Author: Lindsey Koetje

How far along?  35 Weeks
Size of Baby:  honeydew melon
Total weight gain/loss: probably about 20 lbs.
Best moment this week: The long weekend with my hubby!  We decided to take the weekend and get ready for baby!  We went to Babies R Us and got everything we needed still, reorganized the apt, did baby laundry, put things together, and got everything we need for me to pack our hospital bags!  We feel so ready for our little one to come and I love that our apt actually looks ready for a baby 🙂
Miss Anything? Comfort! Ha, I have been so uncomfortable this week!  I can’t sit, stand, or lay down without either having to pee or have achy muscles.  I know this is all part of late pregnancy and I still have a month to go but I do miss being able to sit and read without having to get up every other paragraph 🙂
Movement: Baby has slowed down quite a bit but still kicks and moves enough for it not to be concerning.  I think baby is simply running out of room that it can’t flop from one side to the other any more!
Food cravings: Still all things sweet!  I also have had a craving just about the whole pregnancy for biscuits that I don’t think I have mentioned before.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!
Gender prediction:  I still have a stronger feeling towards boy but this week I have also thought of baby as being a girl and loving it!  We are trying to get Simba use to the baby names so we alternate them when talking to him instead of just saying ‘baby’.  He just looks at us like ‘who is that?’ 🙂 But calling the baby the girl name now isn’t as weird and feels right as well, so we shall see!
Labor Signs: a little crampy
Symptoms: swelling, heartburn, achy mid back, can’t get comfy, linea negra, round ligament pain, and constantly peeing!  (I actually had to go to the bathroom before and immediately after brushing my teeth one night, it was a little ridiculous haha)
I am sleeping much better now that my chiropractor gave me some tips.  I now do my stretches and exercises right before bed and get my muscles loose so I can now sleep for about 3 hour stretches instead of getting up every hour!
Belly Button in or out? It is still mostly flat but if I just wear a thin shirt over my belly without a panel or anything else going over it, you can see my belly button where the top part is out.
Wedding rings on or off? They actually had to come off the last day of this week.  I have been checking them daily for a few weeks now and at the end of this week I went to get them off because they felt tight and it was a little difficult.  I thought it would be wise to not try to get them back on when they fit my pinky snuggly 🙂 It feels so weird to not have them and I definitely have moments of panic that I have lost them!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy this week but I have had my moments of moodiness.  I realize it afterwards and not even know where it came from… lovely hormones 🙂
Looking forward to:  Having this baby!  Now that our apt is ready and things are set up, I can’t wait to use it all and have a squishy little baby to love!  Can’t wait to know if this is a boy or girl, announce the name, and know who little one looks more like.. so excited!!

How far along?  34 Weeks
Size of Baby:  butternut squash
Total weight gain/loss: 18 lbs. according to dr. appt.
Size of belly: a smidge over 35 cm.
Baby’s heartbeat: 152 bpm
Best moment this week: We had out TN shower this week and were so blessed with the love from family and friends supporting us and who already love little one so much!
Miss Anything? Sleep and energy!  Pregnancy insomnia has hit and makes sleeping for very long impossible!  I guess it could be God’s way of preparing for no sleep 🙂 My energy level though I also so low!  It took about 3 days to recover from the shower and trip to TN, especially since I can’t sleep!
Movement: Baby is very active and I have come to find out, even at night!  When I wake up, sometimes it is hard to get back to sleep since baby is either exercising or moving furniture around in there! 🙂
Food cravings: Still all things sweet!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!
Gender prediction:  I catch myself thinking of our baby and our boy name just fits.. I have to think about our girl name telling myself it could still be a girl, but it feels more like I have to convince myself.
Labor Signs: a little crampy
Symptoms: achy lower back, achy shoulders, can’t get comfy, exhausted, bigger appetite (at times I feel like I am a bottomless pit), insomnia,  and linea negra
Belly Button in or out? The top of it is starting to stick out a little more but still overall sort of flat.. I don’t know, its just weird looking!
Wedding rings on or off? On still.. a little hard to believe!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  Getting our apt fully ready for baby!  Now that we have had all the showers we are going to have before baby, it is time to get this place into shape!  We are still looking for a house, but at this point there is no possible way to be in one before baby, so little one will come home here.  Crazy thought!  So let the organizing and cleaning begin.. although I just wish I had the energy for it!  Come on nesting fairy.. kick my butt into gear! 🙂

We were so busy this week, sorry the board is boring 🙂

How far along?  33 Weeks
Size of Baby:  Durian Fruit.. who the heck knows what that is?! haha
Total weight gain/loss: 14 lbs. according to dr. appt.
Best moment this week:  We had the tour of the hospital this week.  It was surreal and exciting, definitely made it feel real and soon!
Miss Anything? Energy!  It has been a crazy week looking at houses and trying to get everything else done that I have no energy this week!
Movement: Lots and lots!  I don’t have to do kick counts since baby would hit the count in about 1 min 🙂
Food cravings: Not really anything this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!
Gender prediction:  Pretty sure it is a boy still
Labor Signs: none that I’m feeling
Symptoms: achy lower back, achy shoulders, can’t get comfy, exhausted, and linea negra, swelling ankles
~We had a little bit of a scare on Sunday when I look down and my ankles (especially the left one) were bigger than when I broke my ankle!  I wasn’t swollen anywhere else, I could still get my rings on and off; it was just my ankles.  With such severe swelling so sudden, I called the Dr. Monday morning and he wanted me to come in first thing Tuesday.  Until then, I had to stay off my feet, drink lots of water and rest!  By the time we got to the Dr. on Tuesday it had already gone down quite a bit but the worry was if it was a sign of pre eclampsia.  However at the Dr. visit, it was ruled out by me not having any other symptoms and that resting had allowed the swelling to go back down.  Apparently I combined doing too much over the weekend with looking for houses and eating a little too much salt that caused it to swell so rapidly.  Such good news that me and baby are still very healthy and just a sign that I don’t need to push myself so hard!
Belly Button in or out? Flatish 🙂
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  Our shower in TN!  We get to celebrate this little one with so many friends we haven’t seen in a while, it is going to be so much fun!

How far along?  32 Weeks
Size of Baby:  Squash
Total weight gain/loss: 14 lbs. according to dr. appt.
Size of belly: 34 cm.
Baby’s heartbeat: 148 bpm
Best moment this week:  Maternity Pictures!! We had a sweet friend take them for us and I am so excited to see them.  It was so much fun getting to take them though and I was so happy the weather cooperated.  We are in a pattern of having sunny blue skies during the day and then rain setting in at about 6:30 and ending about 8.  We planned to do the pictures at 6:30 and it was the one day this week it did not rain!  We had so much fun doing them and even had Simba cooperate for some! 🙂
We also had some amazing neighbors throw us a surprise mini shower!  They were so sweet and we even had the pups there to celebrate with us. 🙂
Miss Anything? Nothing this week.
Movement: Baby is so active during the day!  I am hoping that this means baby has not mixed up days and nights yet 🙂 Once I am ready for bed baby is pretty still and not very active but jumps around all day!
Food cravings: Not really anything this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!
Gender prediction:  I really keep going back and forth this week, not fully convinced.
Labor Signs: none that I’m feeling
Symptoms:  leg cramps, achy lower back, achy shoulders, can’t get comfy, exhausted, bigger appetite, and linea negra (I have had it for a couple of weeks but it is starting to really get darker and longer this week)
Belly Button in or out? Hard to say.. it is still about half flat and half out
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  A calmer week!  We have been so busy this week having at least one thing schedule every day/night.  It will be nice to relax a little next week and get some things done off my to do list!

How far along?  31 Weeks
Size of Baby:  Pineapple
Total weight gain/loss: 15lbs
Best moment this week:  It was so fun to get to spend some time with my parents and celebrate my mom’s birthday!  They were in Colorado for her birthday so it was a late celebration.
We also had our breastfeeding class this week. We both feel more confident after the class and are so happy we decided to take it!
And of course to top this week off, I finally found some maternity jeans AND jean shorts that fit!! It’s sad how excited I am about it. 🙂
Miss Anything? Not this really this week
Movement: Lots and lots! 🙂 Baby moves just about all day long and gets hiccups on average about every other day.
Food cravings: Just about all sweets still! 🙂
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!
Gender prediction:  I’m still thinking boy.
Labor Signs: nope, not that I’m feeling at least
Symptoms:  round ligament pain, achy shoulders/neck, can’t get comfy, and can’t get a deep breath
Belly Button in or out? The top part is starting to pop out but it is still overall flat
Wedding rings on or off? On.. I now check a couple times throughout the day but I can still get them on and off!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:  Not baby related but… God is working with us and is writing an amazing story through us!  We are now looking for a house in full force and I am so excited to know where God will take us next!