"35 + 35"

It's funny in a surreal-sort-of-way that I am posting this post. I remember when I first heard of "35+35" while reading another girl's blog last year. What is 35+35 you ask? It is when you are 35 weeks pregnant and you coincidentally have 35 days left until your due date. I remember thinking back then "this will never be me!" Yet, here I am, 35 weeks pregnant, with 35 days until my due date, with a sweet baby girl. I cry as I type this. Maybe it's all the hormones surging through my body... or maybe it is just relief and happiness that this IS me. This is my life, and I am so thankful every day. I am thankful even on the days I complain about being uncomfortable... which is every day now, lol. Yes, pregnancy has brought on a lot of unpleasantness, like the stretch marks on my poor breasts and butt, or the swollen feet and ankles, or the bathroom trips where you think you just have to go #1, and you end up with a surprise #2 because there isn't any room in your belly (which, by the way, is literally every time I go to the bathroom now... what is up with that?)... or the heat rash on my chest, or the pimples on my shoulders... or, to sum it up, feeling just plain unattractive in every way. Bottom line is: all of this is worth it to me. I am growing life inside me, and it is just incredible!

So, today I just want to say: THANK YOU GOD! Thank you for every stretch mark, for every pimple, for every ache and pain, for every surprise poo, THANK YOU! If I can ask you for one more thing, God: you have gotten us this far safely, please get us to the end safely!

35 week picture to come later today.

33 week picture

Feeling huge!

33 week appointment today - exciting news

We're having twins!

Just kidding! lol. We are NOT having twins... but my doctor did inform me that due to the gestational diabetes, she will be inducing me at 37 or 38 weeks... so, in other words, Jimmy and I will be parents in FOUR or FIVE weeks! We will get to choose the day of the week to be induced on, and my husband prefers a Thursday due to his class and work schedule, and that way I would be discharged on Saturday and we would have the weekend together. So, we are looking at Thursday, October 7th (37 weeks) or Thursday, October 14th (38 weeks). We will be having a "growth scan" (ultrasound that determines how much the baby weighs) at 36 weeks and that will determine if I will be induced at 37 weeks or 38 weeks. As of right now I am measuring 31-32cm and I am 33 weeks pregnant tomorrow, so I am measuring perfectly (I should be measuring anywhere from 31cm to 35cm at 33 weeks pregnant). This means that Lauryn is not too big yet, she is measuring like a normal baby should be measuring. Everything else looked good, per my doctor (blood pressure, weight, urine, etc.). I am still holding steady at a 29 or 30lb weight gain... it fluctuates every day.

On another note, I had my baby shower last weekend. It was beautiful! We had a lot of people show up, and I had more gifts than I ever imagined I would have. It took me a good hour to open everything. Jimmy and I are so blessed with loving friends and family. We got most of the things off our registry and a lot of stuff that wasn't on our registry that we adore. All of the big items on our registry have been bought. We have $200 in gift cards that we are going to wait to use until after my baby shower at work (September 16th). I only have a couple bigger items left on the registry - our expensive baby monitors and the crib mattress - but I am almost 100% sure that a few people at work are going in on the baby monitors for us. So we will probably end up having to buy the crib mattress and a couple other items with the gift cards, but that's fine with us!

Once I get some pictures from the baby shower I will post them. I have been really bad about taking my weekly belly pictures, so tomorrow I am determined to get my 33 week belly picture and post it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

32 weeks (a little late on posting this)

I was 32 weeks on Wednesday and STILL haven't taken my belly picture. I have my first baby shower today so I will take one there. In the meantime, here is my 32 week/8 month survey:


How far along? 32 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 30 lbs. from pre-pregnancy
Maternity clothes? All the time now
Sleep: Naps during the day are great, but nighttime sleeping is really bad - I blame our dogs who seem to constantly move, scratch, lick
Best moment this week: I just really enjoy feeling and watching the baby move. They are bigger, more powerful movements now, and it just makes it seem so real, and so close
Movement: See above, lol
Food cravings: Sweet stuff... ugh
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: Just more and more braxton hicks. I have been getting cramping every now and then, too, which freaks me out. Although sometimes I can't tell if it's cramps or if I have to go #2 lol
Belly Button in or out? Still not all the way out yet!
What I miss: Everything, lol. I miss being thin, I miss having energy, I miss rolling over in bed without my right leg feeling like it will pop out of it's socket, I miss running and playing with the dogs, I miss driving without being terrified of having an accident. The list could go on forever, lol
What I am looking forward to: Meeting our little girl in 5 to 8 weeks!
Weekly Wisdom: Didn't get any wisdom this week, but I keep telling myself that it's almost over... just a few more weeks!
Milestones: ? No new milestones as of right now

30 weeks - yikes!

I can't believe I am 30 weeks already! I am proud to announce that I am still stable at about a 25lb weight gain. I haven't gained for a couple weeks, but the belly is still growing, so I must be losing weight in other places (probably my legs because all this extra weight is hard work! lol.) Anyway, here are the pictures:

:o)

28 weeks & survey

I feel HUGE this week. I mean, this baby has definitely grown!

How far along? 28 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 25 lbs. from pre-pregnancy - jeez
Maternity clothes? All the time now
Sleep: Good, unless I fall asleep on the couch when I get home and wake up at 9:00pm. Then it is hard to fall back to sleep and stay asleep.
Best moment this week: Watching my belly move as though Lauryn is trying to escape. She has been very active lately. One night (last week I think) I saw a foot pressed against my belly and it was like she was stretching and locking her knee, because I would press back and couldn't get it to go down, lol. It was weird!
Movement: See above, lol
Food cravings: Chicken sandwiches... either from The Loop, from Chic-Fil-A or from the bistro where I work.
Gender: Baby girl!
Labor Signs: No, although something new as of this past weekend has been Braxton Hicks contractions. It concerned me so much at first that I almost went to the hospital. It was like menstrual cramps, but with tightening. Turns out Lauryn was getting into the head-down position, according to the midwife at my doctor's office.
Belly Button in or out? Surprisingly not all the way out yet, but getting there!
What I miss: A back that doesn't ache 24/7 and my skinny little ankles that I always got comments on... "look at your TINY ankles!" I have so much swelling after a long day at work!
What I am looking forward to: Meeting our little girl in 9 to 12 weeks!
Weekly Wisdom: "You're not huge, you're pregnant" - thank you dear friend Sarah! lol
Milestones: Being in my THIRD trimester! So exciting!