35 weeks!

Drawing courtesy of Daddy

How far along? 35 weeks! 2 more weeks until we're term. I'm looking forward to it!

Total weight gain/loss: I didn't weigh myself this week, but based on the number of cookies I've been eating...

Maternity clothes? I can't wait to be back in my normal summer clothes. It's hot and humid here, but I refuse to buy any more maternity clothes. Only a month to go - it doesn't seem worth it. Luckily, I'm at home full time until he gets here now, so I don't have to wear "real clothes" all day long - only when I go out.

Stretch marks? I don't even want to talk about my stretch marks anymore. It looks like tree roots are climbing up my belly. Ugh.

Sleep: Still having good nights once in awhile, so I can't complain - soon it'll be up to Henrymonster!

Best moment this week: Not going to work! Yay! I got so much done at home, it was amazing. I have about half of my freezer full of delicious meals for after the baby comes, and I've got a few more to make tomorrow or the next day. I find I have to cook in the morning though, because by noon it is way too hot downstairs. I am stubbornly refusing to turn on the AC unit in the living room, since I already have one on in the bedroom. Let's see how long I can hold out...

Movement: Things are definitely cramped in there, but he's always sure to let me know he's happy to stay put for now :)

Food cravings: I don't even want to tell you how many chocolate chip cookies I ate the other night. And then the next morning too...

Nursery: Ben and I (mostly Ben) switched the bed in the nursery for the bed in the basement. I'm so happy we will be able to keep our queen-sized guest bed usable downstairs. My twin bed is in the nursery now. I would like it to stay there, but we will have to see how all the baby furniture fits before we make that decision.

Labor Signs: Today I had four contractions in about an hour, but then they abruptly stopped, so no labor for me!

Belly Button in or out? One side is trying to poke it's way out, but the rest is still very much in. It's being stretched a lot though - the skin is getting darker. Come on innie, you can do it!
What do we want to teach Henry about? I read this hilarious and adorable post today from a mother to her three-year-old son. It was so cute and made me tear up a little. http://newhealthom.com/2012/01/31/25-things-i-want-my-son-to-know/

What I miss: Going going going without feeling like I might pass out at any moment. Definitely learning to take it easier for this last month. PS: Next week, I will be 9 months pregnant. Say what?!

What I am looking forward to: Sitting in my recliner snuggling with Henry.

Weekly Wisdom:  Ben and I have been going to Lamaze for a few weeks now, and for the most part, it has been boring and unhelpful. But this week, some of the tips we saw in a video seemed very useful, and even Ben was upbeat about how some of the techniques "make sense" in doctor-land. He was confident that they will help us get through labor, which made me feel great.

Milestones: There are 34 days until our due date. Thirty. Four. Days. Blowing my mind...


Daddy's Thoughts:  So we joined a local community supported agriculture (CSA) group called Good Earth Food Alliance a couple of months ago, and we just got our first load of goodies.  We got a big bag of salad, some arugula, parsley, green onions and green garlic, radishes, and a dozen eggs.  A pretty good haul and we've had to busy ourselves with the best way to use this stuff.  Answer:  Salads.  Nicki's just as excited about them as me (I had no idea how spicy and sharp arugula is) and it's reminding me of the story of Rapunzel.  I'm sure you remember how her mother was pregnant and started getting a massive jones for greenery, which her husband could then conveniently steal from the witch next door.  If memory serves, Bernadette Peters played the witch in Into the Woods and I've had the Act One Prologue in my head all week.


She took one look at my beautiful garden, and told your father that what she wanted, more than anything in the world, was

  Greens, greens, and nothing but greens:
  Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,
  Asparagus and watercress and
  Fiddleferns and lettuce--!
  He said 'all right,'
  But it wasn't, quite,
  'Cause I caught him in the autumn
  In my garden one night!
  He was robbing me,
  Raping me,
  Rooting through my rutabaga,
  Raiding my arugula and
  Ripping up the rampion
  (My champion!  My favorite!)

I definitely did not secure the rights to use this.

And on like that.  So I guess Henry is going to have extraordinarily long hair.  Like I did.  Oh!  What if he grows a rat tail from ages 5 to 13?  Poor kid.  I can only pray that Vanilla Ice doesn't come back into popularity.

Dear God No

Nicki, of course, continues to grow more every day.  She's so uncomfortable, I feel bad.  It often stymies me how I don't have much to offer to make her feel better, just my company while it passes.  We went to see two movies this week:  Dark Shadows and What to Expect When You're Expecting.  I was really looking forward to Dark Shadows, but I have to say that I was let down overall.  The concept was fun, but it was one of those movies where they already showed you the best parts in the trailer.  I was just reading an article on Cracked saying that maybe Tim Burton and Johnny Depp as a team should take a break for awhile.  I think they should.  On the other hand, What to Expect was tremendous!  It's one of those ensemble, several intertwined vignette movies that can either be really great (Love Actually) or really suck (Valentine's Day).  Nicki was loving it because one of the moms seems to be going through a lot of the discomfort and general unpleasantness of being pregnant that she's experiencing.  Meanwhile her mother-ish-in-law (who is younger than her) is pregnant with twins and is having a dream pregnancy.  Naturally she draws the ire of every pregnant woman in the audience.  Also Dennis Quaid!

So it's been a pretty good week overall.  I got myself into a funk over the past several days and I'm not sure why.  Probably something to do with not knowing what life is going to be like in a few weeks.  Today I decided to break that streak by going running again.  Worked like a charm.  And I bought Nicki flowers.  She deserves them after all.    Men, go buy your pregnant wife flowers, I have it on good authority that they like that.

That's all I've got to report for now, until next week, I remain,
Daddy