This past week has been a busy one! We moved houses on Wednesday and have been doing house things and baby things at the same time to get ready. I feel like a ticking time bomb and we don’t know when something will happen. Our house looks great and we had so many speedy helpers to help us get moved in and settled before baby! And I’m not much myself help with moving or unpacking carrying around a 30 pound medicine ball on my stomach.

On Thursday, I hit 39 weeks and had another doctor’s appointment with an ultrasound. I ended up with two ultrasounds to check the baby’s weight. The tech couldn’t get an accurate weight the first time because the baby’s head was too low. While I thought that’s good and a sign it’s on its way out, it really isn’t making progress. A second ultrasound after I saw the doctor revealed an 8.5 pound baby (estimated, sometimes they are very wrong).

So anyway, just in case you’re wondering what is going on and if you’re on baby watch like my family, it will probably be soon!

And since I have no pictures of myself to show you, how about the crib that I finally got to put in the room with its bedding? Come on baby, you’re room and bed are waiting! It’s way prettier than the inside of my stomach!

Wow for making it to March and Week 38! It’s a relief to make it to March, since all along we’ve been planning for a baby in March. February would have thrown us a curve ball. Next goal is to make it to the move! Then the baby is welcome and encouraged to arrive on its own.

This week, BabyCenter says the baby is the size of a leek and weighs 6.8 pounds and is almost 20 inches long. Again, these don’t mean much to me anymore! Baby is basically cooked and just adding some weight.

I feel about as uncomfortable as I look in this picture. And why is it so hot and humid in this city?!

Highlights of the week included our final date night last Saturday. We went to a new-to-us restaurant, Philippe, to have one last date before the baby arrives. We hope the next date night won’t be too far off. And I have a feeling it will involve sushi and/or wine when that date comes! Either that or a turkey sandwich.

We also cooked dinner at home for Oscar Sunday, and I made another batch of homemade granola for nibbling and breakfasts.

This is my last week of work for the school year, so that is exciting too. No more packed lunches! Those do get old every day. I reverted back to a first trimester favorite this week–PB&J on a bagel and an apple for lunch. I did compensate by having a colorful Whole Foods salad with tofu for dinner!

Over the weekend, I also had two walks on the treadmill at the gym. They are still getting more uncomfortable and slow, but at least I’m going! It does feel good to just get dressed and be there.

We are getting a bit more ready for baby and moving. We washed the clothes, sheets and blankets we have, and are trying to stay organized.

My sleeping has been alright. Not as bad as last week’s report. My doctor actually said Tylenol PM is ok to take, so I did take that a few nights and it was so wonderful.

Baby is constantly rolling, kicking, punching, etc. All day long. All night long. It’s like a party all the time. Not saying I don’t like feeling the movements, but I won’t be so nostalgic for it (or anything pregnancy related)! It makes me nervous and they are starting to hurt.

Today I have another doctor’s appointment. Hoping I have made some progress in the right direction, but it’s looking to be doubtful. I will update later if anything changes!

Lily and Jeffrey wanted to say hi. They like having their picture taken too. Jeffrey is practicing the baby cradle hold.

Week 35 is big time! That means this baby is about 95% cooked! Can you believe it? 37 weeks is considered full term, and safe for arrival. We are still hoping for baby to make its debut sometime on schedule because we scheduled our move on Week 39. Can someone relay that message to baby? It really is hard to believe that it’s almost safe for the baby to come anytime now.

Backing up a bit, BabyCenter says the baby is the size of a honeydew this week. It is over 18 inches long and 5.25 pounds. Also around now, BabyCenter starts to become inaccurate in its size guesses since full term babies range in weight from 6-8ish pounds and varying lengths. But it’s still nice to know what it looks like inside.

This past weekend we had a lot of family in town for my baby shower. I got some cute gifts, along with many practical and necessary ones that we’ll need for the first days at home and beyond. It’s nice to feel a little more equipped. My mom and I also did a Babies R’ Us run and got some other necessary items like newborn pacifiers, wipes, diapers, and velcro swaddle wraps.

I have a few odds and ends I’d like to get before the baby arrives, and I try to tackle a few things a week but not all at once.

Sleep–This has been very touch and go lately. If I have a bad night of a few hours where I can’t sleep one night, I’ll be tired all day and then sleep great the next night. It’s not ideal, but I appreciate the good nights more, and know most of my future sleep will be broken up into few hour stretches.

Exercise–Last weekend was probably the first weekend in all of my pregnancy where I didn’t have any real gym exercise. We had family here and my shower and I wanted to be rested, and also, I just didn’t feel much like it. I’ve gotten much slower and more tired, and I took the time to rest. I think exercise may be on hiatus besides everyday things like walking the dog and chasing her up and down the stairs.

Eating–I am still baking and taking my breakfast and lunch to work, and trying to cook something at home each week. Hoping to keep that up a little. Having Jeffrey as the sous chef on the weekends helps too! However, it’s hard to know when I’m full because I always look gigantic. It is true that you eat less but more often.

Kicks–This baby is definitely an active one. Especially at night or after a meal, I feel the baby moving all over. We can see it kicking and moving around, and new this week is a lot of movement on my left side. I hope it’s still head down! I think it is elbows or feet or something on the sides.

I have lots of to-do lists going all week long, have computer spreadsheets and long reminders ready of things I need to do before the baby arrives and right after, and still doing various research on things that come up.

That’s about it for this week. Starting today, I go to the doctor every week!

I am almost to the point where I’m wondering how much longer this will go on. I obviously want to go to full term (37 weeks and beyond), but I also am feeling like I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m excited for this to end. People who say they LOVE being pregnant? I don’t know about them…

First things first, BabyCenter says I am the size of a CANTALOUPE and the baby weighs 4.75 pounds and is 18 inches long. Whoaaa baby is what I say to that. This week I have felt the baby moving a lot and I can definitely tell it is spreading out. I feel and see it on the sides of my belly too! I am getting a wider belly.

It is almost hard to believe I am so far along (but sometimes my previous body seems so far in the past!), and still so bazarre to think there is a human inside of me with a heart and 10 toes and everything. Believe me, I feel those toes, or elbows or knees or something. Pregnancy is a crazy phenomenon. I think we are also really antsy to know if it’s a girl or a boy! I am still 110% glad we didn’t find out. It definitely makes the end more exciting.

I would say the past week has been a turning point where I feel I have grown again, and am really getting ready for the end more than before. Perhaps it’s mostly because I’ve had a very hard time sleeping at night, feel uncomfortable all day long, and get more looks of “how much longer?” than I used to. This week I had a few terrible nights of sleeplessness, and then a few great nights.

My exercise goal has been 3x/week, and walking is really all I can do anymore. I think my trips to the gym may be dwindling, but I’m still going and it feels good to move even if it’s very slow! Lily still keeps me busy chasing her up and down the stairs and going outside in the afternoons. I’m relying on her to make me move around too.

I really want this baby to stay put a few more weeks, so I’ve also been less active in the afternoons and try to be a couch potato if Lily allows it.

I also have an exciting weekend coming up–it’s my baby shower! We have a lot of family coming in on both sides and we are looking forward to celebrating with our friends and family.

That’s about it for this week. Starting next week, I go to the doctor every week! Can’t believe I’m almost to the weekly appointments.

Any requests or questions with just a few weeks left to go? I’m still writing on Tuesdays about something pregnancy related and on Thursdays about the weekly update. You can view all baby related posts on my special Pregnancy page.

Wow, can you believe we are in the third trimester?! Well, maybe you can, but I really can’t believe we are probably over 2/3 through with this.

This week, BabyCenter says we are the size of a cauliflower! The baby is 2.25 pounds and over 14 inches long. Believe us that there really is something moving around in there. We can SEE it now kicking at me.

I had a doctor’s appointment on Monday, which are always something to look forward to. I go back in three weeks, and then it’s every two weeks twice and then every week!

Here are some highlights:

• I am up 17 pounds since the beginning, including 5 in the last 4.5 weeks. I definitely started gaining most of the weight in the last 10ish weeks. Hard to believe I have that much extra weight on me and I’m still feeling good. All the steps in our house make me breathless and my walks are much slower. But any exercise is better than none.
• If I continue to gain 1 pound per week, which is recommended, then I’ll be right at 30 pounds, and right in the middle of the suggested 25-35 pound gain. I would be ecstatic about that!
• My blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate are perfectly in range.
• The baby is head down and has been since the last appointment. While early still, it’s good that it knows how to get there.

Other highlights of the week:

• I am definitely getting bigger, and strangers are making comments. At a restaurant, I asked where the restroom is, and they said up two flights of stairs. I said no problem, and he looked at me like I may want to take the elevator. I am still in great shape, promise.
• We can visibly see kicks on my stomach, which is very bazaar!
• My appetite is increasing, meals are getting bigger. Snacks are more frequent.
• I can’t take a long walk without stopping to tinkle. That is really annoying because I have to stay near a public restroom or port-a-potty! I’ve been going to the gym more than walking outside because there are restrooms!
• I have been sleeping great at night. Crossing my fingers for this to continue.
• I’m on Winter Break from school, and it’s been an excellent time to get to the gym, walk Lily more, and be active around the house. I feel like I should take advantage while I’m feeling good.

Other things from this week was that we had a wedding in town. The pictures on this post are from that. I am only wearing flat shoes now, and have some awesome hot pink and gold sequined ones since I can’t wear fabulous wedges.

The navy dress above is a second dress I bought from Rosie Pope online. I had been having a hard time finding cute cocktail dresses for the many weddings we’ve had this season, and found two great ones that fit from Rosie. I’ll be wearing this one once more, and then our weddings are done.

Hello again! It seems like these posts are getting more frequent. This coming week is the final one of the 2nd trimester. I will be a little sad to say goodbye, it’s been kind of nice. Although, I’m very happy to be moving along and getting closer to the big day. I can’t believe we will be having a baby in 10-13 weeks. Hopefully not sooner.

This week, BabyCenter says the baby is almost 2 pounds and the size of a cauliflower! It is about 14.5 inches long. I really can’t believe there is something that big inside. I still remember when it was a lentil or a lemon and being weighed in ounces. This is the real deal.

Highlights of this week were a long weekend trip to Birmingham, AL for Jeffrey’s cousin’s wedding. We were there from Friday until Monday morning. Travel is definitely getting a little harder. Seats aren’t comfortable, but the Gilbert rule of “if you have a baby in the tummy, you get the aisle seat” is a good one. We have one more air trip left and one car trip and we’re done!

Sleeping in beds other than my own is also harder. I had a very difficult time falling asleep, similar to our Thanksgiving trip. Then when I get home, I’m back to normal. It’s just getting harder to travel! I’m very happy when it’s over.

While we were gone, Jeffrey and I took two walks around the neighborhood. I love walking around B’ham because of the cooler temperatures, hills, and beautiful trees and houses to see. But I was definitely slower this visit! And I had to stop at the local Publix to pee once during our 45 minute walk.

I continue to feel a lot of kicks, rolls and jabs. All day and all night. Some are even visible from the outside, which is real weird! And I continue to feel like I’m growing all over.

I go back to the doctor on Monday for the gestational diabetes test, and then my appointments might become more frequent starting in January.

See you next week from the third Tri!

Hello all! Welcome to Week 23. Do the weeks seem to be ticking away slowly to you? I am starting to lose track. Somewhere in the mid-20s. Next big milestone is probably Week 28 when I move into the 3rd trimester and the baby would be viable if something happened.

But here at Week 23, we are the size of a large mango! That doesn’t seem bigger than a squash, but that’s what BabyCenter says. It weighs over a pound and is over 11 inches long. Just to give you something to compare to, when the baby is born, usually they are around 17-19 inches long or so and 6-9 pounds (hopefully closer to 6 than 9 but I don’t have a lot of hope for that). And this 23 week old fetus is already 11 inches long! So it’s done a lot of growing and has a lot of weight to gain!

Another interesting thing the books say is that the baby likes movement, like exercise, walking, or just moving around. It really makes sense because I feel it most when I’m not moving, like in the morning after breakfast or at the end of the day. The movements are pretty weird and cool.

As you can see in the top picture, something is taking up a lot more space! I still don’t feel as big as I look, and I hope that continues because I feel like I’m growing everyday.

In the second photo, you can see that my belly gets in the way.

Other random things–

• I am still sleeping pretty solid and long.
• I feel great during the day.
• I eat normally but do feel a little more hungry before meals.
• We bought our second big purchase–a glider. One big one to go–the dresser. We’re waiting a few more weeks because it has a short delivery time.
• Lily likes to snuggle against my belly while she sleeps at night. It is the sweetest thing! I don’t know if she senses something, but we’ll pretend she does.

The highlight of Week 23 was my weekend of exercise and a prenatal massage. I wrote about that on Tuesday.