Elyse Love ~ 34 weeks

34w4d

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm at +33 for this entire process so far. When I walked in the exam room this week, my nurse's comment was..."well you are just all belly!" and she's right. Elyse is hanging out all in front which seems to be where the majority of my weight gain is.

Gender: Our precious baby girl...Elyse Ann! We are so excited, anxious, scared, and happy to meet her! I can't believe we're past the 6 week countdown.

Movement: Evenings seem to be the most active time for her, and then she calms down again before bed. I won't mind if she keeps this schedule once she arrives! Tonight as we sat on the couch and watched tv, we could both literally watch my stomach roll back and forth and pulse as she moved around. Such a crazy thing to witness!

Sleep: Sleep has been good this week, and I'm thankful for that. As the fatigue during the evenings sets in I'm so grateful for some good nights' sleep. I realize good sleep is definitely a fleeting thing so I'm trying to enjoy it for as long as it lasts!

What I miss: My normal energy level, getting in/out of the car without a big sigh or a groan, food digesting properly! ha! As Elyse continues to grow, she is pushing on my stomach and digestive tract...I guess this is normal, but sometimes after a meal I am extremely uncomfortable as all the food I just ate digests. I go back to feeling just great after a little while, but it's definitely not a fun feeling. All for you Elyse, all for you!

Cravings: still no cravings for this girl...momma or baby!

Symptoms: Well it's impossible to look at me and not realize I'm pregnant! ha! I have fully embraced the pregnancy waddle & I'm also having a small bit of swelling in my ankles/hands. My dr. said it was certainly nothing to be concerned about because my blood pressure levels are still perfect. I figure I should consider myself lucky if the swelling has stayed away until now.

Maternity Clothes: Not going to lie...definitely tried to wear a pair of my non-maternity dress pants to work today, and they didn't last after my weekly belly photo. I really only have 2 pair of maternity dress pants which is more than enough, but I was really wanting to wear navy pants...it just wasn't going to happen so I resorted to my nice comfy maternity-panel khaki pants instead! I'm 8+ months pregnant, everyone is looking at my belly and not the color of my pants anyway! ha!

Best Moment this week: It's been a pretty great week. We had our first of two childbirth classes, my mom joined me at a breastfeeding class, and we got to hear Elyse's heartbeat again. On top of all that (and maybe truly the best moment), my sweet mother-in-law made us dinner tonight. Ok, well as much as she could make us dinner from 12 hours away...she sent us a Ruby Tuesday gift card and it was definitely put to good use tonight. After feeling kind of crummy after lunch, it was fabulous to be able to change our original plans of staying in and just go out for a nice dinner.

Baby To-Do List: I've been checking things off my list like crazy! Yay! For the most part, we are just waiting for the wall decor to be complete and I'll be ready to do a nursery reveal. Her closet is pretty much organized, her newborn clothes are mostly washed, and we've got any of the baby items we'll need to bring her home. There's still plenty to do, but I'm certainly trying not to stress over the details! I think my Thanksgiving deadline is still attainable for the most part, at least for most of the big stuff!

And...the weekly belly pic! My belly looks HUGE in this photo and while it's certainly growing, I think it looks crazy big in this picture! I think Hubby needs to work on making me look skinny! ha!