35 Weeks

How far along?: Thirty-five weeks!

Baby is the size of: Honeydew, I think? My pregnancy emails stopped telling me.

Total weight gain/loss: +30ish? A lot.

Symptoms: Stiffness and pain in my fingers. Exhaustion. Random dizziness and nausea.

Food Cravings: Mostly I really want frozen yogurt or soft serve ice cream. I had an overwhelming urge for chocolate last week and drove to the convenience store at 4AM, only to find that their computer was down and they couldn't take cards, and of course I had no cash. Grrr.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Random ickyness, throughout the day.

Sleep: Off schedule, but reasonably good.

What I miss: Soft serve ice cream or frozen yogurt. So much I could cry.

Wedding rings on or Off: Definitely off. I tried to put them on for a photo and realized it was a very bad idea.

Movement: A lot. Every day.

Maternity Clothes? I've outgrown most of them so I consistently have a bit of belly sticking out of the bottom of my shirts.

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: Meeting our birth photographer. I'm so excited for those photos and she seems awesome. 

33 Weeks!

How far along?: Thirty-three weeks!

Baby is the size of: A mini cooper, judging by how I feel.

Total weight gain/loss: +26

Symptoms: Exhaustion. Stiffness and pain in my fingers. Nausea. Trouble sleeping. Heartburn.

Food Cravings: Eh... I'm not so into food at the moment. No room.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Random ickyness, most of the day.

Sleep: Not great.

What I miss: Soft serve ice cream. Seriously. I need some.

Wedding rings on or Off: Off.

Movement: Crazy movement. I think the baby may have flipped from sunny-side up to proper position today, but I'm not sure.

Maternity Clothes? I've outgrown at least half of them. I have no more pants. I have no idea what I'm going to wear for my photoshoot next week.

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: My CPR/First Aid class. I feel much more prepared now.

31 Weeks

How far along?: Thirty-one weeks!

Baby is the size of: I'm not sure. Apparently I need to look that up.

Total weight gain/loss: +23

Symptoms: Exhaustion. Stiffness and pain in my fingers. Nausea. Trouble sleeping. Heartburn.

Food Cravings: Mexican food.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Random smells, different every day. I just feel very "bleh".

Sleep: Not great. I have to get up a lot.

What I miss: Soft serve ice cream, being able to bend over, being capable of putting socks on by myself...

Wedding rings on or Off: Off. I put it back on for a minute and it got VERY stuck, so that's not happening again.

Movement: Lots!

Maternity Clothes? I'm actually outgrowing some of my maternity clothes now. I guess I'm embracing the scarecrow look from now on.

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: Hmm. Not sure.

29 Weeks

How far along?: Twenty-nine weeks!

Baby is the size of: A chinese cabbage.

Total weight gain/loss: +21

Symptoms: Exhaustion. Stiffness and pain in my fingers. Nausea. Trouble sleeping. Heartburn.

Food Cravings: Coffee.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Not anything in particular, just completely random nausea it seems.

Sleep: Very uncomfortable, waking up every hour or so.

What I miss: Sleep.

Wedding rings on or Off: Off.

Movement: Lots!

Maternity Clothes? Yep!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: I'm not sure there were any good moments this week... :S

27 Weeks

How far along?: Twenty-seven weeks!

Baby is the size of: A Cauliflower! :D

Total weight gain/loss: +19 from pre-pregnancy weight. Yikes...

Symptoms: Some pelvic and cervical pain, especially in the evening. In general I've just been more tired and been having more aches and pains.

Food Cravings: Hot sauce, mangoes, and salad.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Not anything in particular, just completely random nausea it seems.

Sleep: Reasonably good, except for horribly painful leg cramps waking me up some nights.

What I miss: Being able to squat, kneel, get up and down without a ton of effort.

Wedding rings on or Off: They are now off, too tight.

Movement: Lots of movement, so much that I wonder if the baby ever sleeps...

Maternity Clothes? I'm now into all maternity clothes except for yoga pants.

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: Last week of the second trimester! So awesome to think I'm two-thirds done.

25 Weeks

How far along?: Twenty-five weeks!

Baby is the size of: A Rutabaga. 

Total weight gain/loss: +13 from pre-pregnancy weight. 

Symptoms: This last week or two has been a little tougher than usual. I'm very tired, dealing with some nausea and loss of appetite, and some unfamiliar pains that I'm learning to work through.

Food Cravings: I haven't really been hungry, but the two things that sound consistently delicious are a Chipotle veggie burrito and the Olive Garden minestrone soup and salad. Of course both restaurants are far away...

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Not any one thing in particular, just random waves for no apparent reason.

Sleep: I've been needing a lot of sleep, like 15-18 hours a day/night.

What I miss: Just my husband. I wish he didn't have to work so much, I've been very clingy and lonely during pregnancy and I'd love to have him home more.

Wedding rings On or Off: On. 

Movement: Plenty. Some crazy head-butting of my cervix too... not so fun. 

Maternity Clothes? I bought a new wrap sweater yesterday that I'm very happy about. I'm also returning a dress I ordered from Old Navy that was not the right color, and instead getting a pair of comfortable stretchy skinny jeans with a full panel. 

Labor Signs: Nope!

Best Moment of the Week: We reached viability! That was a huge load off my mind, and I do feel a little less nervous about the pregnancy now. 

Letter to My Little One - 3

Dear Little One,

It didn't take you long to completely change my life.  Each day that goes by I feel my identity becoming more and more wrapped up in being your mommy, and I don't mind that one bit.  It's an honor to be a mommy to someone as special as you.

By now your tiny features are completely formed. Each finger, each toe, each tiny nail is already perfect. You   are even growing hair, and if we could see you now we would be able to tell the color. Your eyelashes, your taste buds, your fingerprints... all magically and wonderfully complete.

You can hear us talk and sing to you, and sometimes you dance to the music you hear. I can see you moving around when I look down at my belly and the weird and wonderful sight never fails to make me smile.

People think I'm crazy when I say I'm looking forward to giving birth, but it's true. I can't wait for those first contractions that tell me you will soon be here. I can't wait for the moment I tell your Daddy - "It's time.". I can't wait to put you on my chest and hold you tight. But most of all, I can't wait to look into your eyes and tell you "Happy birthday Baby. Welcome to the world.".

Waiting to meet you,

Mama