Week 38 Bumpdate

How far along? 38 + 3
Baby’s Size: A ukelele or large bundle of Swiss chard
Weight Gain: 20 pounds, give or take. I can’t say I’m surprised given that my appetite is that of an Olympic athlete lately… and we know baby girl is a cool seven pounds six ounces! 🙂 I’m trying not to stress about it, but I don’t love seeing the numbers point north… however, I haven’t been able to do much activity and I’m definitely enjoying giving in to my cravings. As someone who’s pretty much always on a diet, it’s been a refreshing change to live my life going, yes, you know what? I WILL have that thing I’m craving. I know this time is coming to a close so I’m enjoying it now while I can (and while my belly gets too full to do any major damage!).
Maternity clothes? Yes indeed! Anything non maternity has my belly popping out.
Best moment this week: Matt and I have been enjoying our last few weekends as just Matt and Alyssa, and we’ve made it a point to go eat at some of our favorite restaurants. We had a date where we went to the Local Peasant, an awesome bar and gastropub, and then out to see Steve Jobs (my review? eh). We also had Thai food at a friend’s house. I don’t have a ton of energy these days so when I do get out and about it’s always a good time! Also, seeing little girl on ultrasound again for our final growth scan, and having triple confirmation that she’s right on track and doing great. We even got to see that she has a little bit of hair (all that heartburn isn’t in vain).

My mom also took some awesome maternity photos of us and I love them!

It’s also been fun to be obviously pregnant and see random strangers smile at my belly or say nice things. I think because I’m rubenesque, it took awhile for people to decide if I was pregnant or just… erm… fluffier, so now that I have a legit baby bump, the public is more responsive about me being with child. This is a double edged sword of course, because I don’t love the “Is it twins?” comment or the “You’re ready to pop! You’re huge!”,  but the other day a little old British lady said “Aren’t you just lovely! Hang in there, dear!”. It was very comforting and kind.

Miss anything?

• Sleeping on my stomach. I’m not going to take this bullet point off  this list ever. (Yup. Keeping this one on the list.)
• Not being in pain. My pelvis feels a lot better thanks to Chiropractic care, but this week I got diagnosed with pregnancy gout (wtf?!) in my toe. This is a weird one to me because it’s a flare up that most people who eat dark organ meats get and I definitely don’t do that… and I eat very little meat in general! My OB said she’s never had a patient get it before, so as usual there’s me doin’ pregnancy my own weird way… I’m also just achy and swollen and my lower back is definitely feeling the strain of carrying around our bambina, and when your toe is searing hot/swollen, that adds another layer of discomfort.
• I actually miss exercise still!
• Not being a ticking time bomb. Family gets really excited when I call, thinking that I’m going to tell them I’m in labor.. and then I burst their bubble and am like “No… just a regular phone call”. Haha. Every time I see my neighbors they’re also like “Oh… you’re still pregnant?” Yes, yes, I am. I can tell too that people are starting to do the vague text like “Oh hey, how are things?!”. Comes with the territory!

Movement: Like crazy! Sometimes I feel like she’s kicking trying to figure out if she can bust out of my belly. She also dislikes going to the twice-weekly non-stress tests we have to do, because she kicked the monitor off my belly again this week. Love my little rebelista.
Food cravings:  Let’s see: I craved Mexican food today, so I got my favorite beef enchiladas with a fried egg on top from Los Toros. I also craved street tacos (just asada, tomatillo salsa, cilantro, and onion) from our favorite taco truck, chocolate milk, gummy bears, and salad.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Amazing! Life is much better without barfing.
Gender:  Girl!
Labor signs: I definitely feel like I’m brewing and getting closer. We’ll see what doc says next week!
Symptoms: Back pain, gout in my toe, nasal congestion, achy, crabby, but sleeping like a champ.
Happy or moody most of the time: I’m crabby because I don’t feel good, and poor Matt has been so patient and calm with me with all my moaning. I have a pretty high pain tolerance but that doesn’t mean I don’t crab about it, haha. However, the excitement level for this little lady to get here is getting pretty insane — I can’t wait to see her cute little belly and stroke her head and hold her in my arms!

However, despite being a cranky crab, I feel happy and mentally as “ready” as one can be. Pregnancy has been a rough ride for me but I’m grateful I’ve had the chance to experience it, and so happy our little bee has made it to full-term.

Looking forward to:

• having a baby!
• Also, Thanksgiving and Christmas will have a whole new perspective with a bambina in our lives. I bought her a personalized stocking and I pretty much die of cuteness every time I see it.
• Using this adorable room. Here’s a sneak peek- I love the way our nursery came out! (And yes, baby girl’s name starts with an H. A lot of people know her name already, but I’ll wait to share a photo on the blog to reveal her full name.) I made that hanging H and feel pretty proud for channeling some craftiness.

Okay folks, I’m outta here! Will this be my last bumpdate? Who knows?! Hope you all are doing well!