38 weeks, oh lordy!

this last week flew by!  wow, so we're another week closer to meeting this little man.  woooohoooo!  i still have a lot of stuff left to do on my lists and it takes me about twice as long to get things done.  which is frustrating for me because i'm the kind of person that just goes and goes until i get everything done.  but now i have to take breaks and be slow.  so that's been interesting for me, to learn to slooooow dooooown.  that's like something my mom and dad would say.  the weekend was great, we were busy of course.  i was able to have a movie night with some of my girls, we ate pizza and watched mean girls and then ate whoopie pies that i made.  it was fun but also relaxing.  sunday we spent time with Papa Jim, my late grandma's husband, and got to spend time with his family and eat BBQ, then went to my brother's house to spend time with my family and eat BBQ there.  it was amazing.  oh, and that morning i made hubby some biscuits and gravy for his first father's day!  so it was a day of eating lots of comfort food.  of course, anytime we get together with people that is what we do.  i was able to start swimming on monday.  i plan on going probably every other day.  it felt amazing to be in the water, to feel almost weightless, and to get some exercise in as well.  it's just such a nice way to exercise right now since walking is so uncomfortable.  and apparently it is supposed to help with swelling, which is here to stay until the end of the pregnancy i think.  my poor hands, feet and ankles are permanent sausages (and cankles) for the time being.  i went to the midwife appointment today and learned that i gained another 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks---yikes!  the midwife estimated that baby is about 7 lbs or so and that by delivery he'll probably be between 7.5-8 lbs.  there is still a good amount of amniotic fluid and he is head down, in fact she said his head is well engaged in my pelvis and asked if i felt a difference.  i have, in fact.  i thought that he may have dropped a little because i can eat more in one sitting than previously (evident in the 2 lbs per week i gained).  she also said i'm measuring the same as last visit (35 cm) but that the baby doesn't seem small so that's another indicator that he has dropped.  she showed me where his feet are (i had figured that out already because he always kicks in the same spot and it feels like little feet), where his knees were and then his little bum and back.  so, things are progressing along nicely!  my blood pressure and everything is still really great.  i'm very thankful to be able to have a healthy pregnancy and hope that labor and delivery goes well, too!  so, last time i said that we were all set materially for the baby, but i did order the baby carrier that i wanted.  i was so excited, i figured out all the buckles and took it on a test spin around the apartment with our little gorilla, literally:

this thing probably works better with an actual child inside it and without the big baby belly in the way

 and because we are nothing if not food lovers, here are some food highlights over the past few days:

biscuits and gravy

almond coconut quinoa risotto with chicken

another tart!  mmmmmm

ok so after the food detour....i hung up some post-its with information; one has phone numbers in case i go into labor and the other is the remainder of the stuff that we need to put into the hospital bag.  i did pack a hospital bag for the baby and have one for myself and hubby that's pretty much ready to go but for a few items that we'll have to add last minute like phone chargers, etc.  i also have checked a few things off my massive to do list:

biggest to-do list that is 2 pages long

ok so this post is getting long, i'll end with the weekly preggie update and wrap it up:

don't mind the workout gear and make-up-less presentation

How far along: 38 weeks

Size of baby: the size of a pumpkin, he could be around 20 inches or so, and the midwife estimated that he's about 7 lbs now, lungs are continuing to mature, he's continuing to practice stuff he'll be doing outside like breathing and sucking, and he is able to grasp onto things tightly with his little hands
Total weight gain:  official count today is 39 lbs
Maternity clothes: um, yea
Gender: boy
Movement: the other day he hardly moved and it freaked me out but today and the days before he's been moving around, shifting positions and sticking his little feet out of the right side of my belly
Sleep: not as good as i'd like
What I miss: hmmm....not being large and swollen
Cravings: i still want to eat fruit all the time and i've been craving sweets
Symptoms:  my feet, hands and ankles are permanently swollen for now, my fingernails are growing like crazy i have to cut them every week now, not great sleep, i'm waddling so much now, pressure and pain in pelvic bone, lots of excitement to meet my little boy, i'm talking butterflies in my stomach when i think about it!
 Best moment this week: spending time with family and friends, eating some delicious BBQ, getting an amazing massage and going swimming!

no more feet