36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, 1 day

How big is baby? His unofficial fruit size is a honeydew melon.

Total weight gain: 21 pounds.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Exercise? All the organizing we did last weekend definitely counts as exercise!

Sleep: Umm, yeah. I sleep. Sort of. And very uncomfortably. And I get stuck a lot, much to my husband’s amusement.

Movement: Sir Squirms-a-Lot has been upgraded to Sir Squirms-a-Whole-Lot. I love it, though I will admit there are times when I request baby boy to take a nap for a few minutes. He has turned into one busy baby in there!

Food Oddities: My love affair with potatoes, pasta and McDonald’s hamburgers continues. Yesterday I had three types of potatoes at the Thanksgiving potluck. It was sort of like heaven. I’ve been working very hard at – and been successful at – eating more fruit. Oh – one new thing – I’m on my third box of Raisin Nut Bran. Figure it’s good fiber in the morning and it’s probably my current “favorite thing.”

Symptoms: I’ve officially donated my lower back and hips to the baby. They pretty much hurt all the time, especially my back. However, I continue to maintain that I like these third trimester symptoms much (much, much, much) better than my second trimester symptoms. So yes, I’m uncomfortable, but at least I don’t spend the day trying not to pass out every half hour.

My heartburn has transitioned from an uncomfortable burning sensation at the back of my throat to acid leaping like hot lava directly from my stomach into the back of my throat. It’s about as fun as it sounds. Fortunately, one Tums still seems to do the trick and almost instantly.

Putting any type of shoe other than flats on leaves me completely out of breath, which is slightly annoying but mostly funny.

Walking without support hose is now almost impossible. I’m starting to have a hard time getting around in the evenings, when I’ve taken them off for the day. Also, due to my girth, they are now really hard to take off – thankfully my sweet husband is always happy to help!

What people are saying:

I am all belly and I don’t really look pregnant from behind. My new favorite game is to turn around in public and catch people off guard with my huge stomach. I get instant, unfiltered reactions and people’s expressions are priceless. For whatever reason, I find this little game to be absolutely hysterical.

Sweet Moments:
Another great exchange between my husband and me, as I was getting into bed:

Me: “There. Finally. I’m settled.”
Mike: “Oh good. It only took a small crane to lower you into position.”

Make room for baby: This late in pregnancy, most women are stressed about the delivery or last minute to-do lists or even about becoming a parent. Me? I’ve been very stressed out about childcare, where we’re going to live and picking a pediatrician.

I asked the doctor today to recommend a pediatrician, since I don’t have local mommy friends to ask. She gave me the name of the doctor she uses for her own kids. I consider that a solid recommendation and it’s close to home and work. Fingers crossed I like the doctor.

Childcare is a major stressor right now. We found out this week that we got into our third choice option. They gave us five days to make a decision and we have to pay a full month’s tuition to secure our spot. Completely respect the policy, but with everything going on right now five days is like five hours. There are four families ahead of us at both our #1 and #2 choices.

Where we’re going to live is also a big stressor right now. Mostly because we need to decide asap for childcare reasons. It’s becoming clearer by the day that our current situation is less than ideal. (e.g. Monday night, when it was dark, cold, raining and I had to park in Timbuktu. It was bad enough…and then I thought about what it would be like getting baby boy and all his gear out of the car and into the apartment too…)

Miss Anything? Being able to do normal chores without stopping for a break every 10 minutes. Dusting and vacuuming this late in pregnancy are both exhausting and painful.

Looking forward to: Four days off work next week!! (counting the weekend) It will be so nice to have a break and relax. And to officially welcome the Christmas season! Bonus: I told Mike I’m not helping with decorations this year for obvious reasons, but will gladly sit on the couch and serve as director :)

Worst moment this week: None to report!

Best moment this week: It’s been nice getting baby boy’s room closer to done and I’ve also really enjoyed (mostly) how active he’s been this week. I can’t wait to meet him!!