33w2d update

Sorry kids, I'm 2 days late with this update but no only was work INSANE on Wednesday but I had an OB appointment yesterday, so wanted to include anything that came up there in my update.

How far along?: 33w2d - holy moly!

Weight?: Ugh, not happy about this one. As of yesterday, I'm officially up 29lbs since the start. My OB keeps saying my gain is perfect, but I'm horrified that it looks like I can very easily break the 35lb mark, when I was hoping for the 25lbs mark. I think I'm retaining ALOT of fluids and I'm a tall girl, so there's alot of space for it ;). Plus, as much as I'm hoping that he's a perfect 7.5lbs at 40 weeks at birth, I beginning to suspect that Bug will be a big sucker. As I've mentioned before, his dad was almost 11lbs at birth (despite a tiny mom) and he just feels so freaking heavy these days. Also, I'm beginning to outpace the very scientific tape measurements - the ones where the OB measures from pubic bone to the top of the uterus. It should pretty much coincide in cm to the number of weeks you are. I had been pretty consistent through 30 weeks, measuring 29cm at 29 weeks, etc. But yesterday I measured 34cm at 33 weeks and had grown 3cm in 2 weeks. I have a feeling this is a trend that will continue. Sigh... all that matters of course is that Bug is healthy, but I am afraid my butt is going to be kicked over the next 6 weeks + during labor, eep!

Maternity clothes?: Meh, buying maternity clothes was fun in the beginning, but I'm over it. Now I just want comfy and not to be spending money. I'm making due with whatever I can squeeze my bigger-by-the-day body into. Seriously, it's like comic proportions at this point. NoodleGuy and I were talking about this last night and on any given day I fluctuate from looking skinny with an ever-expanding watermelon attached to my waist or else the weight distributes totally differently and I look more like a weeble:

I guess it depends on Bug's position plus how hydrated I am on any given day.I've noticed that when I'm not-so-hydrated, like when I wake up, Bug's condo is totally tight and high. But as I eat and hydrate, I often expand sideways ;). But mostly I just expand further and further outward, it's insane! Every time I think I'm as far out as I could be, I expand further! And I still have @ 6.5 weeks to go - crazy!

Stretch marks?: Unbelievably, given my expanding, nary a one yet. I keep trying to convince myself that if I was going to get them, I'd have seen it by now. But I'm afraid that my so-far resilient skin will finally break down and wave the white flag if I keep getting bigger.

Sleep?: I've always been a good sleeper, but I'm having the usual pregnancy complaints: waking up with a dead hip, despite pillows propped between the knees and everywhere else. Plus, the oh-so-lovely heartburn, aka vomit-in-the-throat, which often wakes me in the first hour after going to bed. I was good there for a while about not eating for at least 2 hours before going to bed, but we've had DH's cousin visiting for 2 weeks plus are doing some kitchen remodeling, so dinners have been late and I haven't been able to give myself that buffer much anymore. But I will try and instill it more going forward - the waking up, choking on "acid" (aka barf) has lost its thrill ;).

Best moment this week?: Granite countertops, baby! Oh, really? I'm supposed to pick a baby moment here? Oh ok ;). Let's see -- Bug continues to be a gymnast, I'll cover that below. Plus, lots of our baby stuff is flooding in through the mail, so there's always a fun treat at the front door. Also, DH and I have narrowed down the list of names to about 3-4. One really nice thing? We've decided on Bug's middle name for sure: it's my mom's mother's maiden name (aka my maternal grandmother's maiden name). I really like the tradition of giving kids surnames from the mom's side as their middle name, since the dad, by default, gets the last name in most cases. However, my maiden name doesn't sound good with anything and my mom's maiden name isn't great either. When I asked mom for lists of some of her Dutch relatives, DH and I really liked her mom's maiden name. And it'll be really nice because I never got to meet this grandparent, she passed away when my mom was 12 in an awful episode where she just died suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, at the dinner table - in front of her 4 kids - from a massive stroke. I can't even imagine the trauma of seeing that, especially for my mom who was the only girl in a family of 3 brothers and a loving, though old-fashioned, dad. So my mom went from being a regular kid with a regular life in 1960 Holland to being the defacto "little mom" while grieving her own mother. She was expected, as the girl, to pick up all the laundry, cooking, cleaning and taking care of her 5-year-old brother. It's no wonder she left home (secretly) to come to the U.S. as a nanny when she graduated high school at 18. Anyway, it's always been a sadness to her to think of her mom and she's always wished that my sisters and I could have met her, she sounded like a great lady. So, not only do we like her maiden name, but I think it'll mean alot

Movement?: Tons and it's getting totally different. It used to be a gentle poke or scrape but now it's so obvious that space is getting tight that it's less like a baby in a whirlpool and more like having Danny Devito trapped under my skin. While I love know Bug is doing well and dancing a jig in there, I have to admit that it's not always the most pleasant feeling. Sometimes it seems non-stop for hours, and I have to shift him when he sticks a foot in my kidney or just jams his little butt really hard against my belly button. Crazy kid!

Food cravings?: I've been really thirsty lately so drinking all sorts of decaf iced tea and watered down juices. Still loving the sweets and cheeses too. I can't tell you how much blue and feta cheese I'm going to eat once this Bug is born ;).

What I miss?: Cheeses, as above. Boogie boarding at the beach. When I've gone to the beach lately, it's just not as fun sitting there as opposed to splashing in the waves! Being able to turn over in bed without a big production. Being able to stand up out of a chair without 10-15 seconds of full-on achiness and hunching over.

What I'm looking forward to?: nesting in August. No visitors, no trips planned, no classes. Just chilling out.

Emotions: Still pretty even. I'm starting to get a little nervous about labor, but our childbirth teacher really drilled into our heads that trying to be as relaxed as possible during labor makes things so much easier on the mom (think tensed muscles), so I'm trying to be zen.

Other: Having minor contractions in the form of localized fluttering. I spoke with my OB about it yesterday and she said while it doesn't sounds like Braxton Hicks (more of an overall tightening), that you could have localized contractions as your body prepares for labor. Nothing big, not painful, just kind of light spasms. I also have been having really sharp pains by my right hip, which is probably round ligament pain, so no concerns. 

As I mentioned above we just put granite countertops in the kitchen and they're so lovely -- we also got a new sink and faucet to go along with it as well as new knobs for all the cabinets. We've been meaning to update the kitchen but it wasn't a super high priority but we saw such a good deal on the granite that we had to jump. Over the next few months we'll have the wallpaper taken down and the room repainted, a tile backsplash put up, and pick up a new stove (the other appliances are new). Not too overwhelming since our cabinets are fine and that's the really big expense when updating a kitchen. So fun! Here's an early pic, just the change in countertops, I'll be able to post more updates when/if we hopefully finish the rest of the kitchen renovations by the end of the year:

Can you tell why we don't like the wallpaper? ;) Calling Holly Hobbie! Also, this pic doesn't yet have our fancy new faucet and new chrome knobs on the cabinets. Plus, you can see the ancient stove/microwave, those will go as soon as I catch a good sale at HomeDepot/Lowes/Sears/whatever.