33 Weeks!

33 Weeks and growing strong! Belly is getting bigger and bigger.

Baby is around 4 lbs. this week and about 18 inches long. In comparison, he is around the size of a cantaloupe. So imagine a good sized cantaloupe sitting right there in the middle of my belly. Seems about right. Some cushion around the melon and you've got my middle! Good to know baby J is on track! At my Dr. appt on Monday he said I had only gained 2 lbs. since my last appt. I don't mind the sounds of that a bit! Still going to try to stay under 25 lbs. of weight gain if possible, but I think I'll probably go a little over. I don't think I'll hit 30 lbs. though.

Milestones: My tummy has gotten extremely tight. I feel regular contractions throughout the day, but none are painful. It's interesting to see my middle tighten up and then loosen. Good practice for labor, I suppose. Even when it's loose, baby is starting to fill up my middle! I can generally feel his outline no matter where he's sitting. I love being able to literally cradle my baby. He is getting so much longer and wider. Keep growing good and healthy, baby. Even though baby is expanding my tummy, I still don't have any stretch marks. Could I possibly make it through the entire pregnancy without any? While I'm not sure if my bikinis will make any future appearances (just don't seem mommy-like), it would be nice to have the option.

I am just now beginning to feel uncomfortable. I count that a blessing since many preggos I know get uncomfortable much earlier (some even in the teen weeks!). Once I settle in to sleep, I am pretty comfortable. I wedge my pillow up against my tummy to keep it from moving, wrap my legs around it to support my hips, and fall into a very solid sleep. My back aches, but I think that is mostly from sitting in my desk chair at work all day. That chair is very uncomfortable. My legs have been aching too. I need to stretch more often so they are loose and limber. I used to love stretching, but now it is more of a hassle.

I sorted the baby clothes and hung them up. I went to Walmart for some baby hangers. Sets of 10 for $1? Score! I bought 7, that should be enough, right? Wrong! I sorted out the clothes by size and began hanging them. Ran out of hangers... still have more clothes. Sigh. At least I can afford to buy some more hangers! Baby boy will be well outfitted! I forgot how many cute things we got for him. I also love all his little pants. Can't wait to get those organized and put in some drawers or bins that will go in the bottom of the closet.

We had our second birthing class on Monday night. I am so thankful that Matthew is here to go with me. First we thought he might be at Officer Candidate School for the Marines by now. Then we thought he might not be able to arrange his work schedule to have Mondays off. I didn't realize how much support I would need during this period. I thought I would be fine doing the third trimester on my own and even birthing the baby with my mom or a friend as my labor coach. But now that it's getting closer, I am so thankful Matt will be there with me. While I certainly could have done all this by myself, it is so rewarding to go through it with Matt. He is such a great support and it has been incredible seeing him get excited about the baby, pregnancy milestones, and even the birth itself. He finds the birthing classes interesting instead of "disturbing" like he thought he would. We watched a video of a birth that was not edited. Unlike most of the couples, Matt and I didn't think it was that horrible. If our experience is similar to the birth we viewed, then we will be happy campers. I am hoping not to use medication if possible, so we're praying for a manageable labor. I keep telling myself now that my body was created for this and during labor I've told Matt to keep telling me that it's almost over and Jackson will be here soon. It's all in the mind, right? (yeah, I keep telling myself that too)

This is how the nursery currently looks. Yeah. We put the furniture together, left it where it was (this is not where any of the furniture will end up!), and starting piling all the baby things in there! This weekend I plan to spend a lot of time in the nursery rearranging the furniture to make the most of the space and then organizing all the toys and baby gadgets.

I have been having some interesting emotions lately. Oh pregnancy hormones. I have especially been prone to cry. I feel like crying when reading books (including children's books), news articles online, watching the birth in our birthing class, and (embarrassing) during The Bachelor! Now, I am not ashamed to cry when one of those things truly is emotional... but when I feel like crying isn't during the overly emotional moments. It's just at random times. Sigh. I hear I will probably be like this in the postpartum phase as well.

I also had an interesting dream this morning. My alarm went off at 7, I rolled over and fell back asleep for 45 minutes and had time to dream. I was holding the baby and showing him off to someone. Now, in reality he would never have been my child. He had huge buggy eyes, had very light skin, and just... wasn't my son. But, of course, in the dream he most definitely was my son. But... I did not think he was cute. I told whoever I was showing him off too that he was cute, but I didn't think he was. Then I thought I was a horrible mother for thinking that! Of course, then I started feeling all depresso etc. Woke up and felt much better because there was no way my child could look like that. Well, the slightest chance. Very slight.

Aversions and Cravings: I really wanted white cheddar popcorn. This used to be a favorite of mine when I was a kid. It certainly is delicious! Still craving all kinds of juice. Yum! It may have to do with the fact that I have not fully recovered from my cold. Juice helps with colds, right? Well, at least orange juice does. Good news! My mexican food aversion is over! I had been thinking Mi Patron (our favorite Mexican restaurant down here) sounded good... then I wanted chips and cheese one night. But it took about a week before I decided to give it a try. I had a Valentine's date with a friend at Mi Patron and... it was delicious! Hit the spot. So thankful that is over. No other aversions have sprouted... except fish. But I've never ever liked fish of the smell of fish!

Only 7 more weeks until due date! 49 days! I cannot wait for my little man to get here!