32 Weeks!

Uneventful post ahead...fair warning.

32 weeks means I have 6-10 weeks left of being pregnant. Wow! Hard to believe that's all we have left. Our house is still in utter chaos, and it's totally still stressing me out that we have SO much we want to get done before this little man arrives. But, we have some great friends and family who have offered to help us clean and paint (and I am working on saying YES! to anyone who offers to help :) ) , so I know we'll get as much done as we are able to. None of it is crucial to have done before the baby arrives--it's just stuff we want to get done before he arrives.

This little guy has been head down for about a week and a half now, and it is such a relief, both emotionally and physically. My sciatic/back pain has disappeared, and I feel like I have more room in there for him now that he's not laying diagonally. His head feels lower and lower (and lower--ouch!) every day, so I'm thinking he's not going to go anywhere. He consistently kicks and punches and knees and elbows me everwhere alllll day long--it seems like he never stops moving! He also has the hiccups at least once a day, which is entertaining and annoying all at once.

I've gained probably 20 pounds by now, and he is measuring between 2 weeks small and just right, depending on which midwife is taking my measurement. Annabelle measured 2 weeks small the whole time, and she was only 7lbs 3.5oz when she was born 10 days "late." So, I'm anticipating this baby to be about the same size, maybe a tad bigger.

I have no food aversions right now except the seaweed that Annabelle LOVES to eat for snacks. The smell of it makes me want to puke. But, she loves it, and it's totally healthy, so I don't want my grossed-out-factor to take it away from her.

Generally I'm feeling okay, though this pregnancy is a lot more tiring than Annabelle's was. But, I was working a desk job when I was pregnant with her, and this time around I'm babysitting 3 days a week and chasing her around the other 4 days! So, I'm just feeling worn out. I'm also feeling ginormous, especially when I'm laying down and have to practically get a crane to lift myself out of bed 20 times a night to pee. I'm just at the "uncomfortable" part of being pregnant. I know I"m going to get a lot bigger than this, and I need to suck it up, but I'm just sort of feeling ready to be done (don't take that as an eviction notice, baby! Keep cooking!).

Nesting has hit hard, and I've been trying to get rid of a lot of stuff and clean things out. I've gotten rid of TONS of extra clothes that Annabelle has grown out of, and am keeping my "favorites" of each size for any future girls we may have. I feel like I'm posting things on freecycle almost every day to just get them OUT of here. I have a loooong cleaning list that just keeps getting added to, and I'm wishing I had about $5000 to spend at Ikea to organize my whole house. But, alas, that will have to wait :)

Annabelle is super excited about this little baby coming. She is talking about him more and more lately...what she's going to share with him, how he will cry, what he's going to do, etc etc. We've been talking a lot about labor and delivery, because if she wants to be (and is emotionally okay with it when the time comes) I'd love her to see her brother be born. If not, obviously I'm not going to make her be there! It's pretty amazing what she is capable of taking in, though. My friend Shannon came over yesterday (she is a childbirth educator), and was talking to Belle about the baby coming. I have never heard Annabelle tell anyone else what it's going to be like, so it was really awesome to hear her talk to Shannon about it. "Mommy is going to work so hard! and roar like a dinosaur! And then she's going to push, push, and the baby will come out!" (cue proud moment). She also knows that her baby brother is going to drink "milkies" and that mommy can't hold her all the time when baby brother is hungry or crying, but daddy can hold her and play with her lots and lots if mommy can't. Anyway, I could go on, but I'm just so thankful that she's listening when we talk, and that a lot of it seems to be sinking in. I'm planning on buying her a realistic looking baby doll to give to her when her brother is born, so that she can sit and nurse her baby with me, or take care of her new baby just like I am taking care of my new baby. A friend suggested it (she did it with her own kids), and said it was really great.

One of these days I'll take another belly pic...