36 Week Update

Here we are, 36 weeks and in the home stretch! From here on out, baby can be born safely at home and should be fine. It's crazy, for so much of the pregnancy I've been obsessed with the baby coming early, and now that I'm at this point, I'm comfortable with the idea of having more time until the baby comes. In fact, I feel very comfortable with the idea of baby taking a long time to get here. Like, a week or two late actually sounds so good to me! Of course, I'd have to stay in my house and never leave since there would be absolutely nothing that would fit me by then...speaking of size, I'm so big. I know I said that last time, and have probably every post, but I think if I get any bigger my belly could develop it's own climate. It will have it's own weather system you guys.

How far along: 36 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain: 52 lbs

Stretch marks: Same as last time.

Sleep: My hips!! The moment I open my eyes in the morning I have to get out of bed due to my hips aching so bad. No lounging, no keep-that-awesome-dream-going-for-five-more-minutes shut-eye. My body is DONE and I have to be out of bed. Oh, and sleep during the night is still pretty good. I know, I'm lucky!

Best moment this week: On Saturday my sis-in-law Amy and I finally went out to get pedicures for her birthday that was last month. While we were there we of course got questions about how far along I was, what the gender of the baby was etc. When I told them I didn't know yet, the lady giving Amy her pedicure took a look at me for like two seconds and then said with an absolute-authority tone of voice, "It's a boy."
So what did we do after the pedicures? We may have let this happen....

Miss anything? Being...not ginormous.

Movement: Shifts, rolls, hiccups. I love feeling every bit of it.

Food cravings: HAMBURGERS. Specifically the ones from Burger King with no onions. Which Todd thinks is funny because for as long as he's known me, I've detested Burger King.

Aversions: Nothing, really.

Gender: I've been thinking it's a boy this whole time but recently I've been second-guessing everything I once had an opinion on, it feels like. So...I have no idea! I'll be happy with either, though.

Labor signs: Saturday night Todd and I went to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and supplies for the birth. As soon as we stepped through the doors, I started having intense Braxton Hicks and even cramping. Todd would ask me a question and I would try to concentrate, but getting through the contractions was all I could think about! I was useless! The contractions calmed down a lot though after we got home and I could put my feet up.

I've been drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea for almost a month now, at least one cup a day and about a week ago I've made sure to drink four cups a day. I've heard both on the internet and from friends that it can strengthen uterine muscles and prepare you for birth. It can make labor pains less and shorten the time you're in labor. I figure ANYTHING to help with that, I'm going to try it! Also, I have noticed that the more I drink the tea, the more Braxton Hicks I get, so something is working.

Symptoms: I'm congested ALL the time. It's horrible! This will be a bit TMI but I feel as soon as I get cleared out, not an hour will go by and I have to find a tissue so I can breathe again. I have a box of Kleenex in three different rooms in my house and I've gone through so many. Please let this be a pregnancy thing so I don't have to deal with it after the baby is born!

Also, I think nesting has just hit, like, today. I've been going and going all day (although what I've gotten done is not super obvious). I've got SO much more energy than I've had in so long and I feel like I have to get everything ready for baby. Everything. Which means, not having a car to myself is driving me nuts since I can't just go see something I found on KSL immediately, unless I drive Todd to work.

Wedding ring on or off? Off, so off, and will probably be off for months after the birth, if it's anything like last time.

Happy or moody: Both.

Looking forward to: My husband's aunt offered to give me a massage on Wednesday to try out her new massage table that accommodates pregnant women. I'm so looking forward to that, especially with the freezer meals all done. I'm also looking forward to my midwife appointment this week which will be at my house!