Bump-Date | Welcoming in Week 38

36 weeks

 Before I dive into posting about our awesome trip to Hawaii back in March (which is going to take numerous posts to cover!), I thought I'd give a little pregnancy update since I'm getting dangerously close to the end here.

As of today, I am 21 days from my due date and 32-35 away from actually delivering. I haven't got even a shred of hope of delivering early. In fact, since KJ doesn't arrive until July 12th, 9 days after my due date, I really have no desire to deliver early. I really want her here for the arrival of this babe.

I cannot, cannot, CANNOT believe how close I am to the end. I am so not ready. This pregnancy has flown by at a crazy rate, which is not ok with me! I still have a to do list a mile long, not to mention the fact that I really just want to enjoy these last few weeks of my last pregnancy. I'm hurrying to tackle the must do projects on my to do list- like a few organization projects around the house and finishing up my final orders for Hello PegLegs, in hopes that I can then just relax and enjoy the last little bit of having this baby safe in my tummy. This is the first time I ever remember feeling this way about pregnancy... in the past I've always been anxious for the end to arrive. This time, I'm wishing things would slow down just a touch. And that sentiment may change when I'm 41 weeks pregnant and it's 110 degrees outside... but for now, I wish it would slow down a little.

37 weeks-headed to the pool for Man Cub's swim lesson

Weight Gain: My weight gain this pregnancy has not been pretty. I've already reached the recommended amount of weight... a whooping 35 pounds, and I still have plenty of time to gain more. I haven't been nearly as good about exercising this time around... there just never seem to be enough hours in the day! I've got plans to meet up with a friend at the gym several times in the coming week, so hopefully that will just help keep me stable and not gaining mass quantities in between appointments. The bright side- my midwives are WONDERFUL and have never given me a hard time about how much I am gaining. Even when there were two different months that my weight jumped 10 pounds between appointments.

Cravings: Sugar. Junk food. Soda. Starbucks raspberry lemonades, blended. Donuts. The Tonight Dough ice cream, in mass quantities. Basically all the things I really should not be eating at all. It has been bad. And my self control, which I normally have gobs of when it comes to avoiding bad for me foods has disappeared along with my waistline. I also crave eating out... but that is mainly because standing in my kitchen being blasted by the heat of the stove is super unappealing to me. May and June have been really mild weather-wise, but being that I'm a human incubator, I'm a hot sweaty mess all the time and the last thing I want to do most days is cook.

Third Trimester Symptoms: Me so sleepy. All the time. I think part of this is due to the fact that it is starting to warm up, plus it's been humid. I've had no energy during the day lately. Then at night, once it cools off, I find myself working like crazy to get stuff done and not going to bed as early as I should. It's a vicious cycle. But I'm taking the energy when it comes and trying to make the most of it. Even if it is at 10 o'clock at night. The good news when it comes to pregnancy symptoms- my heartburn is almost non-existent these days. I think the baby has dropped just enough to alleviate that symptom for the most part, and for that I am very grateful.

Medical Stuff: I now see my midwife every single week. My appointments are on Mondays so Bruce can either come with me or stay at home with the kiddos, depending on our mood. I had my Group B Strep test this past Monday and I have my fingers crossed that the test will come back negative. There is no way in heaven or hell that I will have time to get the required amount of antibiotics in me before delivering, which means that if the test comes back positive, the baby and I will have to stay an extra night in the hospital. I don't love that option. I like to be released as soon as absolutely possible. At my appointment Monday, the baby was measuring about a week behind schedule, which is not unusual for me. In fact, usually at this point, I am measuring at least 2-3 weeks behind schedule and getting all kinds of fun ultrasounds to check the baby's growth. Heart rate is still falling in the 140s, as it has pretty much the entire pregnancy.

Something I'm excited about: My mum is coming to visit next week!! Sunshine has been up in Utah with my parents for the past week and a half and this weekend, my mum is driving her home and staying for several days. I am so excited to have her here. She is going to help me paint Man Cub and the baby's room as well as get some sewing projects crossed off my to do list. I am excited to be able to spend some time with just her and I really appreciate her willingness to help me get some things done so I really can relax and enjoy the last little bit of this pregnancy.

Something I'm not excited about: Mainly just the weather. March and April were warm, but May and the first half of June have been absolutely divine. We've only had a few days over 100, there has been a lot more rain than we normally get this time of year and it has just been really mild. Granted, I'm always hot and sweaty, but I'm smart enough to realize it could be SOOOOOO much worse. And it's about to get that way. Next week's forecast is predicting a good solid 110 most days. Not my favourite thing to hear, but I am so, so grateful that we made it to mid-June before these temps hit full time. A little tender mercy, for sure.