36 Weeks

I'm at the 36 week point!

Clearly, the belly is still growing out, and I look a little like I'm carrying a basketball under my shirt. :)

I'm now at weekly OB appointments, and they've stayed pretty uneventful. Lately I've been feeling pretty good. I was feeling a little miserable due to pretty itchy skin, but my OB confirmed that it's not anything serious, and I have found some soap and creams that have helped. The maternity belt still helps with the back pain when I have to be on my feet awhile. I really haven't had much swelling, although I do have some on work days. It's funny that I swell more when I'm sitting at a desk for most of the day versus being up and busy most of the day. I stay mesmerized with all of the movement this baby makes and love feeling little feet and knees as they move beneath my skin.

We are making our way down the "To Do" list, and I feel like the nursery is starting to come together. We don't really have a theme, but we are decorating it blue, red and brown and using a couple of prints of vintage toys that we got at the Main Street Arts Festival the year we got engaged. Mom and Dad are coming this weekend to help paint an armoire that I've had since junior high, and Robert is going to work on a couple of frames for the prints. Hopefully I'll have some photos of the nursery to share after next weekend.

We're still not sure how much Claire understands, although she does talk about "Baby Brother" every day - and tries to feed him through my belly button (what little there is of it now!). She includes him when she lists members of our family, and in who she wants to pray for every night. I think it's still going to be a shock to her when he's no longer in my belly and comes home with us, but I'm glad that she likes to talk about him!

I have two more weeks for work before I start my maternity leave, and I'm staying busy trying to tie up some loose ends. I'm taking the week off of the C-section, and I'm hoping that will give me a chance to make some appointments (dentist, haircut, etc.), rest, relax, and finish up some little projects around the house before L2 arrives. Three more weeks!