37 weeks!!

I haven't added any pics of the bare belly and we are rapidly running out of opportunities for that!! And I threw in the front view because it really shows off the poppin out belly button! And if I look tired, it's because I AM!! :) 











How far along? I am 37 weeks pregnant!!! This baby could be in my arms ANY DAY NOW!!  

Maternity clothes: It ain't changing at this stage of the game!! And I don't think i'll be purchasing any more maternity clothes! SO CRAZY!! 

Stretch marks?  Nothin! Just have to make it a liiiiiitle while longer!  

Sleep:  I have to say I think i'm one of the lucky ones, the belly really doesn't disrupt my sleep too much. I get comfortable fairly easily and stay asleep other than the few trips to the bathroom obviously.

Best moment this week: My baby shower!! It was SUCH a good time and I was literally SHOWERED with gifts for this little one. She is so spoiled and loved already! I really can't thank Josh's family enough for making it so special for both of us!! :)  Oh, and just a little extra from the week, we took the tour of the birthplace and it really kind of hit me all at once! It's hard to explain, I had the goosebumps the entire time!! I think maybe it's a good idea to take the tour a little further in advance! To think I could be back there having this baby at ANY point is really a surreal feeling! 

Miss anything?:  Being able to bend over, it's getting more and more impossible every day!  

Movement:  She doesn't have a whole lot of room to do much anymore but I DEFINITELY still feel her in there ;) 

Food cravings:  Mainly fruit again!      

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothin! 

Gender: Baby girl!  

Labor signs: Nothing too significant, but I am progressing! (Any of you casual readers that may find some "details" a little TMI should stop reading now!) I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and she "checked me" and I am 1 centimeter dilated (which I know doesn't mean much cause I can technically sit there until i'm due) but I was 70% effaced, and my doctor seemed to be VERY pleased about that progress! And as far as her position goes, She is in position and she's pretty well engaged in my pelvis too! She is sitting at a -1 station, which is basically just the scale they use to measure how far the baby has dropped into the pelvis. When they are at a 0 they are considered to be fully engaged and ready for labor, so I was really REALLY happy about that too! So we shall see!! 

(Insert cheesy informational diagram here!) 

Symptoms: I still have really bad indigestion, and my stomach still falls asleep ALL the time. She needs to drop just a little bit more and that'd be GREAT!! I've also been pretty crampy lately, it feels like i'm on the verge of getting my period. My body is doin somethin, that's for sure!! AHH!  

Belly button in or out? Outie!   

Wedding rings on or off? On. I haven't had ANY swelling (knock on wood) 

Happy or moody most of the time? Honestly, I had a REALLY tough week emotionally. I wouldn't say I was really moody. It was more just like an overwhelmingly scared, anxious, stressed out feeling. I feel like I have the whole world on my shoulders and have SO much to do, and just nothing seems to be getting done. I'm not a big crier, and I had a couple days where it was just an endless flood and there was just nothing I could do! I can only assume it's totally normal-especially at this juncture, and it was fairly therapeutic I think (after the fact). It didn't help that Josh was gone the majority of the week.

Looking forward to:  Getting her nursery completely finished!!! 

36 weeks! 1 month left!!

How far along? 36 weeks! I am 9 months pregnant!! HOW??? 
(so yeah when they say you're pregnant for 9 months it's a load of crap...it's totally 10+) 

Maternity clothes: Same routine!  

Stretch marks?  Don't have anything to report miraculously, cause this belly is getting HUGE!  

Sleep: Still sleeping well other than my poor bladder crying out in pain every 2 hours or so! Started having goofy dreams again, such as having the baby and trying to breastfeed her and she was a kitten. SOOO yeah....lol  

Best moment this week: I had my work shower on Thursday and it was SO nice. We had a delicious taco bar for my little mexican jumping bean and some amazingly generous gifts. We even got our carseat and stroller, which was UNREAL!! 

Miss anything?:  Spending time in other areas of my house besides my bathroom. 

Movement:  Oh yeah I feel like she's constantly moving around. I'm feeling sorta worried though because of course after I had my last doc appointment and she told me that she was sort of diagonal, I started googling. (which is almost ALWAYS a bad idea for me) I guess if she doesn't turn her body in the next week or so, they will try to manually turn her, and if THAT doesn't work I will probably need a Csection. So of course i'm kinda sorta (really) stressing out about it. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday so I am hoping and PRAYING my little heart out that she will tell me she's turned! The good part is it's not like she has very far to move (opposed to someone who has a breech baby), she's already head down. She just has her head pointed towards my hip instead of my cervix. So say a prayer for me and this little stinker PLEASE!! MOVE BABY, MOVE! 

Food cravings:  Nothing really stands out.  But whenever I would go to our cupboards for a snack I found myself subconsciously wishing we had fruit snacks this week..so that's somethin!      

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothin comes to mind 

Gender: GIRL! 

Labor signs: Nothin yet! 

Symptoms: All my usual. And I don't know if i've mentioned this one before but my stomach falls asleep ALL THE TIME. Well, not my whole stomach, but the very TOP. I asked my doctor about it and she said it's totally normal. But OMG it's so annoying!!! And there's really nothing you can do because it doesn't go away if I rub it or move around or change positions. 

Belly button in or out? Oh it's out.  

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Still happy as a clam! (why are clams so happy anyways?) 

Looking forward to:  My big shower is this coming friday, so i'm really excited about that!! And i'm looking forward to my doc appointment where she gives me good news about the little one's position. (again....prayers please!)  :) 

35 weeks!

How far along? 35 weeks! OH MY! 

Maternity clothes: Same old same. Getting dressed has really become a chore though. Skinny jeans, even if they are maternity, are EXTREMELY difficult to get on and off. I depend on Josh for a lot of things, I figure he needs practice with dressing people who can't dress (or undress) themselves. hahahaha jk And strappy shoes? HA!!! fuhgettaboutit 

Stretch marks?  This belly is still rockin and rollin!! 

Sleep: I am still sleeping really well, however my poor bladder is in turmoil. I'm averaging about 2-3 times that I need to get up in the night. I fall right back to sleep though so it could definitely be worse! The only problem with me sleeping so well is that i'm not getting the adequate dose of reality that is soon to slap me in the face. I'm not complaining cause I appreciate every minute of sleep I get, just sayin. 

Best moment this week: It was a good week! I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and everything is going fabulously! She said this little one is "head down" but she's sitting kind of sideways still. There is still plenty of time for her to align herself and get locked and loaded! The BEST moment of the week, however, was today when I had my maternity shots! My amazingly talented cousin took them for us and from the few samples we got already we can tell they turned out awesome!! Check out her website if you never have, she's seriously AMAZING>>>>> Shots by Bridge

Miss anything?:  Not waddling wherever I go, and being able to see all my body parts. TMI?  just sayin!!  

Movement:  Uh YEAH. At the moment she is curled up on my left side so my belly looks extremely contorted and weird. But yes the poor thing is constantly trying to adjust and she is just runnin outta room!! I even have a couple moments where I uncontrollably kind of shriek when she kicks or moves because it's getting SO strong and uncomfortable. 

Food cravings:  This week I haven't really had anything that really stands out. My ice cream obsession has sort of toned down a bit this week which is probably for the best.     

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothin comes to mind 

Gender: GIRL! 

Labor signs: Not yet! 

Symptoms: I had a couple REALLY rough days with just being uncomfortable. She hasn't dropped yet (as far as i'm concerned) so I just feel like she's sitting REALLY high up in my ribs and whatnot, and that makes my indigestion a lot worse. And I can't bend over for any amount of timewithout nearly suffocating. Otherwise just the usual mild complaints. I still feel pretty dang good for being so far along, I have just reached a point where I have a couple days mixed in that I am READY FOR HER TO GET OUTTA THERE! 

Belly button in or out? It's out more than it's in lately! Still varies though   

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Although my body is absolutely anything but my own anymore, i'm still really HAPPY! Getting more and more nervous, anxious, excited, etc etc as well!! 

Looking forward to:  Things are starting to come together more and more! My shower at work is this week and i'm really excited about that! My head is spinning with how LITTLE time we have left!! 

34 weeks!

How far along? 34 weeks! 

Maternity clothes: Same routine! Although this week I did spoil myself a little bit and got a pair of SUPER cute maternity jeans off of Zulily. They were on sale for 20 bucks so I didn't feel too guilty. Anyone in the market for maternity clothes I totally recommend Zulily and Hautelook. They regularly have super good sales for us mama's to be as well as baby stuff! 

Stretch marks? There's nothin yet! I feel like i'm being punked and a day before I give birth my stomach is going to be like "JUST KIDDING, here's your stretch marks!!" 

Sleep: I'm doing really well still, falling asleep easily and staying asleep besides the occasional trip to the bathroom. The only thing that has changed is i've noticed it is getting harder and harder to adjust sleeping positions throughout the night, this belly is hard to maneuver comfortably. I sorta feel like it would be easier to just get OUT of bed and start over instead of rolling over. haha  

Best moment this week: Well the majority of the past week was spent in Michigan still. We had such a fabulous time and the weather was gorgeous. Beach time, mini road trips to different places, Lake Superior, A zoo, Josh went golfing, the casino, and multiple bonfires. It was extremely hard to leave on Wednesday. I had my first real uncontrollable hormonal breakdown, I was SO sad! But we have gotten A LOT done since we've been home so I guess it's not all bad. 

Miss anything?: Maneuvering my body easily, bending over, etc. 

Movement:  Ohhh yes and boyyy is she runnin out of room! I've had a couple of times where she is clearly trying to stretch out and I can feel the sharp pressing feeling down on my bladder and kicking up in my ribs. Insanity. She's also had the hiccups a lot more lately too.

Food cravings: ICE CREAM!! SO not like me, but I just can't get enough    

Anything making you queasy or sick?  I had a moment while registering at Babies R Us where I felt like I was going to vomit out of nowhere, but I can't really pinpoint what caused it. Just extensive standing? Who knows 

Gender: Chicky poo 

Labor signs: Nope! 

Symptoms: All my usual, indigestion, back pain if I'm standing or walking for extended periods of time, getting more fatigued again, leg and foot cramps, and i've started having more and more braxton hicks. All in all though I feel very fortunate because I still feel REALLY good, sorta waiting for the downfall! 

Belly button in or out? Really depends upon the day, some days it's REALLY out, other times it's In and sometimes it switches throughout the day depending on what i'm doing. Silly little thing.   

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? With the exception of coming home from vacation I've been really happy. If I can take a moment to gush a bit, (skip past this section if you can't stomach it) i've just been feeling so fortunate and overwhelmingly BLESSED lately. It's been a rough weekend with getting all kinds of things accomplished in the nursery, hours spent registering for upcoming showers, as well as a few "homestead hiccups." And no matter how overwhelmed or stressed out I started to feel, I just felt SO fortunate to have Josh by my side. He's really SO good about just being helpful and cooperative when he knows I need it. I know plenty of men would have gotten really fed up with my requests and overall annoying "nesting behaviors." I've just found that it's really easy for a woman to feel kind of "alone" throughout the pregnancy and sort of like it's ALL on you. I feel really lucky to have a man that tries REALLY hard to make me feel like we are in this together and that I don't ever need to feel like i'm doing anything on my own. He's also been working extremely hard to make it a possibility for me to stay home with the baby until she's a little older and that is just AMAZING! What can I say other than I really feel like I won the husband lottery (even if he drives me nuts sometimes....hey maybe I should remind myself to read this when he does! haha) <3 

Looking forward to:  I'm really looking forward to my showers because while we have most of the BIG stuff for the nursery, we have NOTHING else. I am so dang excited to meet this little one!  

33 weeks! (Michigan edition!)

How far along? 33 weeks! 

Maternity clothes: Same ol' routine there! 

Stretch marks? Still nothin to speak of on that front! I ain't complainin' believe me!! 

Sleep: Still sleepin like a baby for the most part! I still have nights that I don't even need to get up to use the bathroom, which I find to be damn near miraculous at this juncture! 

Best moment this week: Leaving for Michigan! Josh and I and my ENTIRE family are up here right now for vacation. It has been beautiful so far! Unfortunately Josh and I need to leave a little earlier than the others but oh well, i'm just grateful to have a bit of a "babymoon" before this little girl is here!! 

Miss anything?: My lower back not killing me! 

Movement:  She moves a ton, and it's now at the point where it's really just full body repositions which can be extremely uncomfortable. I know when all is said and done i'll probably miss the feeling but as of now it's kinda like OK little girl, that's enough! hahaha 

Food cravings: I had a huge hankering for peanut m&m's like all week!     

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothing! Except for when I get bad indigestion, then I just feel icky in general. 

Gender: Little girl! 

Labor signs: No! 

Symptoms: All the usual. The indigestion has gotten a LOT worse, so has the back pain. Fun fun 

Belly button in or out? When i'm standing up it is more or less OUT, but it usually goes back in when i'm sitting or laying down. It must have something to do with her positioning I would think.  

Wedding rings on or off? On. Haven't had much swelling at all yet which i'm thankful for. 

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!!!  

Looking forward to:  Well as much as I don't want vacation to EVER end, i'm looking forward to getting home because we got our crib, and her dresser is getting painted so we'll get to start getting her room together! And then I have my maternity shots and a couple showers and then she'll basically be here!! Unreal how fast the time is going!!! 

32 weeks!

How far along? 32 weeks! 

Maternity clothes: Still the same! 

Stretch marks? Still none to report! 

Sleep: Still sleeping well! Woo hoo!! 

Best moment this week: For sure when I had my surprised ultrasound of course!! Got some AMAZING shots of the little lady's face. I know it won't even compare to when we actually meet her but it's still really cool. It's like we kinda met her already! She's so dang cute and we love her so much! I'll post a couple of my favorites 

Miss anything?: Not feeling claustrophobic in my own body! 

Movement:  She's moving a TON. Especially at work, it's like non stop! She STILL miraculously stops moving whenever Josh is wanting to feel her, SO bizarre. 

Food cravings: I had a sudden hankering for potato salad the other day, but I didn't get any :(     

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothing! 

Gender: Princess 

Labor signs: No! 

Symptoms: The indigestion is getting HORRIBLE. I literally feel like my stomach is located up in my chest, it just doesn't feel like the food ever gets past my rib cage. So I feel like i'm CONSTANTLY needing to burp. I still have the hiccups basically all day long as well. And i've been feeling more and more just generally uncomfortable. YEE HAW for the final stretch  

Belly button in or out? We're about half way out   

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Still mostly happy believe it or not!! 

Looking forward to:  We get to go to Michigan this weekend and I basically CANNOT wait. It will be Josh's first trip, I really hope the weather is nice!! :D 

31 weeks!

How far along? 31 weeks! 

Maternity clothes: I should just delete this question from the lineup because it's obviously not going to change in the last 2 months! 

Stretch marks? Remarkably I still have none to report! I swear every time I shower I inspect the belly expecting to see some cropping up. It's only a matter of time i'm sure!! 

Sleep: I'm still sleeping REALLY well considering. I do get stiff and sore/achy a lot easier and I do have to get up to use the bathroom at least once, but i'm not complaining! And I try to get an afternoon nap in every day during the work week. So I'd say i'm well rested! 

Best moment this week: I guess the best moment would be the whole weekend. It was the 4th of July on Friday, so I went up to my parents house and spent the afternoon out on the lake. Josh had to work so he met me up there and then we spent the night at my parents house. It was BEAUTIFUL on Saturday so it was nice to just wake up there and have the whole day ahead of us. We went out to breakfast and then up to the flea market and got some goodies. We spent the rest of the day boating and relaxing on the lake some more. It was SO nice, it was like a mini vacation! Makes it VERY hard to come back home to reality, painful almost. 

Miss anything?: Being able to do anything physical without my tailbone feeling like it's going to bust. 

Movement:  Moving a lot. But you can tell she's running out of room because it's less full kicks and more just adjusting positions. 

Food cravings: Hmmm it's really been salad more than anything!     

Anything making you queasy or sick?  Nothing! 

Gender: Sugarplum fairy! (it's becoming hard to come up with creative ways to say it's a girl) 

Labor signs: No! 

Symptoms: Tailbone pain, indigestion, shortness of breath, feeling sorta claustrophobic lately. My body is literally being taken over. 

Belly button in or out? Some days the little top fold sorta pokes out a bit, otherwise it's still hangin in there.  

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Majority of the time i'm really happy still. I've been on more of an emotional roller coaster lately though. 

Looking forward to:  Well my very best friend had her baby boy on Sunday, so just the sight of him and how much love he brings makes me SO very excited and eager to have OUR baby here too. We have officially ordered our crib though so we can get to work on getting things ready for her. I am SO excited, and she just kicked in agreement. :)