Pregnancy Update

I'm at 33 and1/2 weeks right now... meaning less than 4 weeks till baby's considered "full term!" So at this point he count make his grand entrance anytime in the next month or 2. Which is making me realize all of a sudden all the last-minute shopping we still need to do, things like buying (and installing) his car seat, stocking up on baby soap and diaper rash cream, etc etc etc.

My weight gain seems to have leveled off now, the numbers on the scale holding steady for the past 3 weeks for a total gain so far of 30lbs.

My fingers have swollen slightly in the past week or 2, making it uncomfortable for me to wear both my wedding and engagement rings together. So for now I'm just wearing my wedding band, which is thinner and seems to work better alone.

The other day I was trying to squeeze in next to Zach to sit down at the dinner table and I accidentally bumped him kinda hard with my belly. As soon as he realized that I had actually not done it on purpose, he burst out laughing. It's definitely getting harder to maneuver around these days, I just take up a lot more space! And to think, I still have another good month at least of growing to do...

Loki's getting the hiccups a lot lately. I'll just feel this funny, light rhythmic thumping down in my pelvis, where I guess his head's nestled in. I think I've also started feeling Braxton-Hicks contractions, though the only way I can tell that I'm having them is by feeling my belly and noticing that it's hard, and then a few minutes later feels soft and squishy again. He hardly ever kicks hard anymore, mostly when I feel him moving he's just shifting around and poking me here and there. I've been lucky and avoided getting kicked in the ribs much. I really hope this kid's as easy on me outside the womb as he's been while inside it!

My friend Carolyn recently sent me this interesting article about why pregnant women don't tip over. =P I certainly have noticed myself doing the "pregnant waddle" more often. Luckily (and somewhat amazingly) my back has hardly bothered me at all lately.

And my boobs have started leaking. Just this week, pretty consistently, just enough that I'm having to wear breast pads in my bra now. At first it weirded me out a bit, but it's also pretty incredible thinking how my body's creating this food for this baby that will perfectly nourish him. I can't say I'm not worried about breastfeeding and how the first few weeks of it will go, as I know it can be quite a challenge to figure out at first. But I'm also really looking forward to it. =)