34 Weeks

How far along?: 34w3d
Total weight gain: 25 pounds... my appetite has been huge lately!
How big is baby?: Approximately the size of a cantaloupe (4.75 pounds & 18 inches long).
Maternity clothes?: Yes, but even some of those are uncomfortable or don't fit. :(
Stretch marks?: No new ones, old ones are irritated but don't appear to be stretching.
Sleep?: Always interrupted by something (heartburn, a toddler, the urge to pee, contractions, etc). I've learned a lack of sleep is inevitable.
Best moment this week?: Christmas with family. :)
Movement?: Depends on the day. He's cramped in there now.
Food cravings?: Sweets have been on the menu lately. Thank you, Christmas.
Labor signs?: Regular contractions have slowed. Braxton Hicks continue but nothing abnormal.
Belly button in or out?: Top half is flat to poking out. Bottom half is still in.
What I miss: Sleep, among other things.
What I'm looking forward to: My girls' pamper day tomorrow. Mom is coloring my hair and then we are going out with my sister & aunt for a movie, lunch, coffee, & pedicures!! :) Oh and having a 4 day weekend! :)
Weekly Wisdom: In light of my pamper day tomorrow... I'd say to take some time for yourself. The last few weeks of pregnancy are taxing as it is and some much needed relaxation should definitely be awarded!!
Milestone: Knowing that I'll be full term in 2.5 weeks is pretty cool. Oh, and I've finally hit a very scary number on my scale that I hope never to see again in any future pregnancies or otherwise. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run they usually do as well as full-term babies.

I had my appointment with my midwife yesterday and everything is going just fine. I told her about my increase in heartburn and how the Tums are pretty much rendered ineffective at this point, so it looks like I will be switching to Zantac here soon as it's now waking me out of sleep. Owen checked out beautifully--- heartbeat was completely normal as was my blood pressure & urine analysis. We discussed birth stuff as I'm getting closer to the end and I was informed that once 37 weeks rolls around (January 17th), they will not stop my labor if I end up going that soon, which is only about 2.5 weeks away. Pretty crazy to think I could have a baby in 2-3 weeks not that they expect him to come that early. We are guessing he will be early, but more in the 38-39 week range which isn't really abnormal.

They haven't said whether or not I've "dropped", but just from last week he's more engaged in the pelvis. At my last appointment they were able to pop his head up and down a little bit. They can't do that anymore, but they can wiggle it a little bit from side to side. She said he's definitely down in my pelvis, though, so I expect he'll probably be fully engaged by my next appointment. I'm not dilating from what they can tell, but I'm effacing slightly which isn't unusual. Depending on my symptoms, they could start cervical checks as early as 36 weeks although they typically won't do them unless I request them. Once I hit full term, I may ask that they start just so I can monitor my progress & get a feel for where I'm at.

Next appointment is January 12th and I will be 36.5 weeks. I get to do the lovely Group B strep culture & have more bloodwork done for my thyroid.

Christmas (Part 2)

Our last Christmas celebration culminated over at my Dad's house. After our celebration with just us & our kids (and a semi-successful napping session this time), we made the trek to my Dad's for Christmas dinner with the whole family & another round of gift giving & unwrapping. I was in charge of making green bean casserole (my first time--- and it was actually pretty tasty!!) and bringing rolls, which for approximately 10-15 hungry people was an expensive endeavor and I still ended up with a ton of leftovers. Oh well, you live & you learn, right? Despite having a decent nap, both boys were just crazy. Jaxson was excessively whiny & Jayden was excessively ornery & defiant... trust me, he suffered the wrath of Grandpa a few times because Grandpa doesn't put up with crap. Despite the chaos that is our children, it was a fun night and it was good to see all my siblings & their significant others.

Jayden & Jaxson scored more Matchbox cars, some cool trucks, and a really big rug that they can drive their cars on (so now we have the big one in our living room and the smaller one in their room). In addition, Aaron and I got some nice things for our house like picture frames, a new knife set (yes!!) and bath towels among other things like gift cards & cash.

After calling it an earlier night than we expected (we thought we'd be there until between 9-10pm) due to the boys' crankiness & crazy behavior, we started to pack everything up and take it to our car around 8:00. While putting our stash in the trunk of our NEW van, I just so happened to notice this...

Yeah, you guessed it. What I thought at first just looked like some paint that had mysteriously chipped off the back bumper turned out to be more than we expected. Someone crashed into the back of our new van, purchased only 9 days earlier. Didn't even leave so much as a note or anything. A hit and run on Christmas day... and nothing we can do about it. We aren't sure when exactly on Christmas it happened as we were busy & weren't around when it happened and we obviously don't know who did it as the person responsible didn't come forward & there were no witnesses to our knowledge. Merry freaking Christmas. :( It's a good thing that Aaron and I have insurance, but pretty pathetic that we would be responsible for footing even part of a bill for something we were not responsible for while the person who caused the damages just walks away. Like a coward. We filed a claim to our insurance for the damages and, because it's a hit and run, it will not count against us but we still are responsible for paying $300 for the deductible. The police were no help because we have a lack of information as to where it happened and who did it, so they basically told us they wouldn't waste their time investigating it at all, even though a hit and run is a serious offense. Nice, right? Glad to know that they are here to protect and serve... ha ha.

I have to take the van to the claims shop tomorrow so they can document the damage and give us an estimate. A claims adjuster should call me within 48 hours and then we can see about getting it fixed as soon as we have the money. Not a good note to end Christmas on, but after getting extremely pissed about it for a couple days, I've realized that shit happens and I really can't do much else about it, so whining really isn't going to help me. Moving on... All I can pray for is that karma is a bitch and whoever did it gets what's coming to them. What goes around, comes around. :)

**12/28 Update: Just got back from the claims shop appointment and they confirmed that we are only responsible for the $300 deductible, it won't count against us, & that they will in fact have to replace the entire bumper. In addition to the bumper being cracked, there is paint chipped and cracked in multiple places, dents & scrapes curving around to the driver's side, and they pushed the entire bumper out on the driver's side. Luckily there is no structural damage & the van is drivable, but it's still going to cost at least $700 (most likely more) to fix AND it will take them a few days so we will more than likely need a rental car unless we are able to have it fixed before Owen is born. Our insurance covers the rental, so that's of no additional cost to us, but it still sucks. Not something I wanted to deal with right before the birth of our baby. Blah.

Christmas (Part 1)

Part one of Christmas starts off with our family Christmas celebration just the four (soon to be five) of us. Even though our kids are still young enough to not fully comprehend all that comes with Christmas, Jayden is most definitely getting there so it's important to us to start now with things that will help hold up the facade that Santa is real. Although I didn't bust out the cookies & milk & note to Santa (and I definitely won't go as all out as my dad who, up until this year, dressed up as Santa and the whole nine for my younger brothers), we made a point of not filling stockings or putting gifts under the tree until after the kids were snug in their beds. Soon will be the days of separate wrapping paper and disguised handwriting to fool the kids, but I think I have a year or two left before I have to jump over that small hurdle. Most importantly, I want them to be home on Christmas morning. I want them to be able to wake up each Christmas morning and be excited to see the plethora of gifts under the tree and relive the wonder and excitement of being a kid on Christmas without worrying about being shuffled around to see various family.

It was nice to just relax and let the kids go hog wild opening their gifts, watching our cramped living room turn into a war zone riddled with wrapping paper shrapnel, and eventually having them bust out all their new toys to play with. It was not a Christmas to disappoint that's for sure. Our kids were pretty spoiled with action figures, trucks, cars, motorcycles, toy guns, clothes, goodies, & more. They are still thoroughly enjoying their toys and Aaron and I have found it funny that some of the things that Jayden really wanted have become Jaxson's favorites (the Handy Manny tool set & fireman "guys") while some of Jaxson's toys (the Iron Man action figure--- since they always fought over the ones Jayden has) have become Jayden's favorites.

The boys could have cared less about opening the clothing items for the most part, so Aaron and I got to partake in some unwrapping (we gave our presents to each other early). Please excuse the obligatory Christmas pictures of my less-than-glowing pregnant self. I think we mainly have some pictures of me to prove I actually do exist (since I'm usually on the other, and safer as of late, side of the lens) but they are less than flattering as I'm now about as huge as a house and in definite need of some coffee...or something. Anyway, here are some of the pictures from our Christmas together, just our little (but growing) clan...