38 weeks

How far along? 38 weeks, 5 days

Total weight gain/loss: I'm up to +17/18 pounds. I gained a little bit at last week's appointment and then dropped a pound this week.

Maternity clothes? Yes and some don't cover my belly! 

Stretch marks? No!
Sleep: Sleep is great. I think it helps that I'm a natural side sleeper though. I have a harder time getting out of bed however (especially for those middle of the night bathroom runs...sometimes twice a night now) and have asked Brandon to give me a hand every now and then in the mornings. :) I am also pretty consistently tired all day. It didn't help that it was exam week this week (read: grades are due). Monday, my long term sub starts and I cannot wait! She is excited to teach and I am excited to spend my last week in a more supportive side role.

Best moments this week: 

1) Finishing grades at school...I can breathe easier now!

2) 2 more baby showers...my dad's side threw me a wonderful shower and my co-workers surprised me with a shower (breakfast included!)

Here are a couple of pictures from Aunt Sandy's shower for me:

Delicious food and cheesecake!

Our little ice cube babies. Whoever's ice melts the fastest has to yell, "My water broke!". 

Below is a group shot from my work shower. Not everyone is in the picture but it turned out nice. :)

And....I had to throw in the selfie. It was the eve of epic Pi day (hence the shirt). ;)

3) Third best moment was actually a couple of weekends ago after I wrote my last post. After so many showers I was overwhelmed with the amount of things I had received and frankly did not have the energy to sort through it all and put it away. So my WONDERFUL mom came over and helped me get everything unpackaged, washed, and put away. We even ran out to return things I got doubles and triples of. This whole process took almost all of Saturday and part of Sunday too. I am so thankful for her help! Tyler stopped by for a little while and got put to work as too :).

4) Bought some last minute items we needed including the 4moms Breeze playard in the picture (don't worry, it's not staying in the middle of the living room!). The cradle I was planning on using ended up not working out. Apparently the mattress is completely not a standard size so I couldn't find anything to fit it. That's okay though, the playard will be nice for the cottage and traveling. 

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss anything yet? I miss being able to move and change positions comfortably. And I walk so slow now! I have to tell Brandon to slow down a lot and he replies, "you're the one who taught me to walk this fast!" Haha!
Movement: Movement is happening but clearly baby has run out of wiggle room! Odd bumps often protrude from my stomach and are sometimes uncomfortable because my skin is already so stretched. I love feeling the baby though; I know I will miss it.
Food cravings: Anything not good for me. Haha!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Have you started to show yet: My nickname at school is "Ms. Basketball Lady" so I'd say yes. ;)
Gender prediction: Most people are saying boy now but I still think girl. We'll see if my "mother's intuition" is correct soon!
Labor signs: Baby is in a good position, I am having contractions every day, and doctor guesses that baby is in the mid 7 to 8 pound range but that can be off by a couple pounds either way. I think I'm on schedule. :) I have been convinced this entire pregnancy that I will go to my due date or later, so if baby makes his or her appearance this week (because I'm much closer to 39 weeks than 38...slacker blogger) I would be totally thrown off guard.
Belly button in or out? Out.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Spending what could potentially be our last week as just a couple together.

A couple of pictures from our walk last weekend at the Gardens:

And of course I'm looking forward to making use of this car seat! We're ready to meet you soon Baby!

36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: Well, I finally gained some weight. I wondered, since I've been eating like a cow the last couple of weeks; I was just so hungry! :) I officially gained 2.7 more pounds, so now I am approximately +16 pounds total. But the last couple of days my eating has slowed down again, there's just no room!

Maternity clothes? Yes and even some of my maternity shirts are starting to get a bit tight. Yikes!

Stretch marks? No!
Sleep: I start falling asleep around 8:00 at night. We've been having a Harry Potter movie marathon the last couple of weeks and basically Brandon watches the movie while I fall asleep. However, I don't have as much trouble waking up early for work. :) And it helps that it's getting light out in the morning now too! I still would not consider myself a morning person though. 

Best moments this week: 

1) 3 Baby showers!!! My mom's side and church were planned for this week. And then Brandon's co-workers surprised him with a surprise baby shower! He thought he was going to a work meeting at Red Robin (they do have meetings at restaurants occasionally so this seemed normal) but when he arrived he was met by a ton of his co-workers both old and new! I was invited to join later (I was out to dinner myself!) and it was lots of fun! Here are some pictures from my mom's side baby shower:

2) After what seemed like a never ending car seat saga...we finally have a car seat that I LOVE and it is in the car. Stuff just got real. We went with the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 and it has so many features that I was impressed with (I'm a researcher) and it's super light which is a big plus in this wimpy armed girl's book. 

It can also go onto our City Mini Stroller with an adapter...very exciting. (And that was part of the drama of our car seat "saga").

3) I finished my grad class! Now I can relax and focus on prepping stuff for baby.

Have you told family and friends: Yes!
Miss anything yet? I miss having the energy to put into work at school. Luckily my long-term sub starts in a couple weeks and we will be working together for a week, assuming baby doesn't make an early appearance.
Movement: I was worried for a couple of days that baby wasn't moving as much but now I feel it a lot more. I've just had to adjust to a different sort of movement as baby runs out of room to wiggle!
Food cravings: Back to ice cream and Culver's shakes the past couple of weeks!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Definitely! Many people have commented that they think I'm starting to "drop". I have no idea, the view looks the same to me!
Gender prediction: Girl. My students are hilarious and try to guess based on my shape and lots of other old wives tales, but they are split between thinking boy and girl. :) They are also convinced that I secretly know the gender. Apparently they believe the doctor has to tell you the gender. Oh my!
Labor signs: More and more Braxton Hicks contractions and lower pressure. Baby is getting into position. Doctor was pretty sure baby is head down (but perhaps sunny side up). I've been trying to stay active, and by active I mean walking!
Belly button in or out? It's an outie...crazy!
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: I've felt more easily irritated lately, especially after school when I'm just so tired. However, Brandon says he thinks it's all in my head (and maybe it is...). But I'm always happy when I think about baby!
Looking forward to: Taking care of last minute details to prepare for baby's arrival. I'm talking about you hospital bag...

Baby B's Nursery

I am FINALLY getting around to showing off our nursery for Baby B!!! This end of the 3rd trimester tiredness is no joke! I get home from work and crash. But, when I do have some extra energy, the nursery is one of the places I love spending time in preparing for our little bundle of joy. :) So...here it is!

View #1

The rocking chair was handed down to us from my parents. They used to rock me in it when I was a baby. :)

View #2
Obviously I took these pictures a while ago (if you spy my chalk board)!

I love the bookshelves! And I love that my husband graciously put them up while I stood behind his shoulder watching him like a hawk...sorry love!

We've already added more books to the collection thanks to Brandon's "Man Shower"!

Our fantastic crib from Pottery Barn Kids! I LOVE it! And if you've talked to me about the nursery, you know that I plan on getting a crib skirt ASAP! Because a baby can't sleep in a crib without a crib skirt...haha! The mobile and crib sheets I purchased at the Land of Nod. Love that store! I may also eventually put Baby's name up on the wall here as well. I really like the metallic letters from Anthropologie!

My mom bought Baby B a going home outfit. But since the gender will be a surprise, she picked up a boy and a girl outfit! :) The little sheep is from Brandon's mom and it makes different comfort noises like a heartbeat, ocean, etc.

Let the accumulation of toys begin!

I love this dresser from Ikea! If it's a girl, I may replace the knobs with some glass knobs. And we will have a changing pad where the diaper cake is.

I can't wait to put a picture of Baby B in this adorable frame!

So there it is! I think it's quickly become one of my favorite rooms in the house. :) I hope Baby B enjoys it.