Bumpdate: Week 37

Size of baby: A watermelon, approx 6.5 pounds. I'm feeling every last ounce.

Total weight gain:  28 pounds and I'm over keeping up with it.  I'm feel like it's moot at this point but at least I can metabolize glucose and my blood pressure is normal.

Maternity clothes:  I wore a bridesmaid dress that was not maternity in a wedding this past weekend...it was ah hem, several sizes larger than my normal AND required a magic touch from a local tailor but I squeezed into it.  I am definitely more comfortable in maternity clothes though am I'm noticing more and more than I'm living in lounge/yoga style pants.  I even wore them once to work this week.

Gender:  Bunnylove is a girl

Nursery:  We still don't have a bookcase, procrastinators!  Everything else is finished, it's taken me nearly all week to get it clean and organized from our bountiful shower last weekend.  Not a bad problem to have but it definitely was work now that I'm full term.

Sleep:  I'm napping more, not for long periods but I don't remember the last time I could stay awake during an entire movie or show easily.  It's taking me longer to get to sleep at night and I'm naturally waking up earlier in the morning.

What I miss:  Feeling normal and fitting into my clothes.  I took a small tumble this week and pulled a muscle in my back which caused me to have some difficulty walking.  I really miss how quickly I was able to get my work done before and now my days are a lot slower and less productive.

Cravings:  A strong craving for an almond joy and for a cookies and cream milkshake.  I've also been enjoying ginger ale this week.

Other symptoms:  I've had some swelling this week, not to extremes but my wedding band has been tight so a few days I left it off.  Also my legs and feet have had some swelling, I can fit into my shoes but they have been a bit tight.  I honestly didn't think I'd be able to wear my boots for the wedding on Saturday but our hairdresser had a trick to dampen some kitchen towels and freeze them to make some "ice packs" to reduce the swelling.  I kept them on for about an hour with my feet elevated and I was able to wear the boots. Thankfully another friend had let me borrow her boots in a size larger, I'm not sure I could have fit into my own. I'm having a weird feeling of my hips spreading and sometimes when I stand up it feels like a water balloon dropping.  It's really hard to describe but my doctor says it's normal for late term.

Best Moments:  Not sure if it was a "best moment" but I had an OB appointment on Thursday and we heard the heartbeat and got a clean bill of health for our check up.  She is still oriented head down and looking at my left hip with her little bottom up near my sternum .  I also had my Group B strep test but the results won't be back until next week.

Oh and my husband was out of town all week competing in the National Craft Championship and he placed third!  It was rough without him and I depended on my mom a lot this week but she moved in with me for a few days and helped me through it.  I think he had a good time on his trip even though he was super busy, I know he was thrilled to be home.

And of course my oldest friend was married on Saturday.  Normally I'd be excited and jumping out of my skin with wedding joy but not this time.  It was a mixture of hip pain, swelling, and fatigue that made it kind of difficult for me to get in the mood.  The dress was really uncomfortable so I was glad that we didn't have to put it on until half an hour before the ceremony and we left the reception as soon as the cake was cut.  I was falling asleep in my chair!  The bride was very understanding.  One thing I did enjoy was feeling fancy for a night, lately I've been all lounge wear so getting in a lacy dress, makeup and hair was a nice change.

And now that I'm officially full term, here is the changing bump over the last 37 weeks:

She's been all mine so far but soon I'll get to share this sweet joy with the world!