Woah Baby - 36 weeks

It's no wonder my back has been hurting lately... look at this huge belly! Well, this boy is definitely getting big! He apparently gains an ounce a day at this point. Fortunately, Mommy's weight gain seems to be leveling off! Now we're just in waiting mode... 27 days & counting. At least last night I did finally pack my bag for the hospital! Yay!

Well that's pretty.

What do you get when you cross a 7-months pregnant woman with 90 degree weather and a super-busy weekend? CANKLES!!! (you know, when your ankles are so fat that it looks like your feet are just connected directly to your calves)

So this is what being in my 3rd trimester during the summer will feel like... oh boy! When I saw Justine on Saturday afternoon, she just burst out laughing and pointing at my newly swollen ankles. I hadn't even noticed yet, but sure enough... they're fat as can be! Gotta love the honesty of sisters! I'm just hoping the SPRING weather will return and give me some relief! But I guess I should just expect everything to get huge from this point on...

Will we ever meet again?

My old friend, sleep, seems to have disappeared... and I have a feeling it will be a long time before we meet again. My first trimester seems so long ago when all it seemed I could do was sleep. I'd go home everyday and take a nap at lunchtime. Then, when I got off work, I'd catch another nap before dinner and would usually call it a night by 9:30-10:00.

But now... now I guess the "nesting" stage has set in and I'm constantly thinking of things I need to do. Lunchtime naps are a thing of the past... and getting to bed by midnight is quite an accomplishment. Not like it matters anyway... because once I'm in bed, the real battle begins. Flipping from one side to the other, wrestling with the pillows that are supposed to support my back & belly, but become quite a nuisance when I try to switch sides, and waking up every hour because my hips, back, arms, belly...everything aches. Every once in a while I find myself on my back, which is still comfortable, but the peace doesn't last long because I quickly remember that while I may be comfortable, I'm likely decreasing circulation for both me and baby and making myself prone to end up with worse back pain & fun things like hemorrhoids. So it's back to my side. And just as I drift off to sleep... I realize I need to pee. Up again.

I guess they say it's preparing me for the sleepless nights with a newborn... but really, won't they come soon enough? Can't I just enjoy these last couple of months? Guess not. So if you see me, please forgive the bags under my eyes and my seemingly lack of concentration or enthusiasm. I'm feeling fine... just missing my old friend.

27 Weeks... 3rd Trimester!

Well, we had our 4D ultrasound today. We had nearly an hour of checking BabyW. out... the u/s techs were amazed at how perfect his spine and heart looked. They said they could have scanned him all day because everything looked textbook-perfect. We saw his chunky little legs and even his hands with all the details. He kept his face hidden though! He buried it in the back of me and wouldn't let us peek! He sure didn't mind flashing his boy parts though... we got some good laughs out of that! So we didn't get any clues as to who this little boy will look like, but we got lots of reassurance that he is healthy and growing strong. He actually measured 3 lbs 2 oz. which is in the 99.7 percentile for 27 weeks... he's a BIG boy!! They still estimated my due date as exactly July 15th... just with an at least 8lb. baby. Both grandmas, Aunt Stiney, Grandpa Wheatley and Daddy were all there, and we had a great time. It's funny because as neat as it would have been to see his face, I think it will be a fun surprise in 3 months... so I wasn't too disappointed. Here are a few pictures if you can decipher them. (The orange one... picture his arms kinda crossed in front of his face and you can see one of his hands/fist.