33 Weeks

How far along? 23 weeks, 1 day

How big is baby? About the size of a pineapple.

Total weight gain: 19 at my last appointment. I doubt I’ve gained any this week…was way off my schedule due to work commitments.

Maternity clothes? Found a cute and cozy bathrobe that fits my big belly. I’ve been wanting to replace my current “cool weather” bathrobe for a couple years and it doesn’t fit around my belly, so this new one is just perfect.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Exercise? Nothing to see here. Moving on…

Sleep: This week I’ve run into a problem I’m not sure how to correct. No matter how I mound the pillows around me, I keep waking up on my back. And it’s obvious I’ve been sleeping on my back for extended periods of time by how sore it is in the morning. The soreness dissipates quickly, so that’s not an issue, but I know it’s not healthy to sleep on my back this late in pregnancy. Not sure how to keep myself on my side!

Movement: He has definitely developed a routine, which is very comforting to me. He’s never been the most active baby – a.k.a. all my earlier worry-wart posts – so I’m really happy about this latest development. I know when to expect him to move, so I don’t worry when he’s not moving.

He’s been developing this pattern for awhile and now he seems pretty set in it. Generally, he is awake first thing in the morning, sometimes late morning around lunch time, in the afternoon around 4:00 and then later in the evening after 7:30 or so.

I can’t really make out specific body parts, but he loves to play with his hands/elbows. (Was thinking elbows, but I think they are actually his hands.) Like I said last week, I frequently have little knobs protruding from the sides of my belly!

He’s gone back to not really liking me sleeping on my left side. He gets very agitated at times if I do that…or as I tell Mike, “He’s fussing, so I’m rolling over.”

Food Oddities: Same old, same old. Carbs and any kind of potato are staples, and I’m pretty sure my husband is going to boycott ground beef after the baby comes. Perfect example: one night this week all I wanted for dinner were salty french fries. I knew that wasn’t balanced, so Mike made hamburgers to go with them. :)

Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: General discomfort that’s getting more pronounced. Shortness of breath. And I’m tired all the time. Still having circulation problems and I don’t do well without my support hose on.

Work this week and last was insanely busy. I had multiple deadline projects occurring simultaneously. It was difficult (and frustrating, to be honest) because I quickly realized that I can’t work at the same pace I’m used to, and I had to make a very conscious effort to control my stress level. I was way off my eating schedule and didn’t get as much fluid as I should. Thankfully, I made it through and hopefully won’t have another period like that before the baby comes. I had about an inch of rope left before I was going to completely lose it from the combination of being pregnant, overwhelmed and beyond exhausted. Lots of rest this weekend for me!

What people are saying: Due to the work projects, most of my interactions this week were with a certain Mr. Excel Spreadsheet. If it wasn’t related to one of the projects I was working on, it went in one ear and out the other…

Sweet Moments: Mike and I have really started interacting with the baby now that he is a bit more active (and can hear both of us). I absolutely love when Mike talks to the baby, and he always gives my belly a pat or a kiss before he leaves for the day. He’s going to be such an awesome dad.

Make room for baby: Is it sad that the thing I was most looking forward to all week was going to Target this weekend? (Only women understand the need for Target retail therapy…) I bought toiletries for baby boy and some postpartum toiletries and lounge clothes for myself. I took my sweet time and loved every second of it.

I also went to Gymboree today. For the uninitiated, Gymboree is a children’s store whose name means “crazy ass expensive.” Not today though! I found several clearance summer things for baby boy that were $1-$3 each. I was pleased as punch with my finds to say the least!

I went in there looking for owls. They had an owl receiving blanket that was sold out online, and also a cute little owl sleeper. Since his room has an owl theme, I thought they would be perfect. (And I might have also bought the owl hats, owl socks and a second owl outfit…) It was all on sale and I had an additional coupon, so I once again triumphed over Gymboree’s high prices.

In addition to the owl blanket, I also found a lion blanket on sale. Years of babysitting gave me some insight into baby products, and (in my opinion) Gymboree’s receiving blankets are the absolute best available, hands down.

Miss Anything? Taking a deep breath!

Looking forward to: Next weekend, because then when someone asks me when the baby is due I’ll be able to say, “Six weeks!” To me, that makes it really seem like he is almost here.

Worst/most embarrassing moment this week: The work-induced exhaustion was pretty rough.

Best moment this week: I was standing in the shower yesterday morning and I saw baby boy stick his hand out. Watched him for a minute, and then saw him move his hand around the side of my belly. I could actually see him moving his hand around (I assume it was a hand; could have been an elbow). Regardless, it was the coolest thing!