35 weeks

35 weeks!  ohmygoodness!  so this last week i spent a lot of time studying for my last round of midterms, and then beginning next week i'll be preparing for my finals.  i can't wait til this quarter is over.  i'm just lumbering across campus from class to class, and getting increasingly more uncomfortable with each passing week.  over the weekend hubby and i picked up some necessities for the baby's arrival so we pretty much are set as far as baby stuffs that we need with the exception of a second car seat base.  but, my spreadsheets have been updated :)  there are a few more nursery things we need to get taken care of, i still need to pack my hospital bag, put together some music mixes and pick a few prayers i'd like to have memorized for the big day.  i imagine myself reciting some prayers during contractions as one of my coping/distraction techniques.  on thursday night i started experiencing some painful cramping and back pain, nothing too bad, but enough to be a little uncomfortable.  it lasted up until sunday.  i had contacted my midwife and she advised me to stay hydrated and to relax and take it easy over the weekend and see what happens over the next few days.  by monday i was feeling much better, so i guess it's just my body preparing for labor.  which is exciting and a little frightening at the same time.  eeeek!  i continue to feel better now, just noticing that i'm feeling generally uncomfortable and swelly, but i guess this is all to be expected at the end of pregnancy.  i put together just a few things over the past couple of days, for example in the nursery i put up some of the baby shower decorations that my mom had made:

part of banner that my mom put together that said baby boy rowhani

my mom is great, i had showed her these on pinterest and told her that i wanted to do it for the nursery, and she remembered and used them as decorations for the baby shower with the idea that i could hang them in the nursery afterwards, they are elephant cutouts on different kinds of paper

i hung them there for now

banner above the empty space where the daybed or futon will go

there are still some things i want to hang on the wall, but i'll do that slowly, the nursery doesn't necessarily need to be finished before the baby is born.  one of my friends gave me these clothes dividers that i wanted, so i put those up in the closet:

organized by size

 i also washed and sterilized bottles and all the stuff that goes along with them and found a home for them in one of the kitchen drawers:

i forgot to mention that we also had some maternity photos done by our super amazing friend:

he did a great job, i'm really happy with them.  ok, on with the weekly update:

How far along: 35 weeks

Size of baby: the size of a large cantaloupe or a coconut, he's about 17.2-18.7 inches long and 4.2-5.8 lbs, his job from here on out is to plump up, baby boy's brain is growing rapidly, central nervous system is maturing, lungs are almost fully developed
Total weight gain:  25-30 lbs
Maternity clothes: yes, but i'm mostly wearing stretchy pants now because even the maternity jeans are getting tight and just not as comfortable
Gender: boy
Movement: same as usual rolling around in my belly and jabbing me with his feet
Sleep: i think i had one night of really restful sleep, but otherwise it's not been great
What I miss: being comfortable
Cravings: same fruit as last week, along with peaches and nectarines, sour gummy worms, biscuits, otter pops (!!!!!), crushed ice, chocolate cake....my appetite is off the hook right now
Symptoms:  my feet, hands and ankles (they are more like cankles these days) have been swollen the last few days, it's harder for me to get around and be comfortable, i'm more emotional, hungry and thirsty, minor aches and pains
 Best moment this week: relaxing, watching new arrested development season with wonderful friends and eating fried chicken, biscuits and chocolate cupcakes.  i haven't been able to spend that kind of time relaxing for a long time.