35th Week

5 more weeks to go. Well, they say full term can fall between week 37 - 42. At any rate, I'm close.

I'm still feeling pretty good. She moves around a lot still. Sleeping has gotten interesting. My sister let me borrow one of those C shaped pillow Snoogle things. I've been using it since before my 20th week, when they said I shouldn't sleep on my back anymore. It took some getting used to. Its a bit awkward to turn over and readjust your arms and legs, while holding up the belly and scooting the body and trying to do it without waking up the hubby. And as she's getting bigger, the space gets more cramped and the bladder's got to take up the slack. Which means I haven't had more then 3 consecutive hours of sleep for a month or two now.

That's just at night. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions ("practice contractions") for most of my 3rd trimester. And they say they'll increase as the due date nears. They don't hurt or anything, but its like your abs involuntarily tighten on their own for however long they want. Its supposed to be the muscles practicing for labor. At this rate, they better be experts. So I get those mixed in with kicks and hiccups and what seems like break dancing sometimes. Some doctors tell you to count the kicks to make sure the baby is still active and ok. I don't bother. She moves like every hour or so and she doesn't really slow down so I know she's still alive and kicking? =)

My hands and feet have started swelling now and then. More so now than before. No backaches. I do get tired more. My feet get tired of walking with the extra poundage. I don't think I waddle. Well, maybe by the end of the day I'm walking slower. I'm always rubbing the belly and sometimes propping her up if she feels especially heavy that day. Sometimes I get a little short of breath when she's taking up too much space. Not too often though. And no heartburn. She's been really good to mommy.

The heat sucks but I'm managing. I'm glad my work has a/c. Although I've got 3 vents pointed at me so sometimes its too cold.

We recently put the car seat bases in. Well, Chris put them in both cars. I was there for moral support. I've started packing for the hospital. But how should I know what will fit and what won't after the baby's born? So I'm packing some of each. Speaking of clothes, I've tried really hard not to buy maternity clothes. My sister lent me some. I did cave in and got some jeans and t-shirt type stuff that I could wear after too. Its just longer. But with the baby doll style being the in thing these days, I've been getting away with not buying much "maternity" clothes. The down side is that whatever tops I get now have to be large. No more small or medium. Well, some medium. Its not just the belly that's bigger. The, umm, food factory needs to compensate for the supply. So, yeah, clothes shopping's gotten a little depressing. But hopefully I'll bounce back to something resembling my old figure in no time.

We've got weekly doctor appointments now. Baby's heart rate's about 130-140 bpm which is good. Her head's been down for quite a while now. Movements are good. Weight and size are normal. We're just counting down now. Well, there's a few more tests but everything looks good so far. Keep your fingers crossed. =)