long overdue updates

Well, I have definitely been slacking on updating the blog. It's funny that the last time I posted anything was the day right before I went back to work. I guess that goes to show that teaching full time, being pregnant, and trying to keep up with an energetic toddler pretty much took up all my time and didn't leave me too much time for anything else.

But, I'm happy to say that I am done with work and officially on maternity leave. YAY! I decided to work up until Christmas and then not go back after the break. It worked out well because it seemed like a natural time for me to go out and then my sub could just start fresh with the kids in January.

So, as for the updates, there is so much that has been going on these past few months that I know this will be a super long post. But I want to write everything down just so that I don't forget it and will have all of this to look back on later since I haven't been doing anything else to keep track of my pregnancy.

Belly pics:

Here are the belly shots that I've been taking these past few months. I missed a couple of weeks here and there, but still have a pretty good progression.

18 weeks

20 weeks24 weeks28 weeks
32 weeks
Another 32 week pic

34 weeks - feeling really big and uncomfortable

34 weeks - at Christmas with Zoey

35 weeks

This pic is with two of my girlfriends from work. The three of us were pregnant together last time. I had Zoey in July, then Kristin had Evan in August, and Christine had Brady in September. It's pretty funny that we all ended up pregnant together again, and in the same order too. I will have my baby in January, Kristin in April, and Christine in May.

Pregnancy updates

My pregnancy has been going really well, but I feel like this last trimester has been a lot more difficult than when I was pregnant with Zoey. I have been feeling huge and sore and achey for quite some time now, and get worn out really easily. Something as simple as going grocery shopping is so exhausting. My hands and legs and feet are all pretty swollen and so I don't want to do anything except just lay around. I've already gained more weight than when I was pregnant with Zoey which I'm not thrilled about, but I'm trying not to think about it too much. Right before getting pregnant, I was in serious diet/work-out mode to get ready for the cruise we went on, and so I started out around 10 lbs lighter than what I normally am. So, I'm telling myself that those 10 lbs don't really count. Haha - how's that for justification?! Seriously though, I think that I am probably around the same ending weight as what I was with Zoey, so I'm not going to stress too much about it.

I had my 36-week sonogram earlier this week and everything looks great. They looked at things like movement, fluid levels, cord position, heart and breathing activity, etc. And the baby scored perfect on all the tests. So that is a huge relief. Even at this late stage in the pregnancy, I still get nervous that something will go wrong so I was very happy to hear that everything looks good. They are estimating the weight to be about 7lbs right now and about 8 1/2 lbs at birth, so we'll see how accurate that turns out to be.

I also had my first internal exam at the 36 week appt and my cervix is still high, closed, and firm. Baby is "snug as a bug" in my doctor's words. So although everyone seems to have a feeling that this little one is not going to want to stay put until my scheduled CS date of the 22nd, there does not seem to be any indication that he/she is planning on making an early arrival.

I got a few good shots during the u/s. Here is one of my faves of baby's face

I love the little chubby cheeks! Joe is insisting that it is definitely a boy face, and my sister says the same thing. I don't know if it definitely looks like a boy or girl, but I think that the baby really looks like Zoey. Most people think I am crazy when I tell them that because how can you tell from an u/s pic, but I look at that pic and totally see Zoey. But hey, there is at least one other person out there that agrees with me and said the same thing without me even menioning it (Thanks Melissa! :) So I know I'm not completely crazy! I have been really feeling like this baby is a boy for pretty much the whole pregnancy, but as it gets closer and closer to the end, I am starting to second guess myself. Only time will tell!