37 & 38 Weeks

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas!  Michael and I spent the holiday just the two of us, and it was really nice.  Knowing it was our last quiet holiday, we took advantage of the peace and quiet and enjoyed just being together.  We are spending the weekend together, which is rare these days, and I'm glad I have two more days to spend with him.

I got behind again on my weekly posts, so I'm catching up with week 37 & 38.  Today, I am 38 weeks and 2 days, and I wish I could report that there has been some progress, but I'm still at 0.  The doc wanted to discuss a possible induction or c-section on my due date, but I'm hopeful McBaby won't be too stubborn and will decide to make an appearance before then.

How Far Along: 37 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 19 inches long and almost 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The size of a bunch of swiss chard.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 16 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I wear the same pair of black dress pants to work every week, and it will be nice to retire them soon although I am more than thankful for them these days.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: Lots of moving and kicking me in the side.  

Sleep: I can't complain.  I get up a lot to use the bathroom, but I sleep pretty well most nights.  

Symptoms: I certainly feel pregnant now.  Cankles and waddling are part of life.  My hips hurt every time I have to get up after sitting for a while.  I'm experiencing more joint and groin pain and can tell some of my bones are separating. Forgetfulness and pregnancy brain are certainly symptoms as well.    

What I miss:  Not having to think so hard about what I eat and drink, though it has kept me healthy, it would be nice to indulge.  I also miss being able to think a complete thought before forgetting what in the heck I was thinking about.

Cravings: Sweets because that's what everyone eats at Christmas

Best Moment this week:  We had an ultrasound to determine how McBaby's growth is going since I have gestational.  McBaby measured average, which is what we wanted to hear.  We got to see McBaby's face and he/she has hair. 

What I am looking forward to: Having a quiet holiday with Michael.  

How Far Along: 38 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 19 1/2 inches long and approximately 6 pounds, 8 ounces. The size of a leek.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 17 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I wear the same pair of black dress pants to work every week, and it will be nice to retire them soon although I am more than thankful for them these days.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: McBaby moves off and on from morning til night, and he/she has been known to wake me up in the middle of the night with a swift kick in the ribs.  

Sleep: It's getting worse.  I fall asleep easily when we go to bed, but when I get up in the middle of the night, I have trouble going back to sleep.   

Symptoms: This week has been hard so far.  I'm having trouble sleeping, I feel nauseous and crampy, I have lower back pain that won't go away, and my hips and groin are so sore.  And I'm so exhausted! I was feeling so bad yesterday, that I knew for sure there was progress being made, but today's doctor's appointment proved me wrong when doc said I was still at 0.   

What I miss: At this point, I miss everything that I could do pre-pregnancy.  Too many things to name!  

Cravings: I don't really feel like eating much, but I guess I'm craving comfort foods since I don't fell well.  

Best Moment this week: I know I have said it a lot, but simply spending time with Michael and relaxing is so precious to me right now.  

What I am looking forward to: A safe and healthy delivery that results in meeting our little boy or girl.  

36 Weeks

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 18 1/2 inches long and almost 6 pounds. The size of a head of romaine lettuce.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 15 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I wear the same pair of black dress pants to work every week, and it will be nice to retire them soon although I am more than thankful for them these days.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: McBaby moves a lot these days and has discovered how fun it is to kick me in the ribs and take my breath away

Sleep: I can't complain.  I get up a lot to use the bathroom, but I sleep pretty well most nights.  

Symptoms: I certainly feel pregnant now.  I discovered my cankles the other day, and I have begun to waddle.  My hips hurt every time I have to get up after sitting for a while.  I'm experiencing more joint and groin pain and can tell some of my bones are separating. The most annoying symptom is severe pregnancy brain! It's all part of the journey I guess, and I remind myself it could be a lot worse.  I'm still walking every day and haven't slowed down yet.  

What I miss: The Christmas treats are killing me!  I can't escape the sugar, but I have to say no, which makes me mad sometimes.  I would give anything for a piece of chocolate ganache cake with a glass of red wine right now. 

Cravings: Sugar...because it's forbidden.  I've had cravings for donuts and pancakes lately.  

Best Moment this week: Having a great check up at the doctor.  I appreciate good news more and more as the birth gets closer.  We also enjoyed some fun Christmas events this week. We went to the Homewood Christmas Parade, Michael's athletics department Christmas party, and hosted our own Christmas shrimp boil for Michael's employees on Saturday

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our little one...I'm dying to know if we are having a boy or girl!  

McBaby's Gender Neutral Nursery

When we decided that we would not find out the gender of our baby, I knew that creating the nursery would be a challenging but fun and creative project.  I was very excited about the challenge.  Almost immediately, I wanted to create a nursery straight out of an Ikea magazine or from one of my favorite nursery tours at Apartment Therapy. I was picturing clean lines, modern furniture, stark white or gray walls and primary colored accents.  But then it all changed because of a chair....

My one nursery requirement was a big comfy glider, but when I began searching for the perfect glider, I quickly realized we could easily spend half of our nursery budget.  I didn't give up, and I searched for used gliders every day until I finally found one on Craigslist for $300 cheaper than I could find anywhere else.  We bought it the day I found it although I knew there was nothing modern about it, and so my vision changed.  And I couldn't be happier with how our nursery has turned out!

Once I refocused from stark white and modern to soft and sweet, we painted the walls a light green called "White Willow" after going through several samples of green paint.  I wanted all white furniture but made sure it was a bit more modern in case we have a boy, and I new I wanted very neutral textiles in various shades of white, cream and taupe that would go with any color once the baby arrived.   We found the softest rug known to man after searching for a while, and it was the final piece that made the nursery come together.  And by the way, Scarlett is obsessed with the rug.  We catch her in the nursery all the time snuggled up or rolling around on it.  Poor thing has no idea what is coming and why that rug is there in the first place!

The nursery is peaceful, soft and calm, and I love the addition of bunnies and lambs as well as all of the books we have from our sweet book shower.  The nursery is as complete as it will be before McBaby's arrival, but I look forward to adding some personal girl or boy touches.  I have reserved the blank wall in the nursery for our first family portraits we are taking in January.  My favorite things in the room are the personalized lamb and bunny art pieces that have special Bible verses, and I love the lamb mobile that hangs above the crib.   And of course I love the chair!

35 Weeks

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 18 inches long and almost 5 1/4 pounds. The size of a honeydew melon.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 14 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I need to give up the sweatpants.  The other night, we were planning to go run errands and Michael said, "you aren't wearing sweatpants are you."  I got the hint for sure ;)

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: McBaby moves a lot these days...

Sleep: Better than I thought it would be so far! I'm averaging 8-10 hours a night, and I am taking advantage of sleep as much as I can. 

Symptoms: I'm experiencing more joint and groin pain and can tell some of my bones are separating.  I am waddling a little more lately.  One night, I felt pretty ill and was having nausea and Braxton Hicks contractions, but I have felt good since then.

What I miss: I miss lots of things.  Sleeping on my stomach, eating without heartburn, eating dessert without worrying, wine and beer on occasion, sushi, and Jersey Mike's subs.  

Cravings: Everything!  I wake up wanting a million things I can't have, and it is no fun!

Best Moment this week: Finishing the nursery

What I am looking forward to: The holidays, so I can spend some time with Michael

33 & 34 Weeks and Thanksgiving

I'm playing catch up today with posting my 33 and 34 week pictures.  I can't believe how close we are getting to our baby's arrival!  When I think about the possibility of AnnMarie or Noah arriving in 5 weeks or less, it makes me so nervous and excited...I hope we are ready!

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday with just the two of us.  We were invited to a Thanksgiving feast at The Arvin's house, but unfortunately Michael was sick and we thought it was best to stay home and enjoy Thanksgiving quarantined.  I roasted a chicken, and we had green beans, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole.  I bought a pecan pie from Whole Foods for dessert, which I ate sparingly.
I also treated myself to these babies.  3 truffles only have 8 carbs...a gestational diabetes dream!

Michael was feeling so bad on Wednesday, that he told me just to buy a frozen pizza for Thanksgiving.  I knew he was sick with that suggestion because Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday.  I tried to make our meal as close to Thanksgiving as I could.

I did not venture out for Black Thursday/Black Friday (they should change the name now that everything is open on Thanksgiving).  I have never had the desire to fight over toasters and TVs....maybe someday.  I did partake in some internet shopping for McBaby, and I bought one single Black Friday item.  I can't wait to get it in the mail!

Football rivalry weekend happens every Thanksgiving, and in Alabama, the Iron Bowl may be more of a holiday than Thanksgiving.  Yesterday's game was predicted to be the most important Iron Bowl in history, and it was a game that definitely lived up to all the hype!  #4 Auburn beat #1 Alabama with one second left in the game, knocking Alabama out of National Title contention.  I wonder if any pregnant Auburn or Bama fans went into labor last night after that ending? Ha!

Speaking of labor...I'm getting closer to the big day.  I'll be 35 weeks along this week, but here is McBaby at 33 & 34 weeks. I'm feeling better than I thought I would at this point, but I hear it gets rough around 36 weeks.  I'm hoping that life continues as it has the past two weeks!

33 Weeks!

34 Weeks!

How Far Along: 34 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 18 inches long and almost 4 3/4 pounds. The size of a cantaloupe.  

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: McBaby moves a lot these days...

Sleep: Better than I thought it would be so far! I'm averaging 8-10 hours a night, and I am taking advantage of sleep as much as I can. 

Symptoms: I'm experiencing more joint and groin pain and can tell some of my bones are separating.  I am waddling a little more lately.  

What I miss: I miss lots of things.  Sleeping on my stomach, eating without heartburn, eating dessert without worrying, wine and beer on occasion, sushi, and Jersey Mike's subs.  

Cravings: Pickles, cheese, and sugar lately

Best Moment this week: Finding a pediatrician and a MDO program for McBaby when he/she turns 5 months old.  

What I am looking forward to: Michael getting some time off in December and spending as many minutes with him as possible before the baby arrives and our lives our changed forever!