Belly pics!

This is what happens when you've recently been to BRU (Babies R Us) and JoAnn's fabrics and discovered the cute little iron-on's. So cute! Hey, at least it kept me at home!
My first attempt at a self belly shot.. I haven't done this since the beginning, now I know why! 
Oh, why not... here's my fully exposed belly with a really stupid expression on my face! 
And, the traditional one, to compare with the others. 

To compare to my pre-pg stats: 

Weight - Then: 130, now: 173

Bra size - Then: 34B Now: too scared to actually go get fitted properly... something larger than a DD. 

Waist - Then: 27 inches, Now: 43.5 inches. 

I really don't think it will be that much longer. Today, at the appointment, the Midwife had me lay down to measure the heart beat and she said "Oh! You're having a contraction." I told her this was mild in comparison to my normal contractions. Before the end of the appointment, I had a firmer contraction and after confirming that it didn't really hurt (though I have had a few that did!) she said "Well, at least you're body will have lots of practice!" One can only hope! 

36w,4d (almost full term!) 

Holy Cow!

Um, the ticker says 24 days! How did THAT happen?


36w,4d

Grrr

So, at my appointment today, the NP didn't check my progress. This isn't the NP I loved, it's the one I'm seeing since my fav NP is out on vacation. She doesn't think baby's dropped (based on measuring my uterus from the outside). I think it was a total waste of time, my copay and a pee collection. LAME! 

36w

So, my hips are spreading. It's not very comfortable, let me tell you! I must now sit either "indian style" or like a teenage boy slumped back in a chair to avoid hip/pelvic pain. I can't sit in my computer chair anymore because the arm rests keep my knees too close together (what a visual did I just give you!) Nope, it's the exercise ball for me. That, or the couch, or the floor. Those are pretty much my only "comfortable" options. 

The contractions are fewer and farther between, however they're getting stronger and stronger by the day. I'm interested to see how much progress (if any) we've made since my appointment a week ago. I'll find out tomorrow morning. I did get a scary contraction that left me speechless and by the time I hobbled to the couch and laid down it still took ~ 30 additional seconds to go away. Back pain, hip pain, all kinds of un-fun feelings.... 

My body is getting ready. This is good. (ha, that's what I keep telling myself). I'll see if I can snag Nick to take a picture, since it's been a couple weeks since the last one. 

36weeks! 1 week until I'm full term! 

Nursery & Gear

So, we have pretty much everything we need for Baby O to arrive. I thought I'd share some pictures of the 'fun' gear I can't wait to use :) Also, there are some pictures of the Nursery as well. OK, so I still haven't figured out this whole picture order thing (um, it's backwards!) We've officially gone through over 80 hangers. I have to add more hangers to the shopping list... here's her closet thus far. 
Our stroller with the infant car seat and my diaper bag attached. I keep trying to remember to practice breaking it down and putting it back together so I don't look like such a rookie on our first trip out of the house... we'll see how it goes in the long run. 
Here's the bassinet portion of the stroller. We're going to use it on this stand for the first few weeks/months. 
Here's a pic of the nursery :) In the front of the pic is our guest bed. To the left is the dresser/diaper changing station, the crib (um, duh) to the right of the crib is a blue swivel rocker that was my grandmothers and to the far right is my 'feeding station' with a night light and it'll have water and other necessary goods (I'm sure I'll figure that out as I go)
If baby isn't sleeping in the bassinet or in the crib... we're hoping this will be our saving grace :) The teddy bear that we've used to demonstrate it's abilities was diapered by Nick. 
Here's a shot of her closet from afar. 

Whew! Let's see how long all this stuff stays as organized as it is right now! 

35w2d