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35 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss? 192.  This better be a 20 pound baby.  Wait, no, actually, that would be a terrible idea.
 
Maternity clothes? Oh buddy, yes.
 
Stretch marks? Not nearly as many as I had with Cora.  I’m actually surprised to see more on my belly than my booty this go around.

 
Sleep? Pretty good.  Cora seems to finally (knock on wood) be turning a corner and staying in her big girl bed through the night, so even though I have to go comfort her when she wakes up occasionally, having that extra few hours of sleep on my own has been lovely.
 
Best moment this week: We ordered our birth kit!  I had a few people ask me what that meant on my Facebook, and I had to explain that it’s not nearly as awesome as it sounds.  It’s basically a bunch of supplies, equipment, and other necessities for a home birth that my midwife requires us to have on hand.  Regardless, it came with a tiny onesie that says, “I’m special, I was born at home.” *melt*
 
Movement? Yup, and quite a bit of tightness around the belly area.  Makes me wonder if I might go early with this one, but I’m not so naive as to get my hopes up.
 
Food cravings? Not a lot, I’ve just been focusing on drinking water like crazy since I am ALWAYS dehydrated at the midwife appointments.  Sadly, it’s more my competitive nature that hates to fail at anything driving me to keep drinking water, rather than my genuine interest in staying hydrated.  Whatever works, right?
 
Gender?  GIRL! :)
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Labor Signs? Nope, just the tight belly which may or may not be Braxton Hicks at this point.
 
Belly Button in or out? Outie.  Showing through tighter shirts and everything.
 
Wedding rings on or off? On.  It seems my feet swelling died down, so perhaps that won’t be as bad as it was with Cora.
 
What I miss? This week my mom was starting to plan a family vacation we’re taking to Montana in June.  She was asking who was interested in white water rafting, fly fishing, and other excursions.  First world probs, but I had to decline on all after realizing that I’ll have a fairly new little one who won’t take kindly to me being away for half a day.  Just one of those moments where I realized we’re about to embark down this crazy black hole of newborn life again.  The joys outweigh the complaints obviously, but with Cora so independent now sometimes it’s hard not to feel like we’re about to take a three year step back.
 
What I am looking forward to? BABYWEARING.  More on this later, but my friend Denise came over yesterday to do a consult with me so I could try different wraps and carries.  We used a soft carrier with Cora quite a bit, but Denise’s visit made me feel better about the concerns I just mentioned above, and made me excited to smell that newborn baby heaven all over again.
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Weekly Wisdom? We had a bloggers night out this week at Thai Topaz, and it just so happened that two of my fellow pregnant mamas sat at the same end of the table as myself.  We of course got to chatting about birth experiences and our personal preferences.  My friend Anna, who blogs here, is very similar to me and is planning a homebirth as well this go around.  My friend Tori, who blogs here, was joking that her births are the exact opposite of ours.  She went in for the c-section, meds, hospital birth.  We were laughing and telling about our experiences with both sides, and it struck me once again how lucky we are in this country to have so many options.  I don’t care if you want to give birth in a barn, or in the biggest hospital with the biggest medical staff surrounding you.  As long as it’s safe for you and your baby and it’s what will make you feel empowered, go for it.  The most important thing to me is that women have the choice to NOT have intervention if they don’t want it, and yet it’s there just in case they NEED it.  End of story.
 
Milestones? A bunch of my family booked their flights this week to come and visit right around my due date! It puts the pressure on me know to have. this. baby! 🙂
XO,
A
P.S. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, or happened to miss it, I’m co-hosting a loop giveaway for a $300 Target gift card that lasts until Saturday, January 24th! Click here to enter, it’s so super easy and the prize is obviously fabulous!