36 weeks

9. jun

BABY'S SIZE     a papaya!  17 to 18.5 inches and 4 to 5.5 pounds.

HOW I'M FEELING     still trucking along.  everyone keeps asking me if i'm ready to be done.  other than feeling more than tired, and with squished ribs/lungs after work, and other than the whole sleep thing, i feel pretty good.  i'll cook this baby as long as it needs.  full 40!  (that means i have more time to get ready, too!)

WHAT I'M EATING     i've still been getting a salad every night i work.  for some reason, i love their ranch dressing.  it's a little thinner/runnier than normal ranch.  something about it makes my belly happy.

HOW I'M CHANGING     somehow, my belly is still growing.  it might just explode any second.

MOVEMENT     did i mention that i did kick counts for about 2 days when they recommended i start?  the expectation is to have 4 kicks in an hour during baby's 2 most active times of the day.  my 4 kicks happen in about 1 minute.  and happen many more times than twice a day.  this baby moves so much that i would be concerned if it only wiggled 4 times in an hour twice a day.

SLEEP     i feel like a beached turtle.  you know, the ones stuck on their backs?  i have to roll from side to side a lot to keep my hips from hurting too much.  and it is really hard.

THINGS THIS WEEK     i had my first fun (and by fun, i mean terrible) experience with a mouthy grandma at wall-mart.  i was standing in line to checkout and she comes to stand next to me and says, "aww, how cute.  when are you due?"  i said, "in about a month."  "oh," she says, as she looks me up and down, "you look like you're due now."  and i just looked at her.  honestly, i'm surprised it's taken this long for the comments to start (other than work, when i get told, "you look enormous!").  

LOOKING FORWARD TO     we're having some real live friends (potential friends) over next week for some swimming and some barbecuing.  i don't think we've ever officially had anyone come over that wasn't family.  kind of exciting!

FUN FACT     baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, and gums are becoming rigid (i guess that's a thing...).  baby's size means less amniotic fluid - movements are supposed to be feeling "different."  fewer kicks because of less space.