36 weeks

I want to send a shout-out to Baby D's Grandmama; today is her birthday!  I know Little Man is very excited to meet her; she's going to spoil him rotten.

Best moment of the week:  Bringing home our new minivan!!  Also, our friends Maggi and Chris had their precious baby girl, so we got to visit them at the hospital where we’ll deliver.

Baby bump status:  Here is the last official bump picture before the due date.  Wow…. It’s getting HUGE!  

36 weeks

I feel like Baby D might have dropped this week, at least a bit.  On Wednesday, I felt like my bump looked a little different, I’ve been more comfortable, and I was able to do inverted yoga poses without feeling my food coming up.  I also don’t feel like Little Man is as close to my ribs as he was last week.

Baby weighs as much as:  A crenshaw melon.  Where do they find these things?

Total weight gain:  24.8 pounds (change from last week: +2).  I entered into another set of weight digits that I never thought I’d see.  My recommended pregnancy weight gain is 25-35 pounds, so I’m right on track. 

Days until due date:  27!  This is getting serious!  I’m really getting excited to see what he looks like, but I’ll also miss feeling him inside of me.

Symptoms:  My Braxton-Hicks contractions, which don’t hurt but just tighten up my belly, have become more frequent.  I feel like I overheat really quickly these days, and the ~100 degree weather certainly doesn’t help.  I’m still tired, and my back hurts after just a little bit of walking which leads to me waddling.

Baby’s movement:  Little Man is still as active as ever.  He stretches my right side out pretty far when he pushes his feet out.

New this week:  I’ve been to two prenatal appointments since my last post.  Last week, Little Man measured right on track; today, he measured a week behind.  Thankfully, my blood pressure was normal both times.  I found out today that I’m group B strep positive.  It’s common and harmless in pregnant women but can cause problems with the baby.  I’ll have to get IV antibiotics during labor to counteract it, and I’m really bummed about that because I wanted to avoid getting an IV if at all possible.

We decided upon a pediatrician this week, installed the car seat, bought my birthing gown, and started packing our hospital bag. 

Looking forward to:  We have our last two baby classes this week.  Himal is going to daddy boot camp, and we’re both going to an infant/child CPR class.  They are having a baby shower for us at my work on Friday, too.

Gifts this week:  Himal’s friend gave us these handy items.  Thanks!

Purchase this week:  My mom-mobile!!  It’s soooo fancy compared to the 2002 Ford Escape I was driving; my old car still had a cassette player.  Ha!

7/19/2012, one month before the due date!

Dissertation update:  I’m trying not to worry about my dissertation.  I completed 2 more qualitative interviews this week and have another one in the pipeline.