36 weeks.

Holy schmoly... by the end of this week we'll be full term. 

Are you understanding the words coming out of my mouth?? 

5 more days and we will be full. term. 

My God... where has the time flown??

And so I have decided to mark this final week before it becomes a waiting game for Ty's arrival with a little questionaire of many of the questions that I received throughout this pregnancy. Not really because you're interested but because it may be fun to look back on someday... :)

How far along? 36 weeks (and 2 days to be exact...) - I can't believe I'm here!

Total weight gain: 22 pounds... and believe me - while I know most of it is weight for the baby... I am miserable. 

Maternity clothes? Getting dressed has become a challenge. I splurged on one good pair of maternity jeans but the rest has been stuff that I've already owned. And leggings. Lots and lots of leggings. 

Stretch marks? None on my belly (thanks for the good genes, mom!) but I did get one annoying little one on the under-side of my right boob. Random, I know. Guess my bitty-B-cups couldn't take the pressure...

Sleep? Totally unreliable. Most nights I toss and turn and wake up about 7-10 times to pee. And naps just leave me with migraines. But when I do sleep... it's amazing. On a typical night though, I fall asleep anywhere between 11 p.m.-1 a.m. and then am wide awake by 8 a.m. 

Best moment of my pregnancy so far? This is a tie. I had 3 moments which were all pretty awesome. Moment 1 - Hearing Ty's heartbeat for the first time. A friend had loaned us a fetal heartrate doppler and we had been trying to find the baby's heartbeat for a couple of weeks. One morning, I woke up before Brandon and decided to play with it a little while he slept in next to me. It took all of a minute to find it and I knew it was him because it was so fast. I didn't even have to wake Brandon up... the moment he heard it, his eyes shot open and he was so excited to hear it. It was that moment that the entire pregnancy became real to us. Moment 2 - Having Brandon feel Ty kick. I had been feeling him for a few weeks but the movements and kicking were so weak that half the time I wasn't sure what they were and the other half, I could only feel them because, well, he was inside of me. But one day, Brandon had his hand on my belly and Ty kicked. Hard. (Or I thought it was hard at the time... little did I know...) I will never forget as long as I live the look on Brandon's face. He grinned from ear-to-ear and his eyes may have even welled up with tears a little. :) Moment 3 - Telling our parents. I have never been so nervous/excited/scared to tell my parents something in my life. Brandon and I had planned up this elaborate scheme to tell my parents but on Mother's Day, while sitting across from them, I couldn't control myself and I just kind of blurted it out. My mom squealed and my dad couldn't stop giggling. We did a bit more of a "show" for Brandon's parents and were able to capture the moment on camera but I've got to tell you... both of their excitement for our little blessing has been the icing on the cake for this pregnancy. 

Least favorite part of this pregnancy? I must admit... I don't do pregnant well. It's not that I've had this terrible pregnancy because it really has been pretty breezy but I just don't feel like myself. And I hate that. I hate not having any clothes to wear. Or constantly having to keep a bottle of Maalox within reaching distance. And I hate how I constantly feel out of breath and just so... heavy. 

Movement: Ty has been super active. But mostly at night and in the early morning. He's truly part of the problem why I don't fall asleep until so late. Once I get comfy, he's all like - Oh yay! You're still now, mom! Let me show you my tumbling tricks and my kickboxing skills! 

Food cravings? Not really. Most things I crave, I craved before I was pregnant so I can't really blame them on the pregnancy now, can I? But I have wanted lots of apples and fruit. 

Symptoms? The only symptom I've had pretty regularly has been heartburn. And it makes me want to throw myself off a bridge. I never had heartburn before pregnancy and now I feel as though I will never be rid of it. My throat is in a constant burning state. It's super fun. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope. 

Labor signs? Braxton Hicks contractions are becoming more regular. And a bit more uncomfortable than they were a month or even two weeks ago. Yesterday I even had one shoot up my back. Ty has officially "dropped" and as of late last week, I am 3 centimeters dilated. Not to mention I've lost my mucous plug (TMI? Sorry...)! So I think it's safe to say labor is imminent! 

Wedding rings on or off? On. 

Happy or Moody most of the time? Yikes. I'd like to say that my emotions have been pretty stable although I'm sure Brandon would disagree with me there. I have been doing a lot more crying than usual. But I was a cry-baby before I got pregnant. Aside from the first trimester where I was an emotional/miserable disaster, I've been pretty happy and excited!

Looking forward to: All of it. But, really, just meeting him. It's been months and months where I've imagined holding him and feeling him and smelling and kissing him all over. When I think about how close we are I get giddy with excitement and get this insane burst of energy to just do something... anything... that will make his arrival go more smoothly. 

birthday boy.

Today is Brandon's 29th birthday! 

I'm sure everyone says this about the love of their lives but I truly feel, with every breath and every beat of my heart, that I am the luckiest girl in the world to have found someone so amazing, loving, and kind to spend the rest of my life with. I thank God every day for him. Every single day. 

But today is a special day for someone else, too. Today, 29 years ago, Brandon's mom, Ms. Teresa, became a mommy. 

I guess before I got pregnant I always thought of a person's birthday as their day. And in many, many ways it is. Today we are celebrating Brandon turning another year older. Another year of love and laughter and many surprises. I get 365 more days to fall more in love with him. But it's also Ms. Teresa's day... 29 years ago it was her birth-day. The day she had spent 9 months preparing for... sewing his first quilt, hanging (or attempting to hang) wallpaper in his nursery, and learning to love the little boy whom she had not yet met but would become one of her greatest accomplishments. And 29 years ago today, Brandon was born and although Brandon doesn't remember it.... she does. 

And so this is to Ms. Teresa:

I know that the day I will become a mother will be one of my most favorite days. And today is that day for you. I still have yet to experience the kind of love that you have for Brandon and I truly can not wait to finally hold Ty and smell him and hear him. I truly have some wonderful examples of motherhood in my life and I'm so glad that you are one of them. I want you to know that you did such a good job raising Brandon. He is such a good man. Such a loving husband. And he is going to be an amazing, amaaazing father. I hope and pray that Ty will be just like his daddy. And I have you to thank for that. I hope you know how much we love you... how lucky I feel to have such a wonderful mother-in-law... and how lucky Ty will be to have you as his Grandma. So Happy Birth-day! And thanks for this guy: 

35 weeks(ish).

At 35 weeks (and 3 days....):

- Ty is 5.25 pounds and the size of a honeydew melon!
- I'm tired. Not quite the coma-state tired that I was during the first trimester but definitely napping quite a bit more than usual.
- Ty is getting stronger. Much stronger. Like, ohmigod-he's-going-to-punch-threw-my-stomach stronger.
- The nursery decorating has commenced!

- I'm still craving honeycrisp apples. And have also begun craving smoothies, salads, and anything with cheese on it.
- The only exercise I'm getting is in my wrist from all the thank you cards I've been writing. (And I consider it exercise because if you can cramp from it... and I am getting quite a bit of hand cramps... then it's considered exercise in my book).
- I have peed on myself 4 times. True story.
- This "nesting" is getting out. of. control. Brandon begs me to sit on the sofa with him so we can watch one of our favorite shows together but when I do I just anxiously count the minutes until it's over so that I can finish cleaning the baseboards. 
- Ty is getting the hiccups quite often. And it tickles (a.k.a. drives me insane). 
- I have never adored/loved/been so protective of something in my life... especially considering that I have yet to meet this little heartbreaker.