35 Weeks

Not only is this week 35 with baby Nolan, it means as of today I only have four more weeks until his scheduled delivery. Whoa. These next four weeks are going to go by so quick, I just know it. I remember when I was in the home stretch with Mallory it seemed like it took FOREVER. But this time I feel the complete opposite. I know it's mainly because I'm not in a hurry for his arrival like I was with Mal, but it's also because I'm busy keeping monster entertained. Fortunately I'm completely ready to go with his layette and necessary gear that we'll need right away so there's no stress for me there; the rest of the items that I might be looking over are either not important or will come with time. I'm putting the finishing touches on the decor in his room and will likely have that done by this weekend. It's coming together nicely and I'm excited to share the result of my efforts.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I've retired my running routine until post-pregnancy and now stick with power walks, body-weight resistance exercises, chasing a very active Mallory around, and cleaning the house (which sometimes makes me sweat more than an actual workout). However, activity in general is becoming tougher; I have to stop to catch my breath more often and have even started experiencing some mild contractions, especially when I climb the stairs. But this momma doesn't have any plans to slow down and my dedication to remain active has kept my weight gain under 25 pounds so far. I almost think that even though my belly seems to be bigger this time around, I might gain less than I did with Mal; I thought for sure I'd have a hard time with that goal.

My poor feet are pretty much swollen every day now. Sometimes it won't happen until the afternoon, other times I'll wake up and they're already puffy. Comfortably I have to stick with flip flops or my favorite, barefoot. Even my running shoes work against me by giving me blisters on my heels if I wear them for too long. The other morning, on mine and Mallory's way home from the park I just took them off and power walked the rest of the way in my socks. It probably looked pretty odd to those passing by but I was in less pain and that's all I cared about at the moment.

The heartburn is back in full force, even without eating spicy foods or drinking too much coffee. I know it's because Nolan is getting bigger and there's less room for him, so he's all crammed up against my esophagus. Of course there's all my other internal organs he's crammed up against as he moves and stretches around in there. Just making himself comfortable on my behalf, no big deal. Unfortunately I've also noticed that my morning sickness has become a little more frequent again. I'm almost out of my Zofran prescription, which I didn't think would happen seeing as my doctor gave me a huge amount when I first got it filled. I think we both thought it would last through my entire pregnancy.

All in all, I still feel pretty good for where I'm at. Nothing too out of the ordinary from what I think most pregnant women go through. I know three other girls besides myself that are all due in August and I think it's safe to say we're all pretty excited to be this close to the end.