Updates! 32-33 weeks!

Less than 8 weeks to go!!!! So crazy- it feels so close now. I see Halloween decorations and costumes around already, and realize the baby is due two weeks before Halloween! Riley is getting antsy- she tells me almost daily that the baby doesn't need or want to grow anymore, that it is big enough, and that it needs to come out. But at the same time, she has wanted to pretend she is a baby at home- wanting me to hold her like a baby, feed her, and pretending to cry... so I think she has some mixed emotions. Unfortunately she also says she needs diapers when she is a baby, but she still tells us when she needs to go potty and mostly stays dry, and she's diaper-free at school! She's still pretty independent at home most of the time, she opens the fridge to get snacks for herself, plays with puzzles or blocks on her own, and this morning she even picked out clothes and got dressed on her own before waking me up! Aron was impressed she even picked out a Dolphin's shirt, since they have a game tonight :) (oops- last night now!) She insisted on wearing it backwards, but I'm sure they'll convince her to turn it by the time I pick her up from school. (update- they didn't ;))

I have finally started to think about preparing for the baby- like when I should find the infant car seat, what other stuff I should find (bouncy chair, swing, etc.) and have even started going through riley's baby clothes to sort out the newborn and 0-3 month sizes. Luckily it seems like we have a ton of gender neutral stuff for those sizes, so we are good to go even if we have a boy!

I am feeling pretty good these days, I don't feel like I am/look enormous yet but I am very obviously nearing the end. I get comments about looking great every now and then which is awesome, and also funny because half the time it is from people who don't know how far along I am :)  My mentor told me that she has never seen someone look pregnant like I am- she said I look exactly the same but with a basketball stuffed under my shirt. I took it like a compliment, and a sign that I should wear that dress more often! I am measuring small but close enough on track. I was 29 cm last time, at 32 weeks and a few days, so about 3 cm small, but with a 1cm gain since the last appointment two weeks ago. My midwife wasn't worried so I'm not either! I think I am gaining weight slowly, but not very much. I'm slightly ahead of last time- at about 21 or 22 lbs, but I am hardly ever hungry and feel full super fast when I eat. I drink a ton, or at least I try to, but I have to force myself to eat three meals a day- I don't even feel like snacking! I don't know if the baby just isn't growing much these past weeks or what... but there is tons of movement, so I think he or she is very healthy. Sometimes the baby stretches out or to the side, and my muscles actually feel sore from being stretched too much! But just like riley, I don't feel kicks in my ribs yet, so maybe I'll avoid that like last time! On our ultrasound the baby was head-down in a pike position, and I think the legs stay curled up or pushed out rather than up when baby does move around. We still don't know the gender- Mr. Beaver tried to peek but couldn't see anything... we both slip and use female pronouns, but I think that's just out of habit!

We have our birth refresher class on Monday, and my mom bought her flights to come around my due date, so I feel like we are as prepared as we should be at this point! Even though it's early, we do have a plan for Riley in case anything happens in the next 7 weeks and my mom's not here yet. It was a little weird to schedule the rest of my appointments last night- I have appointments at 35 weeks, 37, 38, 39, and 40! So weird to think that I will probably only have 4-5 more appointments before our baby arrives!

Quick riley update!

I thought of something I want to remember for riley's timeline: she has not used a pacifier in three days!! She had only been allowed to have it in her room for the last 6 months or so, so really she only used it for sleeping at night and naps on the weekend. We had been planning to take it away for a while, but she gets so upset!! Finally, a few days ago, she lost it somewhere. We have no idea where it went (she only had the one she used). Since then, we have just told her we can't find it, and she has slept three nights now without it! There have been a few tears and some sadness, but not nearly as bad as previous attempts to take it away. She is also waking up earlier without it- I think she would wake up and go back to sleep when she had it, and now she doesn't go back to sleep, so wakes up between 6-7:30 instead of between 7-8:30. Now we just need to find the missing pacifier before she does- I don't know what would happen if she found it and used it again, I think it would negate the past three days of not having it.

30/31 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm already in the homestretch of pregnancy! More than 75% done... it is crazy. I started having appointments every 2 weeks now, and the midwives have started talking about all of the details about delivering at the birth center. It seems so crazy to be thinking about how it is almost time for all of the last minute stuff- packing my bag, filling out pre-registration forms, installing the car seat, etc. We haven't even begun looking for all of the baby stuff in the basement yet! Even though I'm past 30 weeks, I think I'll give myself another month before worrying about all this stuff :)

I am feeling pretty good so far... I've been noticing some braxton hicks over the past few weeks but they are pretty infrequent and not all that uncomfortable, so no biggie. Definitely no signs of early labor, so that is good! At my appointment this week I was up about 19-20 lbs, which is where I was at this point last time. Clothing-wise I'm doing pretty good with elastic waist skirts and non-maternity dresses for work, but the only shorts I wear are maternity. I haven't gotten any pregnancy comments besides asking my due date, and one kind coworker who commented that besides my belly bump I don't look pregnant at all, which has been very nice :)  I still don't have any food cravings, and actually don't feel any different hunger-wise than when I'm not pregnant. I don't even feel that tired yet, besides regular sleepiness when I don't get enough sleep at night. Sleep has gotten a little more difficult than normal, I wake up a lot and feel like I need to turn from side to side pretty often, which is hard because I sleep on a couple pillows under my head and one folded between my knees. But for being this far along, I think I'm doing pretty well! I feel TONS of movement almost constantly throughout the day (and night!) so I am enjoying that, even though sometime the baby's legs push out so hard and far it actually hurts!

We were lucky enough to get to see the baby today during a bonus ultrasound... a local medical school needed "models" for their ultrasound training, so I volunteered. It was not what I was expecting...I thought it would be a teacher and student, with the teacher guiding the student through doing an ultrasound. Instead, I walk in to a classroom with a bed and ultrasound machine up front, and a huge screen with projector! The instructor talked the class through the ultrasound while they watched the huge screen. It was a little awkward at first, but it ended up being the most interesting ultrasound I've had! It was nice to actually learn what it was they are looking at, how they find the different images they need to get, what all those letters they label with mean, etc. Everything looked great with the baby, the cord, the placenta, and my fluid levels, so that was a huge relief of course too. Everything measured pretty close to what it should be, and the estimated weight was a healthy 3 lb 8 oz!

I've already written so much I think I should put off a riley update for now, but I did take a new belly pic:

And here's 30 weeks from last time as a comparison: 
(I think I look bigger this time!!)