Week 37

Week 37
September 5th-11th
Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain: 26 pounds--Minus 2 pounds at my Dr.'s appointment this week.  I must have been a little swollen last week.  
Maternity clothes?  Yup--that's it.  In this picture I'm wearing a Gap Maternity t-shirt I got on sale for $5.99, and the Gap Maternity Straight leg jeans.  Gap was one of my favorite places to get maternity clothes.  
Stretch marks? nope--they're not happening!
Sleep: I've been coming down to lay on the couch in the middle of the night a few times.  There's only so much tossing and turning you can do before heading for the couch to watch the QVC Christmas specials.  In my sleep-deprived discomfort one night I actually considered ordering fresh fragrant balsam wreaths for all of my family members.  Luckily I fell asleep first.  

Best moment this week:  On Saturday, my sister and her long-time manfriend, Mango Matt got engaged.  We've all been waiting a long time for this, and I'm so excited for them.  They are perfect together, and I love how happy Matt makes my little sister.  See...look!

Miss Anything?  I'm not loving the lines all of my pants are leaving on my belly--even the maternity pants.  Uncomfortable.  I know I haven't gained a whole lot of weight during my pregnancy, but I definitely feel like my body may never stretch back to how it once looked.  Will my old clothes ever fit me again?

Movement:  He's continuing to be all over the place, although I think I can feel that he has dropped lower.  The Dr. said that he was pretty low last week at my appointment too.  So, many of his movements are direct hits to my bladder. That can be embarrassing.  
Food cravings:  I've heard the rumor that the pumpkin ice cream from Polar Cub is out....I haven't had it yet, and I'm dying to get there this week!

Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm getting some nausea like I was in the beginning.  I didn't miss this at all. 

Gender:  It's a BOY!

Labor Signs: Oh yea!  When I was at the Dr. on Thursday, they hooked me up to the non-stress test monitor again, because I've been having really low blood pressure and some dizziness as a result of that.  While on the monitor for 20 minutes, I had one really big contraction and three little ones.  The nurse came into the room during the big one and said, "WHOA...you feel that right??"  Now that I'm sure I know what they are, I've had pretty strong contractions all weekend.  There was a point in time on Saturday when I thought it might be time, but the contractions never evened out in a regular pattern and eventually went away when I finally fell asleep.  That's when I started to panic and frantically threw together the other pack & play and insisted that the car seat bases be installed NOW.  We'll see what they say when I go back in on Thursday for another check.  I still want baby to stay in there until he is strong enough and healthy to be out here on his own time---even if I am super excited to meet him!  
Symptoms:  Feeling pretty tired--I've been laying on the couch and watching ridiculous amounts of reality TV.  By the way--Has anyone seen the show, Breaking Amish?? Who knew that the Amish could get so crazy?!  I did get out to take a walk today though, and the early fall weather (sunny, 73 degrees, fresh breeze) felt so good.  Here's a picture I took during my stroll/waddle through the neighborhood.  

Belly Button in or out? Outie!
Wedding rings on or off? They're still on....no swelling problems here.
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy :-)  Although I did have several moody moments during those contractions this weekend--only a sign of things to come I think!
Looking forward to:  Still waiting on my crib bedding to arrive so I can take pictures of the nursery....I think it looks pretty cute so far though!  Looking forward to my Dr.'s visit on Thursday for an update too.  

Have a great week!