33 Week Updates: Baby 2.0

How far along? 33 weeks today!

How big is baby? The apps estimate at this time she would be around 17 inches long and 4-4.5 pounds. Baby is actively in the process of receiving Mama's antibodies toward good health upon her arrival.

How big is Mama? My weight gain has been slowing way down. Only up .4 of a pound from last week (140.8 total weight, so 30.4 pound gain so far). Baby is definitely still growing though, as I can actively tell her space in there is getting tighter and tighter!

Sleep? Still good overall, though for the first time this past week sleeping on my back has gotten harder. I'll get a bit short of breath and have to prop something under one side to not be completely flat. I've also noticed that when I fall asleep in the side lying position, I NEVER wake up on my back (which always used to happen!) Even my subconscious is having trouble flipping this mammoth belly over. The last couple of nights I've also awoken several times to a hand having fallen asleep.

Food cravings/aversions? I haven't been wanting red meat or heavier meals lately; rather soups, pastas, and lighter foods along those lines are what my body is craving.

Symptoms?

*For every "good" day I have- where I feel rested and energetic- I have 2-3 in a row where I am pretty exhausted in every.single.way.

*This week saw an uptick/return of bloody noses

*The Braxton Hicks contractions have increased

Big sister? Iyla has been in such a lovely place this past week. Super happy, affectionate, sleeping well, waking happy... she's definitely matured further in her perception and interactions with us.

Over the weekend her Mimi and Grampy were in town, and when she woke up Sunday morning and I reminded her that Mimi and Grampy had slept over, she immediately got an excited look on her face and asked "are you going to the baby hospital today?" It seems reading the "I'm Going to be a Big Sister" book every.single.night has definitely had an effect on her. So cute!

Yesterday we had an open house at Iyla's new "Big Girl School" that she'll be starting in late August. She was super excited to go, and did really well! They started all the kiddos out on the playground, then had a circle time in one of the classrooms. After circle time the parents were encouraged to leave the room while the kids played & interacted with the 5 Primary teachers. I never had to go back in- which was great- but she was definitely a bit over-stimulated when we reunited (she is, after all, an introvert at heart)! We are excited to see how it all goes come August.

Iyla is still insisting on either 1 or 2 buns in her hair daily.... good thing they are so adorable on her!

Baby prep?

The nursery furniture arrived (well, at least the dresser and crib...still awaiting the glider)! Here are a few shots of the baby's room... obviously there is still a lot to be done (curtains, rug, art, shelving, nightstand assembly, etc):

I also scored that Halo Bassinet I've been wanting off Craigslist for $75 less than it retails new! Very excited about this and hope baby girl likes it too:

In other prep, I washed all the baby clothes (still need to put them away in the dresser) and also cleared out the nursery closet. Baby steps.... baby steps! I can't believe how soon this little one is going to be here. Very exciting!

Magic Sleep Elixir, Extreme Nesting, & 33 Week Updates

I had some seriously extreme nesting going on yesterday. Perhaps it was due to the first good nights' sleep I've had in weeks- it's amazing the magic that feeling rested can bring! I felt like I could conquer the world, and I have this little bottle to thank for it:

My pre-natal yoga teacher had mentioned this "Sleepy Nights for Pregnancy" at class last week, and Thursday I finally made the trip to Whole Foods to grab some. I took 2 dropper fulls before bed, 2 when I woke in the middle of the night, and another when I woke toward the morning. I ended up getting about 9.5 glorious hours of sleep- finally rising at 7:30am, which is the latest I've slept in as long as I can remember! This morning I still woke at 6am and couldn't get back to sleep, but at least I didn't have an hour of middle-of-the-night-schizo brain on top of that.

There's nothing like knowing paying guests will be staying at your house for 5 nights to kick the nesting into full gear. This coming Wednesday we have 2 couples arriving to rent our house for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and there is much to be done. I completely cleaned out, scrubbed down, & organized our kitchen pantry, and did a similar deep cleaning of our bedroom closet.

One half of our master closet- I love this space. How cool is it to have a window in your closet?

I also made great headway in organizing the baby shower loot in our nursery. I have almost all bedding, blankets, & clothes washed & put away- the main things left to do are to hang art on the walls, organize a diaper station, & unpack/assemble the big baby gear.

 We have a changing pad! And I am still playing with that tree branch- the latest idea is to maybe put a storage piece of furniture where it now sits (storage basket drawers?) and have the branch on top of that in a weighted vase.

We also finally settled on the light for above the glider! A Mexican star light. Well, we actually removed the light feature due to the ugliness of an extension cord down the wall- but still love the look of this there. That bird painting to the right will get hung next to the window, and behind the rocker I'd like to either have a mirror or a couple of floating shelves.

I am also still debating on whether or not to get some kind of mobile above the crib. Here is the current view:

And here is what I am thinking of purchasing to hang from the ceiling between those two windows:

Link to mobile on Etsy here.

What do you all think? It could be whimsical/beautiful, or it could look like too much. The challenge with my just ordering it to see is that these are custom made and can't be returned.

I am 33 weeks pregnant today- here are the official updates!

How far along? 33 weeks

How big is baby? The size of a Honeydew melon. The apps say she should be in the 4 pound range now. The growth ultrasound we had a little over a week ago officially clocked her in at 3lbs, 6 ounces, so it is likely she is around 4+ pounds now.

Weight gain? I hit the 20 pound mark this morning! 20.4 pounds to be exact, so almost a 1 pound gain from last week. I am just now starting to get comments along the lines of "it looks like you are going to pop!" and "you're in the final stretch now!" I've apparently grown out of the "you're so small" phase, which is just fine by me. I am enjoying watching my belly grow!

 A belly shot from right before date night with BC Wednesday 

And the standard woobie belly fare (a little blurry, but that's how I'm feeling this morning)

Cravings/Aversions? I've noticed that I am NOT wanting salads or leafy greens lately. Now if we go out to eat I do still order a small salad or at least make sure I eat veggies, but at home it is the last thing I want to have. Very strange. I have been loving cereal as a late night snack (those mini cereal variety packs are awesome!) and am eating a Honey Crisp apple every afternoon.

Sleep? See above. I am hoping my new magic elixir buys me some good rest up until the baby comes!

Symptoms? I am having a lot of aching/stretching in the area between my lower back & glute muscles- I guess that is the outer/back area of my hips? If I am up and about a lot this area gets VERY sore, as it did with the extreme nesting yesterday. It helps to stop and do pigeon pose or a deep front lunge to get those muscles to stretch out.

The baby has been getting the hiccups many, many times during the day! It is a good way, in addition to her regular movements, to know all is well in there.

Most looking forward to? Purchasing the rest of the baby loot we need and starting to get things assembled. Now that the shower has come and gone I know exactly what is left that we need. Our car seat, an extra base, and the baby swing are sitting in boxes in front of me now (I was SO geeked out when that car seat was delivered last night!). And after our ACL guests leave I will order up our stroller and a plethora of other smaller items we need (to include things like pacifiers, newborn size cloth diapers, a baby bathtub/robe/washcloths, bedding items, etc). 

Our official ticker reads there are 49 days left until baby- even less if we do indeed schedule her in week 39 for a c-section! Lots to do, but I am having a lot of fun getting everything organized & prepared. : )