Pumpkin Update: 35 Weeks and Counting!

I realized this is my 3rd pregnancy, and I have always been too embarrassed of the way I look to ever take a picture of my actual bare belly. Yeah, there is extra skin, and stripes, and flab, but it's still beautiful. I am a real mom. I don't have a trainer. I have never been thin. I have always been jealous of friends that have had 2,3,4,5,6 kids and have beautiful bodies...but my pregnancy is no less cute, no less of a miracle growing in me, nothing to be ashamed of! I have struggled forever with this issue, and in thinking about things today- I have realized that a pregnancy, a life forming- is beautiful, no matter where that pregnancy is being housed. Embracing myself, the victories of two pregnancies, and this new life inside.

How Far Am I: According to my dates, about 35 weeks, 3 days. Winding down! It's more of a due "month", so our newest pumpkin will be arriving some time in the next 3-7 weeks. I am not stressing about the date at all.
Baby's Gender: Anticipating a boy but the ultrasound was a tad iffy...
How Much Weight Have I Gained: Roughly 20lbs. We will see next week at our midwife visit. I was being a real stickler about my weight gain...and then last month, our dog had explosive diarrhea in our bathroom, all over the scale...needless to say, I haven't weighed my self at home since then because the scale  got pitched!
Cravings: None whatsoever as of late. A piece of chocolate would be nice every once in a while, but since I never buy it, it's never here to tempt me!
Baby Movement: Those big swirly flips are a thing of the past at this point. Baby was head down at our appointment for 33 weeks, and hasn't gone anywhere! I get lots of little wiggles and such, and baby their rump up under the right side of my rib cage almost always. All my babies have been right-side-of-the-belly kiddos, probably due to where my placenta has attached.

Look at that belly! Not much room for stretching out!

Body Changes: So many lately! I think the baby is dropping into my pelvis- which has it's pros and cons. I can breathe a little easier and I don't get so much heartburn, but my feet have started swelling up as the day goes on and I have to pee constantly now. My ring has always fit on the snug side, and I usually have to remove it about the time I hit the 3rd trimester...the good news is, I haven't had much swelling in my feet or hands until the last week or so, compared with starting around 28 weeks or sooner. I think it is due to me being at home, not on a nursing floor for 12+ hours at work.
Sleep Habits: I am sleeping less and less. We aim for 8 hours a night, but with getting up to pee every few hours, and rearrange pillows, it amounts to much less :) It's God's way of preparing me to be up every 2 hours after our little one arrives!
What Micah (5) /Levi (18 mos) Think of the Baby: Micah surprised Jose and I last week when we were  asking him if he wanted to be here when the baby came. We were talking about how the baby gets his food (a cord goes from mommy to the baby, so he gets all he needs), and Micah asked if he could cut the cord after the baby came out. I looked at Jose, who looked at me, and we said that would be okay as long as he was there. TOTALLY threw me that he would think about the cord getting cut. We asked if he was sleeping, would he want to wake up for the baby to come, or just meet the baby in the morning, and he wanted to be woken up.
Baby Prep So Far: My mom and dad bought us some new diapering supplies as their new baby gift, as well as some cloth nursing pads. All of those have been washed and prepped. We got the Moses basket set up in our room, along with the playpen where we change diapers and keep supplies. All the teeny tiny clothes have been washed and folded, and are in bins in our room, since that is where baby will be sleeping for the first few months. We are slowly trying to move Levi over to Micah's room, but it hasn't been going well so far, so we aren't pushing it. He absolutely loves his crib, and though he thinks the big boy bed in Micah's room is cool to read on, he wants nothing to do with it come sleepy time. Oh well, we'll get there! This week, I am starting to cook some meals larger, and freeze half so we have some easy meals for after baby comes and Jose is helping out. So far we have sloppy joes, and pulled pork...  I have to be honest, I had a few moments this week where I started letting things get to me. My best friend is throwing me a "shower on the go," for people that want to send us things for the baby, and it's been so hard to just trust that God has every aspect of this baby under control, and to settle in and see what we get. We all know that babies come when they are ready...but I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that it's happening so fast! I feel like there is so much to "do", or to "get," or to "take care of," before then... then I remember- does he have a place to sleep? Check. Milk to eat? Check. Clothes to wear? Check. Diapers to dirty? Check. Reminding my self that everything else on my to do/get/finish lists can wait.
Birth Prep: We were able to order our birth kit thanks to my sister Michaela, which has all kinds of supplies that our midwife uses, like gloves, a cord clamp, chux pads, and the like. We also got a mattress bag (basically a king-sized ziplock bag to protect your mattress during birth, if that's where you decide to have your baby), and a friend of ours gave us some hand me down sheets- which is awesome, since I don't want to have to ruin nice pretty sheets.

Part of our birth kit included this awesome prayer (which is taped to my computer screen), and a beautiful footprint card.

Name Ideas: We have some names picked out for a boy and a girl just in case, but I have a really hard time with telling people what they are because I am so afraid that baby will arrive, and we will go, "No, wait, that's not your name!" Micah and Levi were so easy to name, and this time around it's much harder.
Plus Sized, Nursing, and Pregnant: Big mistake last week counting Levi as having weaned. He didn't nurse or ask to for 4 days...then out of the blue, has picked it back up again. I have started making colostrum, and I think him nursing again is the combo that he is finally getting something after the tap being dry for the last few months, combined with 2 teeth coming in right now. I am just taking it all in stride. He is just barely 19 months, and I figured at the beginning of my pregnancy that I would end up tandem nursing because he has always been a boob child. He will give it up on his own. For now, he has learned nursing manners- he asks "please," and knows that he has to wait. I really only let him at bed time or nap time, so he knows not to ask if we are out and about. Last night, after nursing him, I clipped up my nursing top and he said "night night, -urse." He either calls it "nu-nu's" or says nurse without the "n." I am cherishing every last little minute with him and Micah as a mommy of two, as well as my time with Jose, since I know things are going to get very interesting in a few short weeks!