34 weeks!

This week is brought to you by cramps, cupcakes and cleaning.

Weeks Pregnant: 34 weeks 5 days (8.5 months preggo)
Weight: 183
Total Weight Gain: 25 pounds exactly (Yikes!)

Average number of times up to pee per night: just about every 2 hours throughout the night. 
Size of the baby bean: 17.8 inches 
Weight: 5-6 pounds, the size of a large cantaloupe
What baby has been up to: Jude's lungs are fully developed at this point and there is surfactant in the lungs which helps keep the air sacs open. If he was born at this point he would no longer need steroids to enhance his lung maturity. Jude's fingernails now reach the end of his fingertips and he may need a manicure shortly after he is born. He hasn't been wiggling around in there as much lately, but his feet are still moving like crazy. Since he is in the head down position I can always feel his little feet on the right side of my tummy. He sticks them out so far that I sometimes tickle them. I have a really great video of him kicking that I will try to post on here. In the video you can very easily make out his little foot. 


Other pregnancy related stuff
Emotional: This has been a very strange period of time for me. I am soooo anxious to meet my baby, that my day is consumed with thoughts of him. I am trying to remind myself to be patient, that he needs the next 5 weeks to continue growing and developing, but I can't help but to secretly hope he comes today! Every time I feel a small Braxton Hicks contraction, I get a flutter of excitement thinking that today might be the day I get to meet my son.
Physical: My body hurts and aches, all the time. I never understood what people meant when they said they were uncomfortable at the end and just wanted their baby out.... I am so that point. I try to remind my self to soak it all in and enjoy this little gift each day and be thankful, but man o man is it getting harder. For one, my stomach feels like its to its maximum capacity. I have no idea how I am going to accommodate another 5 weeks of growth. My skin is so tight and stretched out that it itches like crazy all.the.time! (Thankfully, I still have yet to get a stretch mark, knock on wood). My little boy is growing so big and healthy that his little bottom sits right up under my sternum and sometimes he makes it really hard to breath. Jude's legs are getting nice and long, but that means when he gets settled and comfortable, he enjoys kicking his mommy in the ribs or just sticking his little foot right up under my rib and pushes out! OUCH! The minute I walk in the door after work I take off my bra and pants, I just can't stand to have anything restricting me. Sleep is harder to come by these days as I find myself switching from side to side to get into a comfortable position and I am up every two hours to go to the rest room. All that to say,  I've heard from my mommy friends that I will miss being pregnant and miss feeling his little kicks and flutters so I am trying to soak it all up and enjoy every last minute of being pregnant. 
What I want to devour: hmm... everything. I find that I am always hungry, but I fill up pretty quickly. My latest cravings have been cupcakes, Mexican food, turkey, pasta, mashed potatos, and salsa. 
What makes me gag: Thankfully I am past the gagging phase, nothing really bothers me or grosses me out these days. 
Activity: I am finding it more difficult to get around these days. I have officially developed the pregnancy "waddle" and I easily become short of breath. I have to walk up and down a flight of stairs several times a day while at work and once I make it to the top I am always out of breath. I took Bear to the dog park the other day to get him out of the house and he seemed to really enjoy the activity. I think I'll try to take him again today and maybe walk around the lake a little bit, it would be good for the both of us. I've heard walking is super important, especially this late in the pregnancy so I am going to force myself to walk more. 
Baby Preparations: Jeff took a long weekend off and painted the nursery!!! (I'll be posting pictures once it's all finished) We covered the bright purple walls and blue ceiling with grey walls and and an accent wall with yellow and white horizontal stripes and a white ceiling. We also purchased a white ceiling fan to replace the Disney Princess fan that was up when we moved in. Jeff built Jude's crib and Jeff's mom is busily working on sewing his crib bedding. It's going to be perfect! We finally agreed on a changing table/dresser and settled on a glider we found on craigslist. Now we're on the hunt for a side table, lamp, bookshelf, ottoman, rug, and window treatments. His little room is slowly coming together, I just can't wait to see Jude in it! 
In other news I have been overcome by nesting. I went to the Laundromat yesterday and did 5 loads of laundry. Once I got home and put all the laundry away something really strange happened and I ended up cleaning for 5 hours straight! All of Jude's Baby Shower gifts have been opened and put away, his closet has been organized, the furniture that we do have has been placed in its appropriate space, and all of his newborn and 0-3 month clothes, socks, hats, blankets, bibs, and burp rags have been washed and put away. As soon as the dresser arrives and is assembled all of his little clothes will have a home. I also cleaned the guest room, dressing room, kitchen, family room, and started on our bedroom. I still feel like I have a lot more to do before our little baby arrives and I hope this energy and motivation continues. 


Daddy's Thoughts:
Holy crap, 34 weeks.  He's almost here!!!

I'm juggling a lot of different thoughts and feelings right now about the whole thing.  On one side I'm a little anxious about the actual birth process (just wanting Brianna and Jude to not have any complications), and on the other hand I can't hide my excitement about the whole thing.  Brianna texted me this morning telling me she was having small contractions and I started getting so excited that he might actually come today.... Even though I know better than to assume that he would come at the first sign of labor pains, but a guy can dream, right?
In the meantime, what I have been occupying my time with mainly is the preparation of his room.  So far the process has included all the wonderful ups and downs of a room makeover, from the fun concepts, to the gritty research, to the costly buying, to the painstaking labor, to the overwhelming feeling of reward and accomplishment.  His room at this point is 85% done, with some fine tuning still left, and already it's night and day compared to what it was before.  For those of you who know me personally, you know how much I enjoyed and took pride in the apartment that I prepared for Brianna before we got married.  This is right up there with that project in my mind.  I get to prepare my son's very first room.  I know he'll never remember seeing it, and throughout the time he's using it he'll never have an understanding of design or decorating or what-have-you, but it means a great deal to me to be able to pick and choose every great detail about his room, just as one of my very first acts of love towards him.  I already get a little bit of how parents say they want the best for their children, and it's been great to find those things, paint them, build them, and give them to my son already, so when he gets here he has a really great room prepared for him.
Side note:  crib-building is NOT that bad of an ordeal after all.  Finding the right glider/rocking chair IS a grueling process however, by far the most difficult part of the whole project.
I eagerly await the moment when he finally gets here, and even though there are still things we need to do, I feel at this point that I could have him come today and be as emotionally and mentally prepared as I could ever be without having been through it before.  My son is going to be loved, welcome, and what's mind-blowing to think about his how innocent he will be....  I mean, he'll be BRAND NEW, you know?  So surreal...  Makes me feel like an even more protective guy than I already am.  Hopefully that doesn't mean I'm going to be a dad raises his son in a bubble of course, but it's interesting to see myself growing and changing in all of this too.

Bear has been in a super snuggly mood lately. I gave him a bath the other night & then we just snuggled on the couch and watched TV while Jeff was at band practice. I'm trying to spend more time with him as Jude's birthday approaches to avoid jealousy.

Mom took me to get a pedicure, it has never felt soooo good to have my feet rubbed!

 34 weeks typical bathroom shot of the bump

On Wednesday I went to the Laundromat with mom & washed 5 loads of laundry at once, it felt so great to get all caught up. When I got home I had this crazy burst of energy & I cleaned our entire house for 5 hours straight!

Tuesday at work, showing off my new shirt. This is possibly my last Maternity clothing purchase until the next baby comes around.

Wednesday

Wednesday at work, I was experiencing what I thought were contractions every 10-20 minutes all day. Here is my attempt at capturing a contraction. Mu tummy would get super tight and flat in the front, really strange!

34 weeks 5 days at work

Daddy enjoying playing his new Xbox game Madden. He's trying to get in some much needed "Football" time before Jude arrives

32 weeks! (where has the time gone?)

This week is brought to you by naps, girl scout cookies, and Mexican food

Weeks Pregnant: 32 weeks 6 days (50 days until our due date!!!)
Weight: 181 Yikes!
Total Weight Gain:(started at 158) Up 23 pounds! Yikes!!! Let me just tell you that this is the heaviest I have ever been, EVER! I know it's because there is a beautiful baby growing inside of me and I need this extra weight for him, but yikes! The closer I get to the 200 pound mark, the harder it is to get on that scale!
Average number of times up to pee per night: Well this has become more of an annoyance than anything... I am up on average 2-3 times per night. The pressure in my tummy becomes overwhelming and almost painful, that the short walk to the restroom is very difficult in the middle of the night. During the day it seems like I am running to the restroom every hour or so.
Size of the baby bean:  16-19 inches (the size of a honeydew)
Weight: 3-5 pounds

What baby has been up to: Based on our last appointment we know that little Jude is already in the head down position, gearing up for his departure into the world. It's really cute knowing his head is down because there is this little bulge on my left side that I now know is his little bottom! It's also been really fun feeling him squirm and kick in there the past few weeks with his little feet wedged on the right side of my belly. Sometimes it feels like he is pedaling in there or trying to climb up my side. Other times I am certain he is break dancing in there. His favorite thing to do is to wedge his little feet right up under my ribs and push out! Holy Cow, does that hurt! I keep reminding him not to rearrange the furniture in there, but he doesn't seem to care what mommy says, he does it anyways. At least he's happy in there. I did read in my What to Expect that Jude's brain is continuing to develop and he now has all 5 of his senses, although he won't be able to smell anything until he's out in the open air. I also read that he makes faces, hiccups, practices swallowing, breathing, sucks his thumb, grabs his umbilical cord and he even cries!!! What does he have to cry about in there? That made me sad to read. Jude is accumulating more fat and his skin is becoming more pinkish in color and the lanugo covering his little body is starting to disappear.

Other pregnancy related stuff  


Emotional: If one more person says "oh my gosh, look how big you are" or "Wow, you've gotten so big!" I just might have to start slapping people. I think it should be internationally known that the appropriate response to seeing a pregnant person getting bigger would be "wow, look how pregnant you look" or "Oh my, your baby belly is getting so cute." or even "Wow, looks like your little baby has grown". Please, don't call me big. Not cool. I am loving being pregnant and aside from the comments, I have this new sense of confidence. I don't know what it is about being pregnant, perhaps it's the fact that my belly is so firm, but I have ever felt so confident in my clothes before. I am starting to get more weepy as the weeks pass on, anytime I think about Baby Jude I tear up a little bit. I just can't wait to see him and hold him already! I was thinking about his upcoming delivery and all the visitors we are going to have in the hospital and I got a little emotional, picturing my husband holding him, or my parents holding him overcomes me with this sense of joy and pride. I just can't wait!!! 
Physical: I now understand what everyone has been saying about the 3rd trimester being just like the 1st trimester. I have been much more tired lately and find that I am I looking forward to my after work naps each day. My heartburn is at its worst, waking me up in the middle of the night with the burning in my throat. I find that I become short of breath very easily, doing simple tasks like toweling off after a shower or putting the dishes away. It's getting harder to bend over, it's almost impossible. I have had to ask Jeff to put on my shoes if they require socks, buckles, or straps. Anything besides slip on shoes require a helper. Sometimes I work I will drop something and just stare at it for a second thinking up the best way to bend down and pick it up, my students have caught on and find it quite entertaining. A few of them offer to pick up things for me. As the weeks progress I am continuing to leak breast milk and lately I have been leaking colostrum. This little baby is sure going to be well fed once he arrives, there doesn't appear to be any shortage of milk around here. This past week I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks, mostly at night depending on my sleeping position, I am woken up by the sharp pain and tightening of my tummy. Sometimes it feels like my stomach is making a tight fist, other times it feels like the all to familiar feeling of starting my period. You know, those pre-period cramps where you wake up in the morning certain you've just started your period, yup I've been getting those just about every morning and through out the day. 
What I want to devour: Mmmm.... Mexican food. I have been craving Los Compadres salsa, rice, & beans like its going out of style. I have this desire to put salsa on everything or eat meals that require salsa. YUMMY! 
What makes me gag: These days, nothing. 
Activity: I have been having a harder time staying active this past week, anytime I do any kind of small activity such as cleaning or my daily work duties, I become short of breath and start to get cramps. Yesterday I was overcome with this desire to get Jude's room in order (especially since Jeff painted it earlier this week) and after hanging up his new clothes from the Baby Shower and organizing the closet shelves I started getting bad cramps and had to sit down. 
Boy? or Girl?: BOY!! A little sweet boy!
Name: Jude Michael Gilbert. We picked Jude because "Hey Jude" is both my and Jeff's favorite song and the meaning of the name is "to give praises". Michael is Jeff's dad's name and we decided to name our first born son after him. Michael means "one who is like God" and in my opinion if Jude is anything like his grandpa, he is sure to live up to that meaning.

 

 Friday morning, documenting my 32 week bump

 I stole this photo from Danielle's blog Sometimes Sweet, this was taken on Saturday at Scarlet's first birthday. (right after my baby shower) Scarlet's mommy Natalie is one of my new mommy friends, thanks to Instagram.

Dinner out on Sunday evening celebrating Libbie's birthday. Libbie is of my new mommy friends. Her little guy Arkham is 10 weeks old and Jude's future best friend. 

 

I was helping Jeff with the trim in the nursery (don't worry, I was wearing a mask the entire time) and Reached above my head to paint a high area and accidentally pressed my belly against the wet paint. Proof that my tummy sticks out further than I realize. 

 My view while sweeping the nursery. I had to lean pretty far forward to get a view of my toes.

 Taken yesterday while at work, my baby bump has become my most talked about accessory. All of my students are fascinated with it and keep asking me when he's due. 

They all say "Mrs. Gilbert You're ready to pop"

One of my students even told my I have the pregnancy "waddle"

3D Ultrasound

On Wednesday March we went to our 3D Ultrasound. I had been having several dreams leading up to our ultrasound about Jude. I had dreams about his face and what he would look like. Let me just tell you, he's even cuter than I had pictured. Seeing his cute little face on the screen makes it even more real that I'm not just pregnant, but pretty soon I'm going to be a mommy to a sweet little boy.

It was so fun to watch him squirm around on the screen and feel his kicks and movements in my tummy. Now whenever I feel him move I can picture what he's doing in there. He kept putting his little hands up to his face and was trying to grab his umbilical cord and stick it in his mouth. At one point he smiled and we even saw him suck his little thumb.

Jeff and I spent the rest of the day comparing his ultrasound pictures to our baby picture and tried to guess which features were from me and which features were from daddy.

Before leaving the ultrasound we sat in the owners office while Jude's pictures burned to a CD and he printed out a few images for us to take home. He gave us several gift bags with formula samples and coupons and then handed us a calendar. The calendar is Life Before Birth and it features a different baby on each month with four of their ultrasound pictures and a picture of them at 4-6 months old. The owner explained that he felt Jude's pictures were too cute and would be perfect for the 2013 Calendar. He asked if he had our permission to forward along our pictures and information to the creator of the Calendar. We said yes and a few weeks later I received a phone call from the Calendar's creator. She explained that the Calendar is used as a handout for young moms who are considering abortion as a way to show them that life begins at conception. The calendar's are handed out a pregnancy clinics, ultrasound offices, and doctors offices. They are also given to donors who donate funds to pro life clinics. She said she thought Jude was adorable and perfect for the 2013 Calendar. She would like to feature 4 of his Ultrasound pictures and then when he is between 4-6 months old we will get a free photoshoot of him and one image will be used in the Calendar. We get the rest of the edited prints on a CD and 5 copies of the Calendar. Our little guy is already a model. ;-)

Now for the eagerly awaited images.

Jude was sucking in his lips 

 Look at those kissable lips!!! He's grabbing his umbilical cord, silly baby.

  His little hand holding the umbilical cord and touching it to his feet. I had a dream about playing this little piggy with these little toes a few nights ago

Sweet sleeping baby with his hand resting below his chin

"No more pictures" Covering up his sweet face

Sweet Jude

He loves his hands resting by his face

Jude's little finger pointing out

He looks so snuggly in there

I think he looks like Daddy in this pic

Hand wrapped in the cord and his little toes.