#3 - Week 38

Revelation for today...it's okay if I go into labor. If it happens, Jill is fully cooked and ready to go. February 1st is in 2 hours. She will have an amethyst birthstone and share her birth month with Grandma. This is the equivalent of hitting 36 weeks with the boys I suppose. Any extra time is just bonus growth for her. Weird!

I had decent and consistent contractions yesterday for about 2 hours...so much so that I sent out preliminary notifications to those that "needed" to know. After lying down and chugging water like a frat boy chugging beer, they stopped. We were so close to February I just had to do my best. ;)

And so now, we're just waiting. I'm no longer going to be sitting on my butt waiting for February to get here. Alex & Tony are going to wonder why they can't watch as much tv anymore...poor kids...welcome back to "normal" life. It's business as usual until Jill decides it's her birth day :)

#3 - Week 37

Well this is new...never made it to week 37 before. It has been requested that I wear this same shirt for the duration of my belly pictures for better comparison since there are no other belly pictures to compare it to, so I will do my best to remember. Let's just pretend that my hair isn't down and I'm not wearing old raggedy clothes because I had just gotten home from an MOMs Night Out before Striker had to leave to play hockey.  Yeah, we have this tag team thing down...just in time for things to get a little more complicated. 

I got my hair done on Saturday (before Striker and I went on my Christmas present date to dinner and IRIS in Hollywood...we had a super awesome time...I should write a post about that...) and my hair lady commented on the freakishly curly patch of hair in the back of my head right along my Chiari scar at the bottom. I just kind of blew her off and said that it had been wavy there since my surgery. Tonight I realized that she wasn't kidding and it is even MORE curly that I've ever noticed. If I have to start straightening my hair in that one spot I'm going to go insane...my hair is wash and go!!! Apparently not only did Jill cure my seasonal allergies that the boys gave me, but she gave me a curly patch of hair...if it all goes curly I don't know what I will do!!! I wonder if that means Jill is going to have curly/wavy hair...that would be odd since no one in our family really does. 

I really need to post pictures from the non-showers...and hopefully Jill's room will be finished this weekend so I can post pictures of that as well. 

#3 - Week 36

I don't know if you can tell from last week's photo, but Jill is lower. This means no heart burn. (YAY!) It also means...she's lower. I'm going to the doctor on Friday to get "checked". If there is no "progress", I'll be surprised, especially if her current positioning and activities continue. This little girl needs to stay put until February!!! 

And now, the last comparison photo from pregnancy #1, week 36:

Best Thing I Bought This Year: Sterilite Sorting Hampers

I realize that it's only the 12th, but this also might be one of the top 5 things I've ever purchased for our house.

The Sterilite Sorting Hampers are FANTASTIC!

• They are made in the USA
• Hold one loads' worth of clothes
• Fit underneath the door clearance of the washer & dryer on pedestals
• Are super easy to carry (check out those handles...no breaking nails!)
• They work superbly with my new laundry schedule!

I bought 6 of these. One for the boys clothes, and 5 for our room: whites, blacks, grays/tans, colors, and jeans. (Yes, I need one more for Jill now). This is just how our loads sort out and how I was washing them anyway. Now I just don't have to spend time sorting or bending over a million times. I can also get rid of all of the random hodge podge of hampers/laundry baskets that never seemed to get emptied due to my avoidance of actually folding clothes. The hamper follows its load from dirty to clean and then makes it easy/motivating to fold a quick load so I can put the hamper back in the closet. I will only keep one regular laundry basket to use for linens on the days I do those.

Once I organize our closest and remove all of the maternity clothes after Jill gets here, they will fit nicely at the bottom under the hanging stuff. I also plan to bust out the Cricut and some vinyl and label them.

Sadly, Sterilite does not have a Facebook page :(

#3 - Week 35

What a difference a week makes...Jill's room is painted. Her crib arrived today. Her dressers should be here by the end of this week. Her curtains have been hung (though I do need to make a little modification to the valance). We had Grandma, Oma, Opa, and Auntie B over this weekend and they helped us knock out a 17 item to do list...plus watch the boys and do regular chores. So instead of feeling like a procrastinator, I'm going with "working well under pressure"...or efficient. Yeah, efficient, I like that better. 

I am measuring right on schedule, maybe a few days ahead. Since the measurement is done while lying down, I can only say that for those of you who repeatedly ask me if I'm sure I'm only 35 weeks, gravity is a not nice thing, and I had two good sized twins 2 years ago so my skin and ligaments are all very stretchy. 

However, Jill is no longer pleased with the amount of space she has, and thus kicks my ribs all the time. When I do something ridiculous like sit on the floor to play with her brothers, she'll sort of maneuver into a transverse position, then when she has more room she wiggles back to head down to kick my ribs (again, things are all very stretchy...just not anymore vertical space). Tonight, Alex elbowed her accidentally while trying to snuggle with me on the couch, and then she threw an elbow back, followed by a few kicks for good measure. Alex was looking at the belly, saw all the action and was completely amazed. Great moment in siblingdom. 

Enjoy them while they last, pregnancy #1, week 35 (only ONE more comparison photo left!):

#3 - Week 34

I don't want to say it, because then she'll probably try and do something crazy, but I think Jill is pretty much done somersaulting and turning in circles. I'm pretty sure she has cooperated and assumed the desired position, but again, I'm sure I'm going to regret writing that. I go to the doctor on Friday. We'll ask him to confirm both her positioning as well as my unofficial measurement..I do believe that I am measuring "on time" despite feeling huge. It should also be noted that I have not yet started painting her room (or having Striker paint for me) nor have I ordered her crib or dressers. I plan to do all of that this weekend. :)

Only 2 more weeks of comparison photos left...pregnancy #1, week 34: