35/35...Well, Close.

As of yesterday, I hit 35 weeks pregnant and 35 days away from my due date. I planned to post my next pregnancy update yesterday to commemorate such a fun number milestone (dorks like me love that sort of thing), but alas, life got in the way: Ellie came down with a little stomach bug over the weekend, which Eric and I successfully navigated and were feeling pretty high and mighty about both our parenting skills and immune systems. Then, yesterday afternoon, the cosmos were all, "LOL! Too cocky, too fast!" and we both got hit with the bug simultaneously. Needless to say, the past 24 hours have been little more than survival mode (God bless PBS programming and orange Gatorade), but it seems there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we may just all survive this thing. And I will never taunt the cosmos again.

But anyway, let's talk 35 weeks/35 days update. And let's just pretend I'm on time, because 34 weeks plus one day/34 days doesn't sound as nice.

So. 34 days left until Due Date. That, my friends, is soon.

Before being derailed by this stomach virus, Eric and I spent our Memorial Day weekend being quite productive and checking a lot of things off our to-do lists. Projects are underway, the nursery furniture is all acquired and assembled, and in the next week or two we'll be buying the last of the items we need to really finish getting squared away. In the meantime, I'm happy to have the dresser set up in the nursery so that now I can start washing, sorting and organizing baby clothes, rather than just having all our baby items in a heap in our bedroom. (Although, at least this time we do have an out-of-the-way corner to store things, as opposed to last time, when we just had a Wall Of Baby Stuff taking over our dining room in our little Hoboken apartment!) I can't wait to share the nursery with you, because I think it's going to end up looking awesome (not to toot my own horn or anything - look away, cosmos!), but I have at least one more major project to take care of before it's ready for viewing. Stay tuned!

As for me, I'm feeling...close to the end. That means: big, unwieldy, achy, sore, irritable. And positively glowing, I'm sure.

This is the size of the belly we're currently working with:

Getting a bit basketball-like!

I get asked a lot how this pregnancy compares to my Ellie pregnancy, both in terms of belly-size and other things. First, let's look at belly size:

34 weeks pregnant with Ellie on the left, and 34 weeks with Plus One on the right

I'm not a great judge of these things, but I think size-wise, both pregnancies have been pretty similar. Maybe slightly bigger this time? Maybe carrying higher? You tell me.

And just because I have yet to do any of these belly-progression collages this time, I figured I'd throw one together:

15 weeks, 25 weeks, 35 weeks

One thing that I definitely noticed this time around was my belly button turning itself inside-out much, much sooner. I think it finally popped at the very end last time, but this time it was quite unapologetically exposed rather early on.

Yup.

As for other symptoms, I would say I have had a lot more back/ligament/sciatic pain this time as opposed to last. I'm trying to tell myself that's a good thing: surely, I have to meet a certain pain amount requirement in each pregnancy. Last time was pretty pain-free, but I got all the awfulness out at the very end. Maybe this time I'm just spreading it out more, and my labor and delivery will be a breeze! Positive thoughts!

A very noticeable difference between my in-utero kiddos has been hiccups. I never once noticed Ellie having hiccups in the womb, but Plus One thinks hiccups are totes The Thing to do. He has hiccups probably three or four times a day - very noticeable, even visible, hiccups. At first I was all, "awwww! Hiccups! How sweet!" but now I'm kind of all, "Kid. Get your life together in there."

I've also been having some Braxton Hicks contractions, which I never noticed with Ellie. Again, I'm trying to look at this as a positive: it's my uterus getting ready for this Big Birth Event coming up. It didn't do much practicing last time, and that backfired a wee (epic) bit, so this time my body is all, "We better warm up. We got this." Optimism!

I remember last time as I got bigger and more cumbersome, I also seemed to become more clumsy. I was constantly dropping things and swearing under my breath that I somehow had to get myself down to the floor and hoisted back up again. This phenomenon has certainly returned this time, but! I have a toddler now! And in many ways, being pregnant with a toddler is...challenging (to say the least), but in this department, it's a definite WIN because Ellie is big into helping right now. So, all it takes is a quick "Ellie, can you help Mama? Can you pick that up for me?" and she rushes over to save the day. Earning her keep, that one!

Another definite difference this time around is my climate/season. Last time, I was pregnant in New York City in the winter. Now, it is very much summer in Florida. Both have their pros and cons, to be honest. For one thing, I am now always hot. ALWAYS. HOT. In NY in the winter, a few extra degrees of body heat were much appreciated. In Florida in summer, less so. BUT, I can go in the pool and feel weightless and cool for a few minutes! That, my friends, is glorious. A couple other small differences I've noticed: the fact that there was no need to keep up with leg shaving in the winter in NY was a definite PRO in that column, but being forced to shove my swollen feet into boots, tennis shoes or at least flats was less than desirable. Now I have to balance precariously in the shower to keep up with the cosmetic maintenance, but FLIP FLOPS! So, pick your poison, I guess.

Mostly, I'm just tired these days. I haven't been sleeping well (thanks, acid reflux and sore hips!), and Ellie gives me a run for my money. But, my doctor appointments have continued to go well and everything looks good. Nothing new to report on that front. We also officially picked a doula, will be meeting the new doctor with our practice next week (the main OB is leaving June 30, and my due date is July 1! We've been working primarily with the midwife at the practice, but it's important to know everybody just in case), and...we picked a name. Exciting!

We have also reached the point of oh-so-many comments from random strangers. I've started to get the good ol', "You have how much longer?!?! Does your doctor really think you'll make it that long?" Which...thanks for the concern, I guess? But I'm pretty sure you just called me extra fat. And I know I've mentioned this before, but we also get lots of commentary on the fact that it's a boy. Everyone asks what I'm having and when I say boy, the response is as if I just gave the "right" answer, which I find kind of irritating. It's lots of, "oh, a perfect pair! How perfect! Now you can be done!" etc., etc. And I mean, I get it - I get to be a mother to both a son and a daughter, which is pretty cool. But I can only imagine the different tone the comments would take if I said it was another girl, and really, my pair would be no less "perfect" if it was a perfect pair of daughters. I know Eric also grows weary of the, "oh, Dad! A boy! You must be thrilled!" as if he could not possibly be excited about becoming a father again unless his wife is bearing him a man-child. I mean, again, of course we're both thrilled to be having a boy, but sometimes I feel like those comments sort of diminish Ellie's worth, as if our family could not be complete with just her or, heaven forbid, with two girls. But also, see above re: irritability!

I'm just really at the point of being both super ready to get this show on the road and OMG DON'T EVEN THINK THAT I MIGHT GO EARLY because I am SO not prepared. I'm excited to meet the little guy and get my body back, but I'm still in hardcore nesting mode and am trying to enjoy every day with my family of three before everything changes. Just a few more weeks until we are Plus One - ready or not!