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