36 Weeks

How far along? 36 Weeks 

Total weight gain? Up 32 lbs. 

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 was terrible only two nights this week, I tossed and turned and had to go to the restroom all the time. What is so frustrating is I would pee juuuuuuust a little. Like really!? I woke up, rolled out of bed, waddled to the restroom...for THAT??? 

Best moment this week: Learning Coralines weight! We had a sono Monday where they did the regular measurements. We didn't get to learn her length or head size, but the sono tech did say she was about 6 lbs 12 oz. Holy cow!!! We had read though that the sono can be off by about a 1 lb each way. That night at Birth Boot Camp we decided to ask the midwives to see if they could tell us her weight. They are pretty darn accurate at guessing the weight by just feeling with their hands. We didn't tell them what the sono had said and we had them feel individually. At first Melody went to feel and noted how firm my uterus and abdomen was. It was so firm it felt like I was having a contraction - which I was, but once the contraction passed she still noted it was extremely tight. She also noted how low Coraline was. I explained the incident from the night before and she showed me an inversion to help get her to move up a bit and relieve the pressure. RoseAnne then came in to guess the weight. They both guessed 6.5 lbs!! We have 4 weeks left people!! At least!
Plus side, they said it is actually easier to deliver a big baby than a small baby. Sounds counter-intuitive, just like MOST smaller frames/skinny girls tend to show later than bigger girls because the skin and everything isn't as pre-stretched out [I am sure there are more scientific reasons, but that is what the books say]. It just sounds like it should be the other way around, right? That is no joke either. I have a friend who is 26 weeks and she seriously looks like me when I was 21 weeks. I think most women use their "gut"/bloating as their initial growing bump. lol No judgement though, each to their own. 

Miss Anything? Wearing cute clothes.

Movement: Her movements are all over the place! Sometimes it feels like her little bottom is right up under my diaphragm and I can't lean over at all. She is growing so big!

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: Labor scare this week. It was almost 11 pm at night when I felt like there was literally a knife going up in my Hoo-Ha into my cervix. It hurt! When I stood up, it felt worse. I was also having mild contractions. Que being extremely grateful for having a Doula! She informed me the pain I was having was "dilation pain" - aka my cervix stretching. Coraline's head on my cervix - aka standing up - was adding pressure and going to help me dilate more so I needed to lie down. She suggested taking a warm relaxing bath, using Lavender essential oils to calm uterine activity and drinking chamomile tea if I had any on hand. She also suggested Henry doing a thing we learned called, "Rebozo" or "Sifting" to help take the weight off. I was walking into the bedroom to take a bath and was hit with such hard contractions and knife pain that I went straight to my hands and knees, rocking through the pain in tears. Without even having to ask, Henry jumped right into action and started Sifting. I hadn't even had a chance to tell him that was what the Doula had recommended. I was so proud of him. He did listen in the baby classes! :-] It helped relieve the pain and contractions, and Henry wrapped his arms around me as I stayed there a few minutes more on the floor. I then eased into the bathtub. Unfortunately, the knife pain continued all night long, so sleep was terrible that night. We discovered the next day I was indeed dilated to a 2 and needed to take it easy to prevent any further dilation. 

Symptoms: 
Labor scare above
Dilation
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: My doula gave me a pre-natal massage this week. (Again, highly recommend getting a Doula!) She said my uterus was very strong and defined, she could tell right where it began and where it ended. Good??? She also noted my groin muscles and ligaments were extremely tight. She worked on them for a bit - it burnt like fire, but that was a good sign. She recommended I start really stretching to help loosen them up. The problem is I danced and did yoga for so long, so taking a 10 week break really tightened them up. Nightly stretches it is.
This week was way too chaotic for me! The labor scare, learning her weight, pre-natal massage...I need a nap just writing about it all.