYING.

36 weeks. Due in 4, full term in 2. I've heard different reports on what is considered full-term, but at our Childbirth class they told us 38 is considered full-term by Munson. So I'll go with that. Previously, I was going with babycenter.com which told me 37... but oh well :) Childbirth class was very informative and I'm really glad we went, despite the very long 8 hour session. There were some things they taught us that I definitely didn't know, and I feel much more prepared. I don't think Ben enjoyed it quite as much as I did (I think I caught him drifting off a couple of times), but he survived :) Knowing everything they taught us makes me feel less anxious about labor and delivery. I know ultimately, it is all in God's hands.... so I really have nothing to worry about!

I feel pretty humongous right now, but everyone is telling me that I look great for being 8 months. Very nice to hear that :) I had someone ask me recently if I was about 4 months along! Considering my weight gain, that was a welcome comment. I've gained about 32-33 lbs, which is close to the maximum I should be gaining.  I'm trying to keep eating healthy as much as I can, but I know that some women gain much more... just this weekend someone told me they gained 90 with their first and she's about my size, so I'm trying not to be concerned about where I am! I know that breastfeeding is a huge help on getting back to normal size :) And no real stretch-marks yet, so hopefully I'll be ok in that department.

Still feeling pretty great! I'm starting to feel more pressure down low every time I stand up... especially when I get up at night. Perhaps she's beginning her journey out! My back pain hasn't been too bad lately. We went and watched a movie with my parents last night and I had to keep re-adjusting in my my chair. Can't sit still for a long period of time. Kicks are still pretty strong, and I'm still loving it :)

My amazing friends are throwing me a shower on Sunday... Can't wait!!!

36 Weeks

35 Weeks

We had the baby shower for my side of the family and our church family yesterday, and it was great! There were about 35 ladies there and we had lots of great food :) The Noah's Ark theme was awesome! My Mom got these really cool Noah's Ark birdhouses as prizes, and the cake was great. I got a lot of wonderful gifts, including many diapers which I greatly appreciate :)

35 weeks today. Wow. I am happy to report that my back has been feeling better lately. Knock on wood, because the back pain could return at any moment. Maybe my back muscles are getting stronger and used to carrying all of this extra weight. I still wake up uncomfortable sometimes and have to re-adjust. I've been using an extra pillow to help prevent me from rolling on to my back which seems to cause those crazy leg cramps... I'm retaining water and am a bit swollen in my legs and hands. I've had a few people tell me that means I'm going to have her early- but who really knows! I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and I'll ask then. I haven't had much heartburn... a couple of times, but it was very mild and a tums took care of it right away.  No other real symptoms right now. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

Baby girl is fully developed and is putting on weight now. Probably somewhere between 5 and 6 lbs, and somewhere around 18 inches long.

She has the hiccups right now :)