Pregnancy Update: 33 Weeks

How Big is Baby: honeydew, 17.2-18.5 inches, 4-5 pounds

How Far Along: 33 Weeks, just 49 days to go!

Total Weight Gain: 27 pounds. Two pounds this week. I wonder how my midwife will feel about the gain. I think it's normal. If baby is gaining, I should be gaining! I'm eating well, salads and protein and veggies when I can. I'm eating lots of yogurt and fruit.

Sleeping: I slept a LOT this week. Over the weekend, we clocked a minimum of 10 hours each night. I took a two hour nap yesterday, and I have been getting about 8 hours of sleep each night. I am waking at least once a night to pee, but otherwise, I am sleeping great.

Food Cravings: baked goods! It took everything in me not to bake cookies last night. I have all the ingredients for my favorite: chocolate chip. I am trying to wait to see what the doctor thinks of my weight gain before I indulge in a good dozen of those.

Food Aversions: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches. I want my meat without bread and without any dressings or toppings.

Symptoms:
Swollen Feet - just this weekend. If I stand or walk too much, they will balloon up. The past two days, they've actually stayed normal. Last night, I was telling Bryan, "Look at my beautiful skinny ankles!" I can't wait to have skinny ankles all the time again. Never again will I take my skinny ankles for granted!

Repeat Meals - I have had three spaghetti lunch or dinners over the past three days. Sunday and Monday, I made fajitas - exactly the same way. I think it's partly the ease of making it, but I also enjoy eating the same thing if I enjoyed it the first time. Sadly, poor Bryan does not. He's stocked up on pizza, so he can avoid my meal repeats.

Cuddly - I just want to be touched and cuddled and pet all the time. Most of the time, I have to tell Bryan, dude, stop petting my hair! But lately, I'm like, pet my hair, rub my back, kiss me, come spoon me. I just love feeling touched right now. I don't know if it's purely physical or if it's psychological (as in, I'm subconsciously nevous that his love won't be able to be shared between me and the new guy).

Doctor's Appointment: Tomorrow. I'm most anxious to hear what she says about my gain. 27 pounds doesn't seem that much to me! I'm aiming for under 35, and I think I can do it. I also want to know if my blood pressure is still good and that my swelling is under control.

Movement: I can feel body parts. I know that he's still head down because when he moves his feet, I can feet a slight adjustment in my pelvis of his head. I can feel his spine, his butt (my favorite part to feel stick out), his legs and his arms. I haven't felt a foot or a hand specifically, but I think that's coming soon.

At night, we'll watch tv and I can count on him to tell me when it's 10:15 because that's when he moves. We will just hold our hands on my stomach and feel him move. It's really cute because if Bryan talks, the baby will move to whatever side Bryan is on and stick his legs out. Baby doesn't kick me, but if Bryan is talking and puts his hand on my stomach, the baby will kick Bryan. It's really cute.

Gender: Still a boy. We're back to wanting to name him my original name. I really like this name because we know two great guys who are named this, and we'd like to think he'll grow up to be as awesome as them. Also, our waitress at the steakhouse thinks it's a better name than our other top choice.

Choice #1 is a solid, traditional name. Choice #2 is a fancy, strong name. I just don't know. I think I like the first name best; it was my first instinct after Braden (which is not happening). I think if he looks like me or is really fat when he's born, he'll be a Choice #1. If he has a lot of hair and is fashionably weighted (6-7 pounds), he'll be a Choice #2. WHY IS NAMING A PERSON SO HARD?!

Best Moment of the Week: goofing around in IKEA. We ate breakfast there before shopping, and the whole three hours we were there was a lot of fun. It reminds me of our first year of marriage because we would go all the time. Just making jokes, pretending we could design a house, picking out rooms for now, picking out living rooms for when we have teenagers, picking out rooms for when we're old people. And then it's fun to look at all the cheap housewares and baby toys.

What I'm Looking Forward To: my appointment tomorrow. The suspense is killing me!

What I've Learned This Week: Lots! But the most cool was about Christopher Columbus. Back in 1492, when he sailed the ocean blue, he was looking for black pepper in India. Well, he never found it because he didn't land in India. He did find something awesome: red veggies that we call chile peppers. He called them peppers because he didn't want to disappoint his sugar mama The Queen. He was like, "I couldn't find black pepper, but I found this more awesome red pepper!" That sly explorer.