37 Weeks

How far along? 37 weeks

Due date? October 15, 2013

Weight gain? Gain shmain, but I think about 28 lbs. And I can feel every last bit of it.

Exercise? Swimming and Body by Trimester videos. I still get plenty of walking in just by living in the city without a car, so I’ve cut back on walking solely for exercise (although Luke and I are about to head to the park on this cool Fall morning!). If I start my day with a 3 mile walk, it’s a lot harder to want to go do all my errands, etc via foot.

Maternity clothes? My options are few and far between. However, I have bought a couple of loungy, comfy shirts to wear after baby arrives, Shopping is always fun, but thinking about holding our sweet baby while wearing the new stuff is even better!

Stretch marks? Not that I’ve seen, but I’m sure they’ll show up eventually. Can’t imagine that there aren’t with the way this tummy has stretched.

Sleep? Sleep seems to be getting worse. Two nights this week I had major problems falling asleep. Being up until 3 am while the hubby snoozes soundly is no fun, but I guess it’s good practice for the future!

Miss anything? Ready for a glass of wine and to move freely.

Movement? All the time, but it seems like the movements are starting to change a bit as the baby is running out of room.

Food cravings? After hearing at the last sonogram that the baby was on the smaller side of normal, I decided I needed to make a more conscious effort to get enough protein. So I’ve been eating a grilled chicken breast for lunch almost daily. Not so much a craving, but it is really good.

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope.

Other symptoms? Occasional backaches by the end of the day, but seriously, this week I feel great. Weeks 32 – 36 were really hard on me for some reason (I think my tummy had a major growth spurt), but I feel different this week. I’m not exactly sure what has changed, but I think it’s that we’re back into our normal routine. We seriously were in vacation mode since mid June, and while we don’t regret any trips we took or would change one visit that we had, it feels nice to be back into a routine. I’m cooking good dinners, going to bed at a decent time (still late since this is Spain, but much earlier than the past few weeks), and getting up at a decent time too. We’re caught up on laundry and errands and baby prep, so it’s been really nice to just enjoy our low key evenings together, especially since the days of just being two are numbered.

Have you started to show yet? Duh! (Now offer me your seat on the metro, please! Especially when I’m holding 3 bags!)

Gender prediction? It’s a GIRL! We wanted to keep the secret to ourselves and have been holding out on you this whole time!!!! Meg, pack up Molly’s clothes to send with Mom!

Luke’s belly art.

JK…..We still have no idea.

Happy or moody? Happy. Emotional. Nervous. Anxious. Ready. A few times recently, I’ve had the thought that, though I’m beyond ready to hold our baby, I’m going to miss being pregnant. (Although I think every time I’ve had that thought, I’ve been swimming weightlessly through the pool! Ha!) In all seriousness, though, I’ve really enjoyed this time, and I’m proud of myself for how I’ve handled it. I’m going to try and really cherish these last few weeks and soak it all in before our life changes forever.

Looking forward to? Meeting our sweet baby, of course. But until then, an appointment on Tuesday where they’ll hook me up to a fetal heart rate monitor to make sure that the baby is still thriving in there. In the US, I read that they don’t do this until after you’ve passed the due date or have some other issue, but seems like they’re more proactive with it in Spain as it’s standard procedure around this time of every pregnancy