33 weeks

Thirty-three weeks. That's insane! It's going by way too quickly. I thought I would get to this point and be so huge & uncomfortable, and ready to be done. But I'm not. I feel truly blessed to have had a fairly uneventful, and dare I say pleasant, pregnancy. I love being pregnant, and can't wait to do it all over again :) Baby He measures about 19.4 inches from head to toe and weighs about 4.4 pounds. The next few weeks will mark lots of growth in the baby. He will gain more than half its birth weight in the next seven weeks. Baby begins to move less now as it runs out of room and curls up with knees bent, chin resting on chest and arms and legs crossed. Mama The uterus is about 5.2 inches (13.2cm) above your navel, and you've gained between 22 (10kg) and 28 pounds (13kg). Of the pound(454g) a week you're gaining now, roughly half is going to your baby. Mom & I went shopping at the outlets yesterday. I have a bunch of Pottery Barn gift cards I wanted to spend, and thought I could get more bang for my buck by going to the outlets, instead of paying full price in the store or online. And I was right. I picked up an Anywhere Chair insert for $29. Right now it's on sale online for $70, plus a $10 over-sized shipping surcharge, plus regular shipping. So I definitely got a deal on that! They didn't have any covers at the outlet, unless pink polka dots were going to work in his room :) So I'll have to pay full price for that. Oh well. I also picked up a mobile that's been discontinued...for $1.97. Stay tuned for a little makeover DIY project involving that. We also made out really well at the Old Navy outlet. They didn't have a huge selection of baby clothes, but what they did have was all current. And 40% off, plus an additional 20% off. Score. I picked up these... and a bunch of other stuff.

About our classes - So far we've had 2 childbirth classes. Joe was only able to make it to the second one. Steph had to fill in when he was in Chicago for the first. There's only one other couple in the class, which makes it very personal. I like that. Not a million people asking questions. And way less people to goof-off and joke around when the the instructor says vagina a million times a night. The instructor is pretty great. She's "crunchy", but you can tell she tries to keep her opinions and ideas to herself, because that's not what they pay her to teeach. Although I wish she would... because I've become pretty crunchy myself lately :) So far we've talked about relaxation breathing. She taught a lot of the same techniques I read about in Hypnobirthing, whice I've borrowed from the library again. Last week we discussed early labor signs, and how to cope through the early stages so you don't have to spend hours & hours at the hospital - where they don't allow you to walk the halls or eat {such bullsh*t}! We have 3 more classes, and then a tour of Labor & Delivery. I'm really looking forward to that. The Newborn Parenting class was a lot of fun. It was just us, and the same couple that is in our childbirth class. And the same "crunchy" instructor. Joe got to bathe, diaper & dress the doll. And he did a great job... he's a natural. We learned about swaddling, a la Happiest Baby on the Block- which I've read cover to cover twice already. My mom's reading it now. And then we're having movie night to watch it on DVD before the babe gets here!