I hope to have a food post soon. I’ve actually cooked a lot but just haven’t taken any pics! I still haven’t set up a place to take food photos in the new house…

How far along:  36 weeks (technically I’m 37 now but that will be in the next update). Only a month to go!

Gender:  Baby boy!

What Fruit are you? He’s the size of a honeydew. We had our 36 week ultrasound and was told he’s already measuring about 6.5 lbs.  He also apparently has not yet dropped. I’m told first time moms usually start to drop around this time. 

Due date: September 8th

Total weight gain/loss:  25-26ish lbs so far. I’m sure I’ll gain a few more.

Exercise: This last month of my pregnancy, my office has agreed to let me work from home. My commute into Manhattan was really starting to get difficult- the heat, the heavy backpack. However, eliminating my commute meant eliminating my daily 40 min walk. So now I try to at least meet Nate at the train when he gets home which is a 20 min total walk. We also sometimes take a walk around our neighborhood after dinner. 

Stretch marks: Still none

Swelling: None

Belly button: It’s still an innie, although it’s actually kind of not an innie or an outtie right now because it’s at the point where everything that was in is just stretched but it doesn’t stick out. I kind of have no belly button…it’s weird

Sleep: I cannot get comfortable! My belly feels so big and turning over is such a chore. Baby kicks me all night long, especially in the ribs. Also I used to wear earplugs to bed but figured I should wean myself off of them in order to hear the baby, so now every sound wakes me up. I have to pee constantly and I’m getting so many contractions. I’ve been waking up at like 5:30 every day :(

Food cravings: None really…I barely have any room in my stomach to eat anymore. I have been eating a lot of sweets though. Although then this last week I was really hungry so maybe baby is having a growth spurt?

Symptoms:  Having lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions. Sometimes they’re so uncomfortable that they wake me up at night. I also seem to get tired every afternoon around 2pm. And by dinnertime I literally need to go to bed halfway thru my meal and have to leave the table and go lay down. 

What I miss:  Being able to walk without waddling or getting out of breath. Being able to sleep more comfortably. Oh, and a good roast beef sandwich!

What I’m loving: Still loving when I feel the baby move, although now he’s kicking hard enough that it’s uncomfortable.I’m also really enjoying working from home :) It makes it so much easier to eat healthier during the day too!

What I’m looking forward to:  Meeting our baby boy! I can’t believe there’s less than a month to go. It’s really crazy. My office threw me a little going-away party of sorts on my last day in the office and they pooled together and got me a lot of stuff off my registry, so I’m feeling slightly more prepared. I still need to order a crib mattress and get the car seat installation inspected.  

Latest Concern: I’m a little worried that labor is going to be harder than I’m expected. I also worry that I won’t be able to handle being a mom. I just get overwhelmed so easily and I’m already nervous about going back to work after my maternity leave :( Also, I already forgot everything we learned in our childcare and breastfeeding classes!

Also the last week my main concern was Nate. He had lithotripsy (surgery to blast his kidney stone into easier-to-pass pieces) last Monday. Thankfully his mom came to help out and left on Tuesday. He felt fine on Tuesday but then the entire rest of the week he was home laying in bed in pain, passing the pieces of stone. He was miserable and I was going up and down the stairs constantly to check on him and make sure he was ok and force him to drink and eat a little. Probably not the rest I should have been getting. It also caused me not to sleep well because I was worried all night long and praying that Nate would feel better in the morning. After a full week and weekend of misery, Nate finally felt well enough on Monday to go to work…phew!

Oh the one day Nate felt ok last week (Tuesday), I somehow ended up back in the hospital. It was majorly good timing since there’s no way I could have driven myself. I thought I had thrown my back out again but was getting these spasms of pain that spread to the front. It didn’t feel like contractions but I was so worried since I’m getting close to my due date. By the time we actually got to the hospital, I was actually feeling better. They did some quick fetal monitoring and said baby is very high up and has plenty of fluid. They said they think he’s sitting on a nerve. Since then, my back hurts most at night when I’m sleeping but hasn’t been too bad.