Pregnancy: Week 36

Week 36:

Baby: About the size of a honeydew melon (didn't we have that one already?), 18.6 inches long and 5.8 pounds.

Weight: Gained one pound, total of 15 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yes!

Boy or Girl: Boy!

Belly Button In or Out: Poking out a bit, but still not totally an outtie. 

Wedding Ring On or Off: On--still haven't had any swelling.

Cravings: Pineapple, strawberry jam, coffee (haven't had any, but it sounds sooo good.)

Aversions: None, yay! 

Exercise: Similar to last week--Lindsay Brin's 3rd Trimester workout, some Tracy Anderson arm workouts, and the What to Expect workouts.

Symptoms: Still lots of heartburn, still lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I've had quite a bit of lower back pain here and there, depending on how the baby is positioned. The main thing I noticed this week was how emotional I'm getting. I've actually been on a pretty even keel for most of this pregnancy, but now that I've hit these last few weeks I feel like I'm on a little bit of a roller coaster of emotions. I think it's totally normal--I'll get really excited about meeting our little guy, then really nervous about labor and delivery, then panicky about whether I'm ready for all this, then excited again. 

Baby's Movement: He has some days when he's quieter, but for the most part he's still really active. He's big enough now that sometimes when he's stretching, I can see my belly ripple or get into this weird shape because he's pushing on opposite sides of it. He also really like to push his feet into my ribs, which forces his head directly onto my bladder--fun. Most of the time he seems to prefer being curled up against my right side--I can feel the curve of his body along the right side of my belly, while the left side feels flat.

Anything Noteworthy: We're down to the wire now! The doctor checked me this week for the first time to see if I'm progressing. The baby's head was so low that she couldn't actually tell if I'm dilated or not, but hopefully next week we'll find out more. I don't think he's actually dropped yet though. We still need to pack our hospital bags (I have a major mental block with doing this) so we really need to get on that! 

What to Look Forward to Next Week: Being full-term! Yikes!

Did you get more emotional as you got closer to your due date? Any tips for staying calm about labor?