36 weeks

Getting closer, and closer to his due date! Although I think the sister is hoping he's a little late so he's still small on her return home, my mom is of the opinion that he'll come early when I finally get a chance to truly relax. We'll see. Nonetheless, here's hoping for a small baby or at least a littler head/shoulder span!
I guess I should give up my almost daily pastry? Well, that's this week at least. My appetite fluctuates a lot, from ravishing hungry to only wanting some fruit or soup. I think we have a baby that has bi-weekly growth spurts rather than steady daily growing.

As I have mentioned numerous times, I am feeling HUGE! He's definitely growing and sure to let me know he needs his space (i.e. kicking when I bend has taught me not to even try to bend much anymore, which makes picking things up much more difficult). Too bad I don't have my mother-in-law to help me paint my toes anymore. I tried prior to the baby shower, but when it took me 4 minutes to regain my breath and strength to do toe #2, I decided to let her help me out. I blame it on a long day at the hospital on my feet - exhausted and having a smaller lung capacity with bending was not a working combination!

JD gets to feel him squirm around all the time now, which is fun and entertaining. We can definitely feel limbs, feet, back and butt, however discerning a leg from an arm/elbow is challenging. He's head down, which is good, and obvious to me since he loves to kick my right side ribs most days.

We finally got a crib, too! It's a mini crib, which is super small compared to the standard American size. I think the size is like a portable crib, but works perfect in small spaces. The little mango room doesn't look as crowded as it would have been! We found it on craigslist for $45, which is much cheaper than new at $189.99 without a mattress. The family lived in Astoria, which is 2 hours or so away. Luckily, they agreed to meet us half-way in Longview, WA. We took the scenic route on the way up to avoid Friday rush hour traffic, which was nice. It was relaxing cruising with the windows down talking about random things, forgetting the day of frustrating studying. The crib does need a little touch up for some teething marks, but that's not a problem. It's also antique white, so I may end up painting the whole thing a brighter white to match the dresser, despite JD's protest that it is fine as is. I'll think about it...





So I've had two close friends (also med. students, one in California) deliver their babies recently. I hope to have a delivery story similar to either of theirs! I've been worrying lately about the whole labor thing, and I'm not usually a worrier. Sometimes I wish I hadn't taken care of so many women who've had the less common complications. I will spare details, as I know some men may read this blog and don't really want to know what I'm talking about.

Just when I thought I was getting back into a great study groove, I started having horrible nightmares! Halloween plays a big role, but the scary part of the dreams was being big and pregnant unable to get away, all while worrying about my boys. How is it that the walking axeman can always keep up with the people sprinting away from him? No logic. Anyway, hard to fall asleep after waking makes a day of studying difficult as well!

On another random note, I have recently found ill-fitting bras to be very frustrating. I might as well where duct tape! Inside joke, but I'm sure JD could fashion a duct tape bra like the wallet he made me for a birthday present years ago. I have since ordered myself some nursing tank tops in hopes that they will be much more comfortable with a little growing room. I shouldn't complain, some things about pregnancy are not so bad! I just didn't have this experience growing up, lol. My sports bras at least provide some comfort for half a day.

Today I had a strange day of studying...
I woke up at 7am ready to rock. I made myself pancakes for the first time since college since JD was up at 4:30am to go hunting, look at some trucks, and then off to a wedding. His weekend breakfast typically includes eggs, specifically his famous egg-bagel sandwiches. I needed to mix things up, and since I didn't feel like cereal or toast either, blueberry pancakes it was! I don't like syrup, so I thought about adding a little powdered sugar. That is until I opened the almost full box to find it swarming with ants! It was so gross with yellow ant hills that I rapidly threw it in the trash. Haha, kinda wish I had taken a picture but wasn't willing to pull it back out of the garbage. Well, that was only the start of my interesting day. Instead of going to the library, the day soon turned into rapidly cleaning our huge pile of dirty dishes while my landlords vacuumed up the developing flood in the basement! I was so lucky to have my parents randomly arrive to help me out! I don't think they had planned on helping me do dishes for a few hours, but I really appreciated the help. They also brought super cute pumpkins and yummy-smelling candle to help me decorate our bare home. Oh, and let's not forget a delicious pumpkin Starbuck's + scone + apples + cute baby outfit and shoes. I love my parents! They understand my love for fall and all things pumpkin :) Or maybe they are just more willing to spoil me, hehe. JD is working on the "idea" of pulling out our buried decoration box... He's really good at making me feel guilty for procrastinating, including not enabling me to do so. In retrospect I'm sure I will appreciate his diligence to keep me studying too.






Oh, and to finish off the day, JD bought a truck! (no deer in sight on this rainy day, last weekend it was too sunny? Poor guys...someday) I don't have a picture of the Dodge Ram yet because he had to leave it at his dad's until we can get a tag to park it on the streets up here. That means he has to sell his current pick-up. I'm proud of him, and he's super excited. He can pull the boat in the summers and carry his little boy safely in the back seat (extra cab, a luxury compared to the single cab Toyota he has had for the past few years). It will definitely be a big rig to park in the city, with not the best gas mileage...BUT, he's wanted something like this for quite some time. Anyway, I'm happy he's so elated.