Week 36

We now have exactly one month until Alexandra's estimated due date! When I look at my ticker which says 28 days to go, I get both excited and really nervous at the same time. I know that is the normal feeling of all first time parents!

About Baby: At 36 weeks, Alexandra is just one week away from being full term! Since we had an ultrasound yesterday, we know that she is weighing approximately 5 pounds, 11 ounces. Now I really hope she comes sooner than her due date (but not before March 4th) otherwise she might be 8 pounds! Eeek! She is pretty much ready for the outside world, we just want her to "bake" a little longer to develop her lungs more.

How am I feeling? The swelling in my feet and ankles is now constant. I can barely wear shoes. I have been reading that other ladies are buying compression socks and that might be the answer if the weather turns cold again. Today it is supposed to be almost 80, so I can wear my TEVA sandals that have velcro adjustable straps. I am still coughing. It think it is now week 6. It is definitely worse at night and I wake up with what feels like a pulled muscle on my right side. Although today it is constant and I am really annoyed. The numbness is also increasing. Besides night time and morning, I now notice numbness (especially in my thumbs) when driving, typing and writing.

Movement: I barely feel Alexandra at night once I go to bed and she never wakes me up, so that is a blessing. It seems that she dislikes the seat belt on the car, because every time I strap in, she starts poking me. The seat belt hits right about where her hands are located. I mostly feel her little butt wiggle. I know it is getting crowded in there so she is trying to get comfortable. Dave could feel her wiggle last night as we were waiting for dinner to arrive. He started tapping my tummy in the area and she responded with some movement! It was very cute!

Updates: We had our last full ultrasound yesterday on Valentine's Day and Alexandra looked great. Her heart rate was 126 bpm. It starts to get slower the closer to birth. During the ultrasound, she had her hands in her mouth and we could even see her tongue! When the technician mentioned that she seemed to be chewing on her hands, Dave responded that we need to get her a chew toy! Oh my silly husband! I will still have twice weekly non stress tests and start weekly OB exams this week.

Food: Not much new to report on the food front. I have started really enjoying oranges this week. The naval oranges from my local Vons are super juicy and yesterday I had two of them! I have also been eating a lot of quesadillas. Last weekend I made some Mexican food and was sure to take Mylanta first so I did not get heartburn from the taco seasoning. It worked!

Prepping for Baby: The birthing class got cancelled again this week! So now the instructor will cram 4 weeks of material into 2 weeks! Since last week, we have accomplished a lot. We went to Babies R Us and bought a few must haves off our registry that had not been purchased. One was a Chicco Key Fit 30 Travel System (stroller and car seat). Dave worked on putting it together on Sunday and there is a half put together stroller in my living room. However, he did accomplish the installation of the car seat in my SUV! Every time I see the car seat in the car (which is currently parked in the garage), I look at it and think - what??? We are that close? Oh my!! Here is said car seat:

And the nursery is completed and ready for Miss Alexandra. Photos were in a separate post on Wednesday if you have not yet seen them! We are waiting for the cradle pad to arrive and it is the last thing we absolutely must have before she can come home from the hospital!

The most crucial thing that I get done this weekend is to pack for the hospital. There are about 20 March moms who have already given birth and I do not want to be unprepared in case Alexandra decides she'd rather be a February Love Bug than a March Lucky Charm. My last day of work is going to be March 1st, so I really hope Alexandra decides she needs more "baking" and stays put until at least March 4th.

This Coming Week: I have an appointment with a respiratory doctor to see about this cough that is now in its 6th week. That is on Tuesday. Then Wednesday I have a breastfeeding class. Thursday is busy with both an OB appointment and our (hopefully) first birthing class! On Friday, my co-workers are throwing me a shower during our lunch time. That should be a lot of fun!

This weeks bump photos:

 

Since I have the day off for President's Day and it is beautiful and warm outside, I used my tripod to take self portraits. For some reason, my camera has issues focusing on my face and most of the 30 or so photos I took were out of focus. These were the best three photos.