week 35 & baby showers galore

Week 35 is finished! This week was a busy week and I felt tired all week long.  It's been a week filled with lists of things to get done and working on crossing things off slowly but surely.  There is a fair bit that needs to be completed in the next two weeks, that I'm a tad overwhelmed by it all.  Time to just take some deep breathes and power through one day at a time.

One of the things keeping me super busy is work, which is progressing and moving along.  Let me just say that I am SO very ready to be done teaching for the time being.  I've been counting down for a while now and am thrilled that there are only 8 more days of school left! YAY! That said, I'm also super sad about leaving my kiddos behind this year as we have bonded so much, however, I know that this decision is the best.  For those of you who don't know, I am going to be on maternity leave from Dec 21st until the first day back to school sometime in early August.  WOHOO!

At the moment, Matt, baby, and I are feeling super blessed and loved right now.  In the last month, we've got to enjoy two baby showers that were done for the three of us.  One was a baby shower done through the mail and the other was a baby shower done at work.  We are so overwhelmed with the love and support from our friends and colleagues and so VERY thankful to everyone who played a part in making this little family feel so special!

The baby shower in a box came from our amazing friends Angie, Morten, and Baby Sebastian in Hong Kong.  They sent a package in the mail filled with all sorts of fun wrapped goodies for all three of us.  We had a blast opening up the presents and exploring the insightful gifts they sent our way since they are just new parents themselves.  Thank you so much guys! :)

Christmas came early! 

 

All the great stuff and the fun notes they included with every gift!

The baby shower at school was hosted by three awesome women, Cricket, Julie, and Sue.  They are all very special friends/colleagues that we have known for a long time.  They planned a wonderful shower filled with yummy foods, fun games, and lots of love.  Many of our friends/colleagues from school gave up their Friday afternoon to hang out and show their support for our growing family.  They all also totally went above and beyond in regards to their generosity and has set up baby boy to be one well dressed super clean kid! We opened a ridiculous amount of presents and honestly were just blown away with how thoughtful and kind everyone was.  Thank you ALL so very much! :)

 

Invite & Matching Cake

 Feeling the love!

Food & Quilt Surprise

Now it's time for the weekly photo update.  This belly is ever growing and feels super tight, which leads me to think that it will just continue to get bigger as the weeks progress.  With only four weeks to go, I've heard baby is gonna grow, grow, GROW! Hopefully not too much though! :) 

Oh baby! He is getting bigger!

** Some Highlights **

Symptoms: Things are the same...I'm feeling tired, out of breathe, hot, uncomfortable, and experiencing some nausea again....fun times! That said, I am totally working on enjoying this entire pregnancy, the good, the bad, and the ugly because I know that a part of me will totally miss this bonding time with baby when he is out.  

Total Weight Gain: About 12 kgs+....we'll find out at the next doctor's visit in two weeks.

Cravings: I've been feeling nauseas again, so I'm back to eating crackers.  Unfortunately I've been choosing the Chocolate Pocky instead of the basic Ritz crackers or saltines.  Oh well!

Maternity Clothes: Still doing a mix...kind of.  

Wedding Ring: On, but it does leave a mark when I take it off in the evenings.

Sleep: I had a decent week of sleep and am seriously loving my long body pillow.  I've been getting up once a night consistently now, but besides from one terrible night, I've been able to fall back to sleep easily.

Belly Button: Outie.

Other: We have been taking a Baby Class with four other couples this last week.  It has been so informative and helpful.  Hopefully we'll remember everything from the classes when it is time for baby to come out! :) 

Fun story: So I've woken up from leg cramps a couple times this week.  The worse was on Saturday morning though.  It was so painful and felt as though it was moving up my entire leg.  I couldn't massage the cramp easily because my belly is in the way now and my hand was numb and tingly, so I started yelling for Matt.  I think I scared him a bit as after yelling his name a few times, he flew into the room.  Once he figured out what was wrong, he very kindly massaged my leg.  We had a good laugh later because I sounded SO pitiful calling out his name while trying to grab my leg.  It wasn't a good moment.  The scariest part though was the sudden realization that the leg cramp hurt enough for me to call for help and somehow (in about four weeks time) I'm going to deliver our baby boy without any medication....ummm...yikes!