35 Weeks

That's right. I'm 35 weeks pregnant. I can hardly believe that the time has flown as fast as it has. With the whirlwind of a crappy year that we've had, it's so nice to have something so happy and joyous to look forward to now. It's incredible to think that I will be holding a baby anytime from tomorrow until 4 weeks from now. It's been a really smooth, and really pleasant pregnancy so far. I've felt pretty good (up until the last week or so), haven't had the re-occurrence of morning sickness that I did with Emma, and have had really great doctor's reports and ultrasounds.

The tentative "plan" is to wait until I'm around 38-39 weeks pregnant and do an ultrasound. It will likely show (or they'll MAKE it show!) that Abby's huge and recommend scheduling a c-section around week 39. I had a really hideous tear with Emma and the doctor has informed me that, while it may not happen again, the damage is cumulative. My insurance won't cover an "elective c-section," but we're trying to make it work. Particularly because it looks like Abby's gonna be a big girl too. My gestational diabetes diagnosis also means that she has a much higher risk of being big.

Abby looks gorgeous in her ultrasounds - and looks NOTHING like Emma did! The ultrasound tech even told me at my last appointment that she appears to have a full head of hair! I can't even IMAGINE what that would be like. I can barely get bows to stay in Emma's hair now, even if she would let me!

She's a big girl. She was in the 67th percentile at my last ultrasound and likely now weighs in around 6 lbs. According to my pregnancy journal from Emma's pregnancy, by next week, she was registering at 6lbs. 13oz. Abby has been almost the exact same size that Emma was at each ultrasound, so it will be curious to see how big she is at my next ultrasound appointment.

I'm now going twice a week to the doctor. Yep. Twice a week I get to find someone to watch Emma, drive 30 minutes in traffic to the doctor's office, be hooked up to a non-stress test machine for at least 20 minutes, and then have an appointment with a doctor. It's not pleasant. I know that it's important for Abby's health though, so I do it anyway. The reason for such frequent visits is my gestational diabetes. It's very well managed right now, but around the time that we lost my Dad, the doctor thinks that stress caused it to get a little crazy.

They look for fetal movement, elevations and dips in her heartrate, and contractions. I DID have a few contractions at my last appointment, but the doctor said that it didn't appear to be a "labor pattern," and wasn't too concerned.

Abby's so precious already. She moves a TON. She never stops. She's head down and gets the hiccups a lot. She is so much more well-behaved than Emma was in-utero! Emma used to keep me up all night kicking, and hated it if I laid on my left side. Abby hasn't done any of that. She DOES wake up a lot right before we go to bed, but she eventually calms down and I don't feel her the rest of the night. Her kicks still creep Brad out pretty bad. They're VERY strong and you can really see them through my clothes. She's reached the point where you can feel a foot/knee/leg, etc. as it moves across my belly. Sweet, but a little creepy!

She kicks Emma's butt (literally) every night. After Brad puts her jammies on her, she sits in my lap for stories and prayers. Abby has a pretty good sense of humor because she will wake up and start kicking Emma HARD in the booty. I don't think Emma has really noticed it yet though - that night time diaper is pretty darn thick!

She's very high in my belly, and I got my first case of heartburn today. Emma was usually considered to be fairly low throughout my pregnancy, causing a ton of hip and pelvic pain. **knock on wood** I haven't had any of that with Abby. It's really been a very different pregnancy. My face hasn't broken out as it did with Emma, my heart hasn't raced, I'm not out of breath often, and though my back hurts like HELL, that's really my only discomfort.

Since we moved Emma into her big girl room, we've been working to clean out the nursery and get it ready for Abby. I've already washed all of the newborn clothes (was Emma EVER that small??) and have even started washing the newborn diapers. They're SO cute!!

We plan to use disposable diapers only as long as we feel like we need to. I've got infant prefolds and covers, and borrowed some newborn diapers from a really sweet lady that we met in Helen, GA on our last vacation with Emma - we bonded over cloth! I've got a case of newborn diapers, but don't plan on needing much past that point. I feel like we are already doing the laundry with Emma's diapers, and some extra isn't a big deal. We're already in the swing of things.

Just as soon as Brad gets done with school (Monday is post-planning and then he's DONE!) we're going to get the co-sleeper, swing, bouncy seat, etc. out of the basement and washed and ready to go. It won't be long now!

I can't wait to hold this sweet little baby in my arms. I also can't wait to see how Emma is with her new sister. I'm so incredibly happy for both of them and the bond that I know they will share as they grow.

The first picture is 35 weeks with Emma. The second is 35 weeks with Abby. I think they look darn near identical - including the fact that I look and feel like a cow in both of them!! ;)