I have been so busy that I forgot to do my bi-weekly post which would have been at week 35. It's so surreal that in just a few weeks, we will meet our little dude. Up until this point, the "end" still seemed so far away, and I didn't really think about it that much. I just kept thinking that we had so much time left and that there was still a lot to do but that it didn't matter because Evan's arrival was still months away. Now that it's this close, I'm so extremely excited to meet him, but I'm almost wishing that time would slow down just a little because I don't feel ready for him to get here. I feel ready physically and mentally and emotionally, but we haven't set up anything in his room, or finished unpacking from our move to our house, and I haven't had any baby showers yet! Once everything is mostly done though, I will feel better. I'm not the kind of person who has to have everything planned and organized and all that, but with this, it's hard not to be a little stressed that literally nothing is done yet.
Speaking of setting up E's room, that has been quite the project! It's taken us so long to re-finish the stupid floor that a previous owner painted all over. It's finally done though, and I asked Jon if he would please set up the crib tomorrow because I am so dang excited to start getting the nursery set up. This weekend and next weekend I have two baby showers, and I am really looking forward to those.
So what's happening with me and the babe? Well, he is getting bigger and bigger, and so am I. He can still kick/punch pretty hard, but mostly he just rolls around and shoves his feet into my ribs. It actually hurts a lot. I'm wondering if he's going to be really long, because I have a long torso and he still seems to have no room. I am ready for him to drop because it's really hard to breathe now. Although, I know that when he "drops," there will be a whole other set of discomforts to deal with. So far I've gained 14.5 pounds (this morning I'm 146.5) and I am starting to see some really faint stretch marks. They're pretty hard to see unless you look closely for them, so as long as they stay light, I'm ok. I expected my feet to look like sausages by this point, but I've been lucky to have no swelling or varicose veins. I feel so huge and have noticed that it's much harder to get out of bed or out of the recliner than it used to be. I figure I only have about a month left, and we're having to be super strict with our budget, so I am trying to make due with the non-maternity clothes that still fit me. It's getting harder to find comfy shirts that fit and are acceptable to wear in public, but luckily doing the rubber band trick with my regular pants is working out beautifully. I get a lot of aches and pains "down there" now that are pretty uncomfortable and annoying, but nothing that is unusual for this point in a pregnancy. I am tired a lot, but I hardly even notice sometimes cause I'm so used to it. I don't sleep well, but again, I'm so used to that. I had a rough week last week, because we spent all weekend moving, and then I jumped right into a busy week, so my mind and body were beyond exhausted. I couldn't believe how much my back hurt! I'm doing much better now, though. I feel like overall, I'm very lucky to be feeling as well as I do. Yeah, I complain when I get contractions, because it feels like my ribs are breaking, and that makes me want this baby to get out! But other than that, I'm glad I feel pretty well.
Wendy is coming to our house on Monday night for my "home visit." This is when she will see where everything will be set up for the birth. I'm excited to see how big she thinks Evan feels. I'm guessing he will be a big boy. Or at least long. It's crazy because I'm in my OB class right now, and I see babies at the hospital every day. It's helping me to picture what the baby in my belly looks like. I sometimes forget that he isn't just some little alien-looking creature. I also have forgotten how tiny newborns are! You don't realize how small they are when you're not around them a lot. I know that they grow out of the newborn phase really quickly, so when E is born, I want to make sure to soak up every minute of when he's tiny.
