35 Weeks

how far along? 35 weeks!
Claire’s size: around 5.25 pounds & over 18 inches long- about the size of a honeydew melon
weight gain: I gained the 3 pounds back that I lost when I was sick.
maternity clothes? Of course!
stretch marks? let’s not talk about that. mmm kay, thanks!
sleep? Miserable.
best moment this week? Getting Claire's stroller
food cravings: nothing,really. I am still enjoying a Cherry Coke here and there, Twizzlers have been a good friend of mine, and so have animal crackers.
gender: Girl!
belly button in or out? not out yet, but something goofy is def. going on!
movement? yes. very, very strong movements.
what I miss? Sleep.
what I'm looking forward to: Claire’s arrival.

 

I hit the 35/35 milestone- 35 weeks down, 35 days to go! It seems rather surreal that we are going to be meeting our little girl very very soon. Her stroller came yesterday and I had to wait allll day to open it {Matt was at work and he was just as excited to put it together as I was- so I waited until he got home}. It's so nice. I love it. We decided on a Britax B-Agile (we bought the Britax B-Safe car seat to pair it with) and this sucker drives like an absolute dream. It's super easy to fold- I can do it easily with one hand. Just when I thought I couldn't be more excited for this little girl to arrive, we put the stroller together. I am dying to plop her in her car seat and take her and Murphy for long fall walks. 

 I had a check-up yesterday-it went swimmingly. Since I have been contracting for 3+ weeks and starting to have regular cramping, my midwife wanted to check to see if my cervix was making progress. I've been really set against having cervical checks performed at weekly appointments, for more than one reason, but I was already having my Group B Strep test done and figured that it would be interesting to see how things were going. So I agreed. 

Baby Claire, I'm happy to report, is head down and starting to descend. HOORAY! {i was so afraid she was breech- just a fear of mine} Turns out, I'm 1cm dilated and softening up nicely. She was rather surprised and told me that I was making excellent progress for only being 35 weeks. Jennifer (my midwife) told me that she thinks this little one will be making her appearance sooner, rather than later. Grrrr. Don't get me wrong, I was over-the-moon excited to hear that news, but I can't help but think that getting my hopes up may be a little disappointing if I don't continue to dilate each week.  I'm so torn as to whether or not to be checked again next week.

Either way, I have decided to start taking Evening Primrose Oil. I will start it next week, probably Wednesday. EPO is said to help soften the cervix... it does not put women into labor. I've read that it will only help your cervix if it's already started softening itself. I have also read that women who take EPO, typically, have a faster labor because their cervix's will thin and dilate faster. Who wouldn't want a faster labor?! Especially since it's all natural.

Well, I think that's about all I have for today! Except that today's is our 5th wedding anniversary! We spent the morning sipping coffee, garage saling (not sure how to spell 'sale-ing'), and snuggling with Murphy in bed. Matt's at work now and Murph and I are being super lazy. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to going back to work next week :)

Okay, that's all! Have a fabulous weekend!

Grow Claire, grow.