Baby B - 34 Weeks

Another week gone by and one more week closer to meeting our daughter. Just 35 days left, we hope, until she’s in our arms. We cannot wait to meet her. With each passing day, excitement wells up all the more in my heart. Most days I can hardly believe this is happening. How we are beyond blessed to be right here. Somewhere we never fathomed we could be.
This past week we finally finished up our birth classes and celebrated that they are over! This week’s class was on breastfeeding and it was incredibly informative. I still am unsure if it will work given my PCOS but we’re hoping and praying it will. For so many reasons…get back in my jeans, anyone? Had to laugh because our instructor kept talking about how that is a very valid reason to pursue breastfeeding…I’m glad because after all the benefits to baby that’s my number 2 reason!

It’s amazing what is happening within my belly…that a living, breathing human being is created and formed and moving and growing in there. Alex and I have been taking quite a few walks together of late and our latest discussion was what to do regarding birth control after the baby. Touchy subject maybe for some, but I had to laugh when we first discussed it. After waiting for 3 years and multiple procedures/medication cocktails later, we’re pregnant. My thought is to throw caution to the wind and if we get pregnant when baby girl is quite new, we’d be ecstatic. Unfortunately we’re not all convinced this is the best plan. Any thoughts?

How big is baby?

She’s as big as a butternut squash! I believe it. She’s taking up some prime real estate in my belly. She weighs between 4.2 and 5.8 pounds, probably on the upper end given our ultrasound a couple weeks ago and measures up to 18 inches long. She’s just continuing to grow bigger and longer and as of right now other than her lungs, everything is fully developed. Which means if she decided to come sooner than later, she would most likely not have any issues. YAY!

How am I feeling?

This week has been quite interesting. Scattered throughout the week I’ve had some abdominal cramping and pretty intense low back pain. I’m pretty sure she’s moving on down but there are still days when I can tell she’s backing her bottom back up near my ribs. So maybe I’m progressing, maybe not. I’m thinking she’s just going to take her sweet old time coming into the world. In other news, it’s crazy what will affect your mind while your body is rapidly changing before your eyes. I didn’t know what to expect and was sharing yesterday with Alex how shocked I am that the swelling of my feet has affected me so much. Apparently in my former “thinner” life my ankles mattered a great deal to me:)

How am I changing?

While other than the aforementioned items and an obviously growing belly, things are pretty steady around here. I’m very grateful for that. I’m hoping that my body is slowly getting ready for labor as I would love to meet her sooner than later, but because I know she’s better off inside of me, she can stay in there for awhile longer. Though I do have to say, I’m excited to see where I’m at over the next few weeks as the Doctor’s appointments increase!

Little Tidbits:

Weight gain: Haven’t checked. The swelling makes me very unexcited to know. I’m in denial:) I’ll know more on Monday at my appt.
Nursery Items left: Shelf install, lamp, curtain install, mirror
Ounces of water injested per day: at least 90 ounces
To do this week: install carseat, pack hospital bag.