Thirty-Five & Thirty-Six.

 Taken at 35 weeks, 6 days.

[Welcome to the Whiny Edition]

How far along? 36 weeks

How big is baby? Almost six pounds and over eighteen inches long.

Total weight gain: +23 lbs.

Maternity Clothes? Am so tired of them. And my clothes selection is dwindling as my stomach grows. So, unless I feel comfortable baring my rounded midriff, I’m stuck with about three different outfits. I’ve realized that being pregnant during the summer has its perks though – I can get away with just tank tops, t-shirts, skirts and flip flops without anyone batting an eye.

Stretch marks? Same old, same old. None on my belly. Though I do have some pretty impressive veins on my belly.

Sleep: What’s that again? I probably shouldn’t complain since I’ll apparently be sleeping EVEN LESS once the baby is actually born. Hold me. (Or come over and help me.)

Movement: Ouch. It almost seems like my uterus isn’t big enough for all this baby wiggling around inside of me. He is firmly head down, with spine always along the left side of my stomach and his feet jabbing the right side. Sometimes I even feel his little hands moving down by his face, which sort of tickles. He’s starting to displace amniotic fluid as grows, which means I can feel more movement. It can actually get bothersome and even painful, but when Mike talks to him, he usually calms down. I’m hoping his baby whispering skills work outside of the womb as well.

Food cravings: All food equals heartburn. Breathing equals heartburn. Drinking water equals heartburn.  Food just isn’t as enjoyable as it was earlier in pregnancy! Things I love lately include: s’mores, squash and zucchini, these muffins, drinkable yogurt, and watermelon. Of course.

What I miss: When my belly was cute and little and manageable, instead of scary and big. My stomach may not look huge, but when you compare it to when I thought it had “popped”…

Thirteen weeks. Thirty-six weeks. BAM.

…you can understand why my body is feeling the strain. (And let’s not talk about the obvious growth of my butt and thighs.) Even at twenty weeks, I looked incredibly smaller. I shudder to think of my poor body growing and stretching for FOUR MORE WEEKS. (Or even longer if I got past-term!) I see girls due two months after me whose bellies are the same size, so I feel like I shouldn’t complain about my body feeling strained. But I think it’s because I have the body of a 12-year-old am so petite.

What I am looking forward to: Becoming full-term next week. Feeling ready to give birth and be a mom. Not feeling like a whiner. I hate feeling like a whiner. And, I’ll say it again – being small enough to hug my husband tightly. He is still attracted to me (somehow!), but I can’t wait until I am less large.

Milestones: I’ve enjoyed a fairly active pregnancy – I ran and even did Jillian’s 30 Day Shred a few times during my first and (part of my) second trimesters. I’ve done tons of yoga, walked several times a week, and went on lots of bike rides. The idea of facing the most athletic event of my life (hello, labor) after sitting on my butt for nine months terrified me, so I wanted to try and stay in some sort of shape. I also realized that inactivity actually caused me more back and hip pain, which was a huge motivation. However, I have reached the stage where the prenatal yoga that was previously laughably easy is now a bit challenging. I even get short of breath walking down stairs. My body has officially had enough. I feel like a creaky old woman. I also saw a chiropractor for the first time due to creaky old woman-ness. The jury is out on whether a) I can afford to go regularly, and b) it helps significantly.

“When is the blessed event taking place?”

“The end of August”

“You know what you should name him-it IS a him, right? I could tell because boys are usually carried low like that. Well, you should name him Maurico after me. My name is Maurice, and the Spanish version is Maurico.” – random guy on the street

“You gonna name him after me? The maintenance man!”

“I would have bet 100 to 1 it was a boy. You look like an athletic kinda girl; a little macho.” – random guy on the street #2.

“I just LOVE babies. I love puppies, too.” – my almost-five-year-old cousin (who shares a birthday with Mike and my due date).

Trying to help him understand how difficult it is to bend over and pick something up when you have a big belly. Seeing him try to touch his toes was the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen.

Oh, and THIS: I pee a thousand times a day. Apparently the baby’s head is pretty far down, which is part of the reason some people say I look small. And part of the reason I pee constantly. And part of the reason my pelvis and hips belong to an 80-year-old woman.