39 Weeks

• I look like I'm smuggling a ball, one of those $2 large bouncy balls at Target. We are well past basketball here. 
• Still not noticing any pre-labor signs.
• I get SO hot at night while I'm sleeping.
• When I sleep, that is. It's a lot of tossing and turning and I'm up at least twice, some nights 3-4x, to use the bathroom. 
• I walk like an 80-yr-old if I've been sitting for too long.
• Trying to stay active, though it's hard and I'm tired. 
• My sister, Michelle, came in and cleaned my entire house for me this past weekend. What a blessing she is!! Now it's just a matter of keeping clutter at bay. 
• So ready and excited to meet this sweet baby!

Mimics

38 Weeks

My turnover day is on Saturday. Another week down. Two more to go (hopefully). 37 weeks was so busy that we forgot to take a picture or document it at all.

But, here I am in all my large-bellied glory!

Yep, that shirt isn't appropriate for public viewing anymore. 

• Braxton-Hicks are increasing, still most common when I'm quiet in the evenings. 
• A few days of bad back pain, but the past couple have been good again. 
• Some minor swelling in my feet after sitting for 2 days at a conference. Almost all gone today after some time with my feet up, a lot of water, and increased potassium-containing foods. 
• Down to about 2 shirts that are long enough to cover my belly. Obviously it's not the one in the picture!
• The baby still looks kind of high. I know they don't drop as noticeably in subsequent pregnancies, but I don't think this sweet one is ready to go yet.

Eleanor, 2.5

At 2-and-a-half (the halves are very important to Avery), Eleanor is just a bundle of fun. Some things I don't want to forget.

• Her vocabulary exploded around Christmas, later than it did with Avery, but when she finally started talking, she skipped right over the single words and jumped into phrases and sentences. She has always been an observer, and this side of her proved true again in regards to speech.
• Some of her words and phrases that make me laugh (and that I secretly hope never change): 
• chepah (ketchup): And, if you ask her if she wants "chepah", she will respond with, "No, Mommy, say chepah." Ok, would you like ketchup? Yes.
• "Me, three!" (as in, "Me, too!")
• But "I love you, too" is accurate, as opposed to "I love you, three."
• "Oh, great!" to just about anything
• She transitioned into her big girl bed about 2 weeks ago, which is also in Avery's room. She still naps in her crib in the nursery, but she sleeps every night with Avery. The transition was SO easy. We tried it once while my MIL was here out of necessity due to painting in the nursery, and it was a nightmare. But a week later, she asked to sleep in there, and we haven't looked back.

• In the mornings, she waits in her room (most days) until their clock turns green, and then she comes tearing out of her room at break-neck speed yelling "Is gween! Is gween!" And she'll drag one of us out of bed and down the hall to look (usually Luke). 
• One morning we were greeted with our door slamming open and the big light turned on. Talk about a wake-up call. Avery was much kinder to us at this age. 
• She likes to pat our backs and say "My mommy" or "My daddy"
• She and Avery are best friends. This makes me so unbelievably happy.

Sleepover on the floor of their room

• She falls asleep with her books and her babies and animals all around her, just like Avery did/does.
• We weaned her off the pacifier almost two weeks ago. A rough transition at first, but it's officially gone, and napping has mostly returned. Night-time without paci was easier to deal with than naps without it, and some days I end up rocking her during the entire nap. My mom asked why I don't lay her down after she falls asleep, and then she started laughing before I could even say anything - yes, it's because I can't get close enough to the crib to lay her down gently. I would essentially have to drop her in the bed. My belly - it's just too big!

Getting ready to send the pacis to the Paci Fairy (Boppy Fairy, as she called her)

• She is very devoted to her baby doll, and she will put her down for naps in the oddest of places, usually singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. 
• She also tucked me in with her favorite blanket, sang "Jesus Loves Me" to me, and told me to close my eyes and go to sleep. Sweet little thing. 
• She is active active active. This child is rarely still. 
• She asks me almost every day, very very quietly, if we can go to Chick-fil-a. One day I gave in and treated her to breakfast after we dropped Avery off at school.

• She adores puzzles and will do the same one over and over again, a dozen times in a row. She also likes for us to sit and affirm her while she's doing them, even though she needs zero help with them.
• She is quite witty, a skill that surprises us for her age. 
• She tells me that she's ready for the baby to come out of my belly, and she'll lift my shirt up to see if anything is happening, and when she sees that nothing is changing, she tells me, "Not working!"
• She is becoming more insistent on doing things herself: buckling her carseat (she also taught herself how to unbuckle the chest strap, while I was driving, which involved a fast pull onto a side street and a stern talk); getting dressed; picking out clothes (definite opinion on pjs, but not as much on daytime clothes); doing the buttons on her clothes; putting on her shoes (almost always on the wrong feet, while Avery almost always got them right, even from the beginning); opening her yogurt cup....

Flannel pjs over fleece footie pjs. Can't even imagine how hot she must have been.

• She loves blue lollipops, which she receives after my doctor appointments. She also always remembers to get one for Avery.
• She just started saying "please" in the most adorable manner - clasping her hands tightly together, squinting her eyes, and practically begging. No idea where she learned this, but it's too funny.
• "Mommy" has become shortened to "Mom". This makes me sad.
• Almost zero interest in potty training, but she adores the Elmo panties we got her and wears them over her pants.

We love you precious girl!!

Just for giggles...

A behind the scenes look at trying to corral 4 children (one who refused to be in the picture at all) for one decent shot of all of us together. Our girls are such goofballs.

Bumpdate, Week 36

Now that we're a month out, I'm going to do weekly updates, though I fully expect to see April anyways before this baby comes. Avery was 3 days late, and I was induced with her. Eleanor came on her own, one day early (she's my favorite) (just kidding!).

Feel good. Can't believe as of today, we only have 26 days left until my due date. Sounds much shorter when you put it that way.

Braxton-Hicks are increasing, usually at night as I'm settling down.

My belly button is quite prominent this time, which is new for me.

This week I've started freezer cooking to stockpile some food for that last couple of weeks when I don't feel like cooking anymore, and to fill in between meals from friends. Why do I not do this all the time?

We were gifted a steam mop, and I'm in love. I mopped the whole house last night in half the time it used to take me.

I'm becoming my sister - starting a no-shoe policy in the house for this last month, and we are working extra hard to stay on top of clutter control and cleaning. I'm reaching the crazy stage, and thankfully I have the energy for it still.

Scrambling to finish work; was hoping to be done by the end of the weekend, but the office moved and the server is down this week as well as the printers. So. There's that. Let's me focus on home and baby stuff since I can't do much else. :)

Bumpdate, Weeks 31-35

• Still feeling good! I'm so thankful for an "easy" pregnancy. When I passed 33 weeks, I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't on bed rest this time around or spending a weekend in the hospital because of a bleeding scare. 
• Looks like I grew quite a bit between 31 and 33 weeks, and again between 33 and 34. Week 35 looks a bit lower, and feels a bit lower to me too. 
• Active baby! At my last appointment, the midwife felt around, found the position of the baby, and before she could put the doppler on to listen to the heartbeat, the baby had flipped sides and she had to find him/her again. 
• Nesting continues. Working on a quilt for the baby and finishing the nursery. Haven't hit the 'crazy' yet (though if you ask my husband, he might disagree). My to-do list grows faster than I can check items off. 
• My mother-in-law is amazing and spent a week with us, helping me paint the nursery and the dresser and cabinet. The dresser is finished; the cabinet needs new hardware still.
• Meeting with my doula in the next week or two - it's officially time to start counting down!
• Still no name for either gender. 
• Sleep is hard to come by - insomnia strikes again.
• Maternity isn't fitting as well this time. Many of my shirts are already too short, but I am about the same size as I was with Eleanor. I wonder if I'm carrying lower, and that's the issue?? I've gained a bit more this time than last but not as much as my first pregnancy, so I'm curious to see how the birth weights differ between all of my babies. 
• Eager to meet this baby!