Have You Had the Baby Yet?

Welp, I'm officially overdue.  According to the calculators that say baby cooks for 40 weeks (and no more or no less), I've surpassed my cooking time by two days.  I'm still feeling pretty fantastic, but if you ask the surrounding world, something has gone terribly awfully wrong.  It's awfully inconvenient that my body has not ejected the human in a timely fashion (and the long weekend is ending).  

I find it fascinating that everyone except for me is highly concerned about my state, especially women who have already had their own children and know that labor can be um...unpredictable.  I'm just an overachiever and have decided to be pregnant a bit longer.  Whatever it is, I'm enjoying my last few days with an inside baby.  There are a lot of perks if you ask me!

1. You get this awesome basketball that you wear under all your clothes:

You get to go play on the playground and spend time with your favorite people.

You get to use the extra calories excuse to eat dessert.

You get to spend extra time with your first born.

And you get to eat a delicious breakfast with both hands while feeling your little baby kick you.

Not a bad deal if you ask me!  But baby, you're welcome to come out when you're ready.  We're good people here- your dad and big brother will entertain you and I'll make you some cookies if you're good (and when you get your teeth).

Pregnancy Must-Haves

Hey hey! I'm still here and still happily pregnant at 39 weeks, 3 days. Our little boy is still cooking and I am on my second day off of work.  I'm feeling great for the most part and trying to adjust to my new non-schedule.  I've either been in school or working full time ever since I was 15 and not having a structure is nuts, but I'm sure I'll adjust as I get much busier in the next few weeks.

As I'm coming to the end of my pregnancy, I wanted to share my must-have list and the family photos we had taken at 37 weeks.

1. Exercise. I have definitely slowed down towards the end, but yoga, walking, doing the elliptical, riding the bike, and light weight training have been absolutely amazing for my energy levels and health throughout my pregnancy.  I knew weight gain would be a big part of the pregnancy, but I wanted to keep moving so that I felt better and even when I felt bad, I never felt any worse after a walk.

2. My personal trainer.  Now that I'm not feeling the gym so much, my main source of stress relief is walking with my Chino.  People know my obsession with him has no bounds, but this cute little face has lifted my spirits most days and he makes sure that I get out for at least 35-40 minutes every day.  These days he's keeping me company while I'm out on funemployment.

3. Good food.  I ate well during pregnancy.  I hated chocolate until the first 15ish weeks and then I started having some chocolate treats and other treats.  The rest of my food remained pretty much the same as before pregnancy.  Of note, I was hungry between 20 and 30 weeks- "eating like a teenage boy" hungry.  I am still not sure of the validity of pregnancy cravings.  I definitely had a love affair with Trader Joe's popsicles and watermelon and loved water, but I'm not sure the difference between a craving and a preference. I also ate some red meat  in an attempt to get my iron levels back up as I am borderline anemic and have to say I enjoyed it.

4. A few extra pillows.  I did not have one of those pregnancy sleeping contraptions.  I just used a few extra pillows to prop myself up and get comfortable. I don't know how you fit 2 people and a big worm in your bed. I may be one of the lucky people, but I'm still sleeping like a rock.

5. Other mommy/pregnant friends.  I belong to a facebook moms group and it's been so nice to speak to people who are also pregnant.  I also have a friend who just recently had a baby and I appreciate all the real advice.  There is a lot of crap that people don't tell you about and it's great to have a perspective from someone with real experience.

6. A supportive husband.  From dealing with my occasionally neurotic personality, to being there with me for the important medical appointments, I can't think of anyone else I would rather have with me on this journey.  I'm pretty low maintenance, but the husband has stepped up his game to make sure I'm well taken care of.  He is so protective and already a great father.  And he tells my round self that I'm beautiful on a daily basis- something anyone, let alone a very pregnant woman is lucky to hear.

7. A supportive family.  Our parents and my brother and sister-in-law (and favorite nephew) have been great throughout this experience.  They have offered any help we needed, spent countless hours helping during our remodel, and have been our biggest support system.  Most importantly, they have given us our space without trying to choke us- very important!

8. A sense of humor and a positive attitude.  Did you know that pregnancy is a "beautiful experience"?  It's also ridiculously awkward, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright nasty.  You get to see your body change in months, sometimes weeks, and people say a lot of stupid sh*t to you.  They ask inappropriate questions, tell you you'll never sleep again, and ask about your weight gain- breaking a cardinal rule of talking to any woman ever.  Keeping a sense of humor and maintaining a positive attitude have probably helped me maintain some relationships and kept me going.  If anything, I have tried to fake it or kill people with kindness so that I don't say anything offensive.

We've reached all the milestones and are as ready as we can be.  Now I'm patiently waiting for the baby to show up.  If he's anything like his mama, he's going to be late, but hopefully he's a little more efficient like his father!

Full Term and More

Between being absent for three weeks growing a human and not doing much of food blogging, I have a lot to catch up on.  Things are finally winding down around the house and at work, and this whole having a baby deal is starting to get real.  I think for now I'll abandon the weekly updates since things are pretty stable these days.

First, let's catch up on the last 3 weeks of bumpage:

35 weeks:

36 weeks:

37 weeks:

My 37 week picture is from a set of family/maternity pictures we had taken this past weekend and while I was on the fence about maternity pictures, I'm so glad we have been able to capture these moments.  I have loved growing my little boy and I'm so happy to have these memories.

I'll be back with more pictures from our shoot as well as my pregnancy essentials in the next couple of posts, but I wanted to stop by and say hello!  Baby is still cooking and I'm still doing great.  What's new with you?