35 Week Update

33 weeks, 3 days at our maternity shoot

About three weeks ago, Atlanta was projected to have a repeat of the SnowJam of 2014. School was canceled, and my women's health clinic was closed, forcing me to reschedule my 32 week appointment for the following Monday. The only openings that worked for my next appointment were on Wednesday, March 19, so we ended up having a 35 week check up instead of a 34 week check up.

Hudson and I are both doing well. The midwife believes he is over 6 pounds - so I could have a 9 pound baby! I am not dialated at all yet, but our midwife* made it sound like he could come at any time. She decided to put me on weekly appointments now because I've been having contractions already. I'm guessing he will be arriving before his April 22 due date! 

Since the last update, I've definitely been more tired. My sinuses are acting up, so I'm having a tough time falling asleep and staying asleep. I've definitely had to slow down quite a bit as my belly has grown a lot. It's hard to believe there are about five weeks left to go. It's becoming a struggle to find clothes that fit, so I've had to order a few things to make it through the next few weeks of work. 

Hudson is moving more and kicking less. That is, his motions are less violent and feel more like his whole body is shifting rather than the jerky motions of his hands and feet that I felt before. I'm sure he's getting crowded in there! Every once in awhile, I still feel a pretty strong kick, and in fact, about a week and a half ago, he got me hard enough that I must have had internal bruising because I was sore for nearly a week after!

We did maternity photos with our friends Jessica and Anthony of Bridges Photography. I'll be sharing more of those in a post soon. We had so much fun hanging out with them! We have known them almost since we moved to Georgia, as crazy as that is! We connected pretty quickly once we learned that both Anthony and Jessica had worked at ASA when Trevor did, although their overlap was brief.

We have three showers coming up in the next two weeks, so things are going to be really busy around here! Trevor is working every weekend, too, so our time as a family of two humans and two fur babies is quickly slipping away. Fortunately, the nursery just needs a couple more decor items, and it will be done.

*Our practice uses 7 certified nurse midwives who see patients in the office. Six of them deliver babies at the hospital, with the seventh being the clinical director for the practice. When I say "our midwife," I really am referring to the one we saw that week, not one in particular. However, we've seen one midwife in particular for nearly half of our appointments, so I'm really hoping she's on call for Hudson's birth.

32 week update

Can you believe there are just 8-ish weeks left to go?

I am still feeling really good. I'm tired, but I'm not really uncomfortable yet. Some of maternity clothes are a little snug, so I'm having to size up in my tops. I hate that I'm having to buy new clothes with such a small amount of time left in my pregnancy, but it sure beats being uncomfortable and trying to make too small clothing work for me as my belly continues to grow!

My feet seem to have grown a little bit during my pregnancy. They aren't swollen - they are longer! The hormone that allows the rib cage to expand will allow all your joints and muscles to be looser. When you add the extra weight on your feet, it's totally normal for your feet to grow a bit. Since I had tiny feet before, I'm kind of hoping this is a permanent change. It's been tough for me to find shoes that fit so this could be a very happy change!

Hudson is moving a lot, and I can now see his movements, too. He seems to be head down, laying along my left side, with his limbs stretched out towards my right. He can definitely hear my alarm clock in the morning, and he doesn't like it! I can feel him thumping against my mattress each morning at 6 a.m. He has also found my ribs, which he seems to enjoy rubbing or kicking with his feet! According to my pregnancy app, Hudson is now about 18 inches long and weighs about four pounds, making him roughly the size of a pomelo. The average newborn baby is between 18 and 20 inches long, so he's almost full size!

We traveled to Minnesota from February 13 to 17 to see Trevor's family. We saw a dinner theatre performance with Trevor's parents and two sets of aunts and uncles for Valentines Day. The next day, we had our first baby shower with his family. Hudson will definitely be one well-dressed little guy thanks to his Van Nevel and Schwegel family members!

Our glider and ottoman set arrived the day after we returned from Minnesota, so Trevor and our friend Anthony picked it up and put it in place in the nursery. We finalized our decorating plans as well, so now we just need to finish up the DIY portions of the decorating. Our travel system arrived just before we went to Minnesota, so we installed the car seat base this past weekend. Ours was fairly simple to install, and it is definitely in there tight! We still need to pick up some little essentials like baby wipes and newborn diapers, but otherwise, the house is ready!

Right now, my focus is on getting our hospital bags packed and making a list of everything that needs to go with us. Our hospital is a 35 minute drive from our house, so once we are there, Trevor probably won't be running home for anything unless it's an absolute emergency (or I end up having a C-section and need to stay for several days). I also need to develop my Plan B in the event that Trevor isn't here when the time comes. It could take 7 hours or more for him to get back to Atlanta, depending on where he is. So, I need to find someone I can depend on to get me to the hospital and help me Facetime with Trevor in the event that he can't make it in time.

Our next appointment is in two weeks - and we will continue to go every two weeks until the end of March. Starting at 37 weeks/April 1, we will go weekly until Hudson arrives.