Week 36 & 37: Fun Pregnancy Times

Hi Lovelies, as of last Wednesday- I have officially been on maternity leave!! I have had such a long to do list- that I really feel like I am on a stacation to clean my house. And as of last Friday- I am full term!!

Instead of recapping the last two weeks, I want to give you non-mom's a glimpse into pregnancy. This is just a little list that I came up with while trying to shave my legs in the shower this morning, and by no means captures all the joys of pregnancy. AKA this is me not holding back. If you want to know what it's like to feel almost 38 weeks pregnant here's what you should do:

1. Start by being super romantic with your partner in bed. Fun, right? All things start off so fun.

2. Stop drinking water and eating fiber, and eat a lot of salt. Wait two days. Are your hands the sizes of sausages?? How's the bloat feeling? Extra bonus points if you have cankles.

3. Get two pairs of the chicken cutlet boob things and put them in your bra. Now, get a blow up beach ball. Figure out how to put in at lease 15lbs of sand into said ball and finish blowing it up. Strap it to your waist. Now try to find something in your closet that fits and looks cute. Extra points if your chicken cutlets start to leak.

4. Stand up for 8 hours. How does your back feel now?

5. Write a to do list. Now tear the bottom half off and throw it away. Make sure that one thing on the list that you threw away was financial and one thing that your husband really wanted done. That's pregnancy brain.

6. Take something perishable from your fridge, now leave it out on the counter. For three days. Smell that. That's pregnancy nose.

7. Run a half marathon. Then try to take off and put on your pants and shoes.

8. After doing all of the above, go to work for 8 hours and come home and make dinner.

9. Drink a gallon of water then with the cutlets and beach ball in place, climb into bed with your partner. Tell your partner that you forgot to do said thing on your to do list.

10. Think about being romantic.

If you aren't laughing in your partners face or up all night going the bathroom, repeat steps 2-9.

Honestly, I realized I am blessed with a healthy pregnancy, but sometimes I just have to find humor in the details.

Here I am at 37 weeks, 5 days. I am FULL TERM!! She could come any day. She's measuring right on size- so she's most likely over 6lbs and over 19 inches long!! I am officially swollen and checking my rings daily to see if they still fit. 

So, would you be willing to try steps 1-9??

BTW, I was featured on the SpearmintBaby earlier this week- check me out. 

Week 35: Who am I kidding??

Hi Lovelies, this post is written in two sections... and two VERY different states of mind. Basically, this whole pregnancy is turning into a daily adventure....
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Who am I kidding any more?

I am exhausted. My maternity clothes barely fit any more. I am starving all the time.

Baby Berry is kicking and hiccuping a storm, and I officially feel overwhelmed with everything that I have left to do- both at work and at home before baby comes.

As of today (Tuesday), I am 80% sure that Baby is Transverse (sideways) and not head down, and it's freaking me out. I find out for sure on Thursday at my Doctors appointment. While my Doctor wouldn't tell me what position she's in until now- I am worried that now it is too late and transverse most likely means a C-section.

And when I really think about it- I REALLY don't want a c- section. So if the news is bad on Thursday- expect a complete break down.

I am also in complete nesting mode and while I have no energy left after work and life, the amount of dust in our apartment is driving me completely insane!!

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Well, it's Friday, and a break down has been avoided.

I am pretty sure that Baby Berry listened to her Mama and on Wednesday she switched positions. How do I know?? Well, the location of her hiccups changes. Instead of my left hip- they felt like they were coming from down below (if ya know what I mean).

And after a short and grainy ultrasound yesterday it was confirmed- she's head down!! Whoot whoot. As far as the bulge on my right side near my ribs- those are her feet. Folks- we have a kicker. I think she's has a future in swimming!!

We also found out that my body has not started to dilate; I am still shut tight. I will say that I can feel some pain you know where- like ligaments stretching and bones moving out of the way and getting ready.

You heard it here first folks- I think she's going to be a Christmas baby!! AKA a week late. Mr. Spice is officially routing for a solstice baby- Dec 21st.

As for how I am feeling today, much better. I ate my way through Tuesday, and as I today I've gained 23 lbs. A totally normal amount that reflects all the sweets that I have been eating! But if I am honest, more than I hoped for.

I am still in nesting mode, but I am trying to keep my nerves in check through Thanksgiving weekend, which marks the start of my maternity leave!! I am also holding out for some black Friday and cyber Monday deals.

All in all, I am just hanging on to this emotional and physical roller coaster that is pregnancy and gearing myself up for 5 more weeks of this!!

Now if only someone could get this baby to stop hiccuping through the night- she's so aggressive that she's waking me up!! She is the size of Honeydew and well over 5lbs!!

Here I am a couple days ago after a Work Happy Hour/Baby Shower that was so sweet.

I have to be honest, these are the only pregnancy pictures that I actually love. And the first pictures that I've actually posted to Facebook.

Week 33 & 34: The Lighter Side

Hi Lovelies, Technically, I am on Week 35 as of today, but I wanted to recap the last two weeks before I dive into the final FIVE weeks.

I have been thinking about my pregnancy and this post a lot. They say that half the battle is attitude, so I have been trying to bring the humor to carrying around a large cantaloupe in my belly. I mean aren't you sick of hearing me moan and groan?

First, I have to brag. In the last two weeks, not only did we make it out to a Halloween party, I made it trick-o-treating with my Niece and Nephew, I attended two Birthday Happy Hours, and a girls dinner. I am still walking Huck daily to the park, doing a weekly grocery shopping AND carrying the groceries home two blocks- AFTER a full day at work. I pretty much think that gives me rock star pregnancy status!! I'll admit that at all other times I am on the couch or in bed, but whateve.

Second, as you can tell from above, my energy levels are actually a lot higher than they have been almost all pregnancy. In fact, so far, the first 17 weeks of pregnancy were the WORST.

Third, it's amazing how often I have to answer the question, 'how are you doing?' Pretty much anything beyond, 'I am doing pretty good,' would be TMI. You don't really want to know anything about all the normal crazy-ass pregnancy things that are happening. Just in case you didn't know, almost anything beyond bleeding and cramping that happens to your body during pregnancy is normal. Each time I have a new symptom, I look it up, and surprise surprise, it's normal.

Like waking up with your arm asleep, normal. At this point in pregnancy your circulation is compromised. A nightly bloody nose, normal. I AM carrying around 50% more blood in my body. And those are just the symptoms that I feel comfortable posting.

As for my favorite new activity, SWIMMING! I have a month pass to the gym next door, and if I could, I would spend all day doing laps in the pool. I can almost forget that I am pregnant while I am swimming! I highly recommend it.

As for the Baby Berry, she's already giving me a run for my money. I've grown to find her daily hiccups comforting. Pretty much each day they come from a different direction in my belly, so I know she likes variety. Based on her hiccups, I also know that there is no chance that she is in the right position. She's also figured out how to get up under my ribs. It's usually during a meeting at work- her timing is perfection.

During the last two weeks Baby Berry and Mr. Spice have developed a new game that they like to play. Mr. Spice (gently-ish) shakes my belly and yells EARTHQUAKE!! Two minutes later Baby Berry starts kickin up a storm. I am completely convinced that it is all a conspiracy against me, and I can already tell that this little girl and her Daddy are going to get in a lot of trouble together!!

As for sleep, I am actually doing pretty well. I will say that there is no such thing as tossing and turning when you are pregnant. It's too hard to turn over.

And when I do wake up and turn over, 99% of the time it puts just that added pressure on my bladder so I have to pee. The crazy part- when I get up, I realize that Baby Berry is cuddled up on the side I was sleeping on and is sticking out a good 1 to 2-inches farther on that side. It is wild to see my big belly bulge in a different direction every night. If I wasn't in such a fog at 2am, I'd take a picture for you.

Finally, in the last few days she's experienced a HUGE growth spurt. I can tell she wants more room and I am always hungry! On the good side, it means that she's growing and kicking and doing all the crazy things she's supposed to be doing. I am also well on my way to developing kanckles and sausage fingers. I've had to put my engagement ring away- boo.

So on keeping it light, let's cross our fingers that I can make it another five weeks!! I only have 8 more working days until maternity leave, which is just crazy pants.

Apparently I deleted all my pictures from Week 33 and Halloween- I'll admit I wasn't looking too cute in those pics. Here I am last night:

Hello BELLY!!!

Ok, enough, I have to go eat.