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!