Due Date: October 15th, 2013 (at the very latest, he will be coming on October 22nd via C-section)

Weight Gain: According to my last appointment, I had gained 2 more pounds during that last month. I imagine that I've gained a pound or two in the last two weeks.  I'll have to wait until my 36 week appointment to get a scale reading (we don't have scales in our house). Still above my doctor's recommended, but below being a major problem.

Symptoms: For the most part, the same as last update...

• Insomnia — Hasn't been as bad as it was, but I still have nights when I can't sleep at all.
• Constant restroom breaks — The frequency has stayed the same, but the urgency has increased.  Now we I feel the need to use to the restroom, it's an immediate need. Unfortunately, I can only walk so fast to the restroom...  This may become an issue.
• Pressure — Lots and lots of pressure.  My stomach has gotten much hard feeling and every movement can be felt.  When he's active, Arthur puts a ton of pressure on part of my body.
• Carpal tunnel — I haven't had an episode for a few days now. Yeah!
• Plantar fasciitis — Some days I can hardly stand on my feet. I can't wait to get rid of this symptom.
• Nausea — I definitely need to watch what I eat right now.  Anything too heavy and I get nauseous.  From the nausea, I experience a lot of gas and general ickiness.  Not a fun time at all.
• Indigestion — It has cropped up in the last few days.  It got so bad the other day, I thought I was actually going to throw up.  Eww!!  Thankfully, I didn't.

What's different this time: I think I'm much calmer this time. I don't have much anxiety over what's going to happen in the next few weeks.  I'm taking every day as it comes.  This is a much better mindset than last time.  I'm actually enjoying myself a bit.

Cravings/Aversions: No cravings, no major aversions.  Although I friend the day was surprised to learn that I didn't have any weird cravings.  Of course, his example of cravings was pickles.  I love pickles, always have.  Maybe I just always have weird cravings pregnant or no.

Sleep: It comes and goes.  Some nights are good, others are horrible. Last night, I could not get comfortable and therefore, I could not sleep.  Eventually I passed out for a few hours, but it was not a restful night at all. 

I am loving: The few sips of wine I had on Saturday.  We had friends over for a cookout and game day (board games of course).  One of our guests brought a bottle of wine (like we don't have enough bottles of our own, but it was a nice gesture).  I refrained from pouring myself a glass, but I did snag a couple of sips from J's.  Yummy! 

I miss: Energy.  I feel like I am losing energy every day. I just don't want to do anything.  I imagine that this will be an issue for the rest of the pregnancy.  Hopefully I regain some energy after the baby is born.

I am looking forward to: Finally buying a crib and stroller/car seat.  I picked up my paychecks, they are in the bank, funds will be available tomorrow.  So my Wednesday will be filled with shopping and a doctor's appointment.  I already know which crib and travel system I am going to order off of Amazon.  But, I'm still feeling the urge to shop.  I thought I would grab some crafting supplies (mostly snail) and browse at Marshall's or TJ Maxx.  Sometimes I find some great deals there.  And unlike Target, I am not guaranteed to come out with an entire cart full of purchases.

I'm spazzing about: I am a part of the October 2013 board over at Hellobee and one of our members' water just broke at 31 weeks.  They are putting her on bed rest in the hopes that she gets to 34 weeks before delivering.  While I am now 34 weeks, I'm still afraid that he will come early.  A few days is fine, but definitely not weeks early.  I want him to stay in there and grow big and healthy before making an appearance.

Best thing about this week: Over on the Hellobee board, we've all started trying to guess our little one's birthday.  Most of the people are guessing earlier than their due dates.  I decided to predict that Arthur will not make an appearance on his own and will have to be forcibly removed on October 22nd via c-section (no inducing over here).  I know I just wrote about being worried he would come early, but once the panic passes, I really don't think he will. So that's my prediction and bit of fun news.

Milestones: The baby now has all his senses developing.  Last night he kicked me really hard in the side and I started admonishing him to stop.  J's response was "I know he can hear voices, but he can't understand you."  Yes I know... but I keep trying to get him to understand that hard kicks to my spleen (or whatever it was) hurt.

Movement: From the above point, you can guess that he is incredibly active.  As far as I can tell, he's still laying across my stomach.  I get kicks and punches on both sides and occasionally down low.

Exercise/Diet: Still trying to watch what I eat.  Thankfully, I'm not as hungry as I was making it a lot easier to focus on small meals and not overeat.  But exercise (except for the occasional swim) has just about gone out the window.  I'm much too sore to do anything strenuous.

Preparation: I finished 16 different Thank You cards using my favorite little boy combination of Stampin' Up colors: Gumball Green, Marina Mist, and Pumpkin Pie.  I wanted to make my own cards for the fun personal touch.  My next goal is to make arrival card templates to be ready when Arthur makes his appearance.  I'm using the same color scheme, but will obviously change up the messages and such.

On the nursery front, we haven't bought anything useful yet.  However, my plan is to order the crib and travel system this week with my last paycheck (forgot to get from the office, have to wait for bank deposit delay because of holiday).  I've finally decided on models, so we should have the big essentials by the weekend.  Then I just have to get J to put them together...  J also decided that he wasn't fond of the chair we bought from Ikea, so I officially get it for a nursery rocker.  Loving that chair!

Arthur's Stuff: J surprised me by buying a mobile we had seen on Etsy a while back.  Of course, we had to go uber geek and buy a mobile of wooden Enterprises (Star Trek ship for all you nongeeks out there).  It's a beautiful handmade mobile of dark wood that we can use as a decoration long after he's a baby.  Very excited to see it above the crib soon.