38 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a leek. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19.5 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 39 lbs. Is it bad that I almost jumped for joy at the fact that I only gained 1 lb since last week? I know I'm over the recommended "25-35 lbs" but to be honest, I'm not going to NOT eat. If I gain, I gain...I will not deprive myself of the joys of good food. I know I'll lose the weight eventually.

Maternity Clothes: Still getting tighter by the week! Unfortunately my jeans are the most comfortable pants I have...wish I could wear those everyday.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Movement has definitely slowed down. Although, when she moves it's hard not to notice my whole belly contort. The other day I was at lunch with some coworkers and the lady sitting next to me said she saw something out of the corner of her eye (she said she just thought it was me breathing) but then she saw it jump and jolt like a contortionist. And I said..."that's my girl!"

Sleep: I am exhausted. The only way I get a wink of sleep is if I'm sitting up. When I lay on my sides now I wake up to killer round ligament pains...so bad that I can hardly walk. I usually have to stand for a good 2 minutes before I even try to take a step towards the bathroom. As for the 2 hour stints of insomnia...those are still hanging around. I'm hoping that its just my 'nesting' instinct (when I'm awake all I can think about is what else we need to get or how I need to wash all her clothes/blankets/sheets/lovies, etc.). Now that everything is finally ready I'm hoping I'll be able to sleep a little better.

What I miss: I miss sleep and wondering if eating Pringles will make the swelling in my feet that much worse.

Cravings: I've been craving Reese's anything (cups, minis, jumbo cup, pieces, Easter eggs, etc.) and salty things, like popcorn and regular potato chips.

Symptoms: I think I have started sporting the "I'm pregnant and miserable" look. Just as I'd gotten used to the typical "Oh! Congratulations! When are you due?" now I get "Oh man! You look like you're about to POP!" My only response to that guy was "Yeah, next Friday."

Best Moment this week: The best moment this week was spending Saturday with my Mom, sister and Mauri. I dubbed it the return/exchange and final shopping trip day. We visited Babies R Us, BuyBuyBaby, Target, Pottery Barn Kids, Homegoods and Belk. I was able to get the majority of the things we still needed with the exchanges and gift cards. AND, we were able to get it all put away and organized....including organizing Brooke's clothes and I even got her stuff washed. Brooke's nursery is finally ready!

37 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 37 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a stalk of Swiss chard. She weighs about 6.5 pounds and is about 19 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 38 lbs. I think I read somewhere that towards the end of pregnancy, you stop gaining weight. That clearly is not happening to me.

Maternity Clothes: I can definitely tell that my hips are getting wider...opening up to let that baby come down. My maternity pants are almost a struggle to get on. The other morning I could have sworn I heard my pants rip; although I wasn't able to find said rip...so I wore them anyways.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: She has finally settled into her final position, I believe. Last week, depending on how I was laying she would turn/twist inside my belly. This week when I turn on my right side, she likes to kick my left ribs, as if to say "No! No! Momma! I don't like that!"

Sleep: The sleep wedge, aka my pillow fortress, has definitely made my nights a little better. Miraculously the midnight potty break has tapered. Although, I've just traded it in for 2 hour bouts of insomnia. I wake up around 3 am, wide awake and can't fall asleep until 5 am, which is right about the time Mike's alarm clock goes off. Needless to say, by that point, I'm exhausted.

What I miss: I miss seeing my ankle bones. I can't wait to get my feet back to normal...they are a sight!

Cravings: Can't really say that I've been craving anything in particular this week. I'm still really looking forward to my Publix deli sandwich come birth day. :)

Symptoms: My belly is HUGE. My feet are HUGE. Everything is HUGE. I think she's dropped a little bit because it's gotten a tad bit easier to breathe and the heartburn/indigestion has gotten much better too. In addition to my feet swelling, it hit my hands. It makes me sooooo sad that I'm not wearing my wedding rings, but I was afraid that if I didn't take them off that they'd have to be cut off.

Best Moment this week: We had our last baby shower this Saturday and we are pretty much set to go now. Brooke has a whole closet full of clothes to wear thanks to her Aunt Mallory! And another major milestone was met this week....we are officially FULL TERM! While I'm not ready (still need to wash her clothes, pack our hospital bags, install the car seat, etc.) it is nice to know that IF she decides to come now, her lungs are likely mature enough to function on their own. I can't believe how close we are to finally getting to meet her!

36 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a crenshaw melon. She weighs about 6 pounds and is about 18.5 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 36 lbs. Another week of gaining 3+lbs. Water weight. Water weight. Water weight.

Maternity Clothes: A friend told me that towards the end even my maternity clothes would start to get tight...well, she wasn't lying! I've had to retire one of my maternity shirts because I'm just too big for it now and I've had to retire two pairs of maternity pants.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: She's definitely still moving around a lot, but I can tell she's running out of space quickly. At night, when I lay on my right side, she usually turns so that she's facing the same way as I am...and when I turn to my left side, she turns not too long after I do. But, it seems that if I get up before she can 'twist' back around, she'll stay facing that way again until I lay down again.

Sleep: Sleep is about the same. Still dealing with the whole pillow situation. I'm definitely able to sleep more but its still rare that I sleep through the night without waking up.

What I miss: Being able to sit up without using my elbows to push me up. I can't bend in half anymore. Still struggling with being dependent on someone else to help me...like lifting things. I want to shout "I'm not handicap! I'm pregnant!" but then I stop myself because that would be ugly and people are only being nice to me. I would look like a real witch if I acted out in an ungrateful manner...and I'd really regret it later.

Cravings: A pan cheese pizza from Pizza Hut! Yum!

Symptoms: No new symptoms this week. Although I guess I have gotten bigger. While I was at the chiropractor an older man asked me if I was having twins...when I said no his response was 'oh wow! so just oooooooone biiiiiiiiig one, huh?' I was polite and answered him nicely but when I got into my car I called Mike and immediately started bawling. I'm super sensitive and emotional.

Best Moment this week: My coworkers surprised me with a baby shower! I was supposed to be going into a meeting to discuss the transition of tasks while I'm on maternity leave and when I walked into the conference room the whole office was in there with a table full of goodies. They had 3 types of cakes, fresh fruit and cheese along with gifts. It was a fun hour for sure!

35 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is about the size of a honeydew. She weighs about 5.25 pounds and is more than 18 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 33 lbs. I don't quite understand how I'm still gaining 2+ lbs per week considering I eat cereal ALL the time. uuuuuuugh. I'm just telling myself it's all water weight...you know from my huge swollen feet (that's all water, right?).

Maternity Clothes: What used to be comfy has now turned into a "oh crap, did I accidentally put these pants in the dryer?" I refuse to buy new maternity clothes this close to the end. I'm being stubborn, but please know if I hear of anyone making snarky comments about how my pants are too tight...I WILL cry.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Crazy amounts of movement this week. I can tell that she's running out of room because she's moving in ways that say "Ok, that's good. No wait. That's not comfortable. My foot is falling asleep. Let me twist this way. Nope, that won't work, Mom keeps pushing on my elbow. Maybe if I just stick my butt this way...." She moves all day long...I'm amazed that I'm actually able to concentrate and get things done.

Sleep: Not much of an update on sleep. I have tried sleeping with different pillows and rearranging them in multiple positions. I find it a little humorous that I now sleep with three of our 'decorative' pillows (2 euro pillows and 1 regular sham) AND my regular pillow. That's right, I sleep with 4 pillows as of right now. I have them all angled so that it creates a 'wedge' shape so that I can sleep on my back. It seems to help some nights...other nights I get frustrated and end up throwing some on the floor.

What I miss: This week I had a mini melt down because I missed my 'independence'. After work one night I was elevating my feet and I couldn't lift my upper body to throw the blanket over my feet. I kept trying and trying and ended up getting so frustrated that I just started crying. Mike came to the rescue (which I was grateful for) but at the same time I was upset that I couldn't do it myself. I'm very much an "I can do it myself" type of person and I'm struggling with learning to ask for help. I plan to ask God why he didn't give husbands mind reading powers while their wife is pregnant.

Cravings: I haven't necessarily been craving anything this week. So I'll just say that my days are basically cereal for breakfast, fruit for morning snack, PB&J, chips/crackers and fruit for lunch, granola bar for afternoon snack and then dinner (such as a salad w/ chicken fingers, shrimp casserole, spaghetti, fish, etc.). Although I guess I should confess that we willingly accepted the left over cake from our baby shower and treated ourselves to 'small' bites each night. :)

Symptoms: Typical pregnant symptoms still apply: shortness of breath, can't bend over, swollen feet, pregnant face, etc. One night this week I was sitting in bed and Mike said I sit like a panda bear.

Best Moment this week: We had another small shower at my Dad and Pam's house. Everyone that attended were family friends and neighbor's that live in their neighborhood. We got lots of great things. I continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of our family and friends. Brooke is one lucky girl!