At this point in my pregnancy with Gerrit, I was heading to the hospital to have a baby! Thankfully, Baby #2 is still hanging out on the inside for now. I had an appointment this week again: it was uneventful. My strep B test came back negative, uterus is measuring on track, my blood pressure is good, and baby’s heartbeat sounds good. The doctor said he’ll be doing another cervical check next week to see where we’re at.

• Always tired, often dozing off on the couch in the mornings.
• Still dealing with low appetite. I’m also completely off coffee again. I’ve been trying to drink it throughout most of my pregnancy for the caffeine, but I can’t even deal with the smell right now. I’ve switched to raspberry leaf tea instead.
• I just hurt. I have to actually get out of bed to roll over at this point, because rolling from my right side to my left is so painful. When I get up in the morning, my hips and knees are so sore. My lower back is hurting more often, and I’m sitting on my birthing ball a LOT more lately. I’ve also had a weird pain in my right inner thigh, kind of like I pulled something. A few times that pain has led to my leg giving out on me, so I’ve been trying to move more slowly and carefully now.
• BH contractions when I’m on my feet for a long time, and cramping/contractions about twice a week now.
• Heading into week 37, I started having acid reflux during the night. Once I woke up kind of choking on stomach acid, and other nights I would just feel a burning in my throat every time I woke up at night. Pretty unpleasant.
• My right hand loses feeling or gets tingly pretty often now. It’s most often during the night (I’m sure I sleep on my hand), but it happens during the day too. I haven’t been working on crochet projects like I wanted to because of it.

Maternity clothes: All the time.
Stretch marks: no new ones
Belly button in or out: in but pretty much flat
Sleep: Very broken. I’m up every hour or two either having to pee, needing to stand up to turn over in bed, feeling acid in my throat, or helping Gerrit get back to sleep. I don’t even look forward to going to bed at night. 
Best moment this week: My mom has arrived! Gerrit is so thrilled, and he has been wanting to be with Mimi nonstop. It’s so nice to have an extra pair of hands during the day and to catch up with her after G goes to bed.
Miss anything: Not hurting
Movement: Maybe not as frequent, but still definitely feeling limbs moving in there!
Cravings: Nothing new. Still having apples and cheese almost every night for a snack. Also enjoying frozen yogurt many nights.
Looking forward to: Seeing if anything has changed at my next appointment!

It’s Baby’s birth month! We’re down to weekly OB appointments from here on out. My 35 week appointment included the strep B test and my first cervical check. I’m currently about 1 cm dilated, and Baby is still head down. Other than that, everything is looking good! Hoping to schedule our L&D tour soon.

• Always tired, although I do feel like I’ve had some deeper sleep this past week.
• Still dealing with low appetite. This baby not only sits right on my bladder, but also squishes my stomach. Gerrit never dropped, so I don’t know if this one will and give my stomach and lungs some relief.
• I just hurt. I have to actually get out of bed to roll over at this point, because rolling from my right side to my left is so painful. When I get up in the morning, my hips and knees are so sore.
• BH contractions when I’m on my feet for a long time, and one afternoon of crampy contractions this week.

Maternity clothes: All the time.
Stretch marks: no new ones
Belly button in or out: in but getting close to flat
Sleep: Very broken. Thankfully, Gerrit has been sleeping better at night, but I’m still up to go to the bathroom and reposition myself every hour or two. 
Best moment this week: Andrew and I had a date night! Since we don’t have family nearby, dates are very infrequent for us. This was partly a belated anniversary date and partly a we-better-do-this-before-we-have-another-baby date. It was really nice. I don’t think you can truly appreciate date night until you’ve had a kid. Not stressing about how your child is behaving/eating is fantastic! We both had great meals, and we both splurged on desserts. The weather was nice enough for us to eat on the patio too. It was a really great night for us.

Other than that, just feeling prepared. I feel so different in the final stretch of this pregnancy than I did when I was pregnant with G. I had so much anxiety about everything with him, and I procrastinated on things as if it would give me more time before he arrived (and of course he came early). This time I’m leaving little to do at the last minute so that my stress level is hopefully lower: I’m up to 8 freezer meals made (all will have leftovers); all cloth diapers are washed, folded, and put away; baby clothes are washed, folded, and put away; baby’s & my bags are packed; and baby’s bed and changing station are set up and ready.
Miss anything: Not hurting
Movement: Fewer kicks/punches and more rolling movements now.
Cravings: Nothing new. Still having apples and cheese almost every night for a snack. Also enjoying frozen yogurt many nights.
Looking forward to: Seeing if anything has changed at my next appointment!