35 week update

Today week marks 35 weeks and since so many people have asked, I felt I should put a quick update out here. I am posting in a new picture in the belly growth series in case you are curious to see the big belly! I am still feeling absolutely great! Robbie and I are still able to go for hour long walks or so most days of the week. Bella is still an incredibly active baby...I am fairly certain she only sleeps about an hour a day. Now that she is bigger we are able to identify her little feet and hands when they push out my stomach. It seems there is constantly one body part or another sticking out of my stomach now…

My doctor is requiring me to do non-stress tests (NSTs) weekly which is somewhat of an inconvenience but at the same time it is nice to hear her little heartbeat each week and see how much she moves. For those not familiar (no worries…I wasn’t either!) an NST monitors both the baby’s heartbeat and the number of movements in an hour. To have a successful test the baby has to have at least 6 movements in an hour and they have to a few different types of movements. So far, the doctor has stopped the test early each time because Bella has moved so much there is no need to continue. The last appointment Robbie came along for and the doctor stopped it after about 15 minutes. She had to have moved at least 30 times in that 15 minutes – it is crazy! Rob was laughing at her repeatedly kicking the movement monitor strapped around my belly (it makes a loud noise when she does, kind of like tapping a microphone). I guess she still hasn’t gotten over her space issues. We hope she lets us hold her without freaking out!

I am not to the point yet where I want her out…in fact, I hope she stays in all the way through her due date. I worry more about her coming early! Our crib came in this weekend and Robbie was anxious to pick it up and put it together (wheww!). We finally got our stroller lined up and a glider/rocker put together but I still feel like there are 100 projects around home I’d like to get done before this little girl takes over our lives. My plan is to pack my overnight bag with a month to go and put it by the door – I figure if I didn’t have it packed she would probably surprise us but it seems like if you are prepared you end up waiting! Robbie lectures Bella on occasion telling her she is not allowed to get here more than a week early. We will see if she listens! It is possible we will get more anxious towards the end but for now I think we are both extremely content having her stay put for awhile.

Each appointment the doctor comments on my little belly but I am measuring right where I should and right in the middle of the recommended weight gain so she is happy with that. The baby books say Annabelle should be around 5 pounds now and 20”. She is just now able to touch my ribs on occasion but tends to hang out in other parts of my belly instead. With only 5 weeks to go she doesn’t have too much more to grow so I feel like we are on the downhill slide now!

Robbie putting together Annabelle's crib

He made me double check every bolt to make sure it was safe :)

Innie or Outie?!? Neither! My belly button is gone!!