Week 36

What is new this week?
That I am officially LESS THAN A MONTH away from meeting my nugg, and I am DYING!! Excited would be an understatement. My grandma told me a couple months back that the last 6 weeks would drag. Boy was she ever right. The time was just zipping on by, and now the days seem to go by so slowly!
Although, overall, I would say that this pregnancy has gone by much quicker than I ever thought it would. And I've enjoyed every step of it :) Well.. almost every step..

How big is the baby?
6 pounds. Although most days, he feels closer to 10. And he's more than 18 1/2 inches long. ALSO, all of his organs, body parts, etc are completely developed- and he's ready to come out! He just needs to pack on a little more fat. Which if he's anything like me, he'll have no problem doing ;)

Stretch marks?
This question devastates me. Because yes, I swear a new one comes every day. But I have still yet to get any on my stomach... which I thought was the only part that was supposed to "get stretched"..

Maternity clothes?
I'm gonna go ahead and take this question out from now on. Cause obviously, that is all I'm wearing these days. Chris even let me go buy a couple new shirts this week! I'm just so sick of wearing the same 5 shirts over and over again. And a word of advice- the absolute best place that I've found for maternity clothes is surprisingly Ross!

Sleep?
Mostly awful. Although, my sweet cousin Tara suggested that I start taking Unisom at night to help me get some rest. And that has helped tremendously. The only problem is that it doesn't help me fall asleep, is just helps me stay asleep once I'm there. And most of the problem is falling asleep.
In fact, my thing lately has been to start panicking after about an hour of trying to fall sleep. I start to hyperventilate thinking that I'll never fall asleep. And I cry to Chris. And bless his heart, he strokes my hair, and tells me to, "stop panicking, and just breathe".  And then he starts doing my breathing methods with me (that we learned in our beloved child birthing class) and it puts me right to sleep. Tell me that he isn't the absolute sweetest thing?!
Random funny fact- the Unisom is like a serious drug for me. It makes me delirious. When I wake up to use the bathroom (still about 7 times a night), I always think that there is a bird cage in the middle of our bed. And no joke, almost every morning, I wake up looking for it. And it's never there.. .

Best moment of the week?
This one is easy. I have officially started my weekly checkups with my doctor (which is so fun in itself), and this week, he did my first dilation check. All morning when I was getting ready for my appointment, I kept telling myself not to expect any dilation or effacement. I didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them crushed. Plus, I'm only 36 weeks, so it probably means that nothing.. up there.. would be any different right? (But obviously, I secretly hoped it would be)
So I went to my appointment, and when he checked, he said, "WHOA! You're already dilated to a 2 little lady! And 70 percent effaced!" I was stunned but didn't say much. To which his response was, "Why aren't you overjoyed?! If I were a lady at 36 weeks, that is the exact news I would want to hear!"
So of course I asked him if that meant the baby would come early!? He told me that you never really know- but that there was a good chance of it since I was already progressing this quickly. And also that if I wanted, he would induce me a week early! And obviously, if you give a 9 month pregnant lady that option- in the middle of the sweltering heat of July- she will take it! So if baby J, doesn't make his debut before July 9th, I will hopefully be induced on the 10th. Done and done. But I really think he'll come before then, because I've been having contractions for the past week! But like I said.. I'm really trying not to get my hopes up.. can't you tell? ;)
3 WEEKS!! I'm going to meet my sweet little babe in 3 WEEKS!

Can I also just tell you that we LOVE our doctor. His name is Dr. Yamashiro, and he delivered all of my sister Rachel's babies, so I knew he was good. He's been my gyno for the past 3 years. So when I got pregnant, I knew I wanted him. And even though his office isn't necessarily close to me (he's located in Salt Lake), I knew I wanted him to deliver my babies. He makes me feel like a million bucks every time I see him, and he is absolutely hilarious. Let me just tell you what he told me at my last appointment. The conversation went as follows:
Me: So I've been thinking of doing the placenta encapsulation.. What is your take on it? Honestly?
Dr. Y: Honestly? Like are you doing it to be all "earthy" and stuff?
Me: No.. I've just heard good things about it. And I wanna know what you think!
Dr Y: Well, a lot of people come to me with the argument that, "all animals eat their placentas after birth- so we as humans should be eating them too". And my response to them is this, "Well.. other animals also lick each others butts.. Would you like to do that as well?"

Haha, to say the least, I decided against doing the placenta encapsulation.. Although, I don't disagree with it, and think it's totally great. I just don't think there is enough evidence to prove it either way.

Food cravings/aversions?
Costco's chocolate covered macadamia nuts.... It's a curse. And no aversions as of right now.

Movement?
Yes! Lots of movement. But lately, I haven't enjoyed it as much as I used to.. I mostly get really scared when I can tell he's waking up.. because I know the next hour is going to be filled with pain. He gives me a couple solid kicks every day that take my breath away. And a week ago, he literally bruised me! Don't ask me how that is possible. He had been kicking away all day in one specific spot, and by the end of the day, when I changed into my pajamas, I noticed a bruise on my stomach in the exact same spot!! His dad got after him for that one, don't worry :)

What I miss?
So many things. I have loved being pregnant, but I am beyond ready to have my body back. I have been feeling extremely limited as of lately. Chris now puts lotion on my legs every day because I DREAD having to bend over and squish a baby. I also have to lean my seat back real gangster like when I drive in order to be able to breath.. Haha.
I also very much miss being in control of my bladder. Ask me how many times I've peed my pants since I've been pregnant? 6. 6 times.

Labor signs?
Like I said, I've been having contractions for about a week now. Not intense at all, and not for very long. But they definitely aren't Braxton Hicks anymore, so that's exciting! I've been bouncing on an exercise ball for about 40 minutes every day, and that gives me some contractions every single time!

Overall mood?
Hmm.. refer to my last post. My emotions still seem to be all over the place, although I think that I've gotten a little bit of a grip on them.

What I'm looking forward to?
The experience of labor! I'm nervous- don't get me wrong. But I'm also thrilled to have my very own birth story. Please bless that it goes well.

I haven't taken any photos this past week, but here is one from week 35 :) And p.s. NO my belly button still hasn't come out!! This picture is deceiving, that mark is from my "undershirt". But seriously, it is still an inny-inny-inny through and through.

I would love to hear any of your stories about your birth experience if you would be willing to share! Even if you are just an anonymous follower! And if you don't want to post it in my comments- feel free to email it to me!
Have any of you been dilated or effaced very far and gone early? You KNOW I would love to hear about that :)


Wish me luck, we are off to go camping tomorrow! I still don't know why I agreed to this...