Six weeks to go! I really can't believe how fast this is all beginning to go. At this point, Matthew could be born at any time and he'd be fine. I got to stay in the air conditioning all weekend and that was a huge help in the 110 degree weather. I'm glad it's starting to cool down a little. It's sad when you consider the mid 80's to low 90's "cooler".

Luckily, the sciatica hasn't been too bad the last few days and he hasn't been pushing up into my ribs. He is, however, giving my bladder and intestines some good punches. It's not comfortable, but I'm trying to enjoy everything as much as I possibly can. Before I know it, he'll be here and I'll have to share him with everyone =). I've had a slight bit of insomnia, too. I wake up a couple of times each night to use the restroom and sometimes I can't get back to sleep. I've been trying to stay up later to wear myself out and sleep better. I woke up at 4 today and right now it's almost 11. I should sleep well tonight (I hope).

I have a journal that I started keeping up at the beginning of the pregnancy and I've measured my growing waist from time to time. Well, in the last 2 weeks my waist has grown an inch. No wonder I feel like all of a sudden I'm huge. I'm still carrying small for being almost 8 months pregnant, but I'm definitely starting to feel big. You know you're getting big when it takes less effort to pick things up with your feet than to actually bend down to get them.

Well, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I'll be getting measured again, we'll listen to his heart beat, pretty much the usual. At my appointment in two weeks they'll start checking to see if I've dialated at all. I'll update tomorrow if there's anything of interest. In the mean time, here's the belly:



***UPDATE***: Had my doctor's appointment this morning (9/6) and Matthew is now head down! At this point he's running out of room so he's less likely to turn again. I have another appointment in 2 weeks and then I start going once a week. Anyway, that news made me very happy. =)

Only 47 days until my due date! I can't believe how fast it's going now. We have made progress in the nursery. We finally bought his bookcase and started putting his books and toys on it. Gilbert went a little crazy with the Star Wars toys so they're all displayed right now. Once Matthew starts crawling around we'll have to rethink that idea. Here are some pictures of what the nursery looks like right now:









Here's a close up of the valance:



We had our first baby shower this last weekend and it was a lot of fun. It was good to see everyone and Gilbert's mom did an amazing job (as always) with the decorations. Matthew got a lot of good stuff and I spent a good part of Sunday washing clothes and putting things away. We have our 2nd shower next Saturday with my side of the family. I'm looking forward to that, too. I haven't seen a lot of my family members since I got pregnant (we're not very good at keeping in contact).

It's been about 100 degrees here. That makes for a very uncomfortable day. On top of that I haven't been sleeping well for the last week or so. Matthew has moved away from my ribs for the most part, so my back isn't hurting as much anymore, but now it feel like he's sitting directly on my sciatic nerve. Sometimes I'll feel him change positions and I can feel him pressing on it. I'm doing what I can to stay comfortable but the last few days I've been feeling like I just can't win. I sit and my sciatic hurts. I stand and my sciatic and back hurt. I lay down and my hips start to hurt from laying on them so much. It's not unbearable but all of that along with not sleeping well has had me a little cranky all week. I'm grateful for the long weekend and air conditioning.

Well, I think that's it for now. Here's the belly at 33 weeks!

32 weeks and the discomfort has begun! I'm still enjoying my pregnancy but things have started to hurt a little. Aside from sciatica, my hips and back have started to hurt. My hips hurt in the morning from laying on my sides so it's getting a bit harder to get comfortable throughout the night. I fully expected my lower back to hurt as the pregnancy progressed but surprisingly that hasn't been an issue. A couple of days ago I was sitting at my desk at work and all of a sudden it felt like my ribs were being spread open and I felt a little nauseous. I went to lay down to relieve some of the pressure on my back and it felt like that for about 45 minutes. Since then my mid-back has been hurting. It turns out that he's really high up right now and his back is right under my ribs. He's sideways in what's called the "transverse presentation". His back is up against my ribs, his head is on my left side, and his bottom and feet are on my right side up against my ribs. Hopefully he won't have any trouble turning and dropping down into my pelvis for delivery.

This is the position he's supposed to be in for delivery:



This is kind of the position he's in now, but with his back against my ribs and he's actually facing down instead of up:



The doctor isn't too concerned about it. I had an appointment this morning and I was told that what will probably happen is that as he turns his feet will be up in my ribs and I'll probably continue to feel discomfort there. Everything looks good, though.

We toured the hospital on Monday and even though some of the people we went on the tour with were somewhat... interesting... I liked the hospital. There is an entire building dedicated to just labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum as well as a NICU unit. A friend of mind delivered there and I've heard good things about it.

Our first baby shower is this weekend and I'm excited to see everyone. There are some people coming that I haven't seen in months. We also have another baby shower in two weeks. Well, here are a couple pictures of the belly for this week. I took them one right after the other but I look bigger in one than I do in the other. I figured I'd include both because I don't get to see this angle very often so I'm not sure which is more accurate =).

Less than 9 weeks to go!!! Matthew has been moving around a lot and he gets the hiccups every day now. Based on where I've been feeling the hiccups I'm guessing he has flipped and is facing up. Luckily he still has enough room in there to turn and hopefully he'll be headed the right way soon.

It's hot out. Seriously. It's been about 100 degrees or more every day this week and work has been crazy with the way the market is right now. Needless to say I was extremely excited about the weekend. I've realized that the most comfortable thing to wear right now is dresses and I have about 3. I may need to get some more. Other than that, I'm just trying to get as much rest as I can so that my sciatic doesn't start to hurt and I don't wear myself out too much. I am now going to the Dr. every other week and I have an appointment coming up on Thursday. We're also touring the hospital on Monday.

Here is the belly at 31 weeks:

10 weeks until my due date! Matthew has been moving around quite a bit and he has even gotten the hiccups several times over the last few days. Well, with the crib ordered and the artwork in the process of getting done, the nursery should start coming together pretty soon. Gilbert is clearing out the bed frame that was in there and hopefully the crib will be here within the next week. Preparations are also being made for my baby showers. I'm excited. Gilbert designed my invitations and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with him.

Here are some fun things Matthew has gotten in the last week:


This will be my baby bag. It has a lot of different compartments and I really wanted something that Gilbert could carry too. If you look closely I put a Darth Vader keychain on it =)




We saw these and had to get them for him. Gilbert has a pair of checkered Vans, too.


Most of you know that penguins are my favorite animal. Well, my mom and I were at Target the other day and we found this Halloween costume. Granted, Matthew will be all of 2 weeks old when Halloween comes around (if he decides to come on his due date or within a few days of it), but my mom couldn't resist. I figure if worst comes to worst, I can put him in it around Christmas time and still get away with it...

Well, I have a doctor's appointment in the morning and I will update if there is anything worth sharing. I'll leave you all with this week's picture of the belly:

Only 11 weeks to go! I'm starting to get a little more uncomfortable in that it's hot, it's getting harder to squeeze through tight spaces, it's getting harder to get up off the couch, and my sciatic nerve hurts when I do certain things. Luckily, not too much swelling and aside from the sciatica my back hasn't been too bad. So, my doctor's office only calls with the results of blood tests if there's a problem and here I am almost 2 weeks later and I haven't heard anything from them. I'm assuming I passed my glucose timed test (for gestational diabetes). I celebrated last weekend by having a piece of cake and some ice cream at Gilbert's uncle's house =) (great cake, Ang). So that pretty much means I just need to stick to the way I've been eating and I should be good.

My mom and I will be going to order Matthew's crib tomorrow. My parents are incredibly generous and have said that they would like to buy Matthew his crib. I'm excited to get his room ready for him. Matthew gets particularly active in the morning and the evening and I love sitting and watching my stomach move around. Gilbert says I've been pregnant for what seems like 7 years and he wants the baby out already. I think he's hoping he comes early. I wouldn't complain too much about that. As long as he stays put for another 7 weeks or so.

Ok, so we're at 28 1/2 weeks now. I feel like it's going faster and faster but Gilbert keeps complaining that it's going slower for him. Gilbert can now hear the baby's heartbeat if he puts his ear up to my stomach. It's cool that he doesn't have to wait for Dr's appointments to hear it.

It's been hot the last few days. Pregnancy and heat don't mix well. It's tiring and things have been crazy at work so I've been somewhat uncomfortable. This also means that in addition to only being able to sleep on my side, I now have to deal with warmer nights. Luckily, I haven't had too much swelling and I've been able to stay indoors in the a/c.

Here is the tummy this week: