37 weeks

How far along? 37 weeks, the size of a winter melon

Total weight gain: Still at 19 pounds. I weighed more at my appt right after working a full shift and being on my feet most of the night but I was really puffy in my ankles and legs and my doctor noticed. She said most of that was swelling. Sure enough I woke up the next day back to my normal weight and swelling was gone.

Maternity clothes? Whatever will fit over the bump these days. And my loosest pants, yoga, leggings, looser maternity jeans.

Sleep:Not sleeping great. I wake up every 1.5-2 hours to go to the bathroom and flip sides and I've had horrible nightmares lately.

Best moment this week: Getting to see my girl at her sono and know she is healthy and doing okay.

Miss Anything? Sleeping and moving like normal. I'm ready to get my body back.

Movement: She's moving still but not as big of movements or as often, she sleeps alot lately and she is way down in my pelvis so she can't go very far.

Food cravings: ICE and peach slushies from sonic. Thank god they're sugar free. Spicy food too.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing :)

Gender: GIRL

Symptoms: Lots of upset stomach, braxton hicks and pelvic pressure/ pain. Some cramping and back ache intermittently.

Belly Button in or out? flat, completely. It's weird.
Wedding rings on or off? still on! Even on nights I'm swollen at work I can put it on in the morning when I leave.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happier this week. Just ready though
Looking forward to:
ELEANOR BEING BORN!!!! Remember last week when I said I wasn't dying for her to come yet? Yeah well that all changed when I had my appointment this week. Tuesday the resident saw me first and said "oh honey, you're all baby." when she felt my belly. I measured 40 weeks even though I'm only 37. Then Dr. Steinbis came in and said the same thing and felt around my belly for a bit and said, "I'm guessing she's 8.5-9lbs right about now". I thought, oh well, no biggie I can do this. Henry was 8lbs 7oz and that was totally doable. She had me schedule a growth sono for thursday since I had measured big at her 32 week growth sono (5lbs 6oz then). Sure enough I had my scan and they said she is tippin the scales at 9lbs 4oz. Now I know those can be off a bit but if I'm measuring big and she has been measuring big for several weeks and I feel huge, I'm sure she's no 6lber in there. I'm just praying this week goes quickly and she either comes on her own or my doctor can help her come on her own before I hit 39 weeks next saturday. I'm afraid she will be 10 lbs and I won't be able to get her out and I will have a c-section. I'm terrified of that outcome and I want so incredible badly to have her "naturally" (for those who don't like the V word). Please say a little prayer for me, that I can be strong and cool and calm and collected and get her out effectively and safely on my own without a surgeon's help.

What we did this week:
This week was much smoother than last now that Henry is feeling much better. His appetite is back full force, thank god! I'm so much more relaxed when that kid eats. He's been in a great mood and has been easy to handle for me this week which I greatly appreciate. I'm huge and tired and sore and he has been a dream, lots of snuggles and good naps and patience with me on his part. That little guy is the best ever.

Outside of that we really did nothing. We are ready for this little girl to make her appearance any time now. I'm super anxious about it so I've got the bags packed and the list made of what needs to be added last minute like my makeup and pillows. I want to do our floors one more time and maybe go around and dust one more time but the laundry is all caught up, the dishes too, the toys are organized and more or less in the shelves instead of scattered all over my main floor of my house. The kids rooms are spotless and outside of some stuff on our guest bed for easter and Henry's birthday/ party, the guest room and our room are too. I even have a bag of food packed for Cora with a scoop for 4 days so she has plenty to get by while we may be gone. Henry's suitcase is packed with everything but his giraffe and blankies he sleeps with and some pants that he wears regularly to go with his 3 big brother shirts I got him.

So what it comes down to is.....COME ONNNNNN BABY ELEANOR! We can't wait to meet you and squish your chubby cheeks!!

36 weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, the length of a stalk of celery

Total weight gain:  Still at 19 pounds. I am really surprised that I've stayed this low honestly. I have had no swelling at all this round yet. With Henry I had +4 pitting edema that I found out later was literally shown to a nursing class in a video I sent to my friend as a "great example of what it looks like for learning to assess their patients". I'll be interested to see if I have a big 10lb gain at the very last week like I did with Henry (all fluid of course).

Maternity clothes? my shirts are getting a little snug and short, I'm living in the biggest of my maternity wear. The girl is large and in charge.

Sleep: Lots of contractions, getting up to pee, flipping sides to get comfortable. The usual. But I am still able to nap and such which is great. In fact, this week I napped every single day when Henry did, just because I could.

Best moment this week: Henry feeling better (read below) and finally feeling ready for her to come.

Miss Anything? Sugar, though I did cheat a few times this week. It was a rough week. And sleeping and moving around like I normally do. I'm super pregnant, just in case anyone wanted to know.

Movement: Just when I thought she was getting settled and falling down to get ready to come out, She's beeing flip flopping all over again. Still head down but moving all around. I love love love watching her and feeling her and I am trying to soak in every moment because I know I will miss it so much when she's born.

Food cravings: ICE and peach slushies from sonic. Thank god they're sugar free.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing :)

Gender: GIRL

Symptoms: Braxton hicks this week, the cramping and lower back ache stopped by monday afternoon, she is still down low but not super super low according to my doctor this week. I have had some mild nausea and light headedness today and I've heard that can be normal at the end of pregnancy, yep, I'm at the end.

Belly Button in or out? flat, completely. It's weird.
Wedding rings on or off? ON! I took my ring to be cleaned and dipped since it hadn't been done in probably a year now. Gross. I was without it for 3 days while they did that and I was sooooo happy to have it back on. I love love love my ring. Love it.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Super emotional, no tears this week but it's been a long week and I'm just on edge.
Looking forward to:
ELEANOR BEING BORN!!!! I seriously can't wait, and yet at the same time, I can. Oddly enough. I am so excited to meet her and get the whole labor and delivery thing over with, pain wise. But I will say delivering Henry was the most amazing moment of my life. The euphoria and excitement and love and adrenaline rush I felt was so incredible. I seriously can't wait for that moment again and to see Taylor hold her for the first time. But I am oddly enough not chompin at the bit to get her here. She is okay by me to cook a little longer. First of all, I want her to be healthy as possible. Second, I am trying to enjoy time with Henry and every single day I have with him alone is one more day of snuggles and just down time before our world gets changed (for the better, but changed none the less). It also gives me more time to get a few more things wrapped up and I can't complain about that.

What we did this week:
Took care of a sick kiddo. Last week Henry threw up three times last tuesday night from what we thought was a reaction to mandarin oranges. He hasn't had a stellar appetite since, but I figured it was normal toddler pickiness setting in. Wednesday morning he got up and ate a great breakfast which was awesome because he literally ate nothing for lunch or dinner the night before despite massive amounts of effort on my part. He was being clingy and whiny and out of nowhere threw up several times, in my bed. Awesome. I threw him in the tub and rinsed him down and let him play while I cleaned up and had Taylor come home to help watch him so I could keep my weekly appt with my doctor. She checked me after hearing about my symptoms and I'm only 0.5-1cm dilated. Which is fine, she can cook a little longer for sure. We did a fluid challenge and BRAT diet for Henry and worked to keep fluids in him and thankfully he hasn't been sick again and started eating again today. Thank God. Worried momma over here.
The rest of the week was such a switch from last week for me, my nesting and motivation has quit. Not completely, but for the most part. I am super pregnant, I am tired, I am winded and weak and I am done getting ready for this baby to arrive (for the most part). I tried to keep on top of things to keep everything clean and organized so that when she decides to come into this world I can rest assured the people coming to my house to help with Henry and our dog don't walk into a mess. Also so that when I am gone and come home I can know my house is clean and nice and neat so I don't walk into a mess and so that when we have our newborn pictures taken in our house sometime in the first week or two of her life that it's already clean and ready to go for that too. I asked Taylor to use the old fashioned bucket and mop system with floor cleaner and then polish to do our floors (normally I do the swiffer wet jet and vacuum). He also went and used Christmas money we saved from our parents to go buy white wooden blinds for all of the windows on the front of our house. We have always had curtains or sheers and it's been no big deal, but we are adults and it's due time we make our house look like we actually live in it and take care of it and not just rent it. He put the ones in the bathroom, mudroom area and dining room the other day and they are beautiful. It really changes the look of our house and I love it. He will be doing the landing of our stairs, guest room and Eleanor's room this weekend. The only windows on the back of our house are Henry's room and our room and those have blackout curtains in them anyway and then the big bay window and breakfast nook windows and I think we want shutter style blinds for those so that will come later.

I did a lot of laundry and cleaning and packing of hospital bags and birthday shopping for Henry this week. I got him an entire new spring wardrobe (since the kid needs another toy, like he needs a hole in his head) and some more puzzles and books since he is obsessed with those lately. I plan on getting him a bigger slide than the one he has for outside and maybe a water table to play with in the backyard this spring and summer. I need a few more ideas but that should be a good place to start. Since his birthday is only 8 days after she is due, I would like to have all of that wrapped and ready to go so we can not have to leave the house to get things unless we want to. It dawned on me the other day that I need to get a few party things for our family party for him and Easter clothes and basket stuffers for the kids too. I found Henry an easter shirt and Eleanor a dress and shoes, just have to order the dress online. Eleanor will be easy to do, Henry I struggle to find toys or age appropriate stuff to put in it that's not just junk. So that will be interesting.

I also finished most of my freezer meals this week. Taylor and I went to Sam's and Walmart and got all of the food we needed to make the recipes I gathered for freezer meals. I am so proud of myself for being so on top of things this round of baby prep. With Henry I did nothing, but thankfully we had some friends and family bring dinners and I found that I was excited to cook healthy food and use the grocery store as an excuse to get out of the house I had been cooped up in. This time I know the dinners don't come as easily from others (which is totally fine) but I also don't want to have to do anything extra if I don't want to, so if I can use the freezer meals to get us through the first few weeks or in between cooking some nights, I will.
I have offically cooked, wrapped and frozen:

• 2 dinners of BBQ pulled pork for sandwiches
• 2 dinners of ranch chicken taco meat
• 2 dinners of regular beef taco meat
• 2 lasagnas
• 2 stromboli's
• 4 dinners of spicy cheesy sausage pasta
• 1 broccoli cheese casserole
• 3 meatloaves
• 1 tray of sour cream chicken enchiladas
• a bajillion meatballs (with spagetti and sauce in the pantry ready to go)
• 1 bag of prepped veggies to go with a roast for the crock pot
• some uncooked ground beef for chili (all the fixin's in the pantry)
• pancakes
• waffles
• homemade breakfast burritos
• several sides and veggies and fruit to go with things

WOO HOO! That's like 25 meals plus extras. Hurray for that.

I think that's all for this week. 6 shifts at work and 21 days or less to go!

35 weeks

 

without knowing it, I wore the same shirt in both 35 week pictures. Henry on the left and Eleanor on the right. 

How far along? 35 weeks, Coconut. This one made me laugh last time. Since when are coconuts 6+lbs and 17-19 inches long? ha!

Total weight gain:  total of 19 pounds gained. I think no sugar has helped me keep my weight in check. Can't complain about that!

Maternity clothes? my shirts are getting a little snug and short, I'm living in the biggest of my maternity wear.

Sleep: Not that great. I've been crashing when I can but I get up alot to pee still and had contractions all night last night so I was up alot.

Best moment this week: Getting the to-do list I've had lingering on my kitchen island mostly knocked out and getting an extra night off with my boys.

Miss Anything? alcohol, sugar, moving and doing what I used to do with no issues.

Movement: She has stopped kicking now, just big arm and leg movements. She is definitely running out of room. I think she has stayed in the same position now for the past few days and has just been moving her arms and legs around but not spinning or rolling and flipping like she used to.

Food cravings: Pickles, apples and peanut butter, cereal, ICE. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing :)

Gender: GIRL

Symptoms: last night after doing alot yesterday my back, pelvis, hips and legs started killing me all of a sudden. Taylor gave me a little massage and that helped and I took a warm bath but I was just achy and stiff. I had lots of braxton hicks contractions throughout the night and when I woke up, she was much much lower down in my abdomen. The girl has dropped. I used to not be able to fit my hand between my bra and the top of my belly and I couldn't breathe very well and as of last night I can fit the entire 5 fingers of my hand flat against my abdomen between my bra and top of my belly. She is noticeably lower which means I can breathe so much better and am actually more comfortable, but I am having some mild cramps with my braxton hicks tonight. Something is starting to happen, who knows how long it will last however. Could be weeks. I need her to cook for a few more please.After she dropped is on the left.

Belly Button in or out? flat
Wedding rings on or off? on. :) I love that I get to wear my rings still. I'm not swollen at all yet, woo hoo! With Henry I had 4+ pitting edema in my legs by now.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Emotional. I'm just super sensitive to everything right now. I'm having a hard time depending on Taylor to do alot for me and I'm struggling with my last days of Henry being my only baby. I've been stuck on him like glue for the past few weeks.
Looking forward to:
My appointment on wednesday. I am anxious to see what my doc thinks about all of this changing body business I've been doing lately. I'm also looking forward to having the entire week off with my boys to do some snuggling and such.

What we did this week:
TONS
I organized our hall closet, mud room bench and hooks, our closet, nightstands, bathroom closet, laundry room etc. I got all of our laundry done and put away. Every last piece, which is amazing to me. Taylor helped me hang it all up, bless him. We got the guest room cleared out of all unnecessary items and it looks nice now, ready for grandparents to come stay in the middle of the night should little miss decide to make her appearance in the wee hours when Henry is asleep. 
We hung up all of the items in Eleanor's gallery wall above her changing table and I painted and hung her wooden name cut out above her chair. I had Taylor move the big vintage wooden trunk out of there and into Henry's room too so both of their rooms are completely done! Woo Hoo! That feels so good!

 

The trunk in Henry's room instead of the chair. 

I used some last pieces of scrap fabric I had from the throw pillow I made to make a slip cover for the "mattress "that fits into my old vintage dolly cradle so it matches her room and is in the corner for her to play with some day and made a few more burp rags with the rest. The sewing machine is officially now put back in the craft closet where it belongs and the table it was on is out of our room. Taylor helped me hang a cool raught iron scrolly peice above our bed and some cute Mr. and Mrs. signs by our bathroom sinks in our master bath.
 He moved Cora's big dog kennel and put it under our bed since she doesn't use it anymore. Moved the elliptical from my side of the bed to his so I could put the bassinet by me. I stocked my nightstand with newborn diapers, wipes, burp rags and binkies for the middle of the night so I have them handy. Our room is completely clean, organized and decorated ready to go now too. The entire upstairs is clean and looks fantastic I must say. Taylor also hooked up our deep freezer in the garage and today we filled it with sides and fruit and veggies for meals and some of the freezer meals I made last week. We went to Sam's club today and walmart and got the rest of the ingredients to do the other meals. By the end of this week I hope to have over 25 meals with sides along with snacks and breakfast items in that freezer so I don't have to cook or think about it after she is born for awhile. I'm excited about that.
Our hospital bags are mainly packed except for everyday items to be thrown in last minute and outside of keeping the house picked up and mopping my hardwood floors and vaccumming the carpeted ones again I am done and ready for this girl to arrive which is good because my energy and motivation are dwindling by the second. We did so much this week and I feel really good about being ready for her in every way shape and form, I'm just hoping to spend the next 26 days relaxing and enjoying my little family of three before things change.

 The little guy is gonna miss his toddler perch for sure.

 Henry made me this little magnet for our fridge for valentine's day. Talk about giving momma the feels.

Feeling large. 

34 weeks

How far along? 34 weeks, baby is the size of a butternut squash. The rate she is going she's about 6lbs now. Scary.

Total weight gain:  down 2 lbs this week for a total of 17 up.

Maternity clothes? whatever fits, comfy is the name of my game lately. Think leggings, yoga pants, t-shirts.

Sleep: Still sleeping horribly. I can't get comfortable, getting up to pee, leg cramps, bad dreams, baby moving, pregnancy insomnia where I literally just lay awake for hours. You name it.

Best moment this week: Getting the week off with my sweet boy. I am cherishing him as much as humanly possible before he has to share me with another little.

Miss Anything? being comfortable and being able to move.

Movement: Still lots of movement, just not as big as she runs out of room. She is definitely head down still, thank god.

Food cravings: pickles, sweets and buffalo chicken dip. I made another batch of it the other day because It was the only thing to sound good. I've honestly had a horrid appetite lately, nothing sounds good at all to me.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing :)

Gender: GIRL

Symptoms: my pelvis and hips are super sore and my lower back too. Charlie horses in my legs, peanut bladder.

Belly Button in or out? pretty flat
Wedding rings on or off? on. :)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy though it may not seem like it. I really am getting so excited for her to be here but I'm just emotional too.
Looking forward to:
My mom is taking Henry this weekend for a fun overnight which will be a blast for him and thus Taylor and I get time to have a little date night and get some things done. We are planning on dinner, doing our taxes, birthday shopping for Henry, cleaning out the garage and getting some small tasks done around the house, maybe going to get blinds for some of our windows with our Christmas money. You know, Adulting. But I really am looking forward to some one on one time with Taylor, we really need it.

What we did this week:
I finished Eleanor's chair cover!! Yay! It turned out so pretty and I really am so proud of it. I honestly can't believe I figured out how to do it and make it look semi-professional. I even made her a little throw pillow to go on it. Her room is entirely set up now. 

My mom will be helping me decide how to arrange the things for her gallery wall when she comes to get Henry tomorrow and then Taylor and I can hang it and really be totally done and ready for her to get here. I even packed a snack bag for Taylor for the hospital and Cora's food for a few days in a bag with a scoop all by the door and ready to go. You could say nesting is on full force. My house is driving me INSANE. I'm trying to get things done one day at a time without overdoing it. I have all these little projects like organizing certain cabinets and closets and stuff. Hopefully I can get it all done in the next few weeks.

I also had my doctor's appointment, I got some amazing 3D pictures of little miss.

It was so much fun to see her and get a glimpse of what I'm looking forward to. I really think the sonos help me bond and I've been worried about that a lot and how I will share time, love and attention with both kiddos. It won't be a quiet relaxing maternity leave like I had with Henry where I literally laid on the couch or in bed with him all day long and nursed and napped, nursed and napped.
I'm trying to enjoy Henry while I have him to myself. He woke up last night at 2am and I had actually been asleep, I was hoping he would go back to sleep like he normally does but he didn't. I decided to go in and instead of rushing to get him back down, I changed him and took him into Eleanor's room with a big blanket and just snuggled him on my chest for a solid 30-40 minutes, long long after he had fallen back to sleep. I couldn't get myself to put him down. I just wanted to hold him like that forever. If I hadn't been so tired I think I would have stayed there all night. Those moments are so precious to me and I think I have taken too many of them for granted. Life gets busy and hurried and this momma likes sleep. It was a good reminder to slow down and soak him in a little more. The days of just him are numbered, literally. *cough*34 days to go *cough cough*. It could be less truthfully, Eleanor is officially measuring large for gestational age and that means she could come early or my doctor may help her come early if she is still measuring big in the next few weeks. I will probably have another growth sono as my due date gets closer to check on her again and make sure everything looks okay. I'm honestly terrified I won't be able to get her out and have to have a c-section but as long as we are both healthy I will do whatever I have to. I begged my doctor to do anything and everything to keep me out of the OR. She said she would do her very best. So we will see!

Henry wasn't feeling great this week so we had lots of snuggling which was fantastic.

 I've been craving ice lately and my sweet husband brought me home a huge bag of it from Sonic. WIN!!

33 weeks

How far along? 33 weeks, baby is the size of a pineapple if pineapples are over 5.5lbs.

Total weight gain: 19 lbs

Maternity clothes? whatever fits, comfy is the name of my game lately. Think leggings, yoga pants, t-shirts.

Sleep: I've slept like crap lately. I can't get comfortable for long, have to pee frequently, stuff on my mind etc. I've barely slept more than an hour at a time.

Best moment this week: Getting a million things done on my to-do list.

Miss Anything? being able to move like I used to and sleep.

Movement: She's not doing as many huge movements and rolls as she has in the past, I think she's getting squished.

Food cravings: pickles and sugar, still. I'm ready for the sugar cravings to stop now.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing :)

Gender: GIRL

Symptoms: my pelvis and hips are super sore and my lower back too. I can tell things are getting ready for this babe.I have had a hard time lugging Henry around lately and wrestling him into his high chair and carseat. Lots of warm bubble baths for this momma lately and Taylor has been giving me massages which have helped immensely.

Belly Button in or out? pretty flat
Wedding rings on or off? on. :)
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody, I've just had a hard time this week.
Looking forward to:
This baby girl coming, time off work with my boys and her and my pain to stop.

What we did this week:
I got alot on my to do list done this week which was great. Eleanor's nursery is almost done. I have to hang her gallery wall on her wall above her dresser. Do a few more seams on her chair cover (that's almost done) and that's it! I have everything ready and organized for her. Everything in her closet has been washed and hung in the right size category with her little hanging dividers I made. I washed all the covers for her swing, car seat, bouncer etc. I loaded diapers into her bin in her room, bin down stairs where we keep Henry's and put the rest in her closet. I even got a new diaper bag and loaded it for Henry but put a pile of things to add for her when she arrives. 

 

And a bunch of pictures of Henry because he is the cutest ever. 

 Cherishing these last days as a family of 3.