Bumpdate: Week 35 – Five Weeks Until Due Date!

We’re officially 5 weeks out until the due date!  I still can’t believe we’re going to be parents in just a few short weeks.  We are SO not ready for what lies ahead, but that is okay.  We’ll figure it out together.  😉

How far along? 35 weeks – Sheesh!  Only 35 days until the due date.

Size of a? honeydew melon

Due date? May 1, 2018

Gender? It’s a BOY!

Name? Elliott Brooks – Jacob lovingly calls him EBB.  Elliott was the name of the road I lived on when Jacob and I started dating over 15 years ago.  I have a ton of great memories from there, and it’s where we realized we were in love.  Cheesy, I know, but that was such a great time for us before life got real and we had to deal with hard stuff.

Elliott is spelled with two “t” at the end because that’s how the road is spelled, and I figured if we only did one “t” I would constantly misspell it on paperwork.  Plus, I like the way it looks with the double letters at the end, and it’s easy to cross two t’s at once. 😉

Brooks was a random pick.  I always liked that name for a first name, and I had a hard time finding anything I liked to go with Elliott, so I gave Jacob a ton of name ideas, and he liked Brooks the best.  It was kind of funny though because I vividly remember telling my mom that I didn’t want his name to have a double initial, and then that’s what we chose.  Never say never I guess.  😉

Side note: when we were in NYC in December, we were walking around some shops at Bryant Park and saw a sign for a shop that was named EBB.  How interesting is that?  I figured that was a sign that that was the name we should choose, but we waited a little longer to for sure decide on Elliott Brooks.

There was one other name I really liked, but anytime Jacob referred to the baby, he would call him little Elliott, so we went with that name this time.  I’m holding onto the other name just in case we have another little boy one day.  😉

Weight gain so far? 21 pounds.  My goal is around 25 pounds, so I’m getting close.

Exercise? Still walking when the weather is nice.  I try to walk 2-3 miles each time I go.  I don’t go every day, but I do try to go often.  I usually feel extremely tired/sore afterwards, so my walks are usually in the late afternoon/evening hours, and I’m pretty much useless after that.

Maternity clothes? I’ve been wearing maternity jeans from Target for a while now.  I’m still trying to find a few more shirts to wear.  I mostly feel comfortable in loose t-shirts.  I don’t know how some ladies do it.  Dressing up in cute clothes (like dresses) is so not what I’m into these days.  HA!

Sleep? I’ve still been sleeping really great.  I hope I’m not jinxing it!

Food cravings?  I can’t really think of anything that I really want these days, which is probably good because I need to watch that weight gain since we’re nearing the end of this whole thing.  I do want sweets all of the time, but I try hard not to give in… every day.  😉

Movement?  He’s head down and kicks/pushes a lot.  My stomach feels very hard sometimes, so I’m not sure if that’s his booty up against my stomach or what.

There was one day where I had a hard time feeling him move, so I had my mom talk to him.  It took a minute, but he finally started moving again.  I was a bit freaked out and wondered if I should go to the hospital, but luckily, my mom came through, and he was quite active after that.  Phew!  He tends to respond to my mom’s voice a lot!  It’s really neat.

What I miss? Sleeping on my back.  I also miss eating steak the way I want it cooked.  So I think that’ll be the first thing I’ll really want to enjoy after the baby is born.  We went to Vic & Anthony’s for our 6th anniversary dinner, and I didn’t get the steak because I didn’t want to order it well done.  Hopefully, Jacob will take me back one day, so I can have their steak!  Here’s a photo from our anniversary dinner.  We’re terrible selfie takers, but we were also in a huge rush!

 

What I’m loving? Things are still going really well and pretty easy for me.  I do have a little bit of swelling to deal with from time to time if I’m on my feet a while out shopping or doing things around the house.  Oh, and my fingers get stiff sometimes and also swell too.  I never knew stiffness was a thing, but apparently it’s common.  Other than that, I can’t really complain much.  I’m so incredibly thankful to still feel this amazing at 35 weeks!  I know some ladies feel quite miserable their last couple months of their pregnancy, but so far, I feel really great and not much has changed!

What I’m looking forward to? Finishing packing my hospital bag and completing my forever long to do list, which includes washing everything for the baby, getting the car seat installed, etc.  The list is so long, and I’m running out of time, but I’ll get there eventually…. I hope!  We’re actually getting the car seats installed today!!

Best moments of the past few weeks? Getting settled back into our house after our floor renovation and spending a weekend trip in Houston celebrating our anniversary.  Our floors look amazing!!  I’m hoping to share some before and after photos soon if I can get to it before Elliott gets here.

Words of wisdom?  Read the books!  I’m working on that now.  It’s a bit of brain overload at times, but I’m trying to take notes.  I have quite a few books to check out, so I really need to get on it.

 

I can’t believe our due date is in just 5 short weeks.  Next week, I’ll start my weekly doctor appointments, and that will for sure make everything feel very real.  I’m starting to feel a little worried about giving birth, what to expect, etc, but I think that’s totally normal.  I’m so glad we have so many people we can turn to for support and to help us once Elliott is here.

I think lately my biggest fear is that I’ll go into labor on the weekend when my doctor isn’t working, and I’ll have someone else deliver the baby.  I know his colleagues are totally capable, but I love my doctor, and I really want it to be him at the end.  So fingers crossed I’ll go into labor on a week day.  😉

Right now, I’m working on packing our hospital bags, figuring out freezer meals and getting the last minute stuff done.  We’re both really excited and can’t wait to meet our Elliott Brooks… Mr. Elliott… EBB.

I have a lot of blog posts planned in my head for the coming weeks, so hopefully I can get to them before he gets here… but tomorrow, his nursery will be live on the blog!  You can see his entire room, the special meaning behind it, and where I found everything for the nursery.  So check back tomorrow for photo overload.  It is by far my longest post ever!