36 weeks.

One month from today I will either be a mom... or a very frustrated pregnant woman on her due date. :-)

No, really - I know that due dates are just estimates and I have a 4 week window in which this baby could ideally be born.  Crazy part is that window starts at 38 weeks... which is 2 weeks from today... which is just CRAZY.

I feel ready.  I have everything I need.  My body feels like it has nearly had enough.  And seriously - in another 2 weeks I'll be thrilled to meet this little guy.  At the same time, I am preparing myself for the possibility of being pregnant until April.  In any case - I feel ready.  The nursery is pretty much done and I'm going to take pictures tomorrow to share with all of you. :-)  I think it turned out pretty good, if I may say so myself.

Today's date: February 27, 2011

How far along: 36 weeks

Total weight gain: 27-ish lbs. (official weigh-in will be at the Dr's on Tuesday)

Size and growth of the baby: Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long.

Sex: BOY BOY BOY!!

Maternity clothes: Sweatpants.

Sleep: My achy hips have kept me tossing and turning for the past few nights.  Even though I fully expect a lack of sleep when the baby come, I hope that the sleep I DO get will be pain-free... and I'm looking forward to that.

 
Best moment(s) of the week:  The arrival of Molly Jean Boes!!  We got to go visit her today and she is so itty bitty and cute!!  I forget how tiny they are when they come out... but I am very VERY thankful they are so tiny.

Movement: Lots and lots, still.  I think he thinks he just comes out of my belly button, the way he pushes and kicks.  Not so, little boy.

 
Food cravings/aversions:  Haha... let's just say I had a few days of "I just don't care" this week.  I got McDonalds (I NEVER eat fast food), Thai food, and Jimmy John's this week... I was hungry and just didn't care.  I'll get back on the health wagon tomorrow....

Morning sickness: No morning sickness, but a general "blah" feeling sometimes.

 
Symptoms: I've had cramping, which I haven't had in awhile.  I am hoping that it means that my body is doing what it should.  Heartburn as always, as well.  Oh - and also a moving human being growing inside of me.  

 
Labor signs:  Nothing nothing nothing.  I'm beginning to wish for contractions just so I know what they feel like.

Belly button in or out:   Very much on the verge.

 
What I miss:  Sleeping on my back or stomach... definitely what I miss the most.  And just feeling fit.  I feel very out of shape... like I can't breathe well, and like my joints can't support my weight sometimes.  I just want to feel in-shape again.  

What I'm looking forward to:  I have a Dr's appt on Tuesday... the start of the weekly appointments.  They'll check me to see if I'm dilated or anything.  However, that doesn't really mean jack squat in terms of when Baby G will arrive and I know that.

What's happening this week:

He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying he'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly. {as far as I know - baby G is head down... and he darn well better stay that way!!}

 

 

{what the heck is a crenshaw melon???} 

  

{WOAH baby}

 {Macy loves her little brother already}

 

{Just when I thought I couldn't get any bigger...}

 

{And to think I felt "fat" at 12 weeks... if I ever get back to that it'll be a sure miracle}