Week 38

How far along? 38 weeks
Size of baby? Pumpkin (19.5 inches long, weighs 6.8 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep? Pretty good this week. The Marines are here on post this month practicing artillery and it wakes us up in the middle of the night all the time. It's so loud and shakes the entire house. It'll make you jump right out of bed!
Movement? Yes! We got to see either a foot or a knee this week. It was trying it's hardest to bust through my skin haha!
Food cravings? No
Anything making you queasy or sick? No
Symptoms? Pressure and a general feeling of heaviness. I can tell she dropped this week. And I had some braxton hicks that woke me up out of my sleep. I thought they were the real thing for a second there! 
Gender? Girl, Girl, Girl!
Looking forward to? I can not wait to meet our little girl!! We are both so excited for her to be here!
Best moment this week? Taking maternity photos! My amazing friend Kim took photos for us! She was so flexible and up for anything and it made the experience so enjoyable. We got a sneak peek and they are absolutely gorgeous! I am in love with every single one!!! It was so much fun and I am so glad that we were able to capture such a special time in our lives. Hopefully Lainey will love looking at them when she is older :)
Fun Fact about baby? The baby's organs are mature and ready for life outside the womb. The vernix caseosa and lanugo are shedding. Her head is about the same circumference as her abdomen.

Weekend Happenings

We went to a Birthday/Halloween Party...

Set up the swing/bouncy seat combo...

Installed the car seat...

And washed the 4 million tiny pieces of clothing for a tiny little girl...

Week 37

Full Term, Baby Girl!!!!!

How far along? 37 weeks
Size of baby? Bunch of Swiss Chard (19 inches long, weighs 6.3 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Oh ya, and feeling like I'm going to outgrow those soon.
Sleep? Still hit or miss. It seems like I rotate between good nights and bad ones. 
Movement? Yes, she loves to push her butt out. She must like to stretch those legs!
Food cravings? No cravings, but I could be mistaken for the cookie monster. Or candy...great timing since Halloween candy is everywhere!
Anything making you queasy or sick? No
Symptoms? Pressure and feeling sore. I still can't accept that I can't do everything that I used to so I tend to lift things that I shouldn't or clean things that I shouldn't and then I pay for it with pulled muscles, pinched nerves, etc. Hopefully this little babe doesn't get her stubbornness from me :) A homemade heating pad has been my best friend this week.
Gender? Girl
Looking forward to? We ordered the rest of our "must-have" items from our registry that we didn't get as gifts and I'm patiently awaiting their arrival in the mail. Then we can finish setting up her room and I'll feel ready for her arrival!
Best moment this week? We had a great week! Lots of get togethers with our friends, we installed the car seat, organized her room some more, started packing our bag for the hospital, and we made it to a full term baby!!!
Quote of the week? When taking my weekly pictures, Jimbo looked at my belly and said "That is incredible!" It was so funny to me and the look of shock (and maybe even horror) on his face was priceless.
Fun Fact about baby? If the baby were to be born right now, she would be able to live and breath on her own and would be perfectly healthy. She could possibly have hair on her head, about 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long! She's gaining about half an ounce a day (and I definitely feel her getting heavier and taking up more space!). She's busy practicing blinking, sucking, gripping, inhaling and exhaling for when she is born.

Week 36

How far along? 36 weeks
Size of baby? Head of Romaine Lettuce (18 inches long, weighs 5.8 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Yes and beginning to wear the same few items over and over again...
Sleep? Hit or miss...Usually I lay there for awhile before I'm able to fall asleep and then sleep pretty good for a few hours. Then I wake up for a few hours until Jimbo leaves for work. Then I sleep like a starfish and get another hour or two of sleep. It's actually a pretty annoying cycle haha! I think I'm just preparing my body for having a newborn and being able to function on very little sleep :)
Movement? Yes!
Food cravings? No
Anything making you queasy or sick? No
Symptoms? Not much, other than just feeling sore from carrying a ton of weight in my belly ;)
Gender? Girl
Looking forward to? Doing the final preparation type of things to get ready for our baby's arrival!
Best moment this week? We've had a big week this week! We had an amazing baby shower on Saturday with all of our friends in North Carolina, who have been like family to us. It was such a great time and everyone was so generous and sweet! I can't thank Kiley and Tori enough for all of the hard work they did for the shower!!! They are the BEST friends!! The absolute best part of this week was my 36 week OB appointment. Lainey has been laying transverse this entire pregnancy and we were starting to worry about whether or not she would flip and go into the head down position to prepare for delivery. We weren't stressing it too much, but our midwife was going to start talking about our options at the 36 week appointment if she hadn't flipped yet. I was not looking forward to having to make these decisions. We did an utrasound at the appointment to see what Lainey was up to in there and was shocked to see that she has flipped on her own and is now in the head down position!!!! We were so relieved. Now we can get this party started! ;)
Fun Fact about baby? Baby is gaining about an ounce a day! She's shedding most of the downy hair that has been covering her body, as well as the vernix caseosa (waxy substance that protected her skin during the pregnancy).

Week 35

How far along? 35 weeks
Size of baby? Honeydew Melon (18 inches long, weighs 5.25 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Yes!
Sleep? Not as good anymore. Baby has learned where my ribs are and loves to punch them at night. I think she's trying to figure it all out in there and make way to the birth canal because she's constantly turning and flipping around. This results in a distorted stomach for me. It's hard to sleep when she's sticking her butt out so far that it's pushing against our mattress haha! Also, the heartburn returns every now and then so I have to remember to take something for it before bed. 
Movement? Yes!
Food cravings? No, but pizza is still something I could eat everyday. Jimbo thinks I'm crazy :)
Anything making you queasy or sick? No
Symptoms? Just feeling huge and sore!
Gender? Girl
Looking forward to? Our shower this weekend!!
Best moment this week? Jimbo and I had the best weekend together! We checked out a couple of festivals in the area and we had a great time! 
Fun Fact about baby? She will be gaining about one more pound of fat in the next 5 weeks. Her kidneys are fully developed now and her liver can process some waste products. She's pretty much finished with development and her main job from now until birth is to put on weight. We're going to have a baby soon!!!

Week 34

How far along? 34 weeks
Size of baby? Cantaloupe (18 inches long, weighs 4.75 pounds)
Maternity clothes? Yes
Sleep? Decent
Movement? Yes, she does most of her flips and kicks at night.
Food cravings? Nothing specific
Anything making you queasy or sick? No
Symptoms? I did some exercises this week (squats, leg lifts, fire hydrants) followed by a quick mile long walk, but I think it was too much at once because I was sore! I wish I could say it was my glutes or legs that were sore, but it was just my lower stomach from the weight of this little chunk-a-munk growing inside of me who is still laying transverse so it's extra heavy :)
Gender? Girl
Looking forward to? Our baby shower with all of our friends here at Bragg. We've been planning it for months so I can't wait for it to get here!
Best moment this week? We finished up the childbirth classes on post. 
Fun Fact about baby? Baby girl can now recognize simple songs and she urinates about a pint a day.