35: Weeks Down & Days to Go

As promised, I'm back with the 35-week bump pic! Obviously not much new to update, but at least you'll have the pic to see how much change has happened in the last few days!!

Remember early on, when I put on cute clothes and did my hair and makeup for my bump pics? Yeah laziness has pretty much done away with that these days, hehe. I'm also not feeling particularly motivated to turn on my hair dryer when its 85 degrees in the house.

At 35 weeks pregnant yesterday, there were officially only 35 days remaining until Peanut's due date. Crazy how that works, huh? The book tells me she's 18" long, which is probably a good approximation. Everyone thinks that because Jeff is so tall, Peanut will be pretty long when she's born, but it's not like Jeff came into the world six-feet tall. He grew the same as the rest of us, just a little more. So we'll see how long she actually ends up being. I'd say somewhere in the 20-22" mark is probably pretty likely.

She also weighs in at approximately five-and-a-quarter pounds, even though to me she feels like she weighs ABOUT A HUNDRED POUNDS!!!! Carrying so much weight around is hard, and it's crazy that every time I think she must be done growing, I feel a little bigger the next day.

She definitely is running out of room in there, and I can tell because her movements are much more fluid-feeling. She doesn't have the room to punch and kick, and instead they are pressing and stretching motions into my stomach, usually my ribs. Often when I sit for a while, like out to dinner or something, she'll stretch into my ribs the entire time to let me know she's uncomfortable being squished. As if I have it any easier here on the outside! Both she and I will be glad when she's got plenty of space to move and stretch and isn't confined to mama's tummy anymore.

I wish I could tell you we have big Fourth of July plans this weekend, but we really don't. Tomorrow we'll meet up with Jeff's class and hang out downtown at the local festival eating tasty food and watching fireworks, and then we'll probably spend the rest of the weekend just hanging out. It is supposed to be warm, so hopefully we'll get plenty of outdoor time. We broke down and bought a kidding pool today, and I'm looking forward to spending some time in it this weekend. Jeff's got the day off Monday also, so we've got an extra long weekend. Yay!!

Another round of Childbirth Classes tonight, although I can't quite remember what we're covering. Last week was all the breathing shenanigans, but I find it hard to believe anyone actually remembers to use those when the time comes. I'm looking forward to touring the Family Birthing Center next week, and getting a better idea of what the environment will be like where Peanut is born.

I suppose that's about it for this week! Next week I'll have a new weekly pic, plus some updates from the doc. Hopefully a better idea about when Peanut will show up, and more info about the process from here on out.

Until next time!

34 Weeks: Feelin' the Love!

Yes, yes, I realize I've been gone a while. It's been almost two weeks since my last post, which sucks for those of you who check for new ones regularly (which, apparently, is a lot of you...haha).

I'm six days late with this post, but here's my 34-week bump pic, taken from my baby shower at home this past weekend:

I did my photo a little bit different this week because I found a bunch of cool chalkboard fonts online that I wanted to try out, so I made a virtual chalkboard instead of my usual one and put it with the photo. Looks okay I guess, but it ended up being a lot more trouble than it was worth, so I think I'll stick to my normal chalkboard. Only five more to go!

I'm feeling particularly pregnant these days, and certainly noticing some of the discomfort of pregnancy, although I try not to complain too much. I know there are a lot of women out there who contend with a lot more than the discomfort I feel, so I should be grateful I've got it as (relatively) easy as I do.

I had my Oregon baby shower this past weekend - what a great time! It was so nice to see some of my friends from childhood, girls I've worked with at Oregon State, and other friends and family who traveled to visit with me and celebrate our little Peanut girl. She certainly is WELL LOVED!! Thank you to those of you who came (or wanted to!) I very sincerely appreciate it. And a HUGE thank you to my Auntie and Mom for putting on such a wonderful little party. The food was delicious, the punch was tasty and the atmosphere festive. It really was a great time.

Baby showers are funny. You hear your friends and family talk about how excited they are for your child, and you know that they are, but then to see their generosity with their time and their gifts, and watch their faces when they tell you how much they're looking forward to meeting your little one, it's amazing. I really cannot believe how loved this little girl already is by so many people. She is beyond blessed to come into such a huge network of love and support, and Jeff and I are beyond grateful for each of you. You don't have to love our daughter as much as we do, but it seems as though you do anyway. Incredible.

I had a visit with my doc last Wednesday, and everything went pretty much as expected. It seems she's no longer very concerned with the preeclampsia, given that I'm not "spilling proteins" (Google that if you need more explanation...) but she did say she still believes that Peanut will arrive around 37 or 38 weeks. I didn't do a great job of asking for clarification on why she thinks Peanut will come early, but that is my main mission at my next appointment (a week from tomorrow for those of you who are curious). If she truly does arrive around week 37 or 38, that's only 2-3 weeks from tomorrow, which means Jeff and I need to kick our prep into high gear. We are mostly ready, but do still need to pack our hospital bag, install her car seat, and generally make sure we and our  home are ready for our daughter.

No doc appointments this week, but this is my last "week off" from visits. Starting next week, I'll see the doc every week until Peanut arrives to check my progress and just generally asses how things are moving along. This means I'll have even more to update you about! Hopefully...

After a fun few days at home in Corvallis visiting friends and family, I'm glad to be back in Klamath Falls for a while. It feels like I've done quite a bit of traveling in the last few months, and I'm looking forward to taking it easy until Peanut arrives. Undoubtedly once she's here, there'll be few relaxing moments.

I suppose that's about it for this week. I'm technically 35 weeks tomorrow, so I'll try and post another photo maybe Thursday (although at this rate, they probably won't look much different).

It's 89 degrees outside as I write this - at 8:30 at night - so I'll be spending the evening in front of the window hoping for a breeze. Air conditioning is a rare thing in Oregon, so we're stuck with fans and wind. Not that I'm complaining...

Toodles!

32 Weeks: 8 Months Down, 8 Weeks to Go

Oy! This is definitely going faster than I'd previously thought.

Could be because we've been relatively busy the last week (camping! yay!) but also because the reality is setting in that there just isn't that much time before Peanut arrives. I was telling Jeff just today that there are all these things I want to do this summer now that we're back in Oregon, but I'm starting to realize our baby-less weekends are limited in number, and the second half of our summer in Southern Oregon is basically shot with a newborn. So much to do, so little time!

Perhaps my eagerness to do some of these things is contributing to my fabulous attitude (yes, I said it, I had a fabulous attitude) about things like going camping 31 weeks pregnant. Not a lot of women would sleep on an air mattress in a tent in the woods when they're as pregnant as I am, but I am so excited to be back in Oregon and be able to do these things I've grown up loving to do, that I really can't complain. Here are a couple photos from our camping adventure this past weekend at Lake of the Woods, courtesy of Jeff:

We had SPLENDID weather the whole time, which is pretty unusual when camping in Oregon, especially this early.

(Yes, June is "early" in Oregon for summertime activities. The water is still waaaaaaayyyy too cold to swim in, and it still gets pretty cold at night. Late July/early August is the ideal time for outdoor activities.)

We're hoping to get in at least one more camping trip before Peanut comes, if we can find the time. And if we feel inclined, and think we can make it work, we may try to take her once after she's born. That's a big MAYBE though (I can hear my mom laughing at my naive intentions...)

In other news, as of yesterday, we're officially 32 weeks pregnant, or eight months, by my math. That means we've got eight weeks left.

Eight. Weeks.

That's 56 days. IF she makes it to her due date.

Wowzer. It's coming faster and faster. Here's the 32-week pic:

I feel freakin' HUGE and I know I don't have it quite as bad as those smaller girls with smaller torsos (yes, Tiff, that's you).

I don't expect my shape to change too much more, but I'm sure the bump will get a bit bigger. At roughly 17", Peanut is just about at her birth length, but still has another few pounds to pack on. Hopefully not the additional 4.5 my mom is predicting. I don't want a heifer for a baby, for obvious reasons.

This Sunday will be Jeff's last Father's Day before he's a "real" father (his words, not mine) and I think he's excited. He'll be the best Dad, and I'm excited for our Peanut girl to have such a great Daddy.

Not much else in terms of updating, I'm scheduled for my ultrasound next Wednesday at the 33-week mark, so I may have some more accurate measurements of our little nugget after that. Right now, it's pretty much just averaging what all my different books and phone apps tell me in terms of her stats. It'll be nice to know for sure. I'll try and post a pic of the ultrasound too if they give me one. Just seven weeks before her due date, I imagine she'll look pretty baby-ish. We shall see.

That's probably about it for today, if I think of anything else exciting to share with you, I'll come back with another post!

Happy Thursday!