Photo Dump!

An assortment of Maxwell photos from the last few weeks for your viewing enjoyment!

Hanging out with all my friends

All smiles

Christmas Elf!

Chatting with Papa

Bears at the Zoo

I love seeing myself in the 

Hanging out with my new Tapir toy

First trip downtown to have lunch with Papa!

That is one handsome baby!

Mama Lucy is always making sure my face is clean.

Where the Wild Things Are ornament with my name on it!

Jumping is my favorite

Sleeping like a boss at Target

Dang, I'm cute.

19 weeks- 4 month sleep regression. AKA Eff the 4th Leap.

This week has been a bit rough in the Lorenz household.  First of all, I had a tricky shopping trip all on my own with Max yesterday that required me (for many reasons) to nurse him while I pushed the cart around and shopped.  Thank goodness for my Beco Gemini.  I was able to rotate Max while he was screaming in the carrier so that he was at boob level on his side, threw on the nursing cover, and whipped out the boob.  I managed to get everything on our extensive shopping list (of course this was the week where we needed to replenish a lot of our household staples), while breastfeeding.  Luckily, he finished up right as I finished shopping, so I propped him upright in the carrier while checking out.  This was by far, the most impressive feat I have accomplished while breastfeeding.  I didn't even get any weird looks.  I'm pretty sure most people had no idea what was going on, and that he was just cold, so hence the "blanket" covering my sideways baby...

Maxwell McFussypants has decided that he wants to wake up about every 2 hours, and it's been taking its toll on all of us.  He's been a bit fussy with my mom this week (and though she'll never fully admit it), I'm sure it's wearing her down as well.  Winter break could not come at a better time- I need to be able to just spend time lounging in bed with my baby after these difficult nights.  I'm not sure if this new sleeping and waking pattern is due to being in the 4th Leap (according to The Wonder Weeks), or if it because we have been working on getting him to sleep in his crib for the first part of the night.

Max has been growing out of the Rock 'n Play, so we realized that it would be best to start having him sleep in the crib.  Now, instead of nursing him to sleep in bed, and then transitioning him to the Rock 'n Play, I have been feeding him in his room with the lights off, and the white noise machine/projector on until he's pretty passed out (typically by about 8:45pm).  Then I place him in the crib, and even if he starts to stir, I can typically get him back to sleep pretty easily right away.  We've been sleeping in the guestroom (right next door to Max's room), so checking in on him is much easier.  He has been waking up at about 11 or 12 wanting to eat, so I attempt to rock him and give him his paci first, but when that doesn't work after about 5 minutes, I pull him into bed, and nurse him until we both fall back asleep.  That wouldn't be so bad if he would just stay asleep, or be easily comforted by using me as a human pacifier for the rest of the night, but now he wakes up pretty upset.  I attempt to nurse him back down when he gets all huffy, but he refuses to be calmed by the breast, so I have found walking him around for a little bit (even if he's screaming) helps, and then he's willing to latch on again and fall asleep for the majority of the rest of the night.

I know this is all a phase, and one day, my child will no longer want anything to do with being cuddled by me at night.  I am going to look back on these days and miss holding my little bug in one arm, continuously kissing his cheeks and the back of his neck where he rocks his mini-mullet. I'll have blurry, sleep deprived memories of the first year of his life, and I'll have troubles remembering all the little details that have blended into a beautiful foggy memory.  That day is going to come faster than I'll ever be able to imagine.

Post-Birth Hospital Stay

After Maxwell was born, and got to see his little puffy face, Luke and I looked at him and determined that he was indeed a "Maxwell Jacob" and that our backup name ("Everett") was not needed.  The doctor had asked me at one point during his birth if it was okay to do the slightest cut to help our baby come out.  He had his little fist balled up right by his face, and just needed a little more room to make his exit, so while Luke and I were admiring what we had created, I received a couple of stitches after delivering the placenta (I seriously don't even remember delivering the placenta).  I never thought that I would want to see it, but when the resident who had observed the birth asked me excitedly if I wanted to take a look, I surprisingly said yes. It was pretty cool (and gross) to see what had kept my baby alive for the past 40 weeks.

At about 10am, we let my mom, and Luke's parents, who had all camped out in the maternity ward visitor's lounge since 10pm peek their heads in so we could introduce them all to their first grandson.  Since I was sitting naked under the sheet with the baby on my lap, there wasn't a lot of hugs at that point, but I do remember there being tears when we introduced him as "Maxwell Jacob Lorenz."  I didn't offer to let anyone else hold him at that point (I was still in a bit of shock that my baby was here, and I wasn't quite ready to give him up yet), but they were all going to stop by later that evening, so they would eventually get their chance.

**TMI ALERT** 

scroll down to the next paragraph if you have a weak stomach...

At about noon, my sisters all arrived to meet their first nephew, and Lauren was the first to arrive.  While she was holding Max, the nurse came in to do another fundle massage.  I told her when she was done that I thought I felt like there was some sort of blockage down there, and she did a massage with more pressure.  When she did that, I felt a huge clot shoot out, and heard blood splash.  By the looks on Lauren and Lukes' faces, I could tell that it was a lot, and probably not good.  By that time, Zibby and Paige had just arrived to see Max.  The nurses definitely seemed concerned, but hadn't really spoken to me yet, and I could only see them calculating how much blood I had lost.  They put me on a pitocin drip to stop the large clots from happening, and to keep me from hemorrhaging more than I had already.  

I knew that it had to be serious when the doctor came in and asked my sisters to leave the room so she could talk to me.  I had surpassed the acceptable amount for blood loss, and if they couldn't get it to stop, they would have to either do a blood transfusion, or do a D&C procedure.  Luke had been out of the room when I talked to Dr. G, so I was all alone, and scared that I would have to leave my baby or somehow be separated from him.  They determined that they would take my hemoglobin, and if it came back at 10 or less, I would have to have interventions.  After my blood was run through the lab hours later, I found out that it was at an 11, so I just barely escaped.  While I was there, I remember feeling fine (a bit dizzy from the lack of sleep, but all together fine), but I look back at pictures and I was grey.  I had lost all color in my face (I had a pretty good tan going on!), and my eyes have a slight dullness to them.  Thinking back, I realize that things could have taken a turn for the worse, and I am grateful that I was okay. 

18 weeks

As of December 4th, MaxJack is officially four months old.  I've made it a third of the way to my breastfeeding goal, and we're still going strong!  Everyday, Maxwell gets more and more fun, and it's amazing to see him take in the world.  Today, I took a comp day from work to spend time with Max before teaching night school, and it was wonderful to just have a morning and afternoon with my little man.  After getting lots of snuggle time in with him, we bundled up, and trekked out to see Luke at work.  We met up for lunch, and walked around the skyways for Max's first downtown experience!  He enjoyed seeing all the people running around, and he LOVED it when he realized that we had found his papa.

This past weekend, I met up with Lindsey and Owen to get some steps in at the MN Zoo.  I had never been there during the winter, and we just stuck to the inside exhibits and the MN Trail.  Max was mesmerized by the aquarium, and had fun being worn front facing so he could see everything.  He passed out about 2/3s of the way through.

Max's four month well-child doctor's appointment went well last night.  He is now 13.8lbs and 25.75" long.  That puts him in the 24th percentile for weight and nearly the 75th percentile for height.  This is a pretty good, especially since he was only in the 12th percentile for weight two months ago!  Our doctor also said that he has the most perfect head that she has seen in at least a decade, and mentioned that he must get a lot of tummy time, and is held a lot (no flat head for our child!), which are both true.

I feel like I miss a lot being away from him during the day.  I never saw myself as a stay at home mom, but I find myself wishing we could afford for me to do so until our children reach kindergarten.  I love seeing him grow each week, and I know that this time is going to go fast, so I need to soak in as much time with my kid(s) as I can before they become independent, and not need me as much.

One of my high school friends had her baby last week (5 days overdue, all ready for an induction).  I was chatting with her about her daughter, Irene, and about her birth experience, and it got me thinking about how my life changed just four months ago.  All of the emotions from that day came flooding back as I thought back to Max's birth and those first few weeks at home with a newborn.  It's all such a blur at this point- I wish I written more down while I was experiencing it all.  I do need to write down what I do remember post-birth for my next post...If I remember to do that :)

Maxwell's birth story (Warning- It's long!)

**I want to preface this by stating that this took me a long time to write. I started writing this back in September, but feeding and caring for a newborn left me unable to use both of my hands at one time for very long...  There are so many details that I know I have forgotten to add, so I might add more later on, but I wanted to make sure that I at least got the majority of Max's birth story posted.**


In order to help serve baby Lorenz's eviction notice, we packed out weekend full of activities and obligations so that Murphy's law would go into effect and he would decide to arrive in order to ruin all of our plans.  Friday night, we had a surprise birthday to go to.  I had been feeling contractions on and off that evening, but it definitely wasn't go time.  Saturday, we had an engagement party to attend.  I was able to start timing the contractions, and even needed to sit down a little through them, but they dissipated after a couple of hours.  Sunday, we had Luke VS's first birthday to attend in the afternoon, all the way out in Ham Lake. 

We decided that it would be a good idea to have the car seat locked and loaded, and the bags thrown into the car just in case we needed to make a mad 40 minute dash to the hospital.  All through the birthday party, I was having contractions, and was able to start timing them again.  This time they became much more consistent, and I could see a pattern starting to emerge.  By the time we got home from the birthday party, they were coming on about every 5 minutes, and were at least 1 minute in length.  After about an hour, I texted Mary to see if she followed the 5-1-1 rule, and she suggested that I call ASAP.
I called the maternity ward, and the head nurse told me to continue to monitor the contractions for the next hour, and to call back if they hadn't gone away.  After an hour of putzing around the house, making sure the nursery was ready, and chatting with Luke, I called back at 5pm, and the nurse told us to come on in.  Luke quickly packed his bag, and we got the dogs ready for the potential long haul.  
I cried as I hugged Lucy and Kale goodbye.  Not only because I was going to miss them while I was stuck in the hospital, but because I knew that the next time I would see them, everything would be changing, and they no longer were going to be my only babies. 
At about 6pm, we walked out the door of our house for the last time as a family of 2, and my water broke.  It wasn't the big gush that movies and TV shows make it out to be.  It was more of a trickle, and I was convinced that I had lost control of my bladder.  I sat on a plastic Target bag the entire 8 minute ride to St. John's just in case.  I remember being concerned that people were going to see that my shorts were wet and judge me, but Luke reminded me that people would probably get what was going on as a 9 months pregnant lady waddles her way to the maternity ward.
At 6:15pm, I checked in and we were brought back to the room that would be my home away from home for the next 3 days.  After gowning up, determining that the leaking was actually amniotic fluid, the nurse checked me, and I was 4 cm dilated.  Since I was having back labor, she showed Luke how to provide counter pressure during contractions.  I wanted to try different ways of laboring, but after trying to labor on all four, using a yoga ball, walking the ward, I realized that the only way for me to get through the contractions was to lean over the counter in the room, and breath through them.  
At about 9 or 10pm, I asked Luke to let the nurse know that I wanted the epidural, and within the hour, I was numb from the waist down.  My nurse turned down the lights, put on soothing music, and let me be.  Every hour, she would come in to turn me over.  I know that when I do have another baby, I will do the same thing- labor on my own for as long as I can go, and then get the epidural once I can't handle it anymore.  The relief that it brought was amazing, and as I think back, I don't think I would have had the energy to push if I hadn't gotten the small amount of rest when I did.
By midnight, I was still only about 6 cm, and they realized that the baby was sunnyside up (and slowing down his progress), so they placed a peanut shaped yoga ball between my knees in hopes that gravity would help turn him over.  This seemed to work. After about 6 more hours, and one epidural bag refill, I finally was almost complete.  They had me do some practice pushes, and they had me labor down until about 7am, and that's when they had me start pushing for real.  It was a strange feeling to push.  I could tell when I was having a contraction, due to the fact that the epidural wore off on my left hip, so I could feel each contraction in that localized spot, and therefore knew when to push.
Over the last 9 months, Luke and I had discussed labor expectations, and I told him that he was to remain by my head for the entirety of my labor and delivery (and he readily agreed), but things changed rather quickly.  The nurses got Luke pretty involved by having him hold a leg while I pushed, so he got a pretty good view of everything going on.  When the baby started to crown, they asked him if he wanted to see, and he decided to take a look.  They asked me if I wanted to feel, and despite the fact that I said I never wanted to do anything like that, I changed my mind and felt the top of his little head.  That made everything so much more real.  During the time I had been pushing, I kept my eyes closed for most of it, so once I felt his head, it kicked in that this was really happening, and that I was going to be meeting my son very soon.
I pushed for an hour and a half, and at about 8:20, the doctor came in, suited up, and the nurses broke off the bottom part of the table in preparation for delivery.  At 8:36am, Maxwell Jacob took his first breath, cried his first cry, and my first words to Luke were, "Is he really a boy?" I had to ask Luke twice (he was rightfully distracted in the moment!), and he finally confirmed that the ultrasound tech was right 20 weeks prior.  As the doctors immediately placed my baby on my chest as they rubbed him down, the first thing I said to my son was, "Ooohh, hi baby, hi baby."  The whole thing still feels so surreal, and I would have a hard time believing that it all really happened if it wasn't for the fact that Max is actually here.

17 Weeks

My work load on Tuesday nights has dwindled a bit, so I figured that I could use this extra, baby-free time to post updates.  I know that I am going to be sad that I didn't update as much during the first 3 months, but better late than never, right?


This past week was Thanksgiving break, and I was grateful to be able to spend 6 glorious days off of work with my most favorite people. On Thanksgiving, my cousins were able to meet Max for the first time, and he spent a lot of the day in the arms of his doting Kleinberg Aunties.  I love seeing them interact with Max, and that they love him just as much as we do.  He did such a great job being passed around from person to person, while not really getting much of a nap in during the afternoon.  Poor little bug also didn't get to really nap when we got to Luke's parents' house, but we did get about an hour of resting time while we were there.  His cousin, Lily, has been super sweet with her baby cousin, so hopefully that is a good sign for how she will interact with her still-baking little sister (due mid-February).  She loves to be helpful while he gets his diaper changed, and tells me that the baby is hungry when she sees me nursing Max.  She'll sing songs, and read books to him.  On Thanksgiving, Max spent a good 15 minutes watching Lily run up and down the hall, and she cheered ("Yaaaaay, Mawksh!") when he almost rolled over.  Seeing little ones interact in that way gets me excited for the day that we are able to give Max a little sibling- knowing that he'll have a live-in friend, someone to get into trouble with, someone to support emotionally, and protect as the big brother.  I get teary-eyed thinking about having to split my love and attention between two kids, but I know that I will be even more surprised by how much my love for my family will grow.

It really is amazing how much can change with infants just over the course of a week.  During my time home with Maxwell, he became an expert at rolling from his back to his belly (he's been rolling from belly to back since he was about 2.5 months old), he reaches for things that he wants, he has found his tongue, and he has discovered his voice!

I have been watching Max try to master the skill of rolling from back to belly over the last couple of weeks.  He would always get SO close, but his arm kept getting in the way.  To finally have that moment where everything clicked was incredible.  The look of pride and excitement on his face was priceless.  He now has the ability to choose if he wants to be on his back, or if he'd like to be on his stomach.  While the motion is still a bit choppy, he's getting better and better at it every day.


He's also realized that he can choose to reach out and grab for specific items.  He loves the new Comotomo teether, and the Manhattan Winkel Ball we got for him this past week, and will reach out for them when he sees them.  He also routinely reaches out for Lucy and Kale, and when we bring him near, he'll pet them.

Max has also discovered that he can stick his tongue out and move it around outside of his mouth.  His big smiles usually include the tongue sticking out, but it would typically stay in one place.  Now he has realized that he can lick at the collar of his shirt, and stick it out as far as it can go.  What makes it especially fun is that if you stick your tongue out at Max, he'll smile and then start sticking his tongue out as well.  I didn't realize how much babies mimic things at such a young age!

I love how vocal my little man has become.  Before, when he was starting to make noises, it would be a moment of slight panic, because the noises usually meant that it was time to eat, and that there was only a short amount of time before he would be full out screaming for food.  Now when the sounds start coming out of his mouth, he is typically talking to one of us, a dog, or his toys.  I adore his raspy little baby voice as he coos and laughs.  It's fun to "talk" back to him by mimicking his sounds.  He gets the biggest grin on his face and it often times encourages him to talk even more.

Maxwell completely melts my heart, and even though his sleeping pattern has been a bit worse for wear, I forget about how utterly exhausted I am, as I am overcome with this deep love that I never could have imagined feeling for someone who has been in my life for such a short amount of time.

Next week, I should be able to update with how his 4 month appointment went!  I'm excited to see how much he's grown over the last two months (though I'll probably take his shots worse than he does...)!

One year

One year ago, I got that second line that changed our family unit forever.  That second line represents the first time I felt love for our Maxwell, and how much already cared for him before I ever got to see his little face.

Max is now 3 months and 4 weeks old (he'll be 4 months on Dec. 4th), and it is amazing how much he has changed since a year ago today.  He grew from a tiny little ball of growing cells to this handsome little boy that I get to raise.  At nearly 4 months old, we've seen his personality start to take shape from a lump of a baby to a kid who responds to us, smiles, practices "talking" and tries out new sounds.  Who has mastered the art of blowing raspberries and growing a spit bubble beard.  He reaches for things he wants, pulls at our hair, shows us that he wants to play airplane.  Fusses when he's hungry and lets us know that we've kept him up too late.  He lights up when Grandma walks in to the room each morning, and his love for her is so clear and genuine, that it makes going to work and leaving him with her all day that much easier.

Being a working mom has been easier and more difficult than I had anticipated.  It has become easier to leave him every morning, but the isolation that pumping brings on at work has been more difficult to deal with (though that has definitely gotten better over time).  I am proud that I have managed to integrate breastfeeding into our lives as seamlessly as possible.  I don't know if I would still be breastfeeding and pumping if it wasn't for the support from Luke, my family, and friends who have also found success in breastfeeding.  I didn't realize how pumping would take over every break I had while at work, keeping me from truly being able to reconnect with my coworkers, and how much I would miss out on by locking my door and eating lunch by myself every day.  I cherish my weekends and the full days I get to spend with him even more than I did while on maternity leave.  I didn't realize that I would still have days where I would cry when I thought about leaving him for work the next day.

I love that our friends have accepted Max into our circle, and they love him and dote on him as much as we do.

Maxwell has made me a better person, and because of him, I have had to really pick out the most important parts of life to focus on, and not get hung up on the not-so important things.

It's been one hell of a year already, and I'm excited and terrified to see what the next year has in store for us.

Social Smiles!

It's not just gas!

3 weeks, 5 days

As we adjust to our new normal, it has become difficult to perform 2 handed tasks, or to use any electronic device other than my phone, so I apologize for my lack of updates. Ideally, I was going to keep up with weekly updates, but I've learned not to set expectations like that! So, posts will be sporadic. Some might be long, while others may be merely a sentence or so long. Max is changing so much already, and I worry that I'll forget, so these short posts will be fun to look back on his progress when I get out of the new parent fog!

Meet Max

Maxwell Jacob Lorenz arrived on August 4th, 2014 at 8:36am.  He weighed in at 8lbs 2oz, and 21 inches long!  His head circumference was 14 inches.  I will post his birth story later, but right now I need to go snuggle my little Max.

Getting closer!

After today's doctor's appointment, my cervix is 3cm dilated, still thinning out (not sure the % of effacement), and she stripped my membranes for me.  Come on, baby!

39 weeks

How far along? 39 weeks.  7 days to our estimated due date.  I am ready to be done.  Today has been the most mentally taxing day I've had so far with this pregnancy, and I think it is due to the fact the that next week is all about waiting and not knowing.  There is also the worry that this kid could decide to take his sweet time and force me to stay pregnant for another week past the due date (that thought is actually quite terrifying for me).  I want him out, Luke wants him out, our families want him out... Come on little man- let's get going!

 
Total weight gain/loss: 25.8 lbs as of Thursday last week.

Maternity clothes? Yup.  And I hear that I'll probably still live in them for a while after birth...
 
Stretch marks? Not that I can see. I hope there aren't any in hiding...

Symptoms:  Mild, inconsistent contractions.  As of Thursday, I was dilated 2cm (though these numbers can be misleading because you can walk around for weeks dilated without any real labor).  My body also seems to be clearing itself out- all sorts of bathroom trips are quite frequent.

Sleep: Sleep has been better this week.  Less middle of the night bathroom trips, and I am more comfortable being back in our regular bed.

Best moment this week: Finding out that my cervix is starting to dilate, and that the doctor said that he is welcome to arrive any time now!

Have you told family and friends: Everyone knows, and the whole world can tell.

Miss Anything? Not being on such an emotional roller coaster.  I know postpartum will be a challenge in itself with hormones and everything that comes with it, but as of right now I am struggling with waiting patiently, and I am extra sensitive to comments.  I can't wait to be back to my old, even-keeled self  
  
Movement: He still likes to shift my entire belly from one side to the other, though lately he's been preferring the left side.

Food cravings: Still nothing.  Maybe I'll get post-pregnancy cravings?

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I have to make a conscious effort to feed myself.  Most meat still sounds gross.

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger every day!

Baby is a: BOY

Belly Button in or out? Still an innie!

Wedding rings on or off? The rings are off until after the little guy gets here.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Like I said in the "Miss Anything" category- as of today, all bets are off on whether or not I'm going to be laughing, crying, or both at the same time.

Looking forward to: Hopefully meeting Baby Lorenz this week! (otherwise my doctor's appointment on Thursday)

Finally taking advantage of the belly.

I am at the point in this pregnancy (38w5d) where I just don't care anymore!  It took me about 8.5 months before I felt comfortable to do so, but I take advantage of this belly now to get me out of doing things that I could maaaaaayyyyyyybe do, but I know will make me uncomfortable, and have been enjoying the "special" treatment I have been receiving the last few weeks.  This includes waiting 3 deep in line at Target, and then being the first person asked if I would like to move to lane 14 where a team member can help me in just a minute (heck yes I will move lanes!).  This exact scenario has played out several time in the last two weeks.

Also, since I don't give a crap anymore, I don't mind being rude to people who are going to be an inconvenience or waste my time.  Like this morning.  I was sitting on the couch with the dogs when I noticed that someone was about to walk up the sidewalk.  Usually, I do everything I can to calm the dogs down, and then I'll at least answer the door before letting the salesperson know I'm not interested.  Today, I decided that there was no way I was going to attempt to launch my 9 month pregnant butt off the couch to get Lucy and Kale to be quiet and then answer the door- that would be doing too much.  Instead, I let the dogs bark like crazy, and when the guy poked his head to look in the window, I just signaled to him that I wasn't interested, and to go away.  It was so much easier to be a curmudgeon.

Anyway... back to doing everything in my power to make this baby want to come out soon!

13 days to go!

How far along? Made it to 38 weeks!  Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting much bigger, but then I when I compare the bare belly to last week, there is definitely growth still going on!  The shape of my bump has changed a bit- it seems to be getting rounder and more outward now.

 
Total weight gain/loss: I'll find out next week.

Maternity clothes? Most days I walk around in athletic shorts and a sports bra, unless I am going somewhere that requires getting dressed.  My shirts are starting to get a little short, but they still work.
 
Stretch marks? Still no surprises.

Symptoms:  I'm starting to lose my mucus plug.  If you don't know what that is, I do NOT recommend doing a google image search.  It's gross, and it can regenerate.  While this is not necessarily a sign of impending labor, I'm just glad to see a sign of something happening. 

Sleep: I'm starting to dread bedtime.  I know that I will have difficulty falling and staying asleep.  I dread having to get up out of bed to go pee.  Half the time I trip over a dog, so that startles me, and makes me more awake, making getting back to sleep harder.  Also, the heat has not helped, so until we are out of the heatwave, I think Luke and I are going to move downstairs to sleep in the cooler part of the house.

Best moment this week: One of my closest friends had her baby on Saturday!  I got to meet and snuggle the perfect little guy today, and I am now even more impatient than ever to meet my baby.  I am so happy for her.  She struggled with PCOS, and had planned on eventually adopting a child, but then she got pregnant with her miracle baby just a couple weeks before I did!  I've been so grateful to share this experience along with her.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone knows, and the whole world can tell.

Miss Anything? Being able to bend over.
  
Movement: He definitely likes to remind me that he's there :)

Food cravings: Maybe I'll get post-pregnancy cravings?

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I'm in a phase where I don't really want to put out the effort to eat, and carbs and fruits are the things I can eat consistently. 

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger every day!

Baby is a: BOY

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but it's pretty flat.  If I push my gut out as far as I can, I can see a little mound poke out from the belly button.

Wedding rings on or off? The rings are off until after the little guy gets here.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Still happy, but I can lose my patience pretty quickly.

Looking forward to: Doctor's appointment on Thursday.

37 weeks!

How far along? 37 weeks!  Time is starting to slow down (except when I remember that I am now down to less than 3 weeks to the due date).  Some sources say that 37 weeks is considered full-term, but the new guidelines mark 37-38 weeks as early term and 39-40 as full term (41 weeks is late term, and 42 weeks is post term).  I know if he decided to show up now, everything would be okay, so I am fine with him showing up any day now :)
 
Total weight gain/loss: As of my appointment last week, I had gained a total of 25 lbs.

Maternity clothes?  I can't let myself go clothes shopping anymore.  I gravitate toward the maternity section, and then remember that I only have 3 weeks to go, and buying more maternity clothes is not worth it... I'll make due with what I have.
 
Stretch marks? I'm still in the clear... knocking on wood though.

Symptoms:  My hips are KILLING me the last couple of days.  Also, heartburn is back.

Sleep: I'm getting up now 2-3 times per night and I am over it.  Half the time, a dog steals my side of the bed while I'm running to the bathroom, and it becomes a huge ordeal to get my covers and pillows back from Lucy or Kale.

Best moment this week: Realizing that my belly is now bigger than a bowling ball... I went bowling with a friend today, and asked her to take a picture of me holding the ball (thinking that it would be funny to see that my belly and the ball were the same size).  I looked at the picture and realized that this baby bump is bigger than the bowling ball!  The whole thing was pretty funny.  We've also enjoyed being spontaneous this past weekend.  We know that life is going to get more complicated pretty soon, so it was nice to agree to some last minute fun time with friends and family.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone knows, and the whole world can tell.

Miss Anything? Not aching all the time.  I feel like an old lady lately.
  
Movement: Still rocking and rolling around like crazy.  Though, he's gotta be running out of space in there!

Food cravings: Maybe I'll get post-pregnancy cravings?

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Still not a fan of most meats.

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger every day!

Baby is a: BOY

Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? The rings are off until after the little guy gets here.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Still happy, but I can lose my patience pretty quickly.

Looking forward to: Our 5th wedding anniversary on Friday!

36!

This was at 35.5 weeks- I was feeling huge!

How far along? How in the world am I down to less than a month before our little guy arrives?  I'm at 36 weeks today, and provided that I go into labor by my due date, I've got 28 days or less left before we become a family of three.
 
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure this week.

Maternity clothes?  I'm glad that my maternity clothes still fit!  I wear a lot of dresses, and athletic shorts w/tank tops these days, and I am happy that I don't need to figure out appropriate outfits for work.  Since it's been so hot, I do spend a lot of time walking around the house in shorts and a sports bra (sorry neighbors...).
 
Stretch marks? I'm still in the clear... knocking on wood though.

Symptoms:  This week I get to take heartburn OFF the list, but I can add round ligament pain again. Difficulty sleeping, stiff lower back, shortness of breath, occasional light-headedness, swelling with the heat, hands and feet fall asleep easily.  How do some people get all the way to the end of their pregnancy without even knowing that they are pregnant??  Weren't they wondering what the alien-like gas pains were caused by?

Sleep: I'm starting to overheat again at night, but that might just be because it's been hot and humid the last few nights.  I still get up 1-2x per night to pee, but I can usually fall back to sleep pretty easily.  I'm also grateful that I am on summer break, so I can take naps when needed because 3rd trimester exhaustion really is taking a toll.

Best moment this week: Getting most of the nursery done.  I am just waiting on some packages to arrive from amazon this week to get the changing station all ready, but then Little Man's room should be ready for him whenever he decides to show up!  We also picked a pediatrician, so that's a load off our shoulders.

I've been storing everything that needs to go in the hospital bags in his crib for safe keeping from the puppies, so that's why you can see the diaper bag, and nursing bras through the slats.

Don't mind the mess on the dresser- this is where the changing station will be (eventually), but this was more to show the items on the wall.

Have you told family and friends: Everyone knows, and the whole world can tell.

Miss Anything? Same as last week: Not having a baby butt shoved up in my rib.  I've also started to miss wine and trying out different beers.  Luke ordered the beer I would have gotten at The Happy Gnome this past weekend, and I was jealous!  I'm looking foward to that first drink after I've got breastfeeding established.
  
Movement: The movement is getting more and more uncomfortable, and sometimes I yell at him to get out of my ribs, but I'll endure it as long as it helps me know that he's okay in there.

Food cravings: Still no craving.  Lamest pregnant lady ever.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Appetite is generally still pretty low.  I prefer to snack on fruit/popsicles and graze throughout the day, rather than eat a normal meal.

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger every day!

Baby is a: BOY

Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? I am officially ringless.  I can still fit them over my fingers, but I worry that with the heat and humidity, there will be a day where there is no going back, and the idea of the rings being stuck freaks me out!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy (I'm glad that this answer hasn't really changed much over the last 9 months).

Looking forward to: Tomorrow's hospital tour, and my 36 week appointment on Thursday.  While I'm not looking forward to the discomfort of an internal exam, I am curious as to if I'm starting to dilate at all.