36 weeks!

This will probably be my last weekly "bumpdate" as baby boy will be making his debut between weeks 36 and 37. He is now putting on about an ounce a day. At our last PDC appointment this past Friday, the sonographer estimated he weighed about 6lbs, 5ozs, and that he will be close to 7lbs when he arrives. That's 7lbs at 3 weeks early...can you say chubby?! He was on track to be a very big boy! Such a stud already :). Fortunately at 37 weeks he is basically considered full term so even at 3 weeks early, all should go smoothly and he should be perfectly healthy.

How Far Along: 36 weeks and 3 days

Maternity Clothes: Yes...and I've realized this week that I have a few maternity things that still have the tags on them. I never got around to wearing these things. I'm hoping I can take them back to the stores I bought them at for a refund, but bet they'll only give me store credit. Oh well...maybe I can save it up for a future pregnancy ;) ha. It's also crazy to me to think that at the end of this week, I'll be working back towards wearing non-maternity clothes. I'm not naive and I know it won't happen over night, but it will be nice to start seeing my waist line again (hopefully!).

Sleep: My heartburn has increased 10 fold (if that's even possible, considering how awful it has been throughout my pregnancy). Every time I lay down, it feels like someone is taking a blow torch to my chest, throat and esophagus. And it's making me nauseous. Tums have become my BFF these last few days. I do think the exploding heartburn is directly correlated to my new BP meds...even though I haven't confirmed that with the doctor. This all contributes to some rough sleep...but I'm sort of grateful for the way my body is preparing me to run on empty over the next few weeks and months after baby boy arrives.

Best Moment of the Week: By far, it was our co-ed baby shower on Saturday, which was hosted by my sister-in-law at my parents house. It was so incredibly amazing, and I will do a separate post on it once I have pictures, as it deserves it's own post. We were surrounded by great food, fun games, a million presents for baby boy, and our wonderful families and friends. We felt truly blessed and it made us realize just how much this little guy is already loved by so many people.

Additional best moment of the week was announcing at the shower that baby boy is arriving on Wednesday, and sharing his name with everyone. So now that it's official...allow me to share that on Wednesday, 2 February, we will begin the process of bringing Nicholas Matthew in to this world! His middle name is after his two uncles (my brother and Todd's brother, both of whom are named Matthew). And Nicholas was just because we both really liked the name. :)

Movement: Still all the time. Now it feels more like I'm in his way. And some of his kicks are harder and more painful. It's still surreal, even after 36.5 weeks, and knowing that he will be here in two days, to watch my belly as a foot or an elbow goes rolling across from one side to the other. He also gets the hiccups all the time now. And even though I couldn't feel it, we got to see him have a HUGE yawn on the sonogram last Friday, and both couldn't help but grin at how cute it was. :)

Food Cravings: Everything. And I eat SO fast, it's ridiculous. Todd says he is impressed, but I think he's just trying to hide his disgust. Who wants to watch their once attractive wife scarf down a 14 inch sub sandwich in 6 minutes? (I should be on Man vs. Food.) Plus, it's probably adding to my terrible heartburn. I can't help it though...I want to eat all the time, and I spend meals thinking about what my next meal will be. This is going to be detrimental to that whole "getting my waist line back" thing.

Stretch Marks: None visible...but I'm pretty sure I'm almost out of skin. Thank goodness it will get to start "deflating" soon!

Gender: All boy! And I seriously hope it wasn't a fluke all along, because we are 100% set up for a boy. My dad even made the comment last night "man, I hope if you have another baby that it's a boy too, because nobody will have to give you any gifts, and you won't have to buy anything else!" As much as I'd like to have one more child, and have it be a girl, I kind of have to agree with my dad...

What I Miss: Honestly, this week, I can't really think of anything that I miss. Sure I miss my waist line, sleeping through the night, not having heartburn, etc. etc., but all of those things will come back some day...and it will all be worth the little miracle that is coming!

What I'm Looking Forward To: The delivery/induction/c-section to be OVER WITH. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I'm SO scared. But again, it will all be worth it...and I'm sure every other mother I know is right...once the baby is here, you can barely even remember the pain it took to get him here. I'm just looking forward to holding our little guy...and seeing Todd hold him...and watching my parents faces light up as they hold their grandchild for the first time. It's all so surreal and exciting.

Weekly Wisdom: Keep a bottle of tums in your purse or by your bed at all times. And it's completely ok to tear in to a bottle at CVS, so long as you intend to pay for them.