36 weeks

I'm feeling extremely tired. I really don't remember being this tired last time, at least not until the very very end. I think a lot of it is more mental though right now- there have just been so many changes and I'm still having a hard time processing it. One of the hardest things for me is that the place we rented isn't clean. They talk about their high standards for cleaning when you move out but HA. I'm trying slowly to clean but I just can't do what I want to. It's the whole place, too. I'm trying to back up and just take it a little at a time, taking breaks and things like that.

Looking at a calendar, I realized because February only has 28 days, as of today I am one month/four weeks from my due date. Either way wow. That has really snuck up on me.

Also, for the first time in either pregnancy I got asked by a complete stranger if I was due any day now. I guess I must be looking pretty big. Well and it probably didn't help that the shirt I put on today is now too short and you can see some of the band of my pants unless I'm constantly pulling my shirt down, so maybe that was part of the problem. I didn't realize until I was at work and didn't have a chance to change. Oops!

How many weeks: 36

Size of baby: A honeydew melon and measures 35 cm or 13.8 inches, crown to rump length. Head to toe is 18.5 inches. The baby also weighs 2850-2950 grams or 6.3-6.5 pounds. At my last appointment the midwife guesstimated around 4 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I did not gain or lose any weight this past week so I'm up 14 pounds total. 

Maternity Clothes: Most of my clothes aren't super warm and the weather has been so cold this past week! Last time Neil kept me warm but this baby isn't doing that (maybe he'll always be cold like I am). Anyway, I gave up and although the very coldest days I'm wearing the warmest maternity sweaters I have, I also know I am on limited time for these clothes so I'm wearing some of the ones I like the most even if the sleeves are 3/4 or whatever. I'll need to bring a sweater into work to throw over me if I do get cold inside. I'm bundled up in my Uncle's Steelers jacket right now- it keeps me pretty warm outside (other than hands and head).

Gender: Boy. 

Movement: Hit foot is still in the same position and he likes kicking. I also feel him moving all over around and sometimes the twisting still makes me jump. The big thing though is his foot. I can feel it moving around especially when I put my hand there and it's just the strangest thing.

Sleep: Yep, still every other night. I sleep well one night and then I'm up the next. I'm such a light sleeper. We are in a new place with new noises. It's been windy and that keeps me up. The baby is moving a lot and that wakes me up...

What I miss: Pittsburgh. My friends. My house. Everything there. (Same as last week)

Cravings: Not really anything. Chocolate and ice cream?

Aversions: Nothing.

Symptoms: I'm going to say it's all hormone/emotional driven. I think for the most part I'm keeping it internal so people don't realize, especially at work. But Dave has seen me tearing up a few times at random. So has Neil actually and he keeps asking if I'm okay. I know, I sound pathetic right now, don't I? I'm getting to the point that I don't want to walk too far and then my butt and lower back start to hurt. But I'm still up and down from the floor fairly easily although I tend to just want to sit and avoid the floor. I told Dave we need a chair in Neil's room so I can sit in there while he plays. I don't know if a toddler bed can support adult weight and I'm not testing it out.

Best moment this week: Dave and I went on a date and it was nice to just get out. We checked out this casino (see my weekly picture post) and went to a romantic Italian place for dinner. I have to admit for once I really didn't miss Neil and just wanted to be out with Dave. I mean, being out with Dave is always nice but usually I'm wishing Neil was there too. 

Looking forward to: Getting boxes fully unpacked and OUT of the house so it feels maybe more like OUR home. We also need to get a desk or two for computers and then maybe I'll actually be online more. 

Same this time: Sleeping seems to be the same. Last time around I was going back to work after Christmas break and not happy about getting up early in the morning. I had gotten spoiled with no alarm clock. Both times though I am waking up a lot at night although when I'm actually sleeping it's pretty solid.

Different from last time: Same as last week- last time I mentioned trying to get off the couch and right now I'm not having a problem with that. I've also gained less weight this time so I wonder if that has something to do with it. If I don't gain a bunch this last month that's going to be a big continuing difference from last time to this time. It doesn't make sense, either- last time I was solidly exercising and this time I haven't been. Just to give some numbers to give an idea- this time I'm up 14 pounds. Last time I was up 23 pounds. Comparing actual weight since I started out a bit heavier to begin with this time, I am still actual weight 5 pounds lighter than I was at this point with Neil. Hopefully that makes sense without actual weight numbers. I refuse to publicly admit how much I weigh.

Weekly pictures 2/15 to 2/21

A pipe frozen in the kitchen so we went out to eat and chose Friendly's again. Neil likes the kids' meals and takes after his mom as far as loving the ice cream sundaes there. As far as we could tell he kept getting brain freeze but that didn't keep him from continuing to eat. (I think these are in reverse order looking at the ice cream in his bowl.)

Neil was way overdue for a haircut so we took him one day. He looks very somber but I think that the stylist combing and cutting his hair was putting him to sleep. His last haircut was early November and for how super straight his hair is I guess this isn't too bad for how long we went in between. He WAS overdue as well. Dave is actually the one who insisted on getting his hair cut. I was holding out and saying I was worried it wouldn't look good shorter.

The after pic

Afterwards we decided to go out to eat again just to be faster. There is a place really close to our house and we popped there on the way home from the haircut. Neil got ice cream again. There is ice cream everywhere around here.

Even though my belly is bigger and Neil gets kicked/hit, he insists on sitting right up next to me.

Daycare offers parents' night out once a month (extra fee of course) and we took advantage. I have a feeling post baby we won't take advantage of this again for awhile and it might take a bit to find a babysitter. We went to the casino Mohegan Sun. They are pretty big! A coworker recommended the Wolf Den, which has music and seating is free but you have to line up. We didn't make it to the line in time between dinner and exploring but could stand around the outside to listen to the music. My only complaint about this place is that it is mostly smoking. I could feel it in my throat when we left. (I'm allergic to smoke.) Dave won money and was up almost double at one point, and I lost. We just played some slots.

We went to an Italian restaurant. A splurge but it was nice to feel like a couple again.

This is some fancy bar we didn't go into but walked around.

This made me feel like I was in Rainman and should be wearing something REALLY nice and REALLY expensive.

The Wolf Den - our view standing outside of it

He's actually singing with the book.

Dave got him into comic books. (I know it's hard to tell here but this is a kids' comic.)

Weekly pictures 2/8 to 2/14

Pictures were really light this week because we've been so busy unpacking, starting new job, etc.

Neil's first Friendly's sundae

I guess Neil has his own cupboard in our kitchen now

Dave took Neil to the grocery store on Valentine's Day and I guess he was tired. He slept like this for at least 10-20 minutes.

35 weeks

I think I look pretty close to how I did at this point last time. If anything I might be slightly bigger. I've gained less weight though so maybe I'm overall skinnier so my stomach is more prominent. I honestly also feel like this baby has run out of room. He is pushing me pretty hard at this point. Although I remember last time not being able to sit forward in my chair at work and I still can right now (that might also have been later in the pregnancy). I guess I'm jumping ahead to what's the same and different.

I'm also just feeling it as of today. Really feeling it. Like I said last week, there is a LOT of stress and other changes at this point, which are affecting me. Plus add in the toddler. I just feel pretty drained and I feel awful because that's putting a lot on Dave. I kinda collapse on the couch and I'm just so worn down. At the same time though I can't believe only 5 more weeks until my due date!!! Really?! So I'm 35 weeks with 35 exact days left until the due date. Maybe we need to start a pool to guess when this baby is going to arrive. ;)

How many weeks: 35

Size of baby: A coconut and measures 34 cm or 13.4 inches, crown to rump length. Head to toe is 18 inches. The baby also weighs 2600-2750 grams or 5.7-6.0 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I lost 1 pound this past week so I'm up 14 pounds total. 

Maternity Clothes: I remember last time I got to the point that I felt like a sausage in my maternity clothes. I don't remember when that was but thank goodness I'm not there yet. I wear mostly maternity clothes although on the weekend I'm still throwing large sized sweatshirts over everything and I tend to wear pajama pants or sweatpants as much as possible because they're just more comfortable.

Gender: Boy. 

Movement: He seems to have stabilized into one position and I can tell where a foot is. That's what jabs the most and he kicks quite a bit. It's reassuring and annoying at the same time. I put Dave's hand where the foot is and Dave said he can feel it, too. That's pretty cool. 

Sleep: I alternate between sleeping well and not. There is something in the other room that makes a popping noise that wakes me up. Neil is still adjusting and sometimes cries in the middle of the night, and last night for the first time fell out of his bed in the middle of the night. I was in his room before I knew what was going on (consciously- I'd been asleep and the loud thump woke me up). I even forgot I was pregnant until I was back into my own bed, I moved so fast. It does seem like I'm able to somewhat catch up on sleep on the weekend though, which is nice and I'm taking advantage of it knowing how bad it's going to be with a newborn.

What I miss: Pittsburgh. My friends. My house. Everything there. (Same as last week)

Cravings: Dave got me chocolate. Now I just tend to be very thirsty. With my first week of work at a new place I don't think I've been drinking enough.

Aversions: Nothing.

Symptoms: I'm feeling pretty emotional, with all the changes that have been going on lately. So mostly my symptoms are there. NO patience, especially with Neil. I feel terrible and try really hard to be more patient with him, especially recognizing that he's gone through a huge life change (moving) as well. My belly of course is still big and I definitely feel very pregnant. 

Best moment this week: We were supposed to get a blizzard (turned out to be 1 inch of snow Saturday night) so we got groceries and stuff and didn't leave the house once on Sunday. The first week of work really tired me out so it was nice to get some time at home and to try to sleep and relax. We were still busy at home but it was nice to be cooking at home, settling in, sleeping, etc. 

Looking forward to: Our new daycare has parents' night out so this Friday Dave and I are going on a DATE!

Same this time: The movement still seems to be similar. I'm feeling a lot of it. You forget to the degree after you have the baby! I also think I look about the same size. I'm still getting comments from people about how I don't look as far along as I am. I think last time it was after this week that I had some major weight gain and really started putting on pounds. I hope that doesn't happen again- I felt pretty miserable last time at the very end.

Different from last time: I think I'm actually moving around better than I was when I was pregnant with Neil. I mean I do struggle a little bit but I'm sometimes carrying Neil around (trying to avoid it as much as possible though, but I can do it). I also try to avoid twisting motions and stuff but it's doable if I need to.

Weekly pictures 2/1 to 2/7

The theme this week is moving. We spent Sunday trying to go through and purge stuff. The movers started packing boxes the previous Friday and we realized just how much "stuff" we have. We went through every box in our attic other than holiday type stuff (boxes labeled Christmas, Halloween, etc.) and really pared down what we had- either donating or throwing stuff away. That was a lot of our weekend. Monday the movers spent a 2nd day packing. The 1st day was the garage, attic, and downstairs basically. The 2nd day was packing all the other rooms. They left basics like our beds up just so we could sleep but there were boxes everywhere. Tuesday they loaded the trucks. We drove Tuesday and Wednesday to CT to split up the trip a little bit for Neil. Thursday we signed our lease. Friday boxes and furniture were unloaded into our house and then unpacking started. And is still ongoing even over a week later...

One of the last times reading to Neil in our old living room

Part of the purge- Neil decided that everything we were getting rid of made good toys.
These mugs were his tea set and he loved "cooking" with old dishes.

The smaller moving truck was moving from storage space to storage space.
(Items from our house that won't fit in a smaller apartment/house but we want when we buy a new house).
The larger truck was for our household goods. Yes, we have a LOT of stuff.

Boxes going to the storage space in CT. They actually put stuff for the residence on after these boxes.

Guest room packed up (plus attic boxes)

Master bedroom packed up

Living room packed up

Our last night there our neighbors had us over for dinner. (THANKS so much.) We will really miss them. Neil loved their dog cage, especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dog bed. He spent quite a bit of time in the dog cage.

The neighbor's dog was wondering why someone was in his bed

We didn't make it very far the first night - left later than we really wanted to.
Neil slept well in the hotel though.

Welcome to CT!

This is what the drive looked like.

Dave was VERY happy to find that they do have Heinz ketchup where we live.

Cuddling in the hotel, see my belly?!

Unloading at our new place

Break for lunch at Panera

New living room

New kitchen

Another view of the new living room

Neil wanted to help put things together

Dinner on the Thames River - look at the snow banks from the 30" plus storm they had a few weeks before we moved here.