35 Weeks! Whoop Whoop!

WOW LOOK AT THAT BIG BELLY!!!

Sweet Caroline should weigh around 5.5 lbs and measure about 19 inches in length this week!

Total Weight Gain: 12 lbs!

Maternity Clothes? Not really. I do use my belly band when I wear pants. But I'm just wearing loose fitting shirts and dresses. I have a couple pairs of maternity jeans that are SOOOOO cute actually!

Stretch marks? Not a one :) My mom didn't get them either. I feel like I might be home free at this point...(fingers crossed) I've gone through two bottles of stretch mark prevention cream and almost an entire tin of belly balm, so I'm pretty overzealous about NOT getting them!

Sleep? I'm sleeping like a rock. By the end of the day (PS: I'm calling 7:30pm the end of the day) I feel like I've run a marathon! I wake up a few times during the night but it's not horrible.

Movement? Constantly. I thought she would have slowed down by now since she's running out of room...but it's like there's an alien living inside me...always moving, rolling, and kicking my ribs!! Very painful!

Miss anything?? Working out. My doctor told me to lay off the exercise. And I can't WAIT to do crunches again.

Food Cravings? Pineapple, ice water, anything extremely spicy, nothing really strange

Food adversions? Tomato based foods give me really bad heartburn.

Gender? Girl

Symptoms: This sounds "complainy" but: Sore ribs; the upper part of my belly is numb; still anemic so I'm EXTREMELY tired all the time; charlie horses in my feet ; It hurts to pick things up off the floor; some heart burn, inability to eat normal sized meals; it feels like my skin is about to snap in half.

Belly Button in or out? Both....does that make sense? No? It depends on how I'm sitting or standing!

Rings on or off? On...and actually at around 7 months I had to get all my rings sized down! They wouldn't stay on my fingers. I've not had any swelling at all and my appendages are all getting thinner! Strange stuff!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am pretty happy! I've not had any of the crazy hormonal swings I hear people talk about. I'm just feeling blessed that God has chosen me to have this sweet little girl!

Looking forward to: Feeling like myself, looking like myself, and holding Sweet Caroline!

34 Week Check Up!

I had my 34 Week checkup today!

Caroline is head down and her heart beat was very strong.

I look so forward to going to my checkups even when they don't do anything special :)

At the next appointment (36 weeks) I will receive another ultra-sound. I have not gained any weight in the past month and they just want to make sure the baby's growth is on track. I have been eating pretty well (3 meals a day plus snacks) and keeping everything down. So hopefully the baby is getting what she needs. My husband comments constantly that my arms and legs look thinner...so my unmedical theory is that she is stealing what she needs from me! So while she is getting bigger and stronger....I'm NOT! Which I will try to fix by eating a little more! It's just difficult because as my belly grows my stomach is so compressed I have less appetite...But

I'm going to get as many good calories in as I can for Miss Caroline. But the silver lining in that not so great news is that I do get another ultra sound!!! Which usually you don't get this far along, so I get to see my baby before she arrives...AGAIN :)

I feel good still. Not too big and uncomfortable, although by the end of the day I'm so achy from being out and about. My iron levels are still low and I'm still anemic so that adds to me being extra tired...but other than that I'm feeling okay!

Here are a couple of cute outfits she's received as shower gifts!

A "future Miss America" sleep sack from my sister!

An adorable swim suit from my cousins!

And here is my husband teaching me how to "swaddle" a baby...using my cat :) hehe....

Don't worry, the cat was purring once he was all snug in that blanket!

33.5 weeks belly shot

33 Weeks! I'm feeling great!

Not sick at all and not too uncomfortable yet size wise. My ribs, however, are killing me from Caroline's strong kicks, and I'm still very anemic which makes me tired at the end of the day (and in the middle too)...But other than that, I'm enjoying this time!

My sister-in-law had a baby this past week! Her first, and the family's 1st grandbaby on that side! She had a little girl who is BEAUTIFUL, and it made me want to meet mine all the more :) They will be cute little cousins only about a month apart! How fun!!

Blessed

I was blessed this weekend by my amazing friends! They gave me a wonderful baby shower with a sweets and candy theme. (Think "Sweet Caroline, by Neil Diamond!) I was literally showered in gifts and yummy food! Here's a quick pic for now...I'll post more soon :)

Just Hanging Around

Trying to stretch myself so the baby will get her foot (or hand, or elbow, or knee) out from under my ribs! They hurt SO BAD this is my only refuge.

Don't worry, the chair is there for safety and I'm not directly over the cat ;)

(I have noticed a trend that in almost every picture I'm wearing Victoria Secret yoga pants...or as my husband calls it, my "uniform") teehee

32 Weeks and feeling like a blimp!

32 Weeks

My. Oh. My.

8 Weeks left!

(6 if I have my way and get this little girl out on Daddy's Spring Break!)

The nursery is coming along, however, I don't think my home will every be totally organized from ceiling to floor...I'm learning to live with that.

Here is a sneak peek into Caroline's closet! Filled in large part thanks to my lovely cousin who had a little girl in May 2 years ago... She was sweet enough to give me SOOOO many cute things for little baby C to wear!

(Please ignore the lack of hardware on the bottom drawers of the dresser...This dresser is an old one from my sorority house, of all places! We painted it cream and added new hardware! I think it turned out cute!)

I feel huge! I KNOW that I am not, but I've never been this size before!!!! You can totally tell I'm pregnant now! While I'm still not finding out my weight gain, I did measure my waist the other day...it was 30 inches!!!!! I started at 24!!! That's some serious stretching for me! The good news is, that is seems to be growing straight out and not out at the sides...meaning I'm not getting wider per se.

My husband loves to make fun of me groaning and waddling around the house...all in good fun of course...he calls me "Preggosarus"....such a sweetheart right?? lol

No odd cravings (other than stuffing my face with blueberries)...but I have noticed I need to eat smaller meals. I fill up quickly b/c my stomach is so compressed in there! There's a 3.75lb baby taking up a lot of space!!!

I am still anemic, so I really do feel tired ALL the time. I'm taking iron and hopefully this week at my checkup they'll tell me my numbers are better :)

I'll post a belly shot soon :)

Have a great week!

Baby Brain

I've never been one to obsess over babies...but boy how that's changed! I've totally got baby brain...dreaming about babies, thinking about babies, wanting to hold stranger's baby's at the grocery store....Check out these little cuties to make you say "awwww"!

I can't wait to see what Caroline looks like!