35 Weeks & Pain Coping Mechanisms

How far along? 35 Weeks 

Total weight gain? Up 31 lbs. I go in again Week 36 for another soon! I really wanted to stay below 30 lbs, but as we can see I have gone up one pound over and Coraline still has big growth spurts ahead...my dream seems to be squashed. :-[ They say at this point she is growing 30 grams a day!

Maternity Clothes? ASOS is my top #1 choice! The tops/tunics run true to your pre-pregnancy size. (Given you didn't let yourself go and blow up like a balloon - boob growth is accommodated for). I found that the pants are true to your current pregnant size. So if you measure your hips properly, use their size chart to order the proper pregnancy size. Yes this means you may order a 10/12/14. Grieve for a bit, then get over it. My next choices are The Gap/Old Navy. I have really only ordered tank tops from there and again, true to pre-pregnancy size. However, for 3rd trimester I recommend going up one size, the belly region can get tight. :-) 

Stretch Marks?  The red marks are still on my butt! Good news, the red marks on my boob have vanished! Gone! Not even a slight sign that they were once even there. WHOOP! What is amazing is no stretch marks on my belly, none what-so-ever! 

Sleep: Sleep is better this week, I am still tired, but definitely got a "second wind" to help get all those baby gifts un-packed and put away.  The only thing is she is really getting up in my ribs. It gives me anxiety because I am afraid she is going to dislocate a rib or something. haha

Best moment this week: Found our labor coping mechanisms courtesy of Birth Boot Camp! I'll explain more in the "Thoughts".

Miss Anything? Alcohol. It is hot and I want to enjoy the fun fruity alcoholic beverages everyone else is getting to enjoy. Jealous. 

Movement: Her movements are up in my ribs now. Before they would be close to my ribs and I could push her little feet away, now they actually glide up UNDER my ribs where I can't reach, for obvious reasons. She has dropped a bit lower this week. I went to work out for the first time since week 28 and she dropped painfully low afterward. I have woken up feeling crampy from her in the middle of the night. I can feel her little hands move around my belly button and hip bones too. 

Food cravings: Watermelon. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Textures are still making me sick. 

Gender RESULTS: BABY GIRL!!! My gut feeling was right all along! I absolutely can't wait to meet her!

Labor Signs: More and more contractions! 

Symptoms: 
Her sitting painfully low.
Ligament spasms? They are super loose in my groin area and sometimes spasm or cramp as I am walking. It feels hella weird and kind of unpleasant.
Braxton Hicks! Yay.
Very small bladder...very. small.
Baby hiccups
If I don't take my prenatal vitamin at night, my legs get extremely antsy! It feels like I need to go running they get so antsy. However, if I take my pre-natal within 30 minutes they chill out. I read that it has to do with the iron. Either way, it works.
Movements have changed from individual movements to feeling simultaneous movements in two different spots. Like I will feel something toward my right side up by my ribs, and at the same time another movement on the left side of my belly button. It's the weirdest, yet most wonderful feeling in the world.
Disappearing belly button, baby bump, nails and hair growing like weeds, baby movements (the best!) and my boobs have drastically increased.
Occasional swelling of my feet and hands. Especially my right foot. 

Belly Button in or out? My belly button is officially FLAT. No innie, no outtie. 

Wedding rings on or off? Both rings have moved to my pinkie fingers. I had a scare with my Aggie ring and just decided to keep them both there. Juuuust in case. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, Happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing out the nursery and getting back into our house from the tornado!

Baby Name? Coraline! I love the name!! See WEEK 21 for name details. <3

Thoughts: I mentioned above we learned coping mechanisms for labor in our Birth Boot Camp class. I was really excited for this class and I feel we learned quite a bit. Our midwife passed around ice, a napkin and set a timer. Randomly the timer would go off to signal a "contraction" and we would have to put the ice in our bare hands. She then encouraged our partners to help us "cope". If the coping mechanism worked, the pain from the ice went away, if not, well then the ice started to burn. HAHA We learned that Henry rubbing my head and neck, laughing and talking about what we are excited for with Coraline's arrival helps me to relax and cope with pain. The midwife also noted that we laugh a lot together and says that is a great sign - she thinks natural labor will be easy for us. GO US!

I also had another dream about Coraline - love those! All I can remember is once she was born they put her on my chest to hold. She cried for a bit, but once she felt the warmth of Henry and myself she began to sooth herself and calm down. Once she was calm she opened her eyes. She had the most mesmerizing emerald green eyes!! They were gorgeous. I remember looking down and just being dumbfounded by how beautiful her eyes were. Green eyes are a definite possibility since my mom has green eyes, so we will see! :-)

We also decided to play music for her this week and see what she liked. First we picked a mutual favorite band - A Perfect Circle. She moved toward the music and seemed to like being pressed up against it. We then tried Blake Shelton and Josh Abbott - she moved away from those. Henry then tried Turnpike Troubadors, another favorite with lots of fiddle music and she pressed herself up against the music. We played Sublime, another rock band, and another country song - she stayed away from all those too. We played another fiddle-heavy song and she pressed up against it. We got a big kick out of it! Every song heavy on the fiddle she LOVED. She just keeps getting more and more perfect every week. :-)

About the Board:

We tried to keep the board simple this week. We chose the line about the fiddle because of the experience listed above in thoughts. :-]

Pregnancy/Maternity Fashion: 

Jessica Simpson Maternity Top and Jessica Simpson Maternity pant/leggings. I LOVE this outfit. It is a new line that just came out at Motherhood Maternity - just my luck at 35 weeks. haha I despise those pants with the stretchy belly band thingy. They pull my belly down and itch like freaking crazy! I have read that scratching your belly is what opens up the skin for stretch marks to begin and refuse to scratch my belly. Not to mention, it is Texas. It is hot. My belly has enough pressure without this stupid band pressing on it and then layer clothes on top of it as well. Can you tell I despise it? When I saw these adorable "pants" I had to have them! They have a low lying waist in front to accommodate the belly without smothering it. They also have these notches with a bit of elastic to accommodate the growing bump. So, when I sit down they don't cut into my belly like the belly band pants do. Not to mention they have faux pockets in front and real pockets in back, so they look like black skinnies, only very comfy and stretchy. I am not limited to wearing them with just tunics either. WHERE WERE THESE MY ENTIRE PREGNANCY!? Better late than never though I guess. I would put these pants on my top 5 maternity wardrobe MUST-HAVES.