41 Weeks

How far along?  41 weeks, 1 day.  I really never imagined making it this far, much the opposite. I was convinced that if we didn't have everything ready for this baby by week 36, we were doomed.  So that would be 5 weeks of thinking I was going into labor any day, not good for my patience.  But tomorrow I'm scheduled for an induction so this baby is coming very soon, like it or not.

Total weight gain?  +33 pounds

Maternity clothes?   Still anything comfortable

Stretch marks?  No

Symptoms?  Like I said this waiting game has not been good for my patience, but I find myself impatient not only about being pregnant, but about EVERYTHING and with EVERYONE. And I'm super emotional, too.  So I just want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who may have been harmed as a result of my condition.

Sleep:  I've had a couple mornings this past week where I woke up at 4 and despite all of my efforts I could not fall back to sleep.  I'd eventually just get out of bed because lying there in discomfort for an hour wasn't working for me.

Best moment this week:  One last child-free weekend with the hubs. 

Miss anything?  Just about everything I've listed in the past.

Movement:  Yep, and it is more uncomfortable than ever.  There is no more room at the inn.

Gender:  TBD.

Labor Signs:  Just Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Belly button in or out? Out.

Exercise:  I retired from shuffling last week so it's just been walking when the temperature actually goes above freezing (which unfortunately was not much the past week).

Looking forward to:  Obviously meeting this little one very soon, but also seeing my family.  My parents and two of my sisters are coming up tomorrow and I cannot wait to see them!  Tomorrow is a BIG day.

Nurspiration Revisted

I shared my original inspiration for the baby's room a little while back here, but that was put together month's ago, and of course reality hit and the plan has well, evolved since then.

Behold nurspiration, revisted:

Crab Themed Nursery and Guest Room by tarheelcharm on Polyvore

And why:

Reality #1:  We live in a 2-bedroom rowhouse.  The baby is going to get a lesson in sharing early, starting with its room.  

Hey, both the hubs and I shared rooms growing up, our kid can learn to do it, too.

The second bedroom has been serving as a guest room up until now, and it didn't seem right to just scrap the extra bed and sleeping space just so a little thing who won't know the difference anyway could have its own room.  So the nursery idea soon became guest room slash nursery.  We figure when we do have overnight guests, the baby can just rough it in the pack and play in our room with us.

Reality #2:  Too much of a theme was too much for me.

So I could have gone crab-crazy on this room, with every little crab knickknack I could find in a 50-mile radius (and in Maryland, that would be a lot), I just didn't really want to go there.  Less is more.  So the inspiration board became more of a color scheme for the room than anything. The crib bedding was set, and I went from there.  Plus there were so many other fabulous little nursery features I had seen out there that I wanted to incorporate.

Reality #3:  I wanted make sure I was bringing some North Carolina up in there.

This Tar Heel couldn't go completely straight Maryland after all.  And while it didn't make it to the board above, I definitely have some NC touches in the room that I hope that this child can learn to appreciate as much (or more, that's fine too) as his or her mother does.

So I might not have stuck to the original plan, but now as I am continuing to learn, being a week past my due date after all, that everything isn't going to go to plan and you can't plan everything out.  

But it all will work out the way its supposed to.

Can't wait to share how it's all worked out for us.

40 Weeks

Yep, still pregnant.

How far along?  40 weeks, 2 days.

Total weight gain?  +35 pounds

Maternity clothes?  At this point, anything comfortable.

Stretch marks?  No

Symptoms?  More of the same that I've been having.  Plus the with each day that passes, the feeling that I'm letting everyone down by not having this baby yet.  Sorry guys I'm trying here.

Sleep:  Some nights better than others.  Thank goodness I'm working from home for here on out so I can take an afternoon nap.  Naps are my bff.

Best moment this week:  Again it had to be the Ravens win, this time making it to the Super Bowl.  I do have to give a shout out to this baby for not deciding to make an appearance Sunday night and letting us watch the game. Even though we just stayed at home to watch it, it still was awesome opening up our front door after the game was over and cheering with our neighbors and hearing people celebrating in the streets.  If nothing else, I can take comfort knowing this baby will be here in time for the next Ravens game.

Miss anything?  I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of psyched knowing it's not much longer before I can have a beer again.

Movement:  Yep.

Gender:  TBD.

Labor Signs:  Nope.

Belly button in or out? Out.

Exercise:  One last shuffle/walk this past week and then walking every day since then (except for today since it felt colder than a meat locker outside).  From what I've heard, that's really about the only thing I can do to move this thing along.

Looking forward to:  Not waking up every day wondering if today will be the day.  Like everyone else, we can't wait to meet this baby...it would just be nice to know when that will actually be.  The good news is, according to the doctor it will be next week at the latest.  No matter what, it's not much longer now.

39 Weeks

No, seriously, are we there yet?

How far along?  39 weeks.  

Total weight gain?  +33 pounds

Maternity clothes?  I ordered this shirt online earlier in my pregnancy, tried it on, and was not a fan because it was freakin' 'uge on me.  But I held on to it and now I'm glad I did because I'm clearly filling out quite nicely now.  

Stretch marks?  No

Symptoms?  I'm pretty sure I finally had some legit contractions this past week, but they didn't really hurt, my stomach just got really tight.  Besides that, just more of the usual symptoms. No need to repeat myself, I feel like it just sounds like complaining.

Sleep:  The same.

Best moment this week:  Speaking of freakin' 'uge, the Ravens win on Saturday night.  Oh my goodness it was so crazy, I really thought it would send me into labor.  No such luck, but after the Jacoby Jones touchdown and then later the Justin Tucker kick, my heart was racing so fast I felt like Fred Sanford telling Elizabeth I was coming to join her.  

Miss anything?  During said game, I could've really used a cocktail.

Movement:  Now when the baby moves I want to say, "Wouldn't you enjoy moving around more out here in the world with the rest of us?"  Evidently, not yet.

Gender:  TBD. 

Labor Signs:  At my last doctor's visit, they said I was 70% effaced and slightly dilated, but still no sign of labor yet.

Belly button in or out? Out.

Exercise:  Shuffle/walks and some pushup/dips.  I've wanted to go back out for a least a walk since Saturday but the weather has been such crap, I haven't been able to.  Hopefully today I can get out for a little bit. It might not do a thing, but it sure can't hurt.

Looking forward to:  Still looking forward to meeting Baby W.  I think everyone is, and it gets tougher every day not knowing when it will finally be.  (Although the hub's has a relative who may or may not have psychic abilities and has predicted January 21st.  For my sanity, I'm trying to set that as my expectation.) 

38 Weeks

Alternate title, "Are we there yet?"

How far along?  38 weeks.  

Total weight gain?  +31 pounds

Maternity clothes?  The above shirt was an emergency purchase I made a month or two ago after I spilled (half-caf) coffee down the front of my white shirt at the beginning of a shopping trip to Target.  I panicked, pulled a shirt off of the rack, and put it on, and made the guy the register scan me while I was still wearing it.  Desperate times, ya know.  

Stretch marks?  No

Symptoms?  I'll have some sort of pain in my stomach and I'll think, "Is this finally a contraction??" but no, I then realize it's the baby's foot in my rib or just indigestion.  That and the usual suspects: heartburn, swelling, carpal tunnel.

Sleep:  I think I sleep in about 2 hour intervals now before the pain in my side wakes me up and forces me to flip over.  Eventually though, both sides will hurt so I just have to choose which one hurts less.

Best moment this week:  Finishing up all those last things I really wanted done before the baby came.  Anything else I get done at this point it just gravy.

Miss anything?  My old waistline.  Even though I know that I won't be like this forever, it's still hard to not think that way.

Movement:  I still feel the baby moving but it's definitely more cramped in there.  

Gender:  TBD. 

Labor Signs:  None

Belly button in or out? Out.

Exercise:  Shuffle/walks a couple times a week.  It's a shorter route now but it does seem to be easier for me to get out there since it's less daunting.  I might add some more straight up walks too in hopes of moving things along.  I'm starting to get impatient here!

Looking forward to:  Meeting Baby W.  I just have to keep reminding myself, even though it could happen any day, it's still early yet.

Nurspiration

Nursery + inspiration = nurspiration.  (Does that sound too much like perspiration?  Either way, the title is staying.)

For a long time after sharing the news that I was expecting, I got a question I was absolutely stumped by:  "What is the theme of your nursery going to be?"  I don't even know if I'm going to have a boy or a girl, we have no names picked out, but I'm supposed to have a theme?? You're killing me, people .

 There were a couple things I did know for certain:  the baby's room is going to be in our current guest room, the walls of that room are green, we had guests booked to stay with us through November, so we would not be repainting.  I kind of went with that response for months:  "I'm not sure, but the walls will be green."

It wasn't until I got this adorable little onesie as a gift from Baby W's auntie-to-be that I finally felt inspired:

Not only was that a perfect gender-neutral onesie, it was a perfect gender neutral theme, especially for a baby that's going to be born in Bmore!

Little did I know how very little crab nursery accoutrements there are out there.  I searched Babies R Us, Target, Buy Buy Baby, and I got nothing.  But I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  TGFE (thank goodness for etsy)

There I found Happy Mae custom crib bedding, who had crab fabric in her repertoire and worked with me to put together a crib bedding set that I could get excited about.  After picking out the patterns I thought would go well with the crab fabric, I placed my order and slapped them on an inspiration board to use as a starting point for picking out furniture, llike the Jenny Lind crib and Ikea Hemnes dresser, and went from there.

So here it is, our nursery inspiration board:

Crab Nursery by tarheelcharm on Polyvore

Little did I know how easy it would be to add an American flag to the mix as well, this was definitely meant to be!

Now it's really cool to see the reality starting to come together (even if that reality means I didn't get the glider I wanted since our staircase isn't wide enough, but oh well).

Hopefully our little Maryland crab-to-be will approve.

37 Weeks

Happy New Year!

How far along?  37 weeks.  The birth month of Baby W has finally arrived, which is cray cray!

Total weight gain?  +30 pounds

Maternity clothes?  Wearing leggings whenever possibly. Even my jeggings don't really appeal to me at this point.

Stretch marks?  No

Symptoms?  The same.

Sleep:  Worse than ever, unfortch.  The soreness in my sides wakes me up more than my bladder does.  If anyone who tells you that you can get your sleep before the baby comes must definitely be on crack.

Best moment this week:  Actually making it to midnight on New Year's.  It was fun times with friends that night and it was a New Year's miracle that I was able to stay up as late as I did.  Of course I paid dearly for it the next day, but it was worth it.

Miss anything?  Champagne on New Year's fo sho.  Sparkling cider just isn't quite the same. There was also smoked salmon at the party we went to and I wanted some so badly, I might've drooled a little.

Movement:  Plenty but not as intense as it has been.

Gender:  TBD. 

Labor Signs:  None

Belly button in or out? Out.

Exercise:  I started shuffling again this week, but I cut it shorter and had to take some walk breaks, especially on the uphills.  But at this point, I'm proud of myself just to be getting out there.

Looking forward to:  Finishing up the final touches on the baby's room.  I got a lot done while out from work over the holidays, but there are just a couple more things I'd like to have finished before this guy or gal makes an appearance.  I've got some fun stuff I'll have to post on here soon.