Yolande

36 weeks A coconut

Thirty-six weeks: 5.2.12







Photo Thoughts: I think the top makes my bump seem even bigger than usual---something about the gathering around the boobs, and the fact I'm wearing a too small sports bra that smashes the girls down. But wow. Pretty huge. And yay for an outdoor shot WITH Truman!!

Size of baby: A coconut according to TB or a crenshaw melon according to BC. The coconut was easier to find but it just seems SO much smaller than the past few weeks of foods. I mean, a coconut is not any bigger than a honeydew melon from last week, or even the cauliflower from week 27.  As someone said on Facebook, is that supposed to be the size of just her head? Whatever, I guess there are only four more fruits to go!

Cravings/Diet: Really into sweets. What else is new?

What I love: Saying the following phrase--- "I am going to have a baby THIS MONTH!!" {we will not discuss the option of her being late as a June baby. I will be very upset with her if she makes me a liar when I say I'm due this month}

What I'm looking forward to the most: Labor and delivery. Birth photography. Meeting our little lady. I can barely stand it all, really.

Worries: I was seriously convinced that baby girl was going to make an extremely early appearance last week. On Wednesday after work, I started having very regular and fairly intense contractions to the point that I was timing them on my phone and freaking out. They were anywhere from 4-11 minutes apart and quite uncomfortable, with period-like cramps accompanying them. Nate was totally freaked out when I finally started packing my hospital bag and printing off disability forms online. Luckily I had my OB appointment the next day and she is not worried about the contractions at all because if baby girl decides to come at this point, they aren't going to stop her! Also, I had my first internal during the strep B test and I'm totally closed up, so these crazy contractions are just more BH/bogus ones. Very odd to feel like I COULD have her at any moment though! I am a total newbie to a natural labor so I have no idea if I will know when to go to the hospital :)

What is different this time around: Last time at 36 weeks I was having lots of BH (huh, I don't even remember them last time!) and dealing with high BP. I was getting weekly NSTs and was preparing to see my boy on an ultrasound again to check his growth. This time my BP is still my friend and I'm having those silly contractions again, but no NST and no ultrasounds for me. I want to say that I'm a little more uncomfortable this time around but I don't know if that is really true or I'm just blocking it out from my memory the first time around. I know that since my BP is so much better, I'm not napping as much (or at all, really) so I must be doing fine. It boggles my mind to think that I only took ONE MORE weekly photo with Truman's pregnancy before I got induced!!!

Symptoms: Contractions, cramps, slowly leaking pee on myself which makes me wonder if my water is breaking (TMI? Sorry.), difficulty getting up from any position, pain in back with sitting, super sore upper belly, feeling overly full with eating, getting really winded on the stairs, and overall feeling like a giant pregnant blob. I wouldn't say I've hit The Wall or anything, and I am still enjoying this pregnancy, but wow. I finally feel pregnant. 

Sleep: Love it, but feeling really congested again like I did in the second trimester. And rolling over is getting a little ridiculous.

Movement: She has NOT slowed down at all in the past few weeks even though I know she has no room in there. Some of her kicks are definitely painful and take my breath away. My least favorite kicks are the ones to the inside of my ribs. Ouch, baby girl!

The belly: Massive and totally tight/stretched. Like my ab muscles are seriously hurting me right now from being pulled away from each other. I still cannot believe I don't have stretch marks. I startled myself in the mirror the other day, when my reflection caught my eye and I wasn't prepared for the belly. Pretty sure she had another growth spurt. Also, isn't my outie belly button funny?

Milestones: Hitting the 'one month left' milestone and reaching the month of May in general are both HUGE for me. Baby girl is just packing on the fat at this point but is mostly developed and almost ready to meet us! I still think that hitting 38 weeks will make me feel better about an early arrival, just because that is when I had Truman and he was totally fine and ready to come out early.

Amusing comments from the general public: Huh. Nobody told me I'm small this week. Wonder why:)

Best moment of the week: I scored MORE clothes for baby girl at my favorite consignment shop---about 17 new pieces for just $50. I think she has everything she needs at this point which is SO exciting to type. I also got a great start on nursery decor projects and am dying over how fun it is to work on little things for the room each night. Packing my hospital bag made this seem very real too, and my fabulous OB appointment (complete with great BP, good weight gain, and measuring right on track) is always a highlight for me. I'm so glad I have an OB who doubles as my psychologist because she makes me feel so confident and excited when I leave her office. Also, my birthday was on Friday and we had an amazing weekend of celebration (and food). I even splurged on myself with some birthday money and bought two new nursing tanks and an adorable nursing gown/robe to wear both in the hospital and beyond. It seems so frivolous to get something like this but isn't that what birthday money is for? Oh, and I got a mani/pedi with a friend last weekend, too, which was divine. I guess I'm really treating myself lately (I type as I'm off to schedule a pre-natal massage....).

Instagrammed shot of my favorite thing: lists! For baby girl! Check out my obsession with keeping tabs on my BP:)


Me and my boy on my birthday:




Another Instagram of the canvas I painted for her nursery---it's a sneak peek because this is before I painted her first and middle names on there. Pretty fun to read everyone's response to this little tease of a photo. I really can't see how this blank white space would give away ANYTHING about which name went in there, but I love reading the theories!


And just for fun, the sixes: