33 weeks!

How Far along: 33 weeks! nuts!

How far to go: 6 weeks, 6 days! give or take :-)
I will go over my due date, almost up to a week or two before considering inducement, I want to avoid inducement as much as possible. it's not natural and is almost always followed by an epidural, which I would like to avoid.  

Movement: movements are changing! instead of all kicks and punches and jabs, it's turned into a lot of twist and rolls and i LOVE it! it's the craziest feeling to feel your baby slowly roll across your stomach, it throws me off and makes me laugh. 

Maternity clothes: i love my maternity clothes! thank GOD for maternity clothes, slimming and flattering yet still comfortable. I might need to get a few more bottoms before this pregnancy is over, because the old rubber band trick on my pre pregnancy pants and shorts is a JOKE now. SO uncomfortable! it's leggings only at work now, thank you Starbucks for changing your dress code for us Pregnant gals! ( up until a few months ago, starbucks didn't allow any leggings or yoga pants while working, and they changed their policy months before I got pregnant!)

Cravings: still loving the ice cold drinks! I cannot get enough ice water and chewing on ice.

Weight gain: still only 17lbs! PTL! I had a Dr. appt on friday & was overjoyed to step on that scale and see I haven't gained anything! WOOOO! my Dr. measures my belly at 35weeks, but my last ultra sound is perfect, baby measures in the %63 percentile.

Mama thoughts: ALLL over the place. Sometimes I feel amazing joy looking forward to this baby's arrival, and sometimes I have fearful thoughts about labor and birth, it's so hard to not know how things are going to go, and know that I'm literally the only one who can accomplish this task at hand. I know I will have amazing support, but this is my honor and privilege, to bring this baby into this world. I'm reading this book, little by little. It's mostly stories of woman sharing their birth stories. It's empowering. I love how they have changed the language around birth, instead of saying contraction, they call it a rushing, they want us Mommas to think of it as a rush of energy to get the job done, it's your bodies way of getting ready. It's the only book my sister Karie read and she said it helped her to not feel any fear surrounding birth, she felt so confident going into her birthing experience.

On another note, my BABY SHOWER is this saturday! I'm soooo excited to celebrate this baby's arrival with the ladies from my church and some friends I don't get to see often. I am so excited to " feather" our nursery with all the lovely gifts and things people make for baby. It will feel so real once the nursery is set up! I'm waiting on this baby shower to really start setting up the nursery.

How I feel: I feel really good. I am amazed I can still say that ;) I kinda feel like, when is that going to end?? Some days are harder then others, just like life. But for the most part I really have nothing to complain about. I'm so grateful. As the baby grows, it's nearly 5lbs now (!!!) it does get harder to be on my feet at work, my belly gets sore, but if I get off my feet and sit for a few minutes, it's back to normal. I plan on working till I'm 39 weeks. I've asked to be scheduled more during the day, that way I can sleep in, and not work so late at night, I want to really enjoy these last few weeks with Rory. Being home at night to have dinner and taking walks swimming at His Mom's and relax together, sounds exactly what we need before baby arrives.

I also dropped the two summer school classes I was enrolled in. The decision brought me peace. Only having around 7 weeks left in my pregnancy, sitting a classroom and writing essays, isn't how I want to spend my last few weeks in this pregnancy. It also hit me, how this really is the only time I'm going to have to myself, to rest and prepare for this baby, while still keeping a 20hr work week, before this baby shows up. When I shared this decision with Rory He was in support, and so aptly replied " A lot of change is coming soon." And he's right. I'm going to " guilt-free" enjoy a lot of down time, extra sleep, and time to myself.  

Sleep: Lots of tossing and turning, but not as warm as I was experiencing last week. PTL!

Additional info: This week your baby may be anywhere between 17 to 19 inches in length and could grow up to another full inch this week — especially if he or she has been on the shorter side. She weighs more than four and a half pounds and is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week — weight gain can range from a third more to a full doubling before the big debut). With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic-fluid level has maxed out at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason explaining why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days.