34 Weeks Down, 6 To Go

6 weeks left. I can't decide if that's short or long. Considering the amount of things we still need to buy and learn and do, it's short. Considering that it's still a considerable amount of time to chunk up and grow out of my clothes, 6 weeks feels long. Russ and I both feel like she's going to come early, but don't know if that's inspiration or panic talking.

I kept waiting for a day when I thought I looked good to take a picture, but after 2 different attempts, it didn't really happen. So you just get the real-deal, post work, post afternoon nap Adri! Sorry about the lighting. We couldn't get the flash to cooperate so I look like I have a black eye!

I don't miss the brick or cinder block of our old place, but they did make a nice backdrop for these pictures :)

STATS TO REMEMBER:

• Although I have very few complaints because I feel mostly normal still, it's strange to have a body that doesn't react the way I want it to. Reaching for things is hard and bending requires an embarrassing amount of effort. If I drop something or have to sit down and stand up too much, I first heavily weigh in my mind if the movement is really worth it.
• The doctor said baby is already head down. Yay!! That's one less thing to worry about later.
• When I look at pictures of how scrunched up the baby is at this point, I feel so bad for her! Her movements are much bigger and pronounced. There are arms, legs, elbows physically sticking out of my stomach, (every time I try to push them back in, Russ says, "You could be pushing on her brain!") and sometimes they're a little surprising and painful. I figure that no matter how uncomfortable I am, she probably is too. We're in it together!
• 38.5" around at what was formerly known as my belly button.
• Teaching school is a really great distraction because I don't have any time to think about being uncomfortable. Being on my feet isn't bad either, but I do feel stiff and drained when I get home.
• I do have a couple stretch marks now. 3 of them to be precise.
• Between my 28 and 32 week appointments, I only gained 4 pounds. BUT yesterday I went in for my 34 week appointment and gained 6 pounds in 2 weeks. 26 pounds total in pregnancy.
• I blame some of the extra weight on swelling. Within the past week I've noticed that my wedding ring is much more snug, and this morning I only had 2 pairs of shoes that would fit!

I've been thinking about all this awareness I have about my weight. It's hard to wrap my head around. My weight has only fluctuated about 5-10 pounds in the past 5+ years. Then all the sudden, bam! multiple pounds a week! It feels weird. I'm starting to feel better about it though, now that the baby actually accounts for a portion of that weight.

Bllleeehhh. I mentioned to someone just this week that I hadn't had a cold while pregnant. Of course, now I have a cold. It's getting worse and worse every day, and I want so badly to take a Dayquil! It was probably all those germy kindergartners...

 Compare the belly from yesterday and my birthday 9 weeks ago (25 weeks).