35 weeks...

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 35 weeks!!! (as of Friday 4/15)

Size of Baby: According to Baby Center, Baby Tippins "doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he/she is over 18 inches long and weighs around 5.25 pounds (think honeydew melon). His/her kidneys are fully developed, and his/her liver can process some waste products.  Most of his/her basic physical development is now complete - and he/she will spend the next few weeks putting on weight" (which coincidentally means so will I....sigh)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am within the healthy/recommended limits of weight gain - and that's as much as I'll disclose ;) You know how people get that "pregnant face" not long before the baby comes (well except for those lucky few that are still wearing their "normal" clothes at this point and invoking serious envy/hate in the hearts of pregnant women everywhere)??  Well, that's me. (the pregnant face - NOT the one wearing "normal clothes")  My face has officially become "pregnant."  I do feel like it took a little bit longer this time and with Libbi I also feel like it looked different.  I remember people (strangers, actually) telling me that they could tell I was having a girl because my "nose had spread" (yeah....NOT a compliment!) At the time I'm sure I cried and added those people to my never-speak-to-again list, but now, looking back at pictures, I can really see what they were talking about - ha!  My nose did look like it had "spread."  I don't feel like it looks like that as much this time (of course, I could look back at pictures 6 months from now and decide that it really did) as much as my whole face has just reached it's pregnancy peak (I hope!) ;-)

Maternity Clothes: yes, please! :) Pretty much everything I wear is maternity, except for a few dresses/tunics.  I'm in that annoying stage where even my maternity shirts are becoming too short, but I'm so close to the end that I don't want to buy anything else.  I've been wearing a lot of dresses because those are the most comfortable right now.

Gender: Only the good Lord knows....and apparently so does the random TJ Maxx employee.  When we were there the other day, she proceeded to tell me that she had been a midwife in her country for 25 years before coming to America and that she was sure I was having a boy.  She said something about the pigmentation in Libbi's face having a blue tint (?) which is an indicator that she will surely have a brother.  She told me to come back and let her know, because her success rate was 90%.

Movement: All the time.  I mean seriously, all.the.time. It's definitely more of the jab/punch/kick variety.  I have to admit, although I LOVE feeling the baby move and knowing that he/she is so active, it still kind of weirds me out a little bit when I can tell that there is a distinct knee/elbow/booty sticking out of my stomach.  

Sleep: non-exsistent. I had horrible insomnia when I was pregnant with Libbi, and it looks like the trend is continuing (BOO!) Unfortunately, the bigger I get, the worse I sleep.  I feel like I am carrying this baby all out front and my stomach is SO tight all the time.  No matter which way I lie down in bed - I feel like I'm lying on top of a baby - which feels just about as awful as it sounds!

What I miss: bending over - ha! my ankles and my wedding ring. :)

  

Cravings: Candy.  Blueberry Muffins (random, I know!) and  I've also eaten lots of "cuties".... I know Jeffrey loves when I peel and eat them in the bed at 2am. ;0)

Symptoms: insomnia, shortness of breath, and a few braxton hicks.  Unfortunately, my carpal tunnel syndrome is back.  I had HORRIBLE CTS when I was pregnant with Libbi (although it did start much earlier in my pregnancy...) and I was hoping I may skip out on it this time.  No such luck.  I've also continued to be REALLY emotional this week (I'm sure Jeffrey can attest to that). I'm already a pretty emotional person to begin with, so the added hormones and pregnancy emotions really don't do my any favors. :)

Best Moment(s) This Week: We FINALLY bought the crib!!  We actually ended up buying the same crib that we have for Libbi (we really like it!) just in a different color.  We brought it home Saturday night and Jeffrey put it together and set it up in the nursery!  It feels good to mark another thing off my list!  
And....some of my sweet friends threw Baby Tippins a shower on Sunday - that was definitely a highlight of the week! It was so much fun....I posted about it here :)