Just two weeks shy of our due date
and I thought for sure we would have had this baby by now.
That shows how much I know, especially considering my doctor told me
yesterday that haven’t made much progress and he doesn’t expect anything
to happen any time soon… so, we wait.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good.
The heartburn has completely disappeared in the past two weeks,
probably because this baby has dropped, even though I have felt low for a while.
I am still having pelvic and groin pain when baby moves just in the right spot,
but I have been sleeping a lot better too.
I am definitely not complaining, but I don’t think labor is right around the corner.
The Braxton Hicks contractions, however, are still frequent, strong, and somewhat painful.

I am measuring at 38 weeks and didn’t gain any weight from last week to this one.
The baby’s heart rate is still in the 130s, but I’m trying not to associate that with my gender guess.

Random cravings I have had recently include slurpees from 7-11 and Skittles.
I could have eaten Skittles and Chipotle every day this pregnancy, but I have refrained.

We have gotten some things done around the house in the last couple of weeks.
One of my biggest concerns was getting both of our cars cleaned inside & out.
I know that is really random, but it was really stressing me out.
Thankfully, that is done and it looks like we have two brand new vehicles.
The car seat has also been installed, so we’re good to come home from the hospital.

Items on the agenda include celebrating a second birthday, a prenatal massage,
picking up a couple more items for the hospital, and a haircut.
I’ll be working through next week or until the baby comes, whichever happens first.

It’s October!!! The best month of the year, and the month we have another baby!
(Do you hear that baby, this month!)

It’s been a rough couple of weeks and I don’t anticipate that changing.
Let me quickly run down the third trimester pregnancy symptoms that have been going on here:

Heartburn
Foods are quickly making their way out of our dinner rotation,
Mexican and BBQ to name a few. After a great night celebrating a friend’s birthday,
filled with Mexican food and fried ice cream, I was paying for it around 2am.
I learned my lesson. I’m starting to be more aware about what I’m eating.

Lots of pain
Specifically in my lower back, pelvis, groin, and tailbone.
This baby knows exactly the right spot to hit to send sharp pains everywhere
and stop me in my tracks.

Uncomfortable sleeping
I have been sleeping at a slight incline for a couple months now
because I am a total back sleeper. I cannot lay on my side because I wake
up a couple hours later and my hips are throbbing.
Last time, I honestly had no problem sleeping (even though I thought I did at the time),
this time has been way worse. I’m sure the heartburn doesn’t help,
but I just can’t get comfortable, or every time my bladder is full,
I have a Braxton Hicks contraction. And… without fail, I wake up between 5:50-5:59am
EVERY SINGLE DAY…. when my alarm goes off at 6:00am. How annoying is that?

Other
There are some other not pleasant things happening,
which I am hoping are signs that labor is not far away.
But, I am also not going to get my hopes up… and I’ll spare you the details.

Now on to the more fun stuff…

My last appointment was at 35 weeks, baby’s head is down,
but is not low, so I’ve been bouncing on my exercise ball,
encouraging him or her to go ahead make their way down.
I have had one real contraction and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.
At one point, I was worried I wouldn’t remember what contractions felt like…
oh, I remember. No worries there.
I’m still feeling a good amount of movement (and hiccups), but I think
baby G2 is staying in the same spot.

I feel like I have a very long to-do list still, and I’m not sure how.
Every time I have crossed something off, I feel like I’m writing two more things down.
Greg and I are worried about very different things, which is probably a good thing,
but also annoying at the same time because I think my worries are more important,
even though they probably are not.

The car seat has sat on our floor for the last two weeks, but it will be installed soon.
Our hospital bags are out, and I’ve added a few more items to them,
but they are no where close to being done.
I purchased some new feeding and pumping supplies, which prompted me
to drag out all the old stuff to toss and start sterilizing the new stuff.
These are items I hope we don’t need right away, but I can’t imagine taking the time to
sterilize things when we have a newborn and a toddler running around, so I’m doing them now.

Finally, I have taken pictures of the nursery and will be sharing it tomorrow!
Thanks for being patient!

The time has come. Cast your vote.
Blue or pink?
What do you think?

I am still standing by the fact that this third trimester is moving by pretty slowly,
but I’m also trying to enjoy it as much as possible as this will probably be
the last time I will feel a wiggly baby inside of me. However, it’s not easy some days.

At 34 weeks, I feel very much like I did around 37 or 38 weeks last time.
I have had that all too familiar “the baby is going to fall out” feeling,
and I still have six weeks to go! Braxton Hicks contractions continue,
literally, right now as I type this. They have again woken me up a few times,
but it’s nothing more at this point (thank goodness).
My feet are hurting more and more.
I am not swelling (yet) like I did last time, but my feet just ache at the end of the day.
I am starting to have lower back and tailbone pain,
so I’ve broken out my exercise ball to sit and bounce on. It helps while I’m sitting there,
but then it’s right back at it again. I will really start to use it as we get closer to delivery.
My rings still fit, depending on the day, but more often I can wear them all day,
which, to me, means I’m not that swollen. Woo hoo.

Now on to the fun stuff… yoga is awesome. I really enjoy it, and I feel really good the next day.
If I could go twice a week, I totally would, but the class is only offered on Monday evenings.
It’s really a great way to begin the week.

We have registered at the hospital, so they are expecting us whenever the time comes.
At my appointment last week I asked when we should think about that
and the nurse said that most do it around 28 weeks and after, so I figured it was time.

I have washed all of our new baby clothes
and the ones I’ve pulled out from Kenley’s stash that I know we will probably use.
It’s not much right now, but it’s plenty to get us through
and I have vowed to myself (and my husband) that I won’t buy any more baby clothes.
I, however, have no idea what he or she will be wearing home from the hospital,
so I may need to buy just one or two more things.

We have also washed and assembled some baby gear and we may install the car seat soon.
I know it seems crazy early for that, but I would rather it sit in the car than on the floor.

I have laid out a total of two items that will be going to the hospital with us… I consider this a good start.

The room is coming along beautifully. We got so much done this weekend,
and we may even be at a stopping point until the baby comes.
I am excited to share with you where we are and what I’m thinking in terms of gender specific color.

Baby G2 is still very active and the poor things has the hiccups at least once a day, sometimes more.
My doctor thinks (s)he is head down, but he’ll continue to monitor the position at each appointment.
I still don’t know how it’s possible because baby seems to be all over the place, but I’ll take his word.
I don’t have much of an update from my 33 week appointment.
We were chatting away while he measured my belly so I have no idea if I’m ahead or not,
all he said was “good” and we moved right along. He was also very vague about baby’s heart rate,
which gives me nothing to go on. He said it was between 130-140 bpm, good.
I guess no news is good news, so I’ll take it!

I feel like we’ve reached another slow part of this pregnancy.
While I can’t believe we are at 32 weeks, I am physically feeling like we are much later.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel as big as I did last time around. It is mostly the late pregnancy symptoms that
I’m sure will not let up any time soon. I already have a decrease in appetite,
which is somewhat depressing since mama loves to eat.
I eat Tums daily, sometimes more than once.
I feel like this baby could be here in the next four to six weeks, not eight.

At my 31 week appointment last week, I was measuring at 32 weeks,
so we’re back ahead one week. Next week I’m sure will be something different.
Baby G2’s heartbeat was low at 125bpm. I’m very anxious to see if it will
still vary from appointment to appointment, or if it will stay low.
Then, will the heartbeat be a real indicator of if it’s a boy or girl?!
I’m starting to get anxious to know who this squirmy baby is!

With Kenley, I felt Braxton Hicks contractions starting around 20 weeks,
I wasn’t sure what they were at first, but I felt them the entire second half of my pregnancy.
I expected to feel them this time too, but wow, are they different.
They are MUCH more frequent and sometimes painful.
The day before my baby shower, I was actually getting nervous and
started to time them. They weren’t as frequent as I thought, but they were
very unpleasant. So much so that I was relieved to walk in and see my mom
at my house. I told her that I felt like I was going to go into labor that weekend.
I obviously did not, and my doc says he’s not surprised that they are painful.
It’s a common misconception that BH contractions are painless, and again,
it’s common to have symptoms earlier & stronger the second time around.
The real concern is if I start having contractions that are consistent,
and we have a while before those start, I’m sure.

I’m still wearing my wedding rings, which shows that I am not as swollen
this time around. I couldn’t keep them on past 30 weeks last time,
but I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to wear them.

I feel like I am carrying much lower this time.
I don’t think it’s possible that I’ve already “dropped”, I just think
this is where the baby is hanging out… and that I probably don’t have any ab muscles
left to keep baby up any further. Awesome, right?
I had to buy a couple layering tanks (I love these from Old Navy) that are long
because some of my shirts are actually already too short.
I may be graduating to dresses in the next couple of weeks.

In the next few weeks, I hope to have gotten the nursery in some sort of order,
and maybe even share a few pictures!
As well as get started on packing our hospital bag… per Greg’s request.
Somehow, i have completely forgotten everything about labor & delivery,
so if you have suggestions for what to pack in our bag, let me know!