Full Term

How far along: 37 weeks 

Total weight gain: 31 pounds

Maternity clothes: Absolutely!  And, well, honestly, they're getting a little snug these days too.

Stretch marks: Amazingly enough, no!

Sleep:  Oh, how I miss sleep!  Between being 9 months pregnant, Cooper randomly calling for his mommy during the night ("Mommy, I want you!!!!!"), and Karl's snoring (his allergies are really bad right now), a good night's sleep seems impossible!  I typically get up at least twice to go to the bathroom, but there have been nights that I've gotten up six times to go.  That would be bad enough, but sometimes I have the hardest time going back to sleep.  I'll be awake for over an hour just trying to get comfortable and fall sleep.  It drives me crazy!  Thank goodness Cooper still takes naps, and I can lay down with him for a little bit every day.  

Best moment of this week:  Just knowing Jake is now a full term baby!  I remember very clearly sitting in our fertility doctor's office almost five years ago (can't believe it's been that long ago) and her going over the risks associated with having a T-shaped uterus.  They were all risks that our unborn child would face because its mama had a misshapen uterus.  I sat there feeling so sad, scared, and ashamed.  But God is good...so very, very good...and by His grace, I have now carried two little boys to term with no complications from my screwed up uterus!  

Food cravings: I have been loving Greek yogurt and cucumbers with hummus!  I eat that almost every day, and I'm very unsatisfied on the days I don't!  We used to joke that I ate so much Mexican food with Cooper that we should name him Juan.  I guess this is my little Greek baby!  I still have a very soft spot for big, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies.  It's just hard to find one that is just right.  However, Chick Fil A does a very good job of making a fantastic chocolate chip cookie that satisfies this Big Mama!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not food, but I've become very sensitive to feeling car sick if I read in the car.  This started back in August.  I've noticed that I can't read anything at all while I'm in the car or I start feeling very queasy.  

Have you started to show yet: I'm huge.  There's no other way to describe it.  And people are so sweet.  Everyone asks when my baby is due, and everyone tells me how great I look for being so far along and that I don't look like it's my birth month.  For a long time, I was flattered and thought maybe the hugeness was just my imagination, but every time I saw my reflection, I thought, "Wow, that's a big belly!!!"  And it just gets bigger by the day!  So now I've come to accept that people are just sweet to pregnant women and don't really mean the kind words they're saying, and truth be told, I would rather them lie to me than tell me that yes, I am in fact huge and it is a wonder that I am only having one baby despite how incredibly large I look!  It has definitely restored my faith in mankind.  People truly are good at heart, and big ol' pregnant women bring that out for the world to see!

Gender: A sweet baby boy

Labor signs: Every now and then my body will get a little overly excited with contractions, but for the most part, I just have random, sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions.  Last week I started having contractions, and they were becoming more and more regular and closer together.  I was sitting on the sofa trying to stay in complete denial that I could possibly be going into labor when Karl said, "Are you nervous??!!"  Although I realized I wasn't really nervous (thanks to the denial), I could tell he was, and it made me laugh. 

Belly button in or out: It is totally poking straight out, and it looks so funny!!  It looks like someone took my belly button and literally turned it inside out!  As Cooper says, "Mommy's belly button closed!"

Wedding rings on or off: They are off, as is my watch.  I only made it a few more days after my post at 33 weeks when I decided it was best to put them away for now.  I'm not nearly as swollen as I was with Cooper, but I'm obviously bigger all over this time.  

Happy or moody most of the time: I still love being pregnant and would prefer being pregnant over not being pregnant, but I am getting pretty uncomfortable at this point.  Jake is doing his job and growing big and is taking up a lot of room in my body!  However, I love having him with me all the time, so that keeps me pretty happy.  I haven't been moody in a grumpy sense, but I have been increasingly sensitive about the way our lives are about to change lately.  I have pre-baby jitters, which give me a nice little cry session at least once a day.  I worry that Cooper won't be as close to me after Jake is born.  I worry that I'll never bond with Jake the way I have with Cooper.  I worry that Jake won't love me the way Cooper does.  I worry that I won't be able to love Jake as much as I do Cooper. I'm just feeling very anxious and nervous about how to be a good mom to both boys and whether or not I'll be the mom they need me to be.  My greatest fear is that one or both them will never know how much I love them and how my heart beats for them.  I know once Jake is born, all of these worries will disappear and I will fall madly in love with him just like I did with his big brother and that the love between all of us will be bigger, stronger, and deeper than before because there will be another little person in our family.  I know the bonds will form over time between Jake and me and Jake and Cooper and that we'll all make special memories with each other.  I know I will love my boys equally, but not the exact same because they are different.  I will love them for who they are.  I know all of these things.  BUT... for today, my heart is nervous, anxious, excited, and scared.  At some point this month, I'm having another baby, and the reality of that miracle happening is a lot to digest!

Looking forward to: Seeing this little man in action as a big brother!  He loves his baby brother a whole bunch already, and although I know the beginning may be a little rough as he adjusts to not being an only child any more, he is going to be such an awesome helper and protector of this baby.