Belly Day | 32 Weeks

So much pain, people! My hips don’t lie. I am indeed having a baby soon(ish).

A quick note about the photos this week… One of the very first weeks we took progress photos together, I told Miles he should hold a pinecone, because it was getting to be the winter season and I had this thought that I would try to work in themed props occasionally. That didn’t exactly become a thing, but now when we take our photos Miles almost always thinks he needs a pinecone. You may have spotted them peeking out of his hands in previous photos. (Like here) Haha. So Mr. Pinecone is featured prominently today.

I spent most of the week at home, doing what I could to be productive and eating lots and lots of Panera bagels. I just had my 32 week appointment yesterday and everything looks great. Baby’s heartbeat has been 160 for three weeks in a row now and until recently I’m pretty sure he’s been in about the same position, just dancing around in there. All of a sudden yesterday I woke up and realized he had flipped completely around so that his feet were kicking the opposite side of my belly and he felt lower than he did before (very similar to the position I remember Miles liking best). Then I woke up this morning and he was mostly back to the same position he usually favors. That was boring to talk about, I know, but I spend much of my day feeling his crazy movements so it’s on my mind quite a bit.

Actually, I’m going to go with the boring theme here and just tell you about the little things in my life that are bringing me excitement at the moment…

Last week I broke my “favorite” knife that I use for almost everything in the kitchen. “Favorite” is in quotes because it just happened to be the best knife we owned, but I was very aware of the existence of even better knives out in the world and dreamt of them on occasion. After suffering through several meals with my backup chef’s knife, I went on Amazon and ordered this one. The reviews are glowing and I am indescribably excited for my new knife to arrive in the mail tomorrow.

Yesterday Miles simply refused to take his nap, so I turned on Finding Nemo and sat down at our table with a massive pile of papers and separated them into files. I think my nesting instincts are finding strange places to manifest themselves. I have another Amazon order arriving on Thursday with more filing supplies, magic erasers, a backpack for miles and a toilet training seat! Most of those items scream “nesting,” right?

This weekend is the release for the new Cinderella movie!!! Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were my two favorite Disney fairy-tale movies growing up and I am jumping up and down inside thinking about seeing it. We haven’t finalized our plans, but we’re hoping to see it this weekend and I am really excited. We also might be trying our first overnight away from Miles this weekend. Now that he’s been weened a few months and sleeping through the night most of the time, we figured we would give it a try. This is good practice for when the baby arrives since he might be spending more over-nights when that time comes.

Lastly, my head is swimming with inspiration for baby things I want to sew now, but my machine has only been used once in over a year and I don’t feel very prepared to launch into crazy sewing projects. But I think I will anyway. I especially want to make another pacifier clip, preferably exactly like this one, or very close to it. It was one of my favorite things when Miles was a baby, but the snap has worn though completely and the edges are all frayed. I also want to snag some new fabric and make a few more burp cloths and a boppy cover. I know I talked about this last week, but I’m excited. Oh, and I want to make a couple more newborn hats and leggings. Ok, I think that really is it. This is another reason for my office organizing spree. All my craft things are in boxes still.

On to the prompts…

Baby’s Size| Squash. He probably feels pretty squashed these days, too.

How far along | 32 weeks

Sleep | I had my first weird insomnia moment of the third trimester last night. I woke up at 5 a.m. from some weird dreams and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I ate a bagel, then Miles woke up at 6, so I was up for the day. I was feeling pretty good about avoiding the insomnia so far, so I’m hoping this doesn’t become a thing. And speaking of dreams… they have been so weird! I have at least three weird dreams per night and remember most of them in the morning (although pretty jumbled). I’ll wake up to use the bathroom and think momentarily on the dream I woke up from and wonder where on earth it came from. Oh and I have to mention the heat!!! I wake up drenched in sweat every time and I try to find a cold side of the pillow, but it’s just a damp mess of warmth. Ewwww. Last night we had our thermostat set to 64 but I was still sweating with the covers kicked off.

Clothes | I have found that all but about 3 of my pants are kind of tight and uncomfortable to wear, unless I’m just running to the store or something. But at least there are three of them! And yesterday I was thinking about the things I wore during my summer pregnancy and just said a tiny prayer of thanks for the option to wear pants instead of shorts that rode up my chunky thighs constantly. And t-shirts and tunics instead of frumpy tank tops. And uggs instead of flip-flops.

Cravings | Shatto milk in almost any flavor, but I especially am loving the coffee and chocolate flavors. I’m also snacking frequently on Trolli sour gummy worms. *procedes to pop one into mouth. They remind me of summers as a kid when I didn’t know the flavors were artificial and that they were full of sugar and processed poison. I weighed a whopping 200 lbs at my appointment yesterday. Transparency here. Sigh. I really wasn’t happy with that number, but I know I’ve  been ordering Dr. Pepper too often with the meals we are eating out on a too-frequent basis. And then there are the Panera bagels and the gummy worms and the girl scout cookies. I am still hoping to keep my final total weight lower than the first time. So that’s why I had 2 bagels yesterday instead of 3.

Food Aversions |  I’ll eat anything.

Symptoms | The heat. I love our amazing weather we’ve had lately, 60’s and 70’s for dayzzzz! But I don’t think I’d be comfortable if it was any hotter out there. I really don’t like waking up sweaty. It’s just irritating. I also am having more back pain to add to the hip pain. My Braxton Hicks contractions seem stronger these days. My belly is officially getting in the way when I try to do things like reach for something near the back of counters. I keep finding myself sitting down on the floor because I feel like I can’t stand another moment, then, when it’s time to stand up again I curse myself for making that decision. Dummy. The swelling is worse, finally a visible swelling in my feet. I’m fairly confident I could improve it by drinking more water and easing up on the sodium because I did that one day last week and by the end of the day it was much better. I just forget.

Doctor’s Appointment | I have two more 2-week appointments until 36 weeks, then I’ll be going every week! I am planning to call Shawnee Mission Birth Center to set up a tour because last time we gave birth at Menora and I want to check out the new digs.

Movement | One thing I noticed last night when I couldn’t sleep, this baby seems to be active all day sometimes, without taking a break, then at night I barely feel him move! I am going to naively hope that this means we’ll have fewer sleeping concerns when he’s born. Maybe he’ll take to the sleep all night, awake during the day thing like a pro!

Belly Button | Yes, I have one. And now everyone knows it.

Gender | Instead I’ll use this to talk about the name. I’m still stuck on Finn. Steven said he still has reservations and I told him that he was my reservation. Haha. I then told him I actually have two, I want Steven to love the name as much as I do and I prefer a name that isn’t quite as popular because I’m like that. However here is the popularity of Finn according to Baby Center and here is Miles. They seem pretty close (if you look at the time of the naming). It’s still top of my list, but as the time draws closer we will probably be talking about this even more. And please feel free to suggest some middle names. :)

Best moment of the week | This chicken sandwich I ate at Blanc Burgers and Bottles over the weekend. I always feel lame when a meal is the highlight of my week, but it was truly delicious. I know that there were several “Miles moments” that far outshine my lunch experiences, I just can’t always remember just one, specifically.

What I’m looking forward to | We are tentatively planning a road trip for this summer and I can’t wait! I imagine my non-pregnant self finally getting out and having adventures.

What I miss | Haha. This week during my last pregnancy I was missing winter. While I have been extra happy with the lower temperatures this pregnancy, I definitely don’t miss it! We haven’t had a lot of snow this year, but the extra cold temperatures have done enough. I am ready for spring! I miss/am looking forward to all the blossoms that will be blooming and the daffodils that will be coming soon.