39 weeks

well, here we are, about a week away from the due date!  i'm trying to enjoy the last few days of freedom and alone time, hahahaha.  generally over the weekends hubby and i run various errands, clean the house, grocery shop, etc, and it seems like we don't usually have a ton of leisure time.  but this past saturday, the weather was beautiful and i was thinking that this may be our last weekend as just a married couple with no kids and we ought to do something to just relax and enjoy ourselves.  initially i thought of some pretty elaborate plans like taking a trip to deception pass or something, but it's just not that easy now that i have to be within 15 minutes of a bathroom at all times.  so, we finally settled on getting lunch and eating it at greenlake in the sun, picnic style.  after we decided on fried chicken, we ran up to ezell's and back to greenlake and enjoyed eating our delicious fried chicken and potato salad on our blanket and watch the healthy people running, walking, and roller blading by.  it was heavenly.  i finished up some of my marathon cleaning tasks, which normally aren't "marathon" but become so when there's a huge belly impeding my ability to move, stretch, sit, etc.  so far i have managed to clean the inside and out of all the kitchen cabinets and drawers and re-organize them, getting rid of unnecessary stuff in the process; cleaned and sanitized the fridge and layed down rubber drawer liners on the fridge shelves for easier cleaning in the future; cleaned out the oven and the drawer below it as well as removing that bottom oven drawer and vacuuming underneath it (and i cleaned the oven using baking soda, it was super effective AND non-toxic!) and then cleaned the microwave using a super neat trick of boiling a vinegar and water solution in the microwave, letting it steam for 5 minutes and then giving it a good wipe.  i'm not a fan of using super harsh chemicals like oven cleaner in the house, so i'm so glad to have found some non-caustic cleaning agents to get all this done with.  except for the bleach, i still have to research that one a little more.  anyway, after accomplishing those tasks, i have kind of run out of gas.  yesterday was a more relaxed day that included a walk and a midwife appointment.

me, the bump and my cankles taking a walk

from my walk today

walking along greenlake

the appointment went well, baby is at -2 station which means that he's dropping into my pelvis in preparation for labor, and other things are progressing along slowly but surely (effacement and softening, if you know what i mean).  so, we're all just waiting for this process to unfold and get going.  baby's heartbeat is strong and he's still wiggling around which are two of the things that they watch for towards the end of the pregnancy as indicators that baby is doing well.  it's so crazy to me to think that soon i will no longer be pregnant.  it's been a loooooooooooooong 9 months, but there are things that i will miss about being pregnant like feeling my baby moving and just generally being in awe of the entire process and the fact that my body not only created an entire organ (placenta) but grew and sustained a human baby.  it's amazing.  but, don't get me wrong, i'm so ready and excited to meet my little guy!  so, next things on my to-do list include cleaning the grout in our shower, cleaning out the bathroom cabinets and wiping down all the doors, finishing thank you cards and doing some crafty stuff with the leftover decorations from the baby shower that my mom hosted.  so, before i get going with the weekly pregnancy update, i'll show off 2 of the things that i whipped up and consumed recently that were super delicious:

"greek" style mac n cheese with spinach, it was a really good recipe

martha stewart pancake recipe with carmelized peaches...mmmmmm

ok, enough of the food, here's the update:

How far along: 39 weeks

Size of baby: the size of a small watermelon!  he likely hasn't grown too much since last week, still within the 19.5-21 inches and about 7.25 lb range, his brain and lungs are continuing to develop
Total weight gain:  have gained a total of 41 lbs---yikes!
Maternity clothes: i've been relying on maternity tank tops, regular yoga pants and stretchy pants along with tunics
Gender: boy
Movement: this week he's continuing to shift around and kick out his little foot as usual, he's definitely running out of room to make big movements
What I miss: walking without waddling
Cravings: still fruit, ice chips, in fact today i was craving shaved ice so badly that i used my blender to chop up some ice and poured a little juice over it for an icy treat after my walk
Symptoms:  all of the symptoms
 Best moment this week: spending time with my hubby, eating dinner with family, seeing friends, relaxing