36 weeks.

How far along?:  36 weeks!  We're under a month out, people!  Although if I get my way, this kid will stay put 'til about 41 weeks, giving us extra time to get the house done.  Of course, I'll probably be eating those words when I get to that point and am beyond miserable.

Total weight gain:  I have another appt on Friday so we'll find out then.  I've been eating really well lately... haven't had much of an appetite so that's helped.  BB is encroaching upon my belly-space which has been good for me, calorie-wise.  I'll be surprised if I'm up more than a pound or two over the past two weeks but knowing my luck, I'll have gained another 10 or something ridiculous.

Maternity Clothes?:  It's definitely getting colder here which is making it harder to dress.  I've been cramming my fat feet into boots that barely fit and wrapping cardigans around tanks and tees.  And I broke down and bought what is hopefully my LAST maternity purchase for awhile... two long-sleeved tees to get me through the next month.

Weekly belly pic:

Can you say BIG BELLY?

Looking like crap on the left at 35w2d, all dressed up for a charity dinner on the right at 35w3d.  Please ignore the fact that my once put-together nursery is now a disheveled mess.  Hoping to get it all put back together tonight.

Stretch Marks?:  Still none.  And I checked myself again this morning so I can still say this with confidence.  Fingers crossed, people!

Sleep:  Eh.  Last night was good, I was only up twice to pee.  The night before, though?  Even Nick noticed how often I was up and that I was tossing and turning all night.

Best moment this week:  Making more progress on the house!

Movement:  This kid goes through spurts and it's starting to mess with my head.  Some days s/he doesn't stop (take today, for example).  But others, s/he freaks me out by sleeping for hours on end.  The other night while laying in bed, I realized that I hadn't felt anything in hours.  Cue mild freak out.  I jumped (well, as fast as a large pregnant woman can jump) up and ran to the kitchen to down some juice then got back in bed on my left side and didn't move for half an hour.  Finally s/he started doing it's thing.  Then naturally, I couldn't fall asleep because the kid up and s/he was kicking the crap out of me.

Cravings:  I've had a thing for miso soup lately.  Odd.

Aversions:  Nada.  Although the thought of certain meats still makes me cringe.  I was face to face with a meatloaf the other day and almost lost it.

Other Symptoms:  The heartburn has been out.of.control.  Other than that though, I'm doing okay.  It still seems odd to me that the awful foot/leg aches have disappeared.  And I don't know if it's the cooler weather or what, but I'm more comfortable now than I was a month ago).  Or maybe I'm just getting used to being the size of a small cow.  Now I'm just dealing with fat feet.  If they don't go back to their normal size after having this kid, I WILL have a breakdown.

Missing anything?:  Being able to have a conversation that doesn't revolve around babies.  Although I totally take the blame for that one... it's all that's on my mind so it's all I talk about.  My poor friends.

Belly Button:  Oh, this is good.  Apologies for the freaky picture but I noticed this last night while Nick was out and just HAD to send him a pic immediately.  I'm now the proud(?) owner of an outie.  But my belly button ring still fits!

Notice that the bottom is now completely sticking out... looks like some sort of crazy moon-scape, doesn't it?

Gender Prediction:  I had THE most vivid girl dream Sunday night.  We were calling her by her name and I could see exactly what she looked like.  But that probably means nothing and I'll most likely pop out a boy ;)

Mood:  I have my moments but I'm in good spirits overall.  I did, however, scream at the vacuum cleaner last night in a fit of rage.  As in actually shrieked at the top of my lungs because the thing was pissing me off.  My dogs and neighbors probably think I'm losing it.

Purchases:  Just a shit-load of house stuff.

The gorgeous vanity we ordered for our new master bathroom.  When I showed it to Nick he said "That's something that adults buy! We're not old enough!"  The house/kid thing is definitely bringing the grown-ups out of us.  haha

This was Saturday at Lowe's.  $2,000 later, we're the proud owners of too many light fixtures and ceiling fans to count, new faucets and fixtures for all the bathrooms, a mirror for the hall bath and a vanity for the powder room.  Took both of our cars to get it all home.  

Labor Signs:  Don't think so.  Although every time I take the pups for a walk, my stomach gets rock hard, making it quite uncomfortable to walk.  Not sure if that qualifies as Braxton Hicks or not...

Milestones:  Full term next week!

In Other News:  I came home the other day to find a diaper box on our front porch.  My first thought was "Score!  Someone sent me diapers!"  Then I saw the shipping label and realized that Buy Buy Baby just used it as packaging.  I bent over to pick it up, bracing myself for the weight and almost fell over backwards because the thing was so damn light.  Baffled, I took it inside, opened it up and found this:

Yes, that would be an average sized shirt box sitting all the way at the bottom of a huge diaper box.  And this is the second time I've gotten something like this from BBB.  They must have morons doing their packing.  Talk about wasteful.

'Til next week...

35/35!

How far along?:  35 weeks!  Which also means only 35 days left!  Crazy, right?  Baby's the size of a coconut.

Total weight gain:  I'm up to *GASP* 183lbs as of Friday.  That makes me want to vomit.  On the other hand though, that has me at a gain of only 4lbs over the last two weeks.  I don't think that's terrible, although Dr. Negativity certainly thinks it is.  Her exact words: "Wow! You've had quite a jump in weight!"  Um... really?  And excuse me if I'm wrong, but that only has me up 42lbs.  Yes, it's over the recommended high of 35lbs but c'mon!  It's not like I'm obese!  Nor will I be.  Bitch.  I really hope she's not the on-call doc when I go into labor.

Maternity Clothes?:  I'm getting so tired of rotating through the same outfits.  A lot of my cuter maternity tops are way too short (I seriously don't understand why they don't make them longer!) so I'm basically down to tank tops, jeans or leggings and some type of cardigan/wrap.  BO-RING.  I saw a new commercial for White House Black Market the other day and got seriously sad.  I can't wait 'til I can wear cute fashionable clothing again!

Weekly belly pic:

Getting more and more torpedo-like by the day.  And please ignore the fact that there is no longer a wall behind me.  The on-going construction at the house might kill me.

Can't even remember why or where I wore a dress to last week.  Pregnancy brain, anyone?  This dress is still one of my favorite mat items though.  It's looked adorable no matter size I happen to be.

Stretch Marks?:  Still none.  And I checked myself the other night so I can say this with confidence.  Fingers crossed, people!

Sleep:  Has been okay.  Until I came down with the plague on Friday.  Since then I've been up at least hourly due to horrific pain in my throat and the fact that I can't breathe out of my nose.  Even Benadryl isn't helping much.  Third trimester colds blow.

Best moment this week:  Seeing our new addition get framed in.

This picture doesn't do it justice and they've done quite a bit since it was taken.  Kinda feels like we're finally getting somewhere.  All of the replacement windows are in, the roof is up, they did the plumbing rough yesterday and we met with the electrician this morning.

Movement:  Nick and I had fun on Sunday night just watching s/he roll all over the place.  We're fairly certain we felt a shoulder, which was a little freaky.  I've gotten used to his/her butt sticking out but feeling the shoulder was odd.  And I don't think I've mentioned this yet but this kid gets hiccups ALL THE TIME.  It's cute for the first 3 seconds, then I'm begging it to stop.  The rhythmic bouncing inside my belly is honestly pretty annoying.  Especially when I'm trying to sleep.  It'll be interesting to see if s/he has hiccups as frequently after birth.

Cravings:  I'm still on a roll with the asiago cheese bagels from Panera.  If I think it, I must get it.

Aversions:  Nada.  

Other Symptoms:  The excruciating rib pain seems to have subsided over the past few days.  The only explanation for that is that BB dropped, which is mildly terrifying.  The terrible achiness that I've had in my feet and legs is gone, too.  That one I can't explain.  I've been on them just as much, if not more and I don't feel like dying by the end of the day.  And as if I was really on a roll, the swelling had also subsided.  Until today, that is.  Humidity hates me.

Check out those sausage toes!  Pretty, no?  I am so swollen today that I can barely get my flip flops on (yes, I wore flip flops to the office... sigh...) and my feet are so damn hot that I can barely stand it.  Oh, and I can't bend my toes.  Or my fingers for that matter.  Those rings are on for the duration.  And you can't tell from the picture but even my wrists are swollen... my once loose watch is now so tight that it leaves indentations.  Lovely.

Missing anything?:  Getting drunk.  Well, not really drunk.  Buzzed, I guess you could say.  I can't wait to be able to drink a couple glasses of wine and have that fantastic relaxed, happy feeling.  Five more weeks...

Belly Button:  Flattening out more and more each day.  And on Sunday while Nick and I were engrossed in Belly Watch 2012, kid moved right to the middle of my belly and practically popped my navel right out.  Thankfully it went back to innie-style as soon as s/he moved to the side.

Gender Prediction:  I'm still thinking girl lately, although I really have no idea why.  

Mood:  Good for the most part.  I was a miserable, cranky bitch yesterday, but I blame the cold and the fact that I was beyond exhausted.  

Purchases:  Nothing new this week.

Labor Signs:  I'm pretty sure I experienced my first set of Braxton Hicks contractions last night.  I was on my hands and knees taping paper drop cloths throughout our house to protect the floors from the contractors' disgusting boots, so I was up and down, huffing and puffing for a good half hour... definitely over-did it.  Once I was done, I noticed that my entire stomach tensed up and became hard as a freaking rock.  And did so sporadically three or four times throughout the next hour.  Didn't hurt at all, just caught me off guard.

Milestones:  35/35!

In Other News:  Apparently my husband is an ace at car seat installation.  We got them checked last week and the police officer had no complaints, which was nice to hear since they say that 9 out of 10 people install them incorrectly.  We also met with a pediatrician last week.  I really liked her and was impressed with the office.  It's close to the house, they have great hours (stay open til 7 each night and have weekend hours) and have an urgent care when they're closed.  I think Nick would like me to set up an appt with a different office so we can compare but we've got so much going on that I wouldn't mind just going with this office and calling it a day.

I had my 34 (and a half) week appt on Friday.  And somehow I got horribly lost on way there.  Let's keep in mind that this is an office I've been to about a million times, in a city I've lived in for over five years.  I wish I was kidding when I told you that I had to plug the address into my GPS to get back on track.  (Didn't think there was anything to pregnancy-brain?  I beg to differ.)  Anyway, other than Dr. Negativity bitching about my earth-shattering 4lb weight gain, the appt went well.  My blood pressure was phenomenal, as it has been all along and BB's heartrate was hanging steady in the 140s.  I also got my flu shot, which both Nick and I were told was important for us to have by the pediatrician since baby will be born during flu season.  Next appt is 36 (and a half) weeks and then we go weekly.  Kinda scary to think that I have all of my appts scheduled through 38 weeks.  We're getting close!

34 weeks.

Is anyone else getting tired of these posts?  I am.  Anyway...

How far along?:  34 weeks!  Baby's the size of a butternut squash.  It seems surreal that we're getting down to the wire... only 3 weeks til full term.  Crazy.  I said something to Nick the other day about the fact that we'll be parents soon and he responded with "we're too young for that... adults do that, not us".  I feel the same.  haha

Total weight gain:  Won't be weighed again until Friday.

Maternity Clothes?:  This is getting tough... it got gloriously cool here this week (hello, fall!) and I seriously don't have the wardrobe for it.  I have one pair of maternity jeans, one pair of mat work pants, one pair of leggings and my mat magic pants, but sadly they're getting pretty tight.  All the rest of my bottoms are shorts.  And since I refuse to spend anymore money on maternity clothes, I'm going to be repeating outfits from here on out.  And doing far more laundry.  Sigh.

Maternity clothes related story:  the other night I had a dream that I went into labor at 34 weeks (which was yesterday) and in the dream I was wearing a very specific outfit.  I think it's safe to say that that particular top will no longer be part of my rotation.  Not taking any chances, people.

Weekly belly pic:

I had a friend tell me that I "dropped" yesterday.  I was kinda thinking that solely based on how much more pressure this kid is putting on my bladder, but when you compare this week's picture to last week's, I think I look exactly the same.

Only took one outfit pic last week.  I'm getting tired of seeing the same stuff all the time so I'm sick of documenting it.

Stretch Marks?:  Still none.  I'm feeling like I may make it to the end unscathed.  Although I probably just jinxed myself.

Sleep:  Has been surprisingly decent this week.  Although I've been going to bed at the ridiculously early hour of 9pm just about nightly.  And then I read for a half hour or so before drifting off.  I do, however, wake up about a bajillion times each night, either to pee or roll over.  The numb hand/arm thing is getting old.  It's especially bad if I lay on my right.  I wake up and literally can't move my hand or fingers.  Talk about annoying.

Best moment this week:  This week has been pretty uneventful.  We're making progress on the house though, which is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC.  Framing started at the end of last week and they're installing new windows and doors today.  Three cheers for energy efficiency!  haha

Movement:  This kid has been on a roll this week.  Quite literally.  And it doesn't feel good.  AT ALL.  S/he doesn't seem to like it when I'm sitting in my desk chair at my office... I must be squishing things in there because s/he rolls all over the place and uses my bladder as a punching bag.  Not a fan.  

Cravings:  My eating has been pretty much back to normal this week.  I've been trying to get more protein and greens in and have been good on the sweets-front.  At the grocery store the other day I even put back two packages of cookies after walking around the store with them in my cart with every intention of leaving with them.  That, my friends, is restraint.

Aversions:  Nada.  

Other Symptoms:  The feet are still my biggest woe.  Sadly, almost none of my shoes fit anymore.  So this happened:

Yes, that would be a picture of my feet in slippers.  At work.  haha.  I gotta tell you though, since I've been living in slippers (at the office as well as at home), my feet haven't been swollen, nor have they hurt so much. I guess walking around in heels or barefoot on the hardwood at 8 months pregnant probably wasn't the smartest idea I ever had.

Missing anything?:  My old body.  I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday, when the only things on TV were infomercials and got sucked into one for Insanity.  I've been thinking about purchasing it to get myself back into shape post-baby but I'm pretty sure I'm now sold.  I desperately miss working out and can't wait to get some semblance of my old self back.

Belly Button:  Flattening out more and more each day.

Gender Prediction:  I had a very vivid girl dream on Sunday, followed by an even more vivid boy dream on Monday.  The boy dream was crazy... he came out and looked just like a little Asian baby and for some reason we let my dad name him.  He came up with Jonathan Kirkpatrick Dominick Purnomo.  Where that came from, I have no idea.  My subconscious is effed up.  (More evidence pointing toward that: last night I dreamed that I got sucked into a cult.  WTH?)  Anyway... in real life, I've been having stronger and stronger girl feelings but I don't know why.

Mood:  Good!  Just tired, even though I've been getting about 9 hours of sleep a night.

Purchases:  Nothing new this week.

Labor Signs:  I feel it's probably appropriate to add this category back into the rotation, although I don't think I've had any labor signs yet.  I'm still waiting for the infamous Braxton Hicks contractions.  And funny story (and totally TMI): last night after peeing for the 803rd time, I peed all over my hand while wiping.  For a split second I was like "wow, did my water just break?" but then I realized that BB rolled onto my bladder and pushed more out.  ha!  You're welcome for that story.

Milestones:  Um, I'm really bad at this category.  I swear I do read that updates that flood my inbox each week but I can never remember what significant development baby is currently making.  Bad Mommy.

In Other News:  We're getting our carseats inspected tomorrow and also meeting with a pediatrician.  I shall update next week :)

Celebrating Baby P.

Last Saturday I was the lucky honoree at a phenomenal baby shower thrown by my mother and mother-in-law.

And I know this is frowned upon by some, but I definitely had some input into the theme and details.

I wanted something unique and fun.  Not your traditional "let's get together for a luncheon" shower.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my style.

Since we're Team Green and I'm obsessed with lime green for this child, we decided to go with a lime green and white color scheme and an English Tea Party theme.  

And luckily for me, my restaurateur husband and mother-in-law are incredible at planning this sort of thing.  MIL took care of the decorations and the food (scones, finger sandwiches, salad, tea) and Nick had what might've been the best idea of all: the mimosa bar.  I wanted my non-knocked-up guests to enjoy themselves so I knew I wanted some sort of alcohol available.  Instead of your ordinary champagne and orange juice, Nick had a variety of different fruit juices, purees and fresh fruit to add.  It was a self-serve bar and a HUGE hit.  I may or may not have indulged in a couple of small glasses myself ;)

As for the centerpieces, my mom was in charge.  And she had the fantastic idea to use tea cups and tea pots from my grandmother and Nick's grandmother.  Such a great idea to incorporate our relatives into the shower.  And naturally, my favorite florist took the idea to the next level and created absolutely gorgeous arrangements.

Column 1 (top to bottom): Harrod's bear direct from London, tea cup centerpiece, turtle from top of diaper cake.  Column 2: diaper cake made by my mom, the invitation.  Column 3: favor box (tea bags, homemade shortbread cookies and mini jam jar), tea kettle, tea kettle arrangement.

 Can I tell you?  I have THE most generous family and friends.  The gift pile was practically never-ending.  Thankfully I had my little helper, Ryleigh (Nick's goddaughter), to bring presents to me to keep things moving along.

Since Sis is busy world-travelling and couldn't attend the shower, we had to Skype her in.  Notice her behind me in the pic below, happily sipping a glass of wine.  In France.  Typical Sis ;)

To keep guests occupied during the gift opening, we played the standard baby shower bingo, with bingo cards thoughtfully made by my wonderful friend, Paula.

We had about 50 people show up, all of whom are special to me, and I think it's safe to say that everyone had a blast.  I got compliments from more than one person after the shower saying how lovely it was.  Love that.

Column 1 (top to bottom): me w/ BFF Krystyn, my "labor buddies" Niki (due 8 days before me) and Dani (due 4 weeks before me).  Column 2: husband and me, mom and MIL.  Column 3: me with the SLPs ;), sis-in-law Michelle, Paula & Amy.

I'm so thankful to all who came to my shower to celebrate baby's fast-approaching arrival, especially my mother, brother, sister-in-law and nephew, who flew in from St. Louis.  I had a truly wonderful time and am so happy to know that this baby is going to come into the world loved by so many.

Now to find someplace to put all of this stuff... :)

The idiots are out.

Apparently being pregnant makes it okay for people to say whatever the hell they want to you.  Below are just a few of the comments I've heard over the past 7 months that have made me shake my head.

Size Issues:

1: Random guy at restaurant, after Sis jokes to him about the fact that I was eating for two (she's allowed), says "are you sure you're not eating for three?"  Asshole.

2: Maintenance guy at office, "I was really surprised to hear you were pregnant."  Hello, I'm 32 and have been married for almost three years... is it really that shocking?  Then he says after looking at my belly, "are you having twins?"  Ugh.

3: Drunk acquaintance at a charity event, "you must be ready to pop" (motioning to my belly, alluding to the fact that I'm far too big for only seven months)... I got a little defensive and told her that I'm actually measuring EXACTLY on track and the doc thinks that baby is on the small side.  Bitch.

4: A coworker walked into my office and said to me today "Well, you're certainly not getting any smaller".  No shit, dumbass... I'm pregnant and don't plan to get any smaller until the kid has been evicted.

5: And I've gotten the twin thing from quite a few more people... my own aunt, people in my office building, acquaintances, etc... do people really think it's possible to have gotten to almost 8 months without realizing that there is, in fact, only one child in there?  Sigh.

Breastfeeding:

Let's just start by saying that at this point I don't think I'll be breastfeeding my child.  And let's leave it at personal reasons for my decision.  If you haven't noticed, there's been a big push in favor of breastfeeding recently.  It's everywhere.  And yes, I understand why.  Breast is best and all that jazz, blah, blah, blah.  I'm just not comfortable with it.  So apparently that makes me a bad mother before I've even begun.  And I'm getting hit with it from the most unexpected sources.

1: The electrician we had come to our house to give us a quote for our addition has a one year old and after small talk about when we're due, he felt the need to tell me how cool it is to watch his wife breastfeed.  He must've seen the look on my face and assumed I wasn't into it because then he said something along the lines of "oh, you've just gotta try it, it's best for the baby, you never know what kind of crap they hide in formula".  Thanks for your opinion, asshole.  And by the way, we won't be hiring you.

2: A close friend who has a four month old texted Nick and me the other day saying "You might want to invest in a small chest freezer if you haven't already.  I haven't seen anything but milk in mine for months."  This was completely 100% unprompted.  He just assumed that I'm going to breastfeed and felt the need to text us out of the blue about what we'll need.  I didn't respond.  All Nick said in return was "Good to know."

Breastfeeding is such a personal topic.  I just don't get why people think it's okay to bring it up all the time.  And hearing it from men?  I never thought I'd have that problem.  I know it's ridiculous but it seriously makes me feel guilty for wanting formula feed my child.  And that's just not right.

Random:

1: As I was in line to check out at the grocery store on Labor Day, the idiot behind me said "You're not going to have your baby on Labor Day, are you?"  And then proceeded to laugh his face off.  Thought he was so damn clever.

Aside from finally having BB in my arms, I think the biggest thing I'm looking forward to about not being pregnant anymore is the asinine comments stopping.  Now here's hoping no one says anything thoughtless to me about still looking pregnant after giving birth...

33 weeks.

How far along?:  33 weeks!  Plus 3 days.  This post is seriously late.  If I wrote it yesterday though, I probably wouldn't have any followers left.  I was MISERABLE and probably would've bitched and moaned my way through the categories.  Long story but I'm better today.  Thank the Ambien I took last night ;)

Sidenote: what the hell is a durian?  That's what The Bump relates the size of baby to this week...

Total weight gain:  Ugh, 39 effing pounds as of last Friday.  And after indulging myself in every sweet known to man last weekend I'm probably up another 5.

Maternity Clothes?:  Are definitely getting tight.  I don't understand why they don't make clothes to last all the way through pregnancy.  All of my shorts are uncomfortable and my tops are starting to get short.  And I'm EXACTLY the size I should be at this point so it's not as if I'm too big or anything.  Sigh.  I guess I'll be living in leggings and baggy tops 'til October.

Weekly belly pic:

Belly is sticking out more and more each week.  Kinda makes me laugh.

Stretch Marks?:  Still none.  Seriously hoping to keep it this way.

Sleep:  Has been awful again.  I'm finally to the stage where I have to prop my belly on a pillow to be comfortable laying on my side.  It's so damn heavy!  And I have to support it with my hand when I (attempt to) roll over.  As mentioned above, last night I just couldn't take it anymore so I popped half an Ambien and slept hard.  So hard that when Nick got home he said he actually felt me to make sure I was still breathing.  haha.  

Best moment this week:  My baby shower!!  It was incredible.  I have some seriously generous people in my life and and am beyond thankful.  Full post on the shower to come later this week.  Or month ;)

The haul, which is currently residing in our dining room.

Best moment #2 of the week was getting to spend time with my favorite little boy.  I was lucky enough to have my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephew fly in for the weekend for my shower.  I haven't seen them since June when Cameron was only 5 months old so it was great to them all again.  I am beyond in love with my nephew and had such a blast watching him crawl around and pull himself up on everything he could get his chubby little hands on.

Cutest little boy ever, right?  L to R: In the "I love my Auntie" bib that his favorite aunt got for him.  Discovering his love for bakmi.  All dressed up for dinner.

Movement:  Things are definitely getting a bit in there.  I don't feel as many kicks anymore... it's more rolling and stretching.  And ugh, the stretching... this kid doesn't seem to realize the s/he can't come out through my abdomen.  I've been trying to record it because it's definitely a little alien-like to see my entire stomach shift and change shape when s/he pushes to one side.  S/he is also quite fond of pushing his/her booty up under my ribcage.  I'm not a fan.  My ribs feel so bruised that certain movements are pretty painful.  Please stop hurting Mommy, BB.  Please? 

Cravings:  Have I mentioned sugar?  This has really got to stop.  Over the past week I've eaten no less than 3 cupcakes, a slice of cake, numerous cookies, a scone the size of my head, lemon squares, brownies and two bags of caramel popcorn.  I have a problem.

Aversions:  Nada.  Bring on the food.

Other Symptoms:  The feet.  Oh, the aching feet.  It's getting to the point where I seriously can't deal.  I ache so bad every night that I just lay on the couch and moan.  Getting comfortable is next to impossible.  Doesn't help that with the renovations I have to walk the dogs a few times a day rather than just letting out to do their business in the yard.  Walking is not my friend anymore.  In fact I had someone say to me the other day that he could tell I'm nearing the end because of how slow I'm walking.  Yup, I make no attempt to walk at a normal pace anymore.  It's sad.

And can we also discuss the size of my feet?  I went slipper shopping yesterday and almost had a meltdown in the middle of Target.  I'm normally an 8.5, sometimes a 9 but had to buy a freaking 10 yesterday.  A TEN.  That's ridiculous.  I thought it was just swelling but it seems that the length of my feet have grown a bit as well.  I can't even squeeze into my heels anymore.  If my feet don't go back to normal after giving birth I seriously might die.  We all know how attached I am to my beautiful shoe collection.

Missing anything?:  Alcohol.  Although I did indulge in a glass of wine with dinner on Friday and had a celebratory mimosa at my shower on Saturday.

Belly Button:  Definitely getting flat but the maternity navel bar is hanging in there.  I'm starting to have hope that it may make it to the end.

Gender Prediction:  I've been leaning towards girl lately.  No idea why.  And it's not even something I'm cognizant of... I just think of the baby as "she" when looking at my stomach.  But apparently when speaking aloud I refer to baby as "him" without even realizing it.  So who knows what I've got in there.  Nick dreamed last night that it was a girl but I still keep having mixed dreams.

Mood:  As mentioned above, I was beyond miserable yesterday.  Even had my first hormone induced ugly cry.  That was fun.  Today, however, I'm 100% fine.  I'm not a fan of the back and forth mood crap.

Purchases:  After my shower, we went through the gifts and made a few returns and were able to buy most of the rest of what we'll need for baby.  Now we get to spend hours upon hours putting everything together.

Milestones:  Had my 32 week appt and ultrasound last Friday.  Since Mom was in town for my shower, she got to come with us.  It was awesome to have her there.  The tech took her time so we could get a good look at BB and we found out the s/he is head down (woot!) and weighs approx. 4lb 7oz with a heartrate in the 140s-150s.  Based on this size estimation my OB said we could end up with a 7.5-8lb baby at birth.  That would be awesome.

In Other News:  We're finally making progress on the house... the framers have been there all week and got the living room addition almost fully framed and are starting on the big addition today.  I love seeing progress.