38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks & 2 days!  
How big is baby estimated to be? The size of a pumpkin! Hehe, my little pumpkin baby! :D 
Total weight gain: Officially, I have gained 19 pounds. Yes, that is all. And yes, I eat NONSTOP. For real. I weighed in at 144lbs a few weeks ago, then I went down to 143.8lbs, then 143lbs even, and now I'm at 143.2lbs. I know the differences aren't big but my weight keeps lingering right around that 19lbs gained mark. I asked my doctor about it today and she said that 19lbs is acceptable. It's on the low side but she said that Camden is/has been growing like he should so it isn't a concern. She also told me to get used to eating a lot because I'm going to be one of those women who has to eat practically nonstop to keep up with breastfeeding, haha. She was like "you're going to lose so much weight when he's born, you'll have to eat a lot to keep up!" Fine by me! As long as CJ is healthy I am one happy mama!

Wearing maternity clothes? Some! Gosh, I feel like that's all I ever say, haha. I really am glad that I didn't invest in a lot of maternity clothes. This bump of mine just hasn't gotten big enough to demand only maternity clothes! It's nice, though. I like being able to wear a lot of my regular clothes- especially hoodies, tank tops, and t-shirts! But at the same time I'm trying to wear all my maternity stuff before he's born and I really have no need for it.

Symptoms this week: Still getting sharp pains and cramps in my hips/hip flexors. They've been pretty bad a couple times this week! Camden must be pinching off nerves because it's such a sudden pain. It's weird. Usually it goes away pretty quickly but I had some linger the other day. I'm dealing with it, though. I also had some nausea the other day. But that didn't linger, thank goodness. I'm still feeling good! Sleep has been rather elusive this week, which is strange. Last week all I wanted to do was sleep sleep sleep! This week, my body seems to be boycotting sleep. Or at least not letting me get more than 5-7 hours a night (whereas I was sleeping 10-12 a night last week!). It's strange, though. I'll fall asleep just fine, stay asleep for 20-45 minutes then suddenly find myself wiiiide awake. Then I don't fall back asleep until about 4am. Weird. Hopefully I'm able to shake this odd insomnia soon and get plenty of extra rest before CJ decides to arrive! Everything else is great and I still love being pregnant!

Food cravings: I was dyinggg for hard boiled eggs a couple nights ago! And I had to have Wawa coffee and a chargrilled chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A while I was in Delaware, haha. I can't think of anything else other than that. My taste buds are definitely gearing up for my birthday dinner, though ;] My parents are making me lobster (my favorite!) then we're going to Wholly Cannoli for dessert. Such a win meal, I'm excited. 

Food aversions: None.

Any movement from baby? Oh yeah! Little man is getting so big- I feel him move all over my stomach all the time! While I was driving home from PA the other day he kept pushing his little foot against my side and making my stomach bulge out. I'd pinch it or gently push it back in to my stomach and he'd move it to another spot and push again! It was like he was playing with me! It was SO CUTE. He did it to my mom, too, when she pressed back against his foot. He kept this up for over an hour! Haha. I love it. Another thing- I've noticed that Camden reacts to Jacob's voice. It's so sweet it could really make me cry. We don't get to talk to Jake everyday (we usually Skype once or twice a week) but I have a Build-A-Bear with a recording from Jake in it that I sleep with (don't judge me!). Every night I squeeze Berry's hand (the bear) and listen to the sweet little message from Jake, then I put my hand on my tummy and tell Camden that his Daddy loves him. This has been part of my nightly routine since Jacob left (oh so many days ago). Lately I've noticed that Camden gets really active and wiggly for a couple minutes after I do this! His activity doesn't usually last very long- just a few minutes- but I swear it's because he recognizes Jake's voice. Say what you want, but I truly believe that Camden know his Daddy's voice and likes hearing it just as much as I do! Gosh, I'm going to be so incredible happy when I finally have both my guys in my arms! 

Gender: Little man <3 

Emotions and experiences this week: It ended up being a busier week than I expected, but it was good! My mom and I took a trip down to Delaware and Pennsylvania for a couple days. I needed to drop Jake's car off at his base so he has a way of getting home after his deployment in case I can't make it down there with the baby. Obviously we didn't leave a car to begin with since I dropped him off but for whatever reason I didn't think about him needing a car until this past week, haha. So my mom drove his car down and I drove mine. We spent one night in DE and one night in PA. It was a really nice little getaway!! It was great to be back in that area- I miss it a lot! But it was bittersweet at the same time since I miss my hubby... The trip was good, though! I got permission from my doctor and tried to take it easy. I'm not gonna lie, the trip was a little more exhausting than I expected it to be! I felt rather crappy once I got back home on Saturday night. I don't know why, I just felt gross. Too much time in the car, I suppose. But the trip was worth it! Other than that, my stomach has started to drop a little this week! I haven't had the full "lightening" thing happen yet but I can feel my stomach moving down. And with that comes the whole Camden pinching off nerves in my hips thing. It's all good, though ;] I'm glad that Camden and my body are getting ready for birth. I'm still nervous about it and I'm still really hoping to have him late... but I am getting more and more excited to hold my little man! I had a prenatal appointment this morning and found out that I am 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced! I know that doesn't mean much since I could stay at 1cm for weeks or suddenly dilate really fast, but it's still nice to know that my body is doing what it's supposed to do! At the same time it's hard to believe that I'm actually getting ready to have this baby!! It's crazy. CRAZY. I'm super excited but it feels surreal! Gosh. So much to process, haha.

Looking forward to: My birthday tomorrow!! I'm getting my nails done and my hair chopped off! Plus, I get to have lobster and a cannoli! It's going to be a lot of fun. It's the first birthday I haven't spent with my hubby in 5 years, so that'll be sad... but I'll just add it to the list of things to celebrate together once he gets home! Other than that it's the same story- I'm looking forward to our countdowns shrinking! My baby boy will be here so soon!! Then I'll get my hubby back!! These next couple months are going to be so busy, challenging, emotional, and overall amazing! Looking forward, I'm pretty excited and happy :]