34 weeks

How far along: 34 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of a butternut squash (see photo to right) - finally a food item that sort of almost actually resembles a baby :-)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up about 12 pounds from pre-pregnancy

How I'm Changing: I am still very tired and having spent a couple longer days at work I'm realizing that that just isn't really an option anymore if I want to come home and do anything other than fall asleep.

tired but happy - 33w3d

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He is still pretty active and has been getting the hiccups more often but his movements are a little more subdued - must be running out of room in there

Sleep: Not good but really loving the nights I only wake up once or twice

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: large, tired, and very very hot most of the time

What I Miss: red wine, sushi, and the ability to get up from sitting/laying down without the use of my arms - I did have a sweet potato roll at this new sushi place at the mall yesterday and it was pretty amazing :-)

Cravings: nothing specific

Best Moment(s) of the Week: nothing specific this week - enjoying the weekend off with B.  Oh, and Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day that made me think spring might be around the corner after all - that was a nice feeling 

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  It seems like baby boy's arrival is so close and yet still so far away - I just can't wait to kiss his little face :-)

33 weeks

How far along: 33 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of a durian (see photo to right) - I have no idea what that fruit is but it looks as big as baby boy feels :-)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up about 12 pounds from pre-pregnancy

32w4d

How I'm Changing: I am very tired and don't much care for a lot of movement.  If I could just spend the rest of my pregnancy curled up on the couch it would be super awesome

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He is pretty active and has been getting the hiccups more often

Sleep: Not good but really loving the nights I only wake up once or twice

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: fatigued - the struggle is real

What I Miss: red wine, sushi, and the ability to get up from sitting/laying down without the use of my arms

Cravings: nothing specific

Best Moment(s) of the Week: I had my 32 week OB appointment last week and they had me schedule out all the rest of my appointments - things got really real in that moment and it was really exciting :-)  I also got set up with a spot in the new patient forum at the pediatrician's office so that was good.

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  Hospital bag - it still needs packed.  I am getting so excited to meet our little guy!

32 weeks

How far along: 32 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of a squash (see photo to right)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: still up about 10 pounds from pre-pregnancy

How I'm Changing: It is definitely getting more challenging to move around.  I feel very front heavy already and can only imagine how the next 8 weeks are going to go :-)

31w3d

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He has mastered the roundhouse kick.  I think he is trying to make the most out of the space he still has in there.        

Sleep: Not good although I haven't been waking up quite as much in the past few nights.

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: Tired.

What I Miss: red wine, sushi, and the ability to get up from sitting/laying down without the use of my arms

Cravings: nothing specific

Best Moment(s) of the Week: It was a long week.  Work is getting out of hand between the new computer system prep and resident candidate interviews.  I'm stressed about the fact that I don't think we are going to have anyone to cover my position while I'm out on leave.  I feel like the people who can make the decisions just don't see that it is important in the slightest.  None of that was the best moment.  I did have a breastfeeding class on Monday that was pretty interesting.  It was too long but it did have some useful information.  I also interviewed one of the nanny candidates on Thursday and that went really well.  So a couple of good things in between all the crappy work stuff.

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  Have to call again next week to get set up for a new patient forum at the pediatrician's office that we like.  When I called last week they still didn't have any more dates set up.  I have my 32 week OB appointment Monday and then I start every other week appointments so that makes things feel pretty real.  That's all for now I think.

31 weeks

How far along: 31 weeks - I can't believe we will be meeting our little boy in just 9 short weeks!  Being pregnant has actually made February go a little faster than I remember it going in the past... I typically dread January and February because the weather is so terrible and the days are just not that happy... this year they are almost over before I really had too much time to be unhappy about it which is awesome.  Hopefully March will bring more spring like weather :-)

Size of baby: About the size of a pineapple (see photo to right)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up about 10 pounds from pre-pregnancy - still on track for my goal to only gain 20 pounds total although I should probably start watching the intake of junk to make sure I don't blow it in the last 2 months :-)

How I'm Changing: No major differences this week - sleep is a big challenge and I'm tired basically all the time.


Maternity Clothes:  I am running out of things to say here... I did get several compliments as I wore my new shirts this week so they were a worthwhile purchase I guess :-)

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He has more active days and some that are less active.

Sleep: Not good.

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: Tired and uncomfortable.  Lots of abdominal aches this week.

What I Miss: nothing new... red wine, sushi

Cravings: I'm mostly just loving the junk food and all the other food for that matter.  Really food in general is my friend right now as long as I don't eat too much of anything at one time.

Best Moment(s) of the Week: Not a lot happened this week.  We had our birthing class yesterday which was pretty informative.  We were lucky enough that one of the dads in the class was actually an anesthesiologist at the hospital where I'll deliver so he provided some good insight into that aspect of delivery should I choose to have an epidural or need to have a c-section.  We got to have a tour of the maternity ward and overall I feel a lot more comfortable about the whole process.  

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  Scheduled two of my nanny candidates for in person interviews in the next couple of weeks... Have to call next week to get set up for a new patient forum at the pediatrician's office that we like.  I have my breastfeeding class on Monday - that should be interesting.  I think that's about it for now... still need to get my hospital bag in order so maybe that will happen this weekend.

30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of a cucumber (see photo to right)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up about 8 pounds from pre-pregnancy - still on track for my goal to only gain 20 pounds total

How I'm Changing: Nothing drastically different this week.  Still not sleeping really well but I'm sure that is just bound to get worse as I get bigger. 

Maternity Clothes:  Same place as last week - still rocking my 3 pairs of maternity dress pants and about 7 different long sleeved shirts... I end up wearing the same outfits pretty regularly.  I did finally break down yesterday and bought a couple more tops at Target just to help with the rotation.

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He has more active days and some that are less active.

Sleep: Not good folks.  I wake up at least twice usually - often more than that.  I find that I tend to roll onto my back when I sleep and then I wake up not feeling great so I am working on a pillow fort to keep myself from doing that. I'll let you know how that works :-)

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: Tired and uncomfortable.  Trying to just suck it up though since I know it will likely just get worse over the next 10 weeks.  I already feel like I'm waddling around the hospital.

What I Miss: nothing new... red wine, sushi

Cravings: still really into the chocolate - thin mints, ice cream, oreos, whatever...  also, I found sweet tarts gummies at Target - they are delicious!

Best Moment(s) of the Week: Nothing specific - I've just been enjoying feeling baby boy move around.  B and I also did a massive cleaning spree last weekend so I'm enjoying the cleanliness of the house.

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  Well I finally called to get set up with a pediatrician.  I really like this one office that has like 6 MDs and an NP.  They meet all the criteria I had wanted (separate sick/well waiting rooms, evening/weekend hours, ability to schedule same day emergency sick visits, off hours call back from same MD group) and when I called to set up the prenatal forum appointment the office staff person I talked with was SUPER friendly.  So all good signs.  Now I just need to call my nanny candidates and get them to come for an in person interview.

29 weeks

How far along: 29 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of an acorn squash (see photo to right)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: up about 7 pounds from pre-pregnancy - still on track for my goal to only gain 20 pounds total

How I'm Changing: I have not been sleeping too well and the bump is causing some difficulty with things like putting on my socks/shoes. I am also finding myself somewhat more emotional especially when I think about baby boy's arrival in just 11 short weeks.  I feel so connected to him already and it just kind of overwhelms me at times.

Maternity Clothes:  I'm getting by with the somewhat limited wardrobe I have already purchased.  I did buy a couple new pairs of jeans from Gap that are really nice.  I felt justified with it because they are higher quality than the Motherhood ones I have (which are already feeling worn and thin) so I think these will serve me well the rest of this pregnancy as well as in the future when more baby Parchem's are on the horizon :-)

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: He has more active days and some that are less active but overall lots of movement that is getting less random/violent and more controlled and consistent feeling.

Sleep: Not good folks.  I wake up almost every night between 1-4 am and usually again within an hour or so before my alarm goes off.  At least one of those times I have to get up to go to the bathroom.  Also, I have been having the most freakish bad dreams.  Nothing baby related usually - just bad and weird.

28w4d

How I'm feeling/Symptoms: I mostly just feel tired and uncomfortable.  I have to sit a lot more on rounds and getting up from sitting or laying down is not super easy.  Overall I just feel like things aren't very bad though.  I feel very lucky in my pregnancy - it has been smoother than I thought it might be and I am very grateful for that.

What I Miss: nothing new... red wine, sushi

Cravings: nothing specific - I did order several boxes of thin mint girl scout cookies and since they aren't in yet I bought 2 more boxes from some girls at the mall who had them right there ready for me to take home... I have a thin mint problem.  Also made a trip back to Reading to get some more queen city cayenne ice cream... baby boy really likes it :-)

Best Moment(s) of the Week: I had my 28 week OB appointment last week which wasn't super exciting but I did pass my 1 hour glucose tolerance test so that is a huge relief in my book.

I did get one thing checked off my list this week - I got to Nordstrom and got fitted for new bras.  I ended up buying two normal ones for now and two nursing ones for later.  I had gotten by on my VS bras through the first 18 weeks or so and then I went back to VS and asked to be re-fitted and they put me in the same cup size but up one band size and let's just say it was not a win.  I may now have converted to Nordstrom for all my bra needs - they do a really nice job fitting you and finding bras that actually work and are super supportive. I highly recommend them to any of my bustier friends out there.

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On:  I still NEED to get the pediatrician thing sorted out.  That is number one on my list so I can get my pre-registration forms in to the hospital.  I also want to get my stuff together for my hospital bag - I know I shouldn't need it any time soon but I just want it to be packed so I don't have to worry about it in case anything weird would happen earlier than it is supposed to.  Still have nanny finalization and a nursery chair on the list as well.

28 weeks

How far along: 28 weeks 

Size of baby: About the size of a eggplant; still measuring between 13.6 and 14.8 inches and weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds but according to the week-by-week baby boy will be entering a new size range next week so he is probably at the higher end of this range now I would guess :-)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: still a few pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight 

27w1d

How I'm Changing: nothing major this week - more uncomfortable at times due to the ever expanding belly

Maternity Clothes:  not really into anything non-maternity right now... still trying to pull off the pre-pregnancy tank tops under my maternity shirts but they are getting short over the belly

Gender: baby boy 

Movements: he has more active days and some that are less active but overall lots of movement that I notice even if I'm not really paying attention to it

Sleep: waking up consistently at least once a night (usually about an hour before my alarm goes off... nice) and sometimes more than that - I've been getting really hot at night so that is a challenge

Symptoms: nothing specific... just general discomfort

How I'm feeling: good but tired - feeling baby boy move around is the most exciting thing I think I have ever experienced... I love him so much already

What I Miss: nothing new... red wine, sushi

Cravings: nothing specific - in lieu of listing cravings I will just take this space to say that B is the absolute best because he has been planning awesome meals for us and we have been eating at home more and eating healthier than we had been - he puts shepherd's pie on the menu regularly which is my absolute favorite and overall I just feel very lucky to have a husband who is so skilled in the kitchen :-)  I love that we can cook together and even though I don't always want to I have been trying to be an excellent sous chef/dishwasher because he deserves at least that :-)

Best Moment(s) of the Week: This week was interesting - as my previous post mentioned we got a huge snow storm on Monday/Tuesday.  That resulted in an impromptu snow day for B and I which was pretty awesome.  I also got the infant car seat and stroller this week on Thursday and putting it together wasn't even hard so that was very exciting.

What I am Looking Forward To/What I Really Need to Get a Handle On: OB appointment next week - not looking forward to the GTT but it is a necessary evil.  Just hoping I pass so I don't have to deal with GD stuff.  I also NEED to get the pediatrician thing sorted out.  I am down to 3 nanny candidates that I like and want to meet in person probably in late February / early March.  Also I want to get a chair situation figured out for the nursery - we looked at some gliders at buybuyBaby but they all seem pretty expensive for the quality.  Overall lots to do yet but all very exciting.