36 Week Bumpdate

How far along: 36 weeks and 4 days

Size of baby: Between 17 and 19 inches long, the size of a honeydew!

Weight gain: 19 pounds!

Food cravings: All the breakfast food. Especially pancakes! I've also really been into all the pumpkin flavored everything that this time of year brings; pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, I want it all!

Food aversions: None really, just been wanting to skip dinner and go straight to dessert!

Stretch marks: Finally developed a couple little marks on each hip. I knew all along I would get some there, they've been so itchy this whole time! 

Symptoms: I've been SO tired. Like no energy left at all. Especially when I try to do things like clean the house or go on a walk, I'm completely wiped out afterwards. I also have been getting Braxton Hicks contractions every day. Probably four or five a day. They aren't painful or anything, just an uncomfortable tightening and shortness of breath for a few seconds. So other than that and not being able to bend over at all, I've been feeling pretty good!

Looking forward to: Now that Joe and I are basically as prepared as we can be, I'm really just looking forward to holding our daughter. For the past thirty-something weeks it's been all about nursery prep and baby books and birthing classes, and now I just really feel like it's time for Violet to be here. Everything on our "get ready for baby" list has officially been checked, and now we're just waiting on the baby!  

Random: Starting at my next doctor appointment on Thursday, I'm going to be seen once a week until delivery. It's all happening so quickly! I'm honestly shocked that I'm almost full-term, and can't believe we're only a few weeks away from being parents. Everything has gone so well and I've been so lucky to have such a positive pregnancy experience so far. So as excited and thrilled as we are to meet our little one, I'm really going to enjoy these last weeks of a big belly and kicks and having this baby all to myself!

32 Week Bumpdate

How far along: 32 weeks

Size of baby: Between 15 and 17 inches long, the size of an squash!

Weight gain: 18 pounds!

Food cravings: Been loving all fruit.

Food aversions: None really.

Stretch marks: Still none, just a very odd looking belly button piercing scar!

Symptoms: I've been having trouble sleeping lately. I don't know if it's because I'm physically uncomfortable, or just have a lot on my mind (or both) but I feel like I spend so much time lying in bed awake just wishing I could fall asleep! So that hasn't been fun. The amount of acne on my face is also at an all-time high. That pregnancy "glow," aka oily skin, has been making me break out so badly! I'm not letting it bother me too much since there isn't much I can do about it, but it'll be nice when that (hopefully) clears up. Also, my belly button has completely popped out, which I wasn't expecting to happen since I had such an innie before. It's pretty crazy looking.

Looking forward to: Our baby shower is in one week, so that's pretty exciting. We also have done a lot to the nursery, which I've been loving. Violet now has a crib, dresser/changing table, glider, book shelves (already full of books!) and a closet full of clothes. We still need to do most of the decorating and buy essentials like diapers and wipes, but it's been coming along great so far and we're having so much fun putting it all together. We also bought our stroller and carseat. We decided to buy them from Orbit Baby, since that's what both of my sisters use and always rave about. Joe put it together the other night and it's so cute how into it he is. He thinks it's so cool and loves showing our friends how it works, it's pretty adorable. 

Something else we just did was book a photographer for some newborn/family photos. That will happen a week to ten days after she's born. I'm really looking forward to having those. I decided I don't really care to have maternity photos taken though. I'm not really sure why, but I'm just much more into the idea of newborn photos. But I'm still making sure to take photos of myself pregnant all throughout. 

Random: We've been going to the doctors every two weeks, which feels like so much! It's always nice though to hear Violet's heartbeat and being told that everything looks good and healthy. Also, just like I suspected, some of these kicks are starting to get quite painful. Usually they aren't bad at all, but once in a while I'll feel a hard jab that makes me jump. I've got about two months of her just getting bigger and stronger, so I'm a little bit scared, haha! 

Joe and I completed our birthing classes at our birthing center, and I'm really happy we did them, I feel like I learned a lot, especially about the specific place I'll be giving birth at. I'm also going to take a breastfeeding class in October, which I'm excited for since I feel like there is so much to know! 

28 Week Bumpdate

How far along: 28 weeks, hello third trimester!

Size of baby: Between 13 and 15 inches long, the size of an eggplant!

Weight gain: A lucky 13 pounds!

Food cravings: Mostly just had a sweet tooth.

Food aversions: It's been frustrating, I've been so hungry a lot of the time but have the hardest time thinking of what sounds good to eat.

Stretch marks: Not that I've noticed.

Symptoms: I've been experiencing some horrible lower back pain recently. It's mostly on the right side, starts really low on my back and shoots down into my leg. It's been miserable and makes bending and walking too much really painful. Joe made me a massage appointment for next week which I'm very excited for, hopefully it helps! 

Looking forward to: Our baby showers! We're having one thrown by Joe's sister in law in California, where most of his family lives, and we'll be leaving this week to spend a couple days there. I'm really excited since we rarely get to see any of his family, plus it'll be nice to get away for a couple days since we probably won't be able to again for a while after that. Then, my mom and sister are throwing us a second shower here closer to October. I'm so glad we have the chance to see everybody to celebrate baby Violet.

Random: I had to do the glucose screening test a couple of days ago. It wasn't horrible but wasn't fun either. I was given the sugar drink and was told to drink it in five minutes, it was extremely sweet and thick, but not as bad as I thought it'd be. After drinking it, I was instructed to sit tight for an hour, not walk around too much, not fall asleep, and let him know if I felt dizzy or nauseous. That all made me nervous but I felt fine for the whole hour. Then they took some blood and I was on my way. I haven't heard anything yet about results (apparently no news is good news) so hopefully it went well and I passed. 

Also, we started our birthing classes at the birthing center. They are once a week for five weeks, and we've been to two so far. I'm actually really enjoying it. Joe and I are learning a lot of good info from it and getting good tips on breathing and relaxation during labor. 

It seems so crazy that I'm already 28 weeks along. It's honestly going by crazy fast. In only 12 weeks we're going to be parents. That's insane! I'm really trying to enjoy and soak up the kicks and growing belly since I have no idea what the future holds and if I'm ever even going to experience pregnancy again. And although it comes with a lot of aches, pains and stress, I really am enjoying pregnancy and love being the one who gets to feel her move around and carry her.

Twenty-Four Week Bumpdate

How far along: 24 weeks

Size of baby: Between 10 and 12 inches long, the size of a cantaloupe!

Weight gain: 10 pounds!

Food cravings: No new cravings really, but I have noticed an increase in appetite for sure. 

Food aversions: Nothing specific.

Stretch marks: None yet.

Symptoms: At about 23 weeks, my skin completely freaked out. The bottom half of my face is basically covered in zits, it's the worst my skin has ever looked in my life. I'm thinking there must be a lot of hormonal changes going on this month because I also started feeling really weepy and emotional. One night I even found myself completely crying on Joe's shoulder and couldn't think of a single reason why. He's been so sweet and understanding about it :) I also noticed the start of that vertical line under my belly button. It's still very faint, but it's there!

Looking forward to: Starting to put a nursery together. Our former guest room is now empty besides a glider and a ton of baby clothes, thanks to hand-me-downs from my older sisters. I keep going back there and trying to imagine how things will look, where the crib should go, and things like that. It's really fun to picture how it will be. 

Random: I feel like this is the month I started to look, and feel, undoubtably pregnant. Even at 20 weeks, I still didn't always look pregnant in certain things, and when I first woke up in the morning my stomach didn't look too pregnant until I ate something. But now, I'm sporting that big baby bump 24/7. Other people are noticing too. I've started to see women in stores look down at my belly then smile at me, which is sweet. Luckily no belly grabbers... yet. Violet's kicks and movements are also starting to feel stronger. I can even see some of them from the outside! I really love the feeling of her moving but am getting nervous for when she's much bigger and kicks with all her might. Also, Joe and I drove down to Phoenix last weekend to register. I felt so prepared going with a list of what we needed and suggestions from my sisters, but man that was overwhelming! We were probably in Buy Buy Baby for three hours, just going back and forth and deleting things and re-adding things and googling things and comparing things and wondering if we really needed something. Baby stuff is confusing! I think hopefully we know which things we really need and what we don't. If you know of any baby must-haves I'd love to hear them!

Twenty Week Bumpdate

How far along: 20 weeks and 3 days

Size of baby: 6.5 inches long, the size of a banana!

Weight gain: 5 pounds

Food cravings: Mostly fruit and sweets still.

Food aversions: Haven't been very into meat lately. If I'm cooking dinner and smell raw meat it makes me feel like throwing up.

Stretch marks: Still none. Been using my cocoa butter after every shower, we'll see if I'm able to avoid them!

Symptoms: My lower back has been very achey, and it's frustrating feeling like it just needs to crack but I can't twist enough to pop it. I've been seeing a chiropractor once a week which helps, but most days it's pretty uncomfortable. I've also been so broken out and can't seem to get rid of these zits. I bought this pregnancy safe acne wash since I can't use regular acne wash, it hasn't really helped too much yet, but on the bright side it smells amazing. 

Looking forward to: SO much! Now that we've seen our baby on ultrasound, know that she is a girl, and she even has a name, it feels so much more real. It's making both Joe and I so excited to prepare for her arrival and dream of what we think she'll be like. We've been looking at nursery inspiration on Pinterest, trying to decide how we want her room to look. We even cleared out the former guest room and sold everything on Craigslist to get it ready. It's crazy and so cool to walk in that currently empty room and imagine how it will look with a crib, tons of baby clothes, and of course a little baby! Joe has even been looking online for some spacey art prints for in there, so cute!

Random: I can feel her move every day now, pretty much all day long! Joe even felt her a couple days ago. We were watching TV and I had my hand on my belly and felt a soft little kick, so I grabbed his hand and he felt one too. His reaction was so cute! He goes, "I felt it I felt it! Move some more, baby!" It's such an amazing feeling when she wiggles around it there, I love it so much. Something else we're doing is putting together a playlist for her. A friend of ours told us that when she was pregnant, she made her baby a playlist that she'd listen to whenever she was in the car, and once the baby was born, she would put that mix on and it would calm the baby down and even put her to sleep. So cool! So we're working on putting together a little mix of songs we think Violet would like (I'll share it here once it's done!) Also, I bought my first maternity clothes! I only bought a couple pairs of jeans, since my regular jeans were getting uncomfortable, and wow, what a difference! I practically sighed in relief when I tried these on (they're called "Mama Super Skinny Jeans" from H&M), so comfortable! I was so excited to find some that look similar to my normal jeans once that super high waistband is covered. I love them and hope I can wear them throughout this pregnancy! 

Sixteen Week Bumpdate

(easiest to see the actual bump when I'm laying down)

How far along: 16 weeks and 5 days

Size of baby: 4.6 inches long, the size of an avocado!

Weight gain: 3 pounds

Food cravings: Fruit, sweets, milk and cheese.

Food aversions: Nothing out of the ordinary.

Stretch marks: None yet, but I'm thinking I'm probably going to get some. I've been applying Bio-Oil every day after I shower, but apparently it all comes down to genetics. Plus I've been getting itchy and dry on my sides. I'm not going to let it be a huge deal though, it's just all part of it.

Symptoms: 90% of my nausea has gone away, which has been amazing. Other than that just some fatigue and back aches. I've been going to pre-natal yoga classes for a few weeks now and that has helped a bit with both.

Looking forward to: Looking noticeably pregnant to the outside world. I still look like I just have a big beer belly. Also really looking forward to our next appointment. In about three weeks is our big ultrasound where we get to see the baby since seeing it as just a dot, plus we're going to find out the sex, which I cannot wait for! Most wives tales make it seem like it's a girl, but so many of our friends and family think boy. I have a feeling of what I might think and really just want to know for sure!

Random: I felt actual movement a couple of days ago, it was so crazy/ amazing. I wasn't quite sure at first what it was, but I laid really still and definitely felt what everyone describes as butterfly flutters. It was so cool! I also learned that the baby is starting to hear my voice when I talk. I don't think I can get used to talking to my belly, at least not yet, but it's awesome knowing he or she can actually hear me. I'm excited for when the baby can hear outside noises and we can play music for them :)