35 weeks
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 35 weeks, 3 days (although, last two u/s have shown baby is measuring at original due date of March 11th which would put me at 36 weeks, 4 days) Size of baby: size of a coconut, weighing an average of 5lbs already! Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 28lbs. Maternity Clothes: You know you are getting close when you start outgrowing your maternity clothes! I went to get dressed yesterday and picked out a shirt that JUST FIT a couple weeks ago and now was too tight for my big ole belly. But I don't mind at all, it just means she is growing and developing into a healthy baby! Gender: We had an u/s done a couple weeks ago to checkup on Hannah's kidneys (everything is working perfectly!) and they gave us a great 3D shot of the female area and said, "Oh... definitely still a GIRL!" At least that's one thing we don't have to worry about being "surprised" about at birth! Movement: She is a little mover! More of a squirmy thing than a kicker and puncher (like Micah was!) She seems to always be making some little movement, which keeps my mind at ease. Sleep: Is definitely going better than it was with Micah, that's for sure. Probably because I am so tired at the end of the day from chasing a toddler around! :) I am waking up a couple nights a week to go to the bathroom, but nothing consistent. Definitely taking advantage of any sleep I can get, before I need to get ready for those 3am wakeup calls again! Cravings: Not a lot of outrageous cravings this pregnancy. I am loving hamburgers more than usual, I think that may be attributed to my low iron level and the need for red meat. Symptoms: Some sciatic nerve pain in the right side of my back/leg. It hurts every time I get up to walk. Also, having lots of Braxton Hicks on and off. I can tell my body is getting closer to labor by some of the twinges I am feeling! Best Moment this week: Always love going to the doctor and hearing baby's heartbeat! And also, some good news that I am progressing - had my first weekly checkup and was told that baby's head is really low and I am dilated 1cm. The countdown is on... :)
//previous updates on baby Hannah: 30 weeks27 weeks21 weeks 18 weeks14 weeks
Just a few more pictures from our maternity shoot last week.
This pregnancy is almost over and I can remember vividly the day I found out we were expecting another baby. I can remember the shock, the surprise, the feeling of being sick to my stomach (but I'm pretty sure that was just a pregnancy symptom, because I had so much joy in my heart!) and looking at my 10 month old, Micah, wondering how I could ever love another child the same way that I love him.
I still wonder that sometimes, honestly.
But the truth is, before I actually gave birth to Micah and saw his precious face for the first time - I didn't really know how deeply I could love. I knew what being pregnant felt like and I knew the anticipation and joy I felt about becoming a mom. And I loved my unborn child, from the very beginning. But I didn't know Micah, yet. And there is no way to describe the change that happened in my heart when I finally met him.
Maybe that's wrong for me to admit, but I think it's also important for me to realize as I finish out these last few weeks of pregnancy. Because what I am feeling right now for our daughter is nothing compared to what I will feel when I finally get to hold her, to smell her, to see her face. I already know how much love my heart can hold for a child, because I have been so blessed to experience that with Micah. And I think that I may be anticipating Hannah's arrival just that much more, because of it.
It doesn't seem real that we will have another baby in the house within a month. The pack n play has been transformed back into a newborn napper and the pacifiers are being dusted off for use again (although they didn't get much use the first time). I feel like I just put them all away. And I picked up a newborn diaper the other day and, I promise, I never remember putting Micah in something that small.
17 months with Micah have flown by like a dream. And for the past 9 of them, I've been pregnant.
And now I have one month left to cherish the bond I have with my husband and son as a family of three, before our love extends to another precious blessing from God.
Oh, the joy and anticipation... I can't wait to meet you, Hannah Leigh.