39 Weeks plus a few days.

I hit 39 weeks on Saturday.  I don't think he's coming soon.  Last night I got my hopes up and I almost started making my phone calls, because I was feeling a little crampy, but I decided to wait and see.  Naturally, nothing more happened and I fell asleep.  I feel a little better though, I've decided not to get excited until the 20th.  That way I won't drive myself crazy.  Crazier.

I went to Target last night to get Silas his "big brother gift."  I had a little bit of trouble with this, because I want something he'll like but nothing elaborate or expensive.  I almost got sucked into a big drum filled with musical instruments.  Yes, exactly what I need is a tambourine he can play for his newborn brother.  He's been throwing things too so I don't want to give him any more wooden blocks.  So he got a small teddy bear, which I will give him in the hospital.  My friend who is also having a baby talked about getting her son a doll, kinda like a practice baby, and that sounded like a good idea to me so I bought Silas a small doll too.

At this point of the shopping trip I didn't know if I was going to break down and cry or throw up.  So I bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Frozen Yogurt (I'm cleaning up my diet) and went home.  It's all starting to feel so real and I got a little overwhelmed.  I'm having all those feelings I'm sure lots of moms do, how will I ever love another person as much as I love my son, how will having a sibling affect him, etc? 

Anyway, Saturday my friend took some pregnancy pictures of me and she printed a couple off for me to see today and I'm really excited to see the rest of them!  I'll post those when I get them.  It was really fun and I'm so glad I got to do them.  I didn't do them with Silas.  This one is an awkward one from today.  I can't selfie properly.

Another friend had a Christmas party today and it was so much fun.  It was one of the first times I've seen Silas "play" with another child, not just try and take toys away from his friends or play next to them.  He and another boy were chasing each other and laughing and pushing cars all over the place.  It was hilarious.  He fell asleep almost instantly on the car ride home. 

OK, let's do the update and get on with our lives. 

 How far along?  39 weeks and 3 days.

Size of Baby:  The baby is the size of a baby.  (Thank you Pregnant Chicken, no more stupid vegetables.)  About 20 inches and 7 pounds. 

Weight Gain:  Who's counting anymore?  I don't want to know.  See also: Ben & Jerry's.

Nursery:  Still not done.  I went up there and moved some things around.  I did unpack and sort through the baby clothes.  That was fun.  We have some new things, some new hand me downs, and some things that Silas wore.  It was a trip down memory lane and it made me really happy. 

Movement:  Yes, of course.

Symptoms:  Nothing new.  Heart burn and back pain.  Crabby as hell. 

Cravings:  Nothing really?  Cheeseburgers?  Is this part of the pregnancy getting boring?  Hahaha.  

Looking forward to:  Giving birth.  Of course.  If I make it this far, I'm going to continue my "tradition" of buying a little crystal on my due date.  With Silas I had wandered into a crystal shop and was chatting with the ladies and when they found out it was my due date they said I should hold onto rock crystal quartz for "energy."  So I did.  I'll try anything.  I ended up buying a pointy one and I took it into the delivery room with me.  It was sharp and I mostly poked myself in my numb fingers with it, but it's kinda nice to have something else to focus on while laboring.  I abandoned it after a short while though.  I had crying and whining to do. 

I'm sure I'll be back with a 40 week update.  God help me. 

Waiting...

I was starting to get really excited that baby would be joining us any second now.  I had dilated a couple centimeters, baby was head down and low, I felt awful.  Now I've realized that he's not coming for another couple of weeks.  At least one week.  I'm going to need more Tums.  And that's ok.  I had such a short labor with Silas, I feel if I let this baby come on his own time too, my labor will be short again.  And I won't have to have any unnecessary interventions.  That's the hope anyway.   

The past couple days have been very busy.  My mom spent the night last night, that was fun.  We had a late night grocery shopping session and then ate cheese and cookies.  Then this morning, my friend came over to help me prepare 9 freezer meals for after baby comes.  My mom was here to watch all the kids while we cooked.  This is all new to me and I'm very excited by the process.  The recipes come from Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer.  Basically you prep everything and then freeze it.  You can do a week's worth of meals in a few hours.  I'm going to get the book from the library and hopefully do a few more soon.  I'll be sure to report back.  I know some of my friends do this and love it.  We did a Parmesan Chicken, which you simply bake; a Hawaiian Pork dish that you throw in the crock pot; and a Black Bean Soup you reheat.  I was amazed because I thought we would be cooking everything and then freezing it.  This method, of course, makes much more sense.  So all you have to do is plan ahead a little bit and make sure you thaw your freezer meal out.  Add a rice or potato, a salad, or whatever and you're done!  Here's a link to the book on amazon, if you're interested.  

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Panic-Dinners-Freezer-Great-Tasting/dp/0800730550#

Saturday I will be 39 weeks.  I have plans to meet up with another lovely friend and take some maternity photos.  I'm excited.  I didn't have any done last time, so I'm looking forward to it.  I'd like to have a few pictures that look decent to remember this time.  

I think that's all I have today.  This weekend I hope to do a 39 week update since I skipped 38 and maybe I will have some photos from my maternity session to share.

Hey, do you do freezer meals?  Or make ahead kind of stuff?  I would love to hear all about it!