34 Weeks

Size of the Baby: Same as a butternut squash. Mmm. Somewhere around 4.5 pounds and 18 inches long. Even though I know the measurement is from head to toe, and she has her legs curled up, it’s still hard to imagine there’s a baby that big in there sometimes. (But then when I see myself in a mirror, not so hard to imagine!)

Weight gain/loss: 25 pounds. I’m happier about it this week, since that means I only gained 1 pound! I haven’t had quite as much swelling in my feet this week either, which I attribute mostly to the fact that the temperature cooled off ever-so-slightly. Still, it’s encouraging to see that I’m not retaining too much fluid.

Maternity clothes:  I found a pair of khaki work pants! Hooray! Stalking the Gap website — since that’s the only place I’ve managed to find work pants that both fit well and look good — finally paid off.

Sleep: Still annoying. C’est la vie.

Movement: She’s still moving a lot, but the jabs and pokes have become more rare as she starts to run out of room in there. Instead, it feels more like she’s stretching or rolling and pushing on me as she does. The other new sensation is that she really does get a good shot to my bladder every once in a while. THAT’S fun.

Food cravings: Nothing special. My biggest food-related complaint is that I’ve started to have heartburn on a daily basis — sometimes even when I’m just drinking water. I will consider myself lucky to have avoided this common pregnancy symptom until now, since it’s pretty annoying! Thankfully it’s been fairly mild and usually goes away if I chew a couple Tums or drink a bit of milk. I’m hoping it will go away again if/when the baby drops and my stomach isn’t quite as squished into my esophagus.

Best moment this week? There were many! I loved having my parents visit for 5 days (they left this morning) and although we didn’t do anything big, I enjoyed just hanging out around our house, running errands, and going out to eat. I also had my second baby shower on Saturday, here in Houston with most of my best girlfriends. It was great and I feel lucky to have such good friends! I’ll post some photos from it later this week.

What I miss: A solid night’s sleep, lack of heartburn, margaritas, running — the usual. But no big deal overall.

What I’m looking forward to: Enjoying the Independence Day holiday tomorrow by sleeping late, working on some crafty projects, and hopefully watching some fireworks.

Milestones: Baby girl’s in the final countdown (doo doo doo doooo). She’s still working on her central nervous system and lungs, but if she was born tomorrow she’d be in pretty decent shape overall. As for me, it’s starting to set in that we will have a baby in 6-7 weeks and I have to admit, it’s kind of blowing my mind.

My doctor’s appointment last week was uneventful, as they all have been lately. I get this week off, but next week I go again — and then go back weekly until she’s born! We also had our 5th baby class last night, so there’s only one more to go before we’re “officially ready” (haha) to have a baby. Last night we watched a video of a C-section, which was utterly horrifying AND completely fascinating. Although I’m hoping to avoid a C-section, I have to admit that modern medicine is weird and amazing.

And…drumroll…we’ve officially bought all the furniture we need for the nursery! My parents bought us a glider and ottoman and we finally chose a dresser — both came from Babies R Us. (We are really getting our money’s worth out of the 20% off coupons they give out!) Now to wait until it arrives and then finish off the room!