34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks & 2 days!
How big is baby estimated to be? He should be about the size of a butternut squash or a large cantaloupe! From what I've read, he should be done growing lengthwise and just be putting on fat now. It's so cool to think that little man might be as long now as he'll be at birth! It's hard to believe we're getting so close to meeting him! :D

Total weight gain: I think I'm still around 17lbs gained... I have a prenatal appointment tomorrow so I guess we'll find out the doctor's official count then :] I doubt I've gained much but I feel like I eat nonstop! I'll tell you what, gaining weight the healthy way is difficult!
Wearing maternity clothes? Yep! Still mixing in my regular clothes but I'm finally starting to fill out more of my maternity shirts so I've been wearing those lately, too. I'm also utilizing Jacob's wardrobe more and more these days ;] Not only are his clothes super comfy they also remind me of him and that makes me smile. 

Symptoms this week: Had some random dizzy spells this week. They didn't make me pass out or anything but they did take me a little off guard. Working out is getting a little more difficult, too, since I get winded easier and I'm losing my range of motion as my bump grows. Oh and I'm still having a little insomnia. I'm not uncomfortable or anything, I just have a hard time falling asleep. But that's really it... I'm still feel great! I really can't complain. Being pregnant is amazing!

Food cravings: I can't get enough yogurt! I'm a big fan of yogurt in general, especially Greek, but lately it's a daily addiction. Especially with fresh strawberries and a little low-fat granola! YUM. I usually only eat fat-free but lately I've been eating regular from time to time. I figure I can use the extra calories and healthy fats. I've also been eating a lot of homemade oatmeal with peaches for breakfast- very yummy! I can't think of anything other than that... I have a huge appetite lately! There isn't much I don't like, haha. 

Food aversions: None! I like food.

Any movement from baby? Oh yes! He's still a very active baby! I feel him wiggle all the time. He makes my stomach bulge in funny ways and I love watching it! I have to admit, though, I'm a little sad to not be getting those sweet little kicks like when he was smaller. I still feel him kick- mostly in my ribs- but it isn't like it was before. It feels more like he's trying to stretch out rather than kick. But I do like that I feel him move so often these days! With him being head down I have a pretty good idea of which body parts are causing my tummy bulges so that's neat. I like to try to pinch his little limbs when he pushes out, haha. It's easiest to catch his little feet since those are ALWAYS up by my ribs on the right side. His movements are getting stronger everyday. A couple days ago, CJ was moving all over the place and actually kept me awake from 2:30-3:30am! He seemed to be having a really good time attacking my bladder, haha. I couldn't fall back asleep! Luckily I love feeling him move so I couldn't be upset over the lack of sleep. He still gets the hiccups all the time. And it still makes me chuckle. I'm really going to miss feeling CJ's movements after he's born! 

Gender: Little man! :D

Emotions and experiences this week: Another relatively uneventful week... Still doing a lot of stuff to get ready for baby... Almost done my birth plan, started reading a new book, found a doula! I am very excited to have a doula for my l&d! I think she will be really helpful and supportive! I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with everything that still needs to be done before CJ arrives but I'm handling it one thing at a time. It's just a bit daunting to think about how soon Camden will be here and how different life will be! I'm still super excited! It's just becoming more of a reality. And I miss my husband something fierce. All of that paired with my overabundance of hormones has made me a little bit of a hot mess lately. Or at least that's how I feel. For example: I was working out the other day and five minutes into my routine I just started bawling my eyes out. I'm talking complete water works and snot galore. Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight! Luckily no one was around so I grabbed a tissue and kept working out, aha. But for real, hot mess status over here. I try to remind myself that I'm not going crazy and this is normal (I guess) but I do feel crazy. It's rough. I wish I could just snuggle with my hubby and have him tell me that everything will be okay. That always makes me feel better. But that isn't an option so I need to find the strength to push through it all alone. I'll just keep taking it one day at a time. Overall it was a good week. My mom and I have been getting a lot done for my baby shower! That's fun. I've been enjoying having the Bruins back! It's always fun to kick back and watch a good hockey game! And the B's have been on fire so far this season so that's a huge plus! I hope they can keep it up! Other than thaaaat, we had a family party this week, which was fun. It was nice to see my relatives, especially since I hadn't seen a lot of them in awhile! Hmm, what else... that's all I can think of for the highlights. Another week down!

Looking forward to: My ultrasound TOMORROW! I'm very excited to see little man! I also have a prenatal appointment before the ultrasound so that should be good too. Other than that, I'm looking forward to my baby shower in a few weeks! It'll be a lot of fun to celebrate Camden's upcoming arrival with family and friends. And as always, I'm looking forward to watching the days tick by as we get closer and closer to Camden's arrival and Jacob's homecoming!

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks!
How big is baby estimated to be? Somewhere around the size of a honeydew melon! He should be like 4-5 pounds and 19ish inches long! Those are just estimates, though, and I have a feeling Camden is going to be on the smaller side... I'm curious to find out how much he weighs at my next ultrasound! I know they aren't always accurate but I'm assuming it'll be more accurate than generic estimates.

Total weight gain: Up 17lbs! I weighed in at 141 at my appointment on Thursday. My weight gain is on the lower side but slow and steady is supposed to be the healthiest way to put it on.
Wearing maternity clothes? Mostly regular clothes this week, to be honest. A few of my shirts don't quite fit anymore, including my favorite workout shirt, but a lot of them still do fit so I'm making those work. I wear maternity jeans more often than regular jeans but I've been wearing lots of sweats/leggings this week. I also found my hubby's Puma pants in his closet this week so I've been rocking those :D they're so big and comfy on me. And I just like wearing his clothes while he's gone. 

Symptoms this week: Nothing worth complaining about! I had a few Braxton Hicks but they didn't hurt. I can feel my energy level slowly starting to diminish. I'm not exhausted yet but I can definitely sleep longer at night. I've been nesting but since I don't have my own house and CJ doesn't have his own room here there isn't much I can do... so that's kind of annoying. But I'm feeling good! :] My muscles are sore but that's from working out a lot this week. And I like it, haha. 

Food cravings: French toast! I had to have that a few days ago. That's about it. I feel like my appetite has been ridiculous the past couple weeks! I eat nonstopppp. But I make healthy choices so luckily it isn't leading to copious weight gain. And I get full fast so I eat small portions. 

Food aversions: Nothing I can think of... But every time my little brother cooks turkey bacon (which is like twice a day) the smell makes me nauseous. Weird. 

Any movement from baby? Bunches!! I love my little wiggle bug!! The doctor told me this week that he's head down so that explains all the rib kicks I've been getting lately, haha. He still moves a lot it just feels different than it did weeks ago. It's definitely stronger now that he's bigger. I caught his little foot the other day! He was kicking and kicking in the same spot so I pinched the bulge and could feel his little foot :D It was sooo cute! He let me hold it for a second then he wiggled it away. Gosh, I can't wait to see those precious tiny baby feet!!

Gender: Beautiful baby boy!

Emotions and experiences this week: It was a pretty good week. Nothing really exciting. I had a prenatal appointment on Thursday and it went really well! My OB was on vacation so I saw a different doctor (my gynecologist, actually). She answered a few questions for me, which was nice. She also thought my weight gain was a little low and told me to go eat ice cream and french fries, lol. It made me laugh. She was like "You've only gained 17 pounds! I don't care what you're eating, just eat more of it! Or go eat some ice cream! Real ice cream. And you could stand to eat some french fries, too. You need to gain some weight." Hahaha! I prefer to put weight on the healthy way so I think I'll ignore that advice. I'll just add more healthy foods to my diet. I'm thinking more healthy fats will be good- peanut butter, nuts, avocado, full fat Greek yogurt... I'll tell you what, it's hard to gain weight the healthy way! I asked the doctor about my due date, too. Since it was changed once (from the 2nd to the 10th) and I'm still really small, I was wondering if my date of the 10th is still accurate. She said it should be but agreed that I have been measuring small all along so she had me schedule an ultrasound! I'm really excited about that!! My OB told me that I should have one more ultrasound but I hadn't scheduled it yet so it was nice to get the orders to schedule it (I can't schedule one without a doctor's written orders to do so). I'll get another sneak peak at Camden on the 30th! :D I can't wait to see him again! My last ultrasound was on October 16th so it's been awhile... I can't wait to see how much he's grown! And it's CRAZY to think that this ultrasound will (or should) be the last time I see CJ before he's born! Woah!! I can't even wrap my head around that yet! I'm super anxious to meet babyboy but to be honest, I'm really hoping I'm due later or have him late. I know, I know, everyone says I'll be singing a different tune when my due date is closer... but I really want to have him later. The way I look at it, the later he's born, the younger he'll be when he meets his Daddy! I don't want Jake to miss out on a whole month of Camden's life so I'll be perfectly happy having him late. I'm so excited to have CJ here and Jacob back home. I say it all the time but I just know it is going to be amazing. I get emotional just thinking about seeing Jake holding Camden. I can't imagine how truly incredible it will be to have them both here with me! My heart will overflow with love and joy! That's about it for all the exciting stuff... Oh besides the Bruins being back!!! I was thrilled to finally watch some hockey!! I missed it so much. It's about time we have the B's back! CJ seemed to enjoy the game a bit to and was wiggling quite a bit! Maybe he could sense my excitement, haha. Other than all that, I'm still trying to figure out insurance/pediatrician stuff. Still reading a lot. Still working on my birth plan. Talking to doulas/labor coaches to help me through the birth. A lot going on! It's a little overwhelming to think about all that needs to get accomplished in the next 7 weeks but at the same time it's very exciting! 

Looking forward to: My ultrasound on the 30th! I'm very excited to see little man! I also have a prenatal appointment before the ultrasound so that should be good too. Other than that, I'm looking forward to my baby shower in a few weeks! It'll be a lot of fun to celebrate Camden's upcoming arrival with family and friends. And as always, I'm looking forward to watching the days tick by as we get closer and closer to Camden's arrival and Jacob's homecoming! 

32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks & 2 days!
How big is baby estimated to be? I don't know anymore! Haha. The size of a really big head of lettuce or a squash? I don't know... He should be around 17-19 inches and 3.5-4ish pounds now! :D

Total weight gain: Still at 16lbs gained; weighing in around 140lbs these days. I have another prenatal appointment this week so we'll see if I weigh-in higher there!
Wearing maternity clothes? Still a mixture of maternity and regular clothes. I decided to try on my favorite pre-preg skinny jeans this week and was rather delighted to discover that they still fit comfortably!! I have been wearing maternity jeans simply for the comfort of the sexy panel (ha!) so I hadn't bothered to put on regular jeans in awhile. It was nice to find out that they still fit!

Symptoms this week: I've been feeling really good this week! I'm almost completely over my chest cold, aside from a little lingering cough. I was finally able to get back into my workouts after taking five days off, which made me verrrry happy! Nothing is bothering me pregnancy-wise. A little short of breath at times, it's getting a little harder to put my boots on, some Braxton Hicks... But it's nothing that gets to me. I'm still feeling wonderful! I fully believe that staying so active has been a total lifesaver during my pregnancy. I've worked out consistently the whole time. I've always been an active person and I'm so glad I was able to carry that on throughout my pregnancy. I also think that doing P90X and some Insanity before I got pregnant really primed my body, so to speak. I was, without a doubt, in the best shape of my life when I got pregnant. So it makes sense that my body has adapted well to being pregnant. My muscles are all strong enough to support my growing and changing body/belly. I also credit P90X and mainly Ab Ripper X for my stomach being so small and it taking forever for me to really show. Plus, that ab work definitely made my entire core really strong so I haven't had any back pain. And even if I do get aches and pains, my body is used to being sore from working out so those little aches don't bother me at all. I actually love being sore from working out, haha. It makes me feel so accomplished. So the little pregnancy aches and pains are nothing. So far, haha. I'm sure the after pains of labor will be a different story! Hopefully my fitness habit will work in my favor post-pregnancy, too! I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to doing P90X again after CJ is born! Working out has and always will be my out and I'm very thankful that it's been so helpful during my pregnancy! Okay, fitspo rant over, haha.

Food cravings: Greek yogurt. Protein shakes with frozen banana, peanut butter and spinach. Yaki Soba. Guacamole. Oranges. I've had quite a few random cravings this week and a few strong preferences that have stuck around for a couple weeks now.

Food aversions: Nada. My appetite disappeared last week while I was sick. It was difficult to force myself to eat for Camden's sake but I did it anyways. I didn't have aversions just no appetite. But now my appetite is back in full force! CamJam is definitely having a growth spurt because I have been one hungry mama bear! Haha :]

Any movement from baby? Yes!! Some of his movements startle me now! He seems to enjoy being under my ribs on the right side, haha. That can be a little uncomfortable but I can usually get him to move by changing my position. I can tell that he's starting to get cramped up in there because his movements feel tighter, if that makes sense. It feels more like he's pushing against me trying to make space for himself, haha. I love feeling all of his movements, though. Even the startling and slightly painful ones ;] A few days ago, CJ got the hiccups at like 4am and actually woke me up! I must've been sleeping very lightly... but man, did it make me laugh! I'm sure this is just the first of many MANY predawn wake up calls from my sweet boy! I doubt the rest of said wake ups will be quite as amusing so I tried to enjoy this one, aha. Yesterday, I was texting with Jacob and CJ had the hiccups. Once they went away, little man decided to throw a victory dance party! Not even kidding! I sat there for like 5 minutes recording my belly so Jake could see all the crazy movements (side note- thank God for iPhones and the ability to text/picture & video message my hubby from thousands of miles away!!). Once Camden finally stopped dancing and decided to settle down, he got the hiccups AGAIN! Oh man, I was cracking up!! My crazy little baby bear! He makes me smile on a daily basis. I cannot wait to see what all these little wiggles and movements look like when he's out of my tummy. I swear I'm just going to stare at him ALL the time! 

Gender: BOY <3 <3 <3

Emotions and experiences this week: This week felt pretty "blah" to me. I started the week off with a pretty nasty chest cold. No fun. So I rested and drank tons and tons andddd tons of water! Plus some decaf tea with honey, yum. That helped to flush it out of my system, I think. I started feeling better on Wednesday and now I'm basically 100% minus a little lingering cough. The tail end of my week was great! I got to spend some time with two great friends, bake cake pops and have an IHOP date. It was much needed! Then I went out to dinner with a new friend on Friday and that was wonderful as well! I've been feeling especially thankful for all of my supportive friends lately. I couldn't get through everything I have going on right now without my amazing friends who have really stepped up to be there and encourage me. You all know who you are and I hope you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you! Other than all that mushiness... I am in FULL baby mode! I've been nesting and doing so much to get ready for baby bear's arrival! I've read a lottt about labor and delivery and I'm finally feeling pretty good about that. I'm working on my birth plan and I'm in the process of looking for a doula. I know what I want my birthing experience to be like and I'm praying that it all works out. I've read so much that I have a really good idea of what to expect, barring some sort of crazy unpredictable and rare emergency. I've read about regular/medicated births, natural/drug free births, C-sections... I've just been trying to learn as much as I possibly can. That has helped me feel good about my decision and a lot less nervous about the whole birthing experience. Also, I spent a day this week going through all the baby clothes I have for CJ- sorting, washing, drying and reorganizing them. It feels good to have all his clothes ready to go! But, in the process of doing this, I realized that I only had one newborn sized outfit! I mostly bought bigger stuff in case the newborn things wouldn't fit but my OB thinks that Camden will be a little baby- like 6 pounds- so he's probably going to need some smaller clothes... Needless to say, that was the perfect excuse for me to buy him a few absolutely adorable newborn sleep and plays! Hehe. I didn't buy much because I know he'll probably outgrow them fast but I also know that I'm going to want some easy one-piece outfits for his first few days. I also started packing my hospital bag this week! I did a lot of research on what nurses and moms recommend bringing and formed my own list based on that research. My mom bought me a beautiful Vera Bradley bag that I'm going to use as a baby/diaper/hospital bag. I'll probably do a blog on my hospital bag once it's all packed and set to go. I have a lot of it ready, I just haven't packed my clothes yet and I need to pick up a few travel size toiletries for convenience. But it feels good to be prepared a little more in that area. I'm working on getting insurance and a pediatrician figured out for babyboy, too. That's a little more stressful. I do wish Jake was here to help me with some of this stuff, but he has been amazingly supportive! I'm so thankful that he's there to listen to me rant and think out loud and just talk about all this baby stuff. He truly is my rock! Even from so very far away! So, like I said, I'm feeling pretty good about this whole l&d thing! I'm ready. I feel ready. I want to soak up the rest of my pregnancy because I'm sure I'll miss it but at the same time I'm very ready for Camden to arrive!

Looking forward to: Pretty much the same as I said last week- Bruins games and my baby shower. I have a prenatal appointment this week so I'm looking forward to that, too! It should be uneventful but I love hearing his heartbeat and being reassured that everything is on track. Of course I'm also looking forward to Camden's arrival and Jacob's return home!! I can't wait to have both my guys with me! :D

31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks & 1 day!
How big is baby estimated to be? According to my What to Expect When You're Expecting app, he is now the size of a head of lettuce! But he should be around 18 inches so that is one biiiiig lettuce! Haha. The Bump says he's the size of a pineapple! I like that comparison better ;]

Total weight gain: My official weigh-in at my prenatal appointment this week has me at 16 pounds gained. I'm up to 140lbs. Eeeeek! Seeing that number on the scale is so weird for me!! But I'm gaining well and still right on track so I can't complain. I only gained 2lbs this month, so I'm staying on the lower end of gaining during pregnancy. Which makes me happy. And my doctor still has no concerns with my weight gain so I'm not concerned either. Just trying to stay active and healthy for my little boy!
Wearing maternity clothes? Some! I'm fitting into a few more maternity shirts now! I like that :]

Symptoms this week: I feel fabulous, really!! Well, aside from the lovely chest cold I came down with... I tried so hard to stay healthy but with my family spewing their germs all over the house and not sanitizing, it was impossible. Ugh. Other than that, I got a little nesting spurt this week! That was fun. I did a lot of cleaning and straightening out. I felt very accomplished but it made me hungry and tired, haha. So far my energy level in my third trimester has been just as good as my second trimester. Luckily! I'm waiting to hit that wall and be really tired and uncomfortable but so far so good! I still absolutely love being pregnant! Oh, I'm still having some random Braxton Hicks, too.

Food cravings: Baked macaroni and cheese!! Homemade by me, of course. I like to make a light cheese sauce (with fat free cream cheese and skim milk) to toss the elbows in before layering them with some reduced fat cheddar cheese and topping it with fat free cheese slices. YUM. It's so good! Lucky for my mom, mac 'n cheese is one of her favorite meals so she's enjoying this craving too, haha. Other than that, I'm addicted to Yaki Soba from a local Japanese restaurant. It's like lo mein but with whole wheat noodles and no saucey stuff on it. Man, I could eat it everyday!! And seeing how I just found out that the restaurant I like does carry out, I very well might eat it everyday now, hahaha. Other than those two deliciously carb heavy meals, I'm eating lots of veggies. Not so much fruit since all the good stuff is out of season. Besides bananas. I eat a lot of those. Still trying to keep up with plenty of produce. Snap peas are one of my favorites as of late. And spaghetti squash. Camden is definitely growing a lot lately because my appetite has increased quite a bit! And it seems as though he does not like raw broccoli. I got some icky indigestion after eating raw broccoli this week.

Food aversions: Nothing at all! Well, I probably won't be eating raw broccoli after above account but it isn't really an aversion.

Any movement from baby? Ohhhh yes!! Little man loves to make my belly dance! He's been all over the place. My OB said that my uterus looks like it's positioned more on the right side of my stomach so that explains why I've been feeling more movement over there. I feel him all over the place but it is concentrated more on the right side. Silly boy ;] I also feel him get the hiccups almost everyday, sometimes twice a day! I love it. It makes me chuckle. I was FINALLY able to capture a really good video of Camden moving to send to Jacob! I was so excited about it! It's so cool to see his movements so clear and strong. His movements feel more squirmy these days than kicking. I can feel him roll around and push against my belly a lot more. I still get kicks and jabs but it's mostly wiggles as space gets tighter for him. Nonetheless, it's cute and I love it!

Gender: BOY <3 <3 <3

Emotions and experiences this week: This week was much better than last week. I'm so happy that the holidays are over. I never realized how depressing the holiday season would be without Jake. So I am VERY happy to say goodbye to 2012 and move into this new year full of possibilities! I had a lot of fun ringing in the New Year with some great friends. It was nice to just get out, goof around, laugh, and have an all-around wonderful time! Not having my hubby to kiss at the stroke of midnight was crappy but I know we're both saving that New Years kiss for each other. And all the laughs with my friends made the night so fun and a lot less lonely than I expected! Also, tt's nice to be able to say that Camden will be born AND Jacob will come home this year!! Yay for 2013! I just know it's going to be an incredible, life-changing year. I can't wait to see what it has in store for us! Other than that, I had a prenatal appointment this week! That went excellent! Like I said, I've gained 2lbs since my last appointment a month ago and my OB said I look "perfect!" (her word, not mine! Haha). Camden is growing and I'm measuring exactly where I should be! She said that the best indicator of how big CJ will be is how big I was at birth. I weighed in at a whopping 6lbs and some-odd ounces (my mom thinks 2-7oz), so it looks like he should be a pretty small baby! I'm very happy with that, haha. I mean obviously his health is my first concern but the smaller he is the easier it should be for me to deliver him. Should. We'll see ;] I also got to hand in my paperwork for Camden's birth certificate and my per-registration for labor and delivery at this appointment! Man, that makes things feel very real! And I talked to my OB about my desire to have a natural childbirth. She was extremely supportive and said that everything is up to me, pending no emergency. It's just very nice to know that my doctor is supportive of my decision and is on the same page as me. It gives me peace of mind. She said that since I'm young, healthy and fit, she doesn't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to have a natural birthing experience. Of course, it's impossible to predict what will happen with my labor but I'm happy to know that she's on board with my plan. I'm going to continue reading and educating myself as much as I can about natural birth and I might take a birthing class as well. It's crazy to think how quickly his due date is approaching! I'm praying that everything goes smoothly and that God guides my preparation for CJ's birth. I'm SO so excited but still nervous! I have bi-weekly prenatal appointments from now until mid-February and then we move into the weekly visits! Ahhhh! I can hardly believe it! Little man is going to be here so soon!! In the meantime, I plan to do as much as I can to prepare myself. I've been reading A LOT about natural birth, pain coping techniques, what to expect, etc. Educating myself is making me feel a lot less nervous about the whole labor and delivery experience. I think I'm going to take a birthing class soon, too. Hopefully that will be helpful. What else... I've been REALLY good with my workouts lately! I usually aim for 4-5 days a week but I've been doing more (*cough*everyday*cough*) since I've been feeling good and I love the new workout DVD I got for Christmas. It's so good. Working out has been a huge help throughout my pregnancy. It lends some semblance of normalcy to my otherwise drastically changing life. Working out is my catharsis, no doubt about it. I'm really hoping that I kick this cold fast so I can get back into those workouts! But for now I'm taking it easy with light pilates/stretching. Not being able to workout is seriously one of the worst parts of being sick for me! I'm dying to do my full hour long workout and I've only taken two days off! Wahhh.

Looking forward to: I guess the next big thing I'm looking forward to is my baby shower in February! I'm very excited to see some friends from out of town who will be coming up for it! And I just think the whole experience will be fun! I'm still looking forward to watching my bump grow even more :] I love it. And since I'm not uncomfortable yet I'm just soaking it all in! :D Oh!! I would be remiss to neglect to mention my sheer excitement over hockey season starting up again!!!!!!! Seriously, I am thrilled!! I've been missing my beloved Bruins way too much! I CAN'T wait to watch every game of this short season! It's better than nothing! Fear the bear!! CJ is totally going to be born a Bruins fan!