December 3, 2014 - 36 weeks

Well, I made it: We're in the home stretch!!

Let's see: I'm measuring perfectly according to my Dr. Love my Dr. and his staff. I've checked off almost all the bits and pieces I needed to get ready for baby:

Nursery furniture is in. Crib, bassinet, change pad, change pad covers, diaper genie, diapers, wipes, towels, sleepers, bath wash, bath tub, and receiving blankets are all washed and in place. Cord blood banking (yes, we opted in.) kit is ready to go. Just have to pack the hospital bag, which we are planning on doing this weekend.

All but four and a half of the boxes have been unpacked and all the furniture that has been delivered (still waiting on a couple pieces) is set up and ready to go. It only took us a month and I may have worn myself out a couple of days, but we are done or as nearly done as possible all things considered. I can't unpack the last four boxes, all books, because our house painter is still using that cabinet to store paint.

The last four weeks have been crazy. My office staff threw a double baby shower with my colleague who left for maternity leave already. I am planning on working until Christmas. Frankly, I'm probably going to be working while on leave.

My appetite has returned with a force. Baby is growing and moving. OMG, is baby moving around in there. It's so weird; it's not quite painful, but sometimes very uncomfortable. Labour is imminent. Thankfully, between my Dr., my husband and my sister (the OB/GYN resident), I'm about as informed as I could possibly get. Baby sister is planning on coming in to the city as soon as my labour starts, if it's possible for her. She'll be number one on our call list. How cool would it be for her to deliver her niece/nephew?

Still don't know the gender; Husband is really into this surprise thing. I'm freaking out, since we don't have a boy's name (we have mostly settled on a girl's name). Surprisingly, my dad is also pretty adamant that we should opt for the surprise. Thus far, it's a surprise. I strongly suspect our little soccer player is a girl though.

Morning sickness has abated but not disappeared, so that could suggest a girl. Cravings have been insane too. Today, it's fruit; sour, tangy fruit like gooseberries and pineapple. And lemonade. All the lemonade in the world. It makes baby move around though; weird, right?

I even bought a few non-essentials for baby, like a keepsake book. Husband and I are both excited to fill that out. He's positively beaming with excitement. And worry - the man worries about me ALL the time. It's... unusual, but pleasant. He's been doing an amazing job taking care of me. I have a hard time getting in and out of bed, putting on my socks, etc. I can do it, but it's easier with a hand.

Once we finally got his man cave sorted out (this place is amazing!), we started watching movies and stuff down there together. My craft room is up and running too, so I can spend the last week of my pregnancy (or before) sewing a new blanket for my own little baby. Need to pick out the rest of the fabric for that one. Might wait until after baby is born and stick to "girl" or "boy" colours and then embroider it with baby's name. I have a patterned fabric all ready for the front.

Finally, a belly pic from yesterday:

Getting close! Getting large - I feel like a cow, seriously.