Puppy Love & Bumps

Freddy Fred loves Lily already!

37 Weeks

I'm starting to wonder how many more of these I will actually write!  Hopefully still a few more, but you never know.  I'm still feeling really good.  I don’t really feel like anything has changed, other than the fact that it feels great to officially be “full term” and through that milestone.  According to my doctor appointment this morning I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced (or thinned).  This doesn't mean much, except that there's at least something is happening in my body and we're having some progress.  I could easily still go to my due date (or beyond) though - stay tuned!  Below is my 37 week belly picture.

36 Weeks

Here we are – the last week until I am officially considered full term.  Hitting this milestone feels so good, because I’ll know that she’s (relatively) safe to come at any time.  I seem to have reached the stage of pregnancy where everyone assumes I can go into labor at any minute (which I suppose is true).  I found out yesterday that I am actually having some fairly strong contractions.  What  I thought was Lily pushing against my stomach is actually my uterus contracting.  That was a surprise!  At this point, I'm pretty sure that they're still "practice" contractions.  I hope so anyway, because we still want Lily to stay in and cook for a few more weeks so she can finish developing and pack on a little more weight!  Below is my 36 week belly picture.

35 Weeks

Fun fact: I have been pregnant since very late in November of last year.  That means I have been pregnant for the entire year of 2012 (plus a month prior).  You don’t realize just how long 40 weeks is until you are counting them down, but it's still gone by so quickly!  I had my second shower yesterday & it was great!  Now I'm having to face the reality that it's up to me to finish preparing for Lily's birth and it's coming up fast.  Kevin & I are definitely ready but it's still a little overwhelming to think about.  In just a month or so we will be meeting our little girl!  Below is my 35 week belly picture.

34 Weeks

I am definitely to the point where the weeks are starting to run together.  I remember back when I was like seven weeks pregnant, and I would hear women with giant bellies claim to not even remember how far along they were, I would think “how can you not remember?  THIS IS THE BIGGEST DEAL IN THE WORLD.”  Because back then every day felt like a week just waiting to get to the point where my pregnancy felt “safe” and real.  And while, at least in my personal world, it still is the biggest deal, it really is easy to lose track when you are counting forty-ish weeks.  But somehow, I have ended up at 34.  Check out the growth just 5 weeks apart at a time – this third trimester is NO joke

 This is at 19 weeks...

This is at 24 weeks...

This is at 29 weeks (start of the third trimester)...  And...

Now at 34 weeks - YOWZA!

33 Weeks

It's continuing to go by so quickly and a part of me is grateful as I can't wait to meet our baby girl, but another part of me is sad that soon I won't be pregnant anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I'm going to love my little girl more than anything in this world and I can't wait to meet her, but you're only pregnant a few times in your life and right now I'm just trying to soak it all up.  I still feel really great overall, but it is also getting a lot harder to find comfortable positions to sit/stand/eat and just be comfy in general.  Lily is getting so big now it does make normal things a little hard to do.  Mid and upper backache is also an issue at times... it comes and goes and Kevin is very kind that he does give me the occasional massage which I am very grateful for!  I feel Lily move a lot and have the hiccups which is still the cutest thing.  Instead of a series of pokes or jabs, it's rapid motion fire - pow pow p-p-p-p-pow.  I can feel her squirming and moving all her little limbs all of the time.  When it happens, I look down - chin to chest.  My stomach is like that game, Whac-A-Mole - blurp blurp blurp.  Now you see me, now you don't!  Below is my 33 week belly picture.