due date!

how far along? 40 weeks
total weight gain: just over 35 pounds. im A-ok with that. now if i can just lose 30 during delivery....
babys size/development: on average the baby weighs over 7 pounds and is about the size of a small pumpkin. length is about 20 inches.
miss anything? although im sure ill miss some of the parts of being pregnant (im sure many of you are laughing at me right now), after 40 weeks i kinda do miss NOT being pregnant. it will certainly be an adjustment, thats for sure.
food cravings? hurry up and get here so i can eat all the sushi!
anything make you queasy or sick? nope
stretch marks? nope! im surprised i dont see the imprint of an oreo somewhere along my body though
gender? ???
names? i joked for about 10 seconds about naming it patrice bergeron
sleep: i havent been sleeping great but overall its not too bad. i think my mind is just racing and its hard to get to sleep. im up early every morning for no reason and just lay there. early morning walks have helped, and i slept in until almost 7am this morning which felt great. and afternoon naps are awesome, by the way.
nursery: ready and waiting...
wedding rings on or off? on
belly button in or out? its trying to pop out a little but its doing it in a weird way with just half of the side kinda coming out. hard to describe
movement? not as much as usual but theres not a whole lot of room for hanks squirming. every once in a while a foot will jut out the side. ill miss that.
labor signs? lots and lots of braxton hicks contractions... i feel like my stomach is rock hard all the time. some are more uncomfortable than others. nothing major though. lets get this show on the road! (and ive heard it all about how to induce labor... the spicy food just gave me heartburn, and i REFUSE to try castor oil. im not that uncomfortable!) upon opening up the "what to expect when you're expecting book" recently, i did notice that i am having pretty much every one of the "pre labor symptoms". so theres that... (and i have moved the hospital bags to the first floor)
daddy is feeling: "impatient"
mommy is feeling: ready
workouts this week: lots and lots of walking and house cleaning (11 miles, 1 miles of walking the stairs at my last day of work yesterday)
looking forward to: hmmmm ill give you one guess

hank update

just a quick update from tuesdays ultrasound-

hank looks to have gained a little bit of weight over the last two weeks, which is reassuring. when they measured at the high risk ultrasound during week 37, the weight was estimated at 6lbs 5oz... this week it was estimated at 6lbs 9oz. i didnt think this was a lot of weight gain for two weeks so i was sure they were going to induce me, but of course i was wrong. still pregnant over here. we met with my doctor after the ultrasound and she said im still 1cm, thick and high. clearly hank is comfy in there. i gained about a pound but my stomach is measuring 35 weeks. doctor doesnt seem concerned but she said that after next mondays ultrasound she will determine what should be done and figure out an induction date if i havent gone into natural labor by then (fingers crossed!). she doesnt want me to go past 41 weeks (which is may 26th), so im assuming my induction date will be before next weekend. eeeeeeeeeek!

im not uncomfortable (for the most part... although getting off the couch/out of bed is quite a chore) but were just really anxious and excited to meet this little one and get the next journey underway! my last day of work is saturday (everyone is surprised when i keep showing up... yes im still here, yes its annoying, yes i wish i was at home). we'll see if anything happens in the next two days...

the one with all the pics

we found out we were having a baby in august, the day after week 5. on weeks 7 and 9 i ran a marathon, and then i got pretty lazy and my oreo craving began haha. it really is crazy to look back at all the changes... (and you can see in my face/eyes just how tired i am now).

will i ever again run a marathon that is NOT in the rain?!

week 12 at cassies wedding... just before we told everyone

week 13 is by far my favorite pic out of them all (and i miss that body!)

week 16/18 is pretty much how i dressed this entire pregnancy. tys so lucky.

wow, my hair grew like a weed!

week 23-24 finally started to show

so. much. snow.

week 28 ran a 5k in florida, which pretty much ended my running (ouch)

week 33-34, stopped gaining weight/belly stopped growing

baby shower, red sox game, ended up in the hospital with dehydration. what a crazy couple of weeks!

ready.to.be.done!

hoping the next pic is with hank!

39 weeks

how far along? 39 weeks! wow. this really did go by fast, and its almost go time! will this be the last update??
total weight gain: at the last appointment my doc said the total was 34 pounds. i go again tomorrow for my 39 week appt, so we will see if i have gained any more. also i measured my belly around my back (belly button level) this am just for fun... 39 1/2 inches! its pretty much the height from the ground to my belly button. fun stuff.
babys size/development this week: a watermelon! and it sure feels that way too, especially trying to get off the couch or turn over in bed. ill find out the babys approximate weight tomorrow... which will actually be a determination of when hank might make his/her entrance into the world. two weeks ago at my 37 week appt they measured hank at approx 6lbs 4oz, and want to make sure that he/she is growing since i had stopped gaining weight and my belly had not seemed to be getting any bigger (despite me thinking i am getting huge!) so they will do all the measurements tomorrow and see if its time to get this show on the road or not.
miss anything? after cheering friends on at the maine coast marathon yesterday, its definitely confirmed that i miss running.
food cravings? i want suuuuuuushi. and a beer. or 6. and thanks to tiffany ive craved swiss cake rolls for about 2 weeks now (but thankfully havent given in... yet)
anything making you queasy or sick? lack of sleep
stretch marks? knock on wood, none.
gender: ??? we are SO anxious to find out! im glad we waited to find out though, the surprise is going to be awesome.
names: i was hoping to share the first letters and start a guessing game, but i think ty is in a meeting and hasnt given emailed me back to give me the ok, and ive had requests to get this blog posted. so i guess you'll all have to wait for the official announcement.
sleep: apparently preparing for the upcoming arrival... friday night i started having contractions 10 min apart at about 7pm. they literally lasted all night long, and i didnt fall asleep until 6:45am. i slept for maybe an hour or two and then was up all day, with no further contractions. 7pm sat night they started again and i thought great, i wont sleep again tonight. but they only continued for about an hour or so and i slept on and off sat night. i was exhausted yesterday, but slept straight thru for 8 hours last night without waking up. i have a half day or work today and hopefully will get some good sleep tonight, although im anxious about tomorrows appointment and when i lay down to sleep my mind just wont shut down.
best moment of the week: i had a really awesome mothers day... woke up to a very quiet/sleepy house and spent an hour in the morning making brownies and hanging out with the animals before ty and my in-laws woke up. my in laws got me (us) some plants and a tree and planted all morning. ty got me a beautiful alex & ani bracelet with the babys birthstone on it (heres to hoping hank doesnt make a june appearance!). then i headed to the marathon and watched my bff completely crush her marathon pr, so proud! then we spent the afternoon at my parents house and got seafood take out. (side note: i ran (ok walked) into a girl at the marathon finish line who said to me as i passed "hi! i read your blog!" i was so caught off guard i didnt know what to say and didnt get her name... who are you?! thanks for saying hi! i love meeting people! sorry i was so weird haha)

sarah/baby ty supporting me at llbean 10k 2010

me/baby hank supporting sarah at maine coast marathon 2013

nursery: collecting dust.... hurry up hank!
wedding rings on or off? on and off... one hot day last week my fingers and ankles were a bit swollen but that goes down quickly and my rings fit again. i doubt ill wear them much this week and during delivery... whenever that may be!
belly button in or out? still in.
movement? much less than usual, but still trying to swim around in there where theres room. this also keeps me up at night... not the movement, but lack of! i get nervous when i havent felt anything for awhile so i wait and try to do things to make the baby move so i know its ok in there.
labor signs? mostly just the contractions that ended up being nothing. dumb. but im hoping all of these contractions have dilated me some more! theres quite a bit more low pressure and some lower back pain too now that hank has moved further down (although i still dont feel like ive officially "dropped").
daddy is feeling: he keeps asking when the baby is coming, and i keep replying with "tomorrow". eventually ill have to be right.
mommy is feeling: ready to just do this already. kinda nervous though. two of my friends had their babies yesterday and a text i got this am read: "i highly recommend the epidural". thanks lisa!
workouts this week: walking walking walking.
looking forward to: tomorrows doctors appointment! and of course the arrival of hank, hopefully this week. also looking forward to the arrival of more babies in the upcoming days/weeks... friends amanda and lisa had their little ones yesterday (jealous, by the way!), and heather and tiffany are both due this week as well!

getting ready

were officially in single digits to the due date... how is that even possible?! other than a few contractions here and there, i really dont feel like ill be going into labor any time soon. ive been 1cm dilated for two weeks... hoping for some more at tuesdays appointment, but we'll see. isnt that what these braxton hicks contractions are supposed to be doing? luckily the weather has been really nice here, so ive been doing a lot of walking (note: i said walking not waddling... other than the occasional jab and ping "down there", im actually pretty comfortable. i almost want to try to run just to see haha).

so with little time left and no idea when this is actually all going to happen, we've been trying to get things ready. and by "we've" you all know what i mean (love ya ty!). no but really, hes been great... its just that i have more time on my days off to clean ALL THE THINGS. and i love doing it. nesting at its finest. nursery is clean and all set up to go. the spare bedroom for guests is clean (minus the closet, ive given up on that. resorting to never opening the doors again. also dont look under the bed...). our bedroom... is off limits to all. at least the bed is made and clothes are folded (laundry seems to be endless). downstairs is clean and presentable, dog hair is an issue every day that we try to keep on top of. windows have been windexed, the lawn is mowed. alright baby, lets get this show on the road!

whats in my hospital bag?

-toiletries/make up bag (sure, i dont usually wear make up on any regular day but i figure after giving birth ill look like hell and people will probably come to visit and want to take pics. ill need to do something... and by "make up" i mean face lotion, eye shadow, and mascara. ha.)
-sweatpants. duh.
-chapstick
-lotion
-yoga pants (was going to pack my white sweatpants but thought better of that thinking about whats going to be happening... brough my black yoga pants instead)
-hooded zip up sweatshirt
-compression socks
-tshirt/baggy tank top
-nursing bra, lanolin, nursing pads (ive decided against bringing the nursing pillow)
-baby book (for hand/foot prints)
-camera
-phone charger
-my own pillow
-shape magazine
-flip flops/maybe my slippers (not sure yet)

ive taken the "less is more" approach i think, and can always send someone to get things if i forgot something or need anything... were only 5 miles from the hospital.

whats in hanks hospital bag?
everything! haha... i didnt know what i want him/her to wear so i packed about 20 little onesies/outfits. about 5 hats. socks. we also brought a few of our diapers, a swaddle blanket and a fleece baby blanket. and of course we have the car seat in the car.

whats in ty's hospital bag?

no idea. hes a big boy, im sure its fine (who are we kidding, ill check later im sure). i know his ipad and phone charger will be in there. we also packed a snack bag with some goldfish, mints, beef jerky, gum, and trail mix. he'll be fine.

and a few random things you might not know:

-were going to use cloth diapers. we've gotten gdiapers and bum genius products to start, and will go from there. yes, this will be a huge commitment. were ok with that (for now... i think...). we still have regular diapers for back up/nighttime/travel.

-my insurance paid for a medela double breast pump system. i have no idea what im doing/how to use it, but will figure that out. im not one of those "omgimSOexcitedtobreastfeed" women... but i know it is best for baby, will be helpful for me post baby, and im hoping it all works out.

-we got tommee tippee bottles for the transition. there are so many choices out there and ive heard good things about a bunch, we'll see how these work and go from there.

-once the time comes, we will be using the baby bullet system and making our own baby food (for the most part).

-and this gem arrived the other day... i cant wait to use it!!

38 weeks

how far along: 38 weeks!

total weight gain: 36 lbs, which is where i think ill be staying... my belly hasnt grown in almost two weeks and i actually lost a pound and a half between my last two appointments (that were only 5 days apart). this is semi concerning to me (and my doctor) but they are monitoring things and we will see if anything has changed at tomorrows appointment. the doctor said they need to monitor the growth on a two week basis, so next tuesdays appointment if i havent grown or gained any weight, or if the baby isnt growing then she will induce me. but she for some reason doesnt think i will make it to then (im thinking if im not growing and the baby continues trying to grow, my water will inevitably have to break, right?)babys size/development this week: baby should be almost 7 lbs and 19 inches long, approx the size of a leek. i love what the description says on baby center: "we know what youre thinking- 'theres no way my baby is the size of a leek, i feel ginormous!' well as much time as we spent at the farmers market and on the USDA site, it wasnt easy to find the perfect produce for every week of development. the leek is just an approximation". no kidding... seeing as how i have no idea what some of the produce is youve compared my little one to along the way. unfortunately (or fortunately for my lower body parts...) hank is only measuring just over 6lbs. along with my weight loss/no belly growth, hank only went from approx 6lbs at my 36 week appointment to 6lbs 4oz at my 37 week appt (5 days later). the ultrasounds at this stage in the pregnancy can be off by 15% or more, so that weight difference could be greater or less than they say.   
maternity clothes: yeah im still wearing them, nothing new... this question is getting old. i cant wait to NOT wear maternity clothes anymore (i dont have a lot of options and im not going to buy anything else). everything at the stores is so cute right now and i just want to shop!
miss anything? i miss a sense of normalcy.... which i know will never return to what it was, but im excited for the "new normal".
food cravings: im not craving anything, including food. im not hungry, i cant eat much without feeling full.
anything making you queasy or sick? no
sleep: im not sleeping very well... still not needing to pee at all times of the night (although i was awake at 3am the other night and decided i would go to the bathroom... didnt wake up because i had to pee though). i wake up and find myself sleeping on my stomach (how is this even possible?!) and then i get scared that im squishing hank. i toss and turn, and am most comfortable on my back, although i know thats not great either. every night i fall asleep hoping ill get a good nights sleep, and that my water will wait to break until the am so that im not exhausted for labor haha.     
best moment of the week: we had a high risk ultrasound last monday. sorry for the vagueness... ill write more about it in another post at some point (everything is ok). after meeting with three doctors that day, we got a lot of good news that relieved our anxiety. last weekend into monday was a roller coaster to say the least, but it was by far a really great day overall.
nursery: ready and waiting
weddings rings on or off? back on. hands feel less swelled than usual. 
movement? a little less than i am used to but i know there isnt much room for hank to move around so its understandable. i get nervous when i dont feel it move for awhile and relieved when i finally do.
labor signs? nothing substantial. doctor checked me last monday and i was "thinning" and 1cm dilated. a lot of pressure and some cramping, but no real contractions. braxton hicks contractions started again though which i havent had in a few weeks. 
weird pregnancy thing of the week: ive been getting hot flashes around noon/1pm every day. a wave of heat just comes over me and my face turns bright red and i get hot and sweaty. fun stuff.
daddy is feeling: "old". today is daddy's 30th birthday, happy birthday! apparently hank didnt care to make an appearance today, which is nice since daddy was a little bit hungover.
mommy is feeling: as always im anxious... im ready to meet this little person, excited to find out whether hank is a boy or a girl (i still think girl), ready to figure out what this new way of life is going to be like! our bags are all packed and ready to go... i just hate this whole unknown/waiting game! lets get this show on the road haha.
workouts this week: just more walking this week. havent been back to the gym since before the boston marathon (im pretty sure the lady that works the desk M-F mornings, who by the way is obsessed with my baby, probably thinks i went into labor). i might go tomorrow am before my doctors appointment, but its been so nice in the mornings that i have really loved just walking. i also mowed the lawn yesterday, which ty and my mom werent all too pleased with (and yes, it was a push mower). i dont feel like i need to restrict myself if things feel good. sometimes walking is uncomfortable with all the pressure and the random jabs on whatever nerves run up and down my insides at times, and if i get uncomfortable or feel pain i stop. i dont think im pushing it, and im not going to just sit around on the couch all day just because im pregnant. but yes, i still told my mom that the dog moved his dog crate down to the basement before the birthday party, and i purposely asked my father in law to reach on top of the cabinets to get a bowl down so that my mother in law wouldnt freak out about me climbing on the counter to get it myself. i do a lot of things i shouldnt, whatever.
looking forward to: another ultrasound tomorrow am (were having weekly ultrasounds from here on out). my doctor wants to measure my amniotic fluid level and if it is low we just might get to meet hank sooner rather than later!

37 weeks- full term!

whoa.

how far along? 37 weeks
total weight gain: 35 lbs
babys size/development this week: at wednesdays ultrasound they said hank weighs just at about 6 lbs (right on track). my belly is still measuring about an inch or two small. babycenter.com says hank is the size of a stalk of swiss chard... back to the unknown vegetables. ill go with tiffanys comparison- a watermelon! yum! and large. my belly definitely feels heavier to carry around and is constantly hard.
maternity clothes: yup. and im running out of options of things to wear but im not going to buy anything else. i cant wait to get back to my closet full of spring/summer clothes!
miss anything? being able to bend over and comfortably tie my shoes (glad im mostly wearing flip flops and clogs now), my ankles... yup, swelling started this week (as the weather has gotten warmer and walking around a lot more)
food cravings: avacado and coffee!
anything making you queasy or sick? the noro virus made me very sick last sunday night. gross.
sleep: sleeping with my legs/feet propped up now since the ankle swelling began. oh the joy (but i am comfortable sleeping on my back, which i probably shouldnt do but whatever, doing it anyway)
best moment of the week: both my work and tys work threw us surprise baby showers on the same day!! mmmmmm cake. and being able to see hank moving all around on the 3D/4D ultrasound... kept moving the hands in front of the face like it didnt want us to peek in on him/her, but we got a few squished looking pics, and i fell in love with the fat chubby fingers.
nursery: all clean and ready!
weddings rings on or off? wedding band on, sometimes
movement? theres not a whole lot of room for hank to move around anymore so any and all movement is magnified by a trillion. a lot of it is now pretty uncomfortable.
labor signs? other than the contractions a few weeks ago, nothing new. and i definitely dont think i have "dropped" yet. doctor said i am about a fingertip dilated on wednesday, didnt say anything about efacement, which is fine since i dont really know what that is anyway.
weird pregnancy thing of the week: i know the ankle swelling isnt abnormal at this time but my right ankle is definitely more swollen than the left. so i think thats weird.
daddy is feeling: "ready.... for now. that will change once the baby is here im sure".
mommy is feeling: anxious, excited, nervous, ready to be done.
workouts this week: is violently vomiting a workout? i say yes! burned calories and got rid of everything in my body. win (barf, quite literally). i walked a little bit this week but with the swelling in my ankles towards the end of the week i decided to stay off my feet and eat pop tarts. heh.
looking forward to: tomorrow.

36 weeks

(post originally written on sunday afternoon)

complete with chips photo bomb

how far along? 36 weeks
total weight gain: i had mini pumpkin muffins for breakfast, mac & cheese for lunch, ice cream for snack and french fries for dinner... im kinda afraid to look. (related: so healthy)
babys size/development this week: baby weighs almost 6 pounds (we will find out for sure wednesday), and is gaining approx one ounce per day. at the end of this week baby will be considered full term!
maternity clothes? nothing is comfortable anymore. id love to spend the rest of this pregancy in a baggy tank top and sweatpants.
miss anything? this list keeps growing and growing... but mostly now i just miss my pre baby body (and mind)
food cravings? i think im just craving food in general right now.
anything making you queasy or sick? nope
sleep: ive been going to bed way too late this week and waking up at 6am on my days off. rude.
best moment of the week: finding the assholes that bombed the boston marathon finish line
worst moment of the week: (new question, hopefully only for this week) see add on note below
nursery: all clean and ready for baby!
wedding rings on or off? i took off my engagement ring and am wearing my wedding band (so i dont look like a single pregnant lady haha)
movement? i consistently have a foot protruding out the side of my belly. its fun to watch this amoeba squirm all around in what little space he/she has left (how about you just jab that leg hard enough to break my water sometime soon... k thanks)
weird pregnancy thing of the week: (this might be weird tmi, sorry) a few months ago i had a weird small skin tag develop under my arm. it got kinda painful at times because it would get stuck and feel like it was going to get ripped off. anyway, i noticed in the shower a few days ago it was gone. im kinda grossed out its like in my bed or something. pregnancy is so weird.
daddy is feeling: hungover. he and jamie had a little too much fun last night. (dont get me wrong, i like to have some drinks and have fun occasionally, but i dont miss that feeling AT ALL)
mommy is feeling: im actually feeling like im kinda hungover from the past 8 plus months. its so strange thinking back now on all of this... august seems like such a long time ago, while at the same time it seems like it has gone by so fast. im anxious and nervous and excited and and and.... and im definitely nesting. who vacuums the cement basement floor? and irons curtains...
workouts of the week: just a lot of walking this week
looking forward to: having our last ultrasound on wednesday... i cant wait to see the baby one last time before he/she arrives! also, only 12 days (or less) of work left!

ok so back to the "worst moment of the week": sunday night as we went up to bed i started to feel kinda sick. i had told ty i felt like i was holding back trying not to throw up (i hate being sick. despise it, so i try and try not to let it happen). i just tossed and turned til about 10:45pm and then finally figured i was going to be sick and pretty much spent the next 5 hours in the bathroom. (the only positive is that i got rid of all the junk food i ate sunday, win!).

i would return back to bed and shake uncontrollably. i think i was more scared than anything. baby was still moving a lot but i didnt know how/if this was going to affect it. at 3am i called amanda at work and asked her to check in with the L&D girls to see if i should go to the hospital for fluids. amy said wait and call my doc in the am and see what she said. so at 8:30am i called the nurses at the office and told them what was going on and they said try to drink some fluids other than water, eat something bland, and see how i feel towards lunch time. i took a nap, continued to be sick, and when i woke up my feet/toes were numb and i couldnt really move my fingers. i knew this wasnt good, so i called the office back and they made the decision to have me go to the hospital.

i called ty at work and was crying but i didnt have any fluid for tears. he came home and we headed out. i didnt have to go through the ER which was awesome (we'd probably still be there), just checked in at the desk for labor & delivery and headed to the floor. they made ty show his drivers license at the desk and get a visitors sticker to wear. when we got to the floor, a woman (didnt introduce herself/didnt ask who i was) came over to us and put me right in a room and then we waited til the nurse came in. it was a very different experience being a patient than working in the hospital... i never showed my ID, i wasnt given a bracelet (although i did ask about this and they had one for me, just didnt put it on me?), i was never asked for my name or date of birth (got blood drawn, an IV and was given two meds)... just seemed interesting since we are very much pushed to make sure we have the right patient all the time at my work.

but anyway... the whole experience was great and i started feeling much better within a very short amount of time. i ended up getting two bags of IV fluid (i hadnt peed since sunday night and still didnt really feel much like i needed to go), some IV zofran, and immodium (which i now figure we should have just bought at the store, ill probably spend $100 on it from the hospital haha). ive never been in the hospital before so it was all new to me but was a good dry run and gave us some insight for the next few weeks (remember to bring snacks, things to occupy ty, and bring some socks! brrrrr). the iv itself didnt hurt but the fluid was very cold! and for the second bag the nurse had to reinfuse the vein and that kinda hurt a little bit. im sure things will be very different the next time im there, but overall im so glad that i went. i have a bit of a headache today and still feel kinda weak but sooooo much better than i felt yesterday. and this morning mom stopped by to bring food: chicken noodle soup, goldfish, bananas, bagels, cracklin oat bran, and a roll of paper towels. what would we do without moms?! xoxo

also, i told ty i wanted to bring some windex and paper towels so we can clean the windows when i go to the hospital to have the baby. the streaks were driving me nuts! nesting much??

i am a runner.

prior to this post back in november, my blog was all (well mostly all) about running. i am many things... a strong woman, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a soon to be mother... but i also am, and forever will be, a runner. i havent been able to run in over a month, and to say that i miss it would be a huge understatement. the strength i have gained from running... physically, emotionally, mentally... cannot be measured. ive toed the start line of over 80 races, 8 of which were a distance of 26.2 miles, and have certainly spectated many on top of that.

i was not physically in boston on monday for the 117th running of the boston marathon, but i was there in spirit. i knew many people running, and many more spectating. ty and i had gone down to the sox game sunday, but i figured that monday would be too long of a day on my feet being 8 months pregnant, and decided against staying. instead i worked and had text updates coming to my phone about friends running, reaching marks along the course. sarah and i had gone down in both 2010 and 2011 to spectate, both times standing at mile 26.1 on the left side of boylston cheering on thousands of runners just prior to the finish line.

i have a lot of thoughts and feelings that i havent quite figured out how to process yet. there are a lot of "what if's" running through my head. what happened on monday is an unthinkable tragedy that hits too close to home. never once in any of the races i have run have i ever felt unsafe. it sucks to think that nothing is safe anymore. i still cannot wrap my head around all of it and what kind of world i am about to bring my unborn child into.

but i will not stop running. and i will not live in fear. the heroic stories help remind us that the good still outweighs the bad. i have never run boston, and it actually hasnt been on my "bucket list", believe it or not. but i cannot wait to train for and run my next marathon in october. as part of a community, us runners stick together and rise above when things get tough. we pick each other up when we are down, and we never give up. running a marathon, or any race distance for that matter, is an incredible feeling of accomplishment, and it is something that i will continue to enjoy, yet never in the same way again.

my heart goes out to all who ran the race... those who finished, those who didnt finish, those affected by the explosions, and those who lost their lives/family members that day.

35 weeks

i feel like my face looks so distorted in this pic. hrumph.

how far along? 35 weeks
total weight gain: only gained 2 pounds in between the last doctors appointment (2 weeks) so im feeling good about that. 
babys size/development this week: baby is growing fast and is just over 18 inches long (probably 20 in my case) and probably just at or slightly above 5 pounds. another week of a fruit that i know to compare to... a honeydew melon! kidneys are fully developed and the liver is starting to process some waste products. most of the physical developments are complete now and it will just spend the remaining weeks gaining weight (hopefully not too much!) and as my father-in-law nicely said, the next few weeks are for the head to keep growing. thanks john!
maternity clothes: i got a couple of tops from old navy (buy one get one free!), a tank top from the gap, and the long and lean maternity jeans at gap were on sale from $70 (who actually pays that?!) to $35, and then rang up at $24. win. also, i went from a size 6 back to a size 4. double win. (still not trying on my pre pregnancy jeans until... october?)
miss anything? sleeping on my stomach... sleeping in general... being able to tie my shoes... 
food cravings? got back on a BLT kick for a few days but that has subsided. i just still kinda want what i want when i want it (which isnt much different than when im not pregnant). i had the most amazing turkey burger with avacado today and really awesome french fries. wish we had a yard house closer by!
anything making you queasy or sick? nope
sleep: still havent been needing to wake up and pee at night, but im also still not sleeping well. just lying in bed, thinking i guess. was also rudely awoken at 4am saturday morning by a contraction which sucked big time. that whole natural child birth thing might have to be rethought. (alright it wasnt that bad, but it did hurt. and i wasnt expecting it, nor the one that followed about an hour later). the best part of this whole thing was that i texted my mom from the gym later that morning and she called all in a panic asking when she needed to come to the hospital. mom- if im in labor i will call you, not text you haha. also then rudely awoken this morning at 3am by chips puking up hairballs on the bedroom floor. which then turned into duke wanting to go out after hearing the commotion of us awake upstairs. awesome. were in for a fun/sleepless summer i think.
best moment of the week: watching clay make it to the 7th with a no hitter and singing sweet caroline with great friends at fenway!
nursery: still just organizing more and more... got the changing table all prepared, clothes are washed and put away, bed is made. also started packing the hospital bags... i cant decide what i want to bring for the baby so there are currently about 20 pieces of clothes set out that we need to pick through.
wedding rings on or off? on
movement? still moving a lot. apparently the head has made its way down, according to the doctors feel anyway (yay!), and they will confirm it at next weeks ultrasound just to be sure. im much more comfortable than i was when the head was up, but having the head down makes for a whole new/different way of being uncomfortable. im pretty sure i have never peed so many times in one day before.
weird pregnancy thing of the week: the hormones seem to be shifting again and im crying a lot more. the other night ty mentioned something about bringing duke to see the lady that we bought him from to show her how big he has gotten. then ty was like "and he can hang out with/play with cabela!" (dukes mom). i started crying thinking of how sad it is that we took duke away from his mom and that his mom had all her puppies taken away from her. good lord.
daddy is feeling: too busy playing candy crush saga to answer (he asked me to show him how to play one night and i found him the next morning obsessively crushing candies. we both love to hate that game.)
mommy is feeling: more and more anxious. seems weird to say that if i have the baby on my due date i only have 15 days left of work... maybe even less! (im scheduled to work the day before my due date)
workouts this week: 6.1 miles walking, 18 miles biking, 5 miles elliptical
looking forward to: a fun upcoming weekend with friends, and looking forward to meeting this little wonder ive been growing!

34 weeks

how far along? 34 weeks
total weight gain: ill find out tomorrow. i had a lot of coffee cake this weekend.
babys size/development this week: approx 4 and 3/4 pounds... about the size of a canteloupe!
maternity clothes: wearing them? yes. anything new? no.
miss anything? all things prior to being pregnant. 
food cravings? nah.
anything making you queasy or sick? nope, although i just feel kinda blah all day, every day.
sleep: still having difficulty falling asleep, and now waking up and not being able to get back to sleep. lovely.
best moment of the week: my baby shower! hank is so very very loved (and mom is so very very overwhelmed!) it was so great to see so many family and friends (many i havent seen in a very long time!)
nursery: my project for today and tomorrow... getting all the baby shower gifts organized and put away! 
wedding rings on or off? on
movement? i have had elbows to the ribs all weekend. fun.

weird pregnancy thing of the week: nothing really weird this week
daddy is feeling: he continues to say he is excited... and i really think his face in this pic genuinely shows that.

mommy is feeling: im excited and like i said, a bit overwhelmed. and a little scared. but i know that this baby already has a ton of love and support from friends and family and im just really anxious to find out what is squirming around inside me and start the next part of this journey. 6 more weeks!

workouts this week: not really as much as i had wanted to do but i got some really good elliptical workouts in... pain free! 35 miles for the week with biking, elliptical, and walking. i chose sleeping and resting over a few workouts and im ok with that.   
looking forward to: heading to boston and seeing the red sox game next sunday!!!