[ScottishBrit]

How are you feeling? Any belly pic's? Have you set up your nursery or do you have one? Any new baby Purchases????

Oh do share!!

[Oriyan]

How about a nice big update?

I feel.... fat and tired and off balance . I'm always tired these days but that's partly due to the fact that I'm now anemic. (Hooray?). My OB gave me this list of iron rich foods, and I'm looking at the list and i say to her "Well that's why I'm anemic. I don't eat ANY of these foods". Meat makes me wanna vomit (J.J i think is gonna be a vegetarian or only eat chicken. He really does NOT like beef at ALL) and everything else is just nasty things I don't eat. On top of that, my body is really starting to give out on me -- I've been having issues with my heart lately -- my OB thinks she hears a murmur and does not like that my heart has been racing for no reason lately. So what happens is i can just be ho-humming around, and all of a sudden, i get short of breath and feel like i just ran up the road, and my heart rate (resting) ends up being like 102-110. For no reason. So she doesn't like this and is sending me for a transthorasic echocardiogram and making me wear a halter monitor for 24 hours. She also said with the way my body just is not liking pregnancy (Note to self: For next pregnancy, exercise for 6 months before getting pregnant), if i go into labor at 34 weeks, she won't stop it. There is a much greater risk for me now that my heart is involved (on top of the ridiculous number of contractions i get everyday that don't go away ever) then the baby being born at 34 weeks. 34 weeks is in 5 weeks....soooo I've kinda started to flip out a bit about that. 34 weeks is NEXT MONTH. To me, that's insane and crazy and I'm not ready yet. There is still so much I need to do -- like clean my house again top to bottom before baby is born, pack our bags, finish any projects, etc etc.

Plus I mean -- I'm just not mentally ready yet! Yeah there's this baby growing inside me, and hes grounded for life for constantly kicking me in the cervix and ribs, but I am not in the "mommy mindset" yet. I was reading Michelle's tread the other day about this and I agree! Where's my license for this?! They are just gonna let me walk out of the hospital with a living, breathing, human!? This isn't like letting me take home a kitten or a puppy! This is a baby! He's mine for life and I am responsible for him for at least 18 years! I think i need more time to transition from Sam and Sam: Wife, to, Sam: Mommy. Usually, I give people their kids back when I am done with them and now, this time -- I can't do that. It's just going to be a very interesting transition for me and DH. It's just been us for 3 years now. (Us and the animals). I think DH is more scared then me and that is because he knows he is really not prepared to be a dad. He has not read any books, he has no idea what half the stuff we have is or why we have it or why we need it (He still doesn't know a onesie from a sleeper, he didn't know that nipples come in different flow speeds...) and he will be writing his dissertation while raising an infant.

As for belly pics, here's a brand spankin' new one from a few moments ago (My belly is measuring 31 weeks, and I have officially gained 30 lbs. 1 lb for each week of pregnancy):

(Yes, I have naturally curly hair. I usually straighten it though, but I've been too tired to lately)



I also found my stretch marks -- they are all on the small of my back and ever so light. Fine by me! I don't have to look at them!

The babies room has been done for awhile now -- with DH busy finishing his 3rd year in his PhD program before he is ABD (All But Dissertation), we wanted to get it done early. Since we live in a 1 bedroom apartment, and our living room is huge, we hung some curtains up, and "made" a bedroom. It's small, but everything fits and we can keep the animals out.

(You can see my sad looking plant lol)





As for any new purchases: nope. My baby shower is the first weekend in June (I think) and everything else we need is on our registry. We see that our travel system was bought for us, along with our convertible car seat which we put on there thinking no one would buy (its more of a future item to use for us) and someone got it, so we're happy

Good news is in 3 weeks, I will only be working 3 days a week, so I can have more relaxation time cause I really am having a hard time doing my job now. Then on July 3rd (if I didn't give birth yet), I start maternity leave! Waaaahoooo!

[IamMom]

Cute nursery idea! you look good - total baby glow!!!

[Mars]

You look great!! Nursery looks good too!