Do the Watermelon Crawl

I'm so excited there's only 5 weeks left!!! I want to meet him and cover him in kisses. I can't wait for him to be snuggled up between daddy and I so we can just watch him. I have a feeling after the feeding and diaper changing, my 2 biggest activities during maternity leave are going to be staring at him all the time and taking a gazillion pictures. My friend was able to train her baby boy to pose and smile for the camera....Austin, I hope you love pictures as much as your mommy does.

I gotta say that pregnancy has definitely been interesting the last few weeks. Now if I walk, I seem to either give myself contractions or not be able to move because of the pelvic pain. We went to the mall Saturday and I was all excited thinking I could walk the length in the nice a/c and see if I can get him to start his journey down....yea, well after that I pretty much spent the entire rest of the afternoon with some lovely cramps and contractions. It also seemed to increase my need to pee to about every 10-15 minutes. However, now I'm at some weird point that sitting to pee seems to bring on a very sharp contraction-like pain. I wish I knew how to stop it cuz I definitely cannot "hover" right now. Sleeping has been quite a challenge. I wake up a couple of times an hour to pee, I can't get comfortable. It seems like one side of my body is always falling asleep and I have to switch sides. Switching sides and getting up to pee are not easy tasks. Everyone keeps commenting it's so that I am prepared for the sleep deprivation- but please just let me start racking up some good quality sleep so I can actually have this baby. My feet have also seemed to reach an all time swollen high and just writing this blog puts me out of breath. I'm not sure what this "nesting" thing everyone talks about is, cuz I have not wanted to get up to do anything. I'm too hot or too tired or too crampy. Sorry Austin, this momma is not cleaning behind the fridge or scrubbing the ceilings prior to your arrival. I have loved being pregnant, but I'm beginning to be over it now. I still adore seeing Austin move around. You can tell he's such a big and strong boy by the way his butt or knee or elbow can make my belly look extremely deformed. Some of his movements have been kind of painful. Especially when he seems to drag his elbow bone across my belly. The kid has some sharp bones.

I can no longer provide the blog with the fruit/vegetable size chart- it's too scary now and it makes me slightly ill to imagine it. September 28th I go in for the doctor to measure Austin and help me figure out if he'll be able to come the right way or via c-section. I've requested the c-section but will listen to what the doc has to say first.

I know some of you do not like the uncovered belly shots, however, I feel sometimes they are just necessary to show the POW!! size of the belly and baby. I also got my "mommy" haircut and style done this weekend. I redid the keratin treatment and chopped a few inches off. Hopefully it will help me to get ready faster and easier once the little guy is here. (plus it'll help me have cute hospital hair)

Austin at 35 Weeks

At about 20 inches and five and a half pounds (keep in mind Austin measured 5 lbs 3 oz 2 weeks ago!!) (but with about five more weeks to grow), most of your baby's growth over the next month or so before you meet will be in weight (with a gain of anywhere from one pound to several), not height (baby's pretty much reached the in utero limit in that department). Accordingly, fat continues to accumulate at a rapid pace these days (on baby, not just on your hips). Back in the middle of your pregnancy, your baby's weight was made up of only two percent fat; now at 35 weeks pregnant, that percentage has soared to closer to 15 percent (and will increase to 30 percent at term). Which means your baby's once skinny arms and legs are now quite plump…and irresistibly, squeezably soft.
Also continuing to grow at an amazing pace is your baby's brain power. Luckily, the part that surrounds that amazing brain — the skull — remains soft. And for good reason: A soft skull will allow your baby to squeeze more easily through the birth canal. (Mother Nature was really thinking this one through — imagine trying to push out a rock-hard head…ouch!) Your baby's lungs are now completely developed and producing surfactant, a substance that helps in the exchange of oxygen in the lungs.