36 weeks and 2 days

I've made it to the 36 week mark.  Not too much has changed other than my belly, as you can see.  I'm experiencing more pelvic girdle pain than I have in the past, which makes walking very uncomfortable, among other things.  Going grocery shopping is even less fun now. haha.  You should hear me grunt and moan every time I have to roll over in the middle of the night...it's embarrassing.  I have also been getting more and more Braxton Hicks contractions - usually at night as I'm resting and watching mindless TV, and I continue to battle nausea - though, it is, admittedly, less intense than it was in the beginning (but still quite annoying).  Other than that - things are good.

Jacob and I have almost finished putting together the "nursery"...we have to put together the dresser, and I have to figure out how to best arrange all the pounds of baby clothes that my good friend, Laurel, has generously passed along to us from her daughter.  I am loving the 10 hours of sleep I am getting each night - I am in for a RUDE awakening when this baby decides to come out.

I keep praying that she will arrive by her due date and NOT go past it.  But I suppose it's just a wait-and-see kind of situation at this point.  I'm not gonna lie - this baby is probably going to be huge and the thought of pushing it out of my body still causes me to break out in a cold sweat.  I know women have been doing it since the beginning of time - but that does not comfort me at all. oy.

Anywho, as promised - here are my latest pics:

 Yes - I swallowed a basketball. Everybody stare.

 OOOOHHHHH yeaaaaaaaaaaa - feeling SEXY - NOT.

I also want to give a great big THANK YOU to all who came and celebrated the upcoming birth - and all the amazing gifts.  One of the cutest things I got came from Maria - check these out:

I should get a kimono to go with them....hahaha.  So freakin' cute.

Continuing the Prep

On Saturday I went to the childbirth class that was recommended to me by my nurse educator.  I had reminded Jacob several times that it was on Saturday, but he forgot about it. Hahaha.  I didn't pressure him to come along seeing as how he and I probably knew most of what they were going to talk about anyway.  I was hopeful there would be more instruction on newborn care and feeding...but it was mostly about labor and delivery.  The whole time I sat in the class I was just missing Jacob, so I ended up skipping the only part that may have been useful to know - breastfeeding.  But, luckily I have a good friend who has lent me numerous books, including one on nursing, so I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Today I am exactly 4 weeks from my due date.  Crazy-town.  The baby is still very active and seems to be doing fine.  No major bodily changes have taken place since my last post - just more weight gain.   I will say that I feel a little better about my size after seeing the other pregnant ladies at the childbirth class.  I don't know how far along they all were, but most of them were a lot bigger.  I am definitely very lucky to have been able to rest when I want to and exercise when I want to.  It is probably a LOT harder to be pregnant and working versus pregnant and completing school.  I know I complain a lot, but I want everyone to know I realize how blessed I am right now.  It could have been a lot worse.  I guess things are looking pretty good when my stress is only manifesting in nightmares about stretch marks. hahaa.

I will be 36 weeks on Thursday, so I'll have my latest picture to put up then.

Until later. :-)