Week 34 Update

How far along: 34 weeks (and 6 days)
Size of baby: She weighs as much as a cantaloupe, about 4.75 pounds. I definitely feel like she is taking up quite a bit of room in there!
Total weight gain: At the doctor on Tuesday, I had gained exactly 32 pounds since pre-pregnancy. I joked with the nurse and the doctor that I thought it was going to be much worse because of all the good food and extra helpings of cake I ate over my birthday weekend. And they both told me to live it up...this is the time to eat all the good food. Whew! What a relief...I am 4 pounds over the max of what my main doctor told me I should gain during the whole pregnancy. I think the main thing is that the weight gain has been steady and they're pleased that I'm healthy and so is the baby. That's the main thing!
Maternity clothes: I think I can probably take this question out of future updates...it's pretty clear that I am ONLY wearing maternity clothes these days. :)
Gender: GIRL
Movement: She's really been active this week. Especially when we were at the doctor's office. She was going nuts in the waiting roo, and Carl said when I laid back on the table so we could check the heartbeat (which was in the 140s by the way), he could see my belly moving. The doctor wants me to really pay attention to her activity because that's the only way she can communicate with us right now. I've read about "kick counts" and I asked if she wanted me to keep track to that extent. She said it wasn't necessary since she's so active, but if I notice that I haven't felt her in awhile, I need to sit down, relax, get something to drink, and really focus on her movements. I need to feel at least 3 kicks in an hour.
Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well at night. I'm very used to the frequent bathroom breaks by now, and I'm so lucky that I can fall asleep pretty much right away after getting back into bed. The weather has been AWESOME this past week. It's been really cool at night, so it's so cozy in our bed. I'm even sleeping witha sheet covering me this week. That didn't happen at all this summer! I did wake up about 5 this morning, not able to fall back asleep, but that's okay because I needed to write this blogpost anyway. :) I'm going to yoga at 8am, so I can probably sneak back to bed for a bit before then.
What I miss: Having a "normal-sized" bladder. I feel like the bathroom at work keeps getting farther and farther away.
Cravings: I had pretty specific cravings for my birthday brunch, which I think everyone would admit turned out to be a really good brunch (thanks to my Mom!)...coffee cake and soup. I also crave sushi quite often even though I can't have it and Diet Coke too.
Symptoms: Overall limited mobility and still bad heartburn. I did have a few meals this week with marinara sauce which is high in acidity, so that probably contributed. Also, for the past month or so, I've noticed that my right shoulder feels strained. It's really sore when I lift it over my head. My only guess is that it's from sleeping on my side. I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again!
Best moment this week: Yesterday, my department at work surprised me with a baby shower!!! My supervisor, Kathy Schwiesow, planned the whole thing for me and Sapna Wilbanks, who is a Supervisor in Education Services and due 3 weeks after me. It was so nice and it made me feel so special! I got a lot of great gifts...adorable clothes, onesies, socks, and toys. And the big groupmgift...the convertible car seat we registered for!  Everyone was so generous.  What a nice surprise!!  They're putting together a scrapbook with pictures and baby advice for me, so I'll add pics when I get that.  And I have another shower in Tinley Park on Sunday.  There will be a lot of people there including friends and a lot of Carl's family.  I cannot wait to see everyone!
Best husband quote of the week:  When we were at our checkup this week, I was asking the Doctor what she felt about me traveling down to Champaign at 37 weeks for the Homecoming Football game.  Ashley and her boyfriend and maybe Amber will be there tailgating and going to the game.  Sounds like fun! Bascially, she said, "I'm sure you'll be fine... but just so you know, you'll be full term at 37 weeks, and a lot of women have babies at 37 weeks."  We were laughing and joking that her son plays football and her son and husband would be mad at her if she told me that I couldn't go to the football.  She was funny!  Ultimately, she told me to see how I was feeling and go if I was comfortable with it.  So, when Carl and I got home, I brought it up and we were joking about it some more.  And Carl says, "Wait a minute, can we talk about this?  You might have a baby in 3 weeks??"  It was one of the funniest things ever.  It really hit him that this baby is going to come, and it could be soon.  I think he's thinking of all the things that we still need to get ready before she gets here.  Today (Saturday) is my baby clothes laundry day and organizing her room and her bathroom. I'm actually looking forward to washing her clothes and putting them in the closet and in her drawers.  I bet the only times you'll hear me say that are before she's born.  I anticipate that after she's born, I won't be able to keep up with the laundry.  :)  I do hope to keep her room and bathroom organized so she can grow up knowing that everything should have a place, but we'll see how that goes.

As a side note.... I just have to mention how much I really really like the Doctor I saw this week, Dr. Butler. She is in the same practice as my main Doctor and this is the second time I've seen her in a checkup. She is very thorough, makes me feel very comfortable, and just gives me time. I don't feel rushed in any way with her. And she has children, so she has been through this process as a patient so she knows what her patients are going through. I hope that thei on-call schedule works out so that she delivers our baby. For future, I want to switch to her permanently, but for now it all just depends on when I have appointments and who's on call or in the office at that time. Dr. Butler is awesome!

Oh, and today is September 17th... 5 years ago today, Carl took me to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle (near where I lived) and asked me to be his wife.  It was the easiest decision I ever made to say yes.  And now look at us, planning for our growing family.  Love it!