36 weeks

STATS:
36 weeks 2 days
Starting weight: 128
Weight: 157
Waist @ bellybutton: 40.5''
Issues: Do I seriously still have to go to work?, I'm ridiculously tired in the morning.
How Big Is The Baby This Week? Apparently, he's as big as a crenshaw melon this week, but if you're like everyone else on the planet who doesn't know what the hell that is, he's about 6 pounds and 18.5 inches long.

Phew! I've been super busy this week. I've got a lot to do at work in order to finish up my projects before I go on maternity leave, and I'm trying to get the nursery together by picking up any items that we didn't receive at our showers (which isn't much thank god), and putting everything away. We came home with a bunch of stuff we needed for the baby from our baby shower over the weekend, and it was so great to see all of my family, especially my dad. I'm so glad everyone was able to get together at the same time, that doesn't happen much any more. And I would be posting a slide show of some of the pictures from the shower, but somehow the ones I had on my camera got erased (there weren't very many on there anyway), so I'm waiting for TJ's dad to send me some of the billion he took that day.

The ladies at work also threw me a little shower in the office this week. We had a little luncheon and I got some really cute baby outfits, and a handful of them pitched in to get me a generous gift card to Babies R Us, which we're gonna use to help us get the glider and ottoman we want.

My doctor's appointment was almost more exciting this week; the nurse asked me if I had my ultrasound last week, I said no, and so she put me in the ultrasound room. I guess you usually get an ultrasound around this time to make sure the baby is head down, but I think since my doctor can feel his head down there when she checks my cervix, she doesn't need to check with the machine :( . Maybe I'll get one next week. Anyway, after checking the heartbeat and fundal height, she checked my cervix and said that it still hasn't dialated at all, but that it feels shorter. She said I'm about 20% effaced, which just means that it's started to thin out like it should. I told the doctor about this pain I've been having in my joints, mostly in my hands, but also in my feet, knees, and ankles. I told her how it hurts when I staple something or make a fist, and how it feels like I have arthritis or something. She said it's probably carpal tunnel and that if it really bothers me I should buy some wrist braces to wear to bed. Oy!, no more braces!, no more pills! I'll just deal with it. She said it will almost definitely go away after the baby's born, so I think I can live with the pain for a few more weeks.

As for my other symptoms this week, the swelling in my feet seems to be getting worse, I'm getting tired more easily, my heartburn is occurring more often, and I woke up for the first time throughout this whole pregnancy with a growling stomach and had to go to the kitchen to grab a snack (it was a pop tart if you must know). Other than all that and my old lady joints, gee, I guess I'm doing swell! And if you're curious to see how much more huge I can get, here's my latest picture: