Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he’s in a head-down position. But if he isn’t, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an “external cephalic version,” which is a fancy way of saying she’ll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.

How far along: 36 weeks.

Total weight gain: I’ve gained 3 lbs. in the last month; remember, I didn’t gain any weight between my last two appointments, so I’m up to 38 lbs. total weight gain.

Report – Prenatal Appointment: All is well with baby boy and I! His heart beat was around 150 beats per minute, and I’m measuring at 37 weeks (still a week ahead, but that’s okay, my doctor says!). The doctor checked my cervix today, and I’m not dilated, which is also good. I also had the Group B Strep test today; if the test comes back positive, then the doctors give me a shot when I’m in labor so that the baby doesn’t get Group B Strep, too.

{My 36-week baby belly:}

{What I’m Wearing: Yellow T-Shirt (non-maternity; Francesca’s Collections); Cream sweater (non-maternity; Forever 21); scarf (a gift from my cousin Kristen); ring (Francesca’s Collections); earrings (RachelleD on Etsy); capris (Motherhood Maternity)}

Best moments of the week: Defending (and passing) my M.A. thesis last Friday; spending a restful weekend at home with our families; eating my father-in-law’s homemade fajitas on Saturday night; spending the day Sunday oohing and aahing over our maternity photos; packing up our little one-bedroom apartment in preparation for our move on Friday!

Showcase: Our Maternity Photos {By Creative Kindling}

Take a look at a few of my favorite shots from our maternity shoot with Creative Kindling! Remember, this husband-and-wife photography team also photographed our wedding; we love them!

Nesting report: Since we’re moving to a two-bedroom apartment in just a few days, I’ve taken all of our pictures down from the walls, packed up all of our decorator items, books and DVDs into boxes for easy moving. I’ve also corralled all of the baby’s things into our bedroom – you should see all that the baby has for his bedroom! I’ve also been washing linens and rugs like a crazy woman – all I have to do is wash and dry our new shower curtain for our second bathroom tomorrow, and then we’ll be all set to move with fresh and clean linens everywhere!

When we were home last weekend, Jordan and I saw the baby’s furniture in its final painted form – it looks so awesome! I can’t wait to show you all the nursery, once we get all of the furniture in the room and the room decorated!

What I’m looking forward to: MOVING!; finally getting to nest!; being so close to full term (which is 37 weeks).

My First Mama’s Day: I had a wonderful first Mama’s Day on Sunday. I woke up and spent the morning with my husband and my side of the family; we ate a delicious brunch and then opened gifts. My Mom loved her gift from Jordan and I, which was a fun wooden sign that said something sweet about Grandmas. I also was given a few gifts – our little boy got me One Tree Hill – Season 9 on DVD! His Daddy must have told him how much I love that show – I now have the complete series on DVD, and I couldn’t be happier. Wyatt the Dog also got me a book to read to his baby brother called Pat the Puppy – how sweet. :) My family also got me a devotional book that’s written especially for new moms – yay! Lastly, my mother-in-law and father-in-law gifted me a beautiful rose and one of the sweetest cards ever for Mother’s Day. It was a wonderful day, and I felt so special! I couldn’t help saying throughout the day that I can’t wait to be a Mama “for real” in a few weeks when our baby boy arrives!

Next appointment: Our next prenatal appointment (and our next ultrasound appointment) are both on May 25.

Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

Your baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver now that he’s over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it’s so snug in your womb, he isn’t likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

How far along: 35 weeks.

Total weight gain: I didn’t have a prenatal appointment this week, and I don’t own a scale, so I have no clue! But I’m around 35 pounds of weight gain total for the pregnancy, as of last week.

{My 35-week baby belly (here I am, ready to defend my M.A. Thesis)}

{What I’m Wearing: Top + Skirt (Motherhood Maternity); Black + Gold Wedge Heels (Nine West); Earrings (Target)}

Best moments of the week: Finishing the revision process of my M.A. thesis on Monday – it’s certainly a surreal feeling to be done!; baby-sitting our 3-month-old nephew Jaxsen overnight this week from Wednesday to Thursday – it was so much fun, and he’s such a good little baby!; defending my thesis this afternoon!

Nesting report: This week hasn’t been too busy in the nesting department, as there is not much that I can actually do in preparation for our move. We plan to utilize mostly laundry baskets and the like to move most of our stuff from our current place to our new apartment, three doors down, but I do plan to take pictures down from the walls, pack up decorator items, books and DVDs into boxes (for easy moving) next week. I also plan to try and do a little bit of cleaning each day around the apartment, so that there isn’t much to do for Jordan in the evenings and for our families when they come to help us move on Friday! I can’t do too much, though, at 35 weeks pregnant, but I’ll do my best!

I also washed our bedroom comforter this week, as well as the curtains for the baby’s room. We are using the white MATILDA curtains from IKEA for the baby’s room to keep things light and airy. We were using these curtains in our bedroom, but now we have new charcoal grey curtains that I CANNOT WAIT to hang!. The furniture for the baby’s room is also all ready to be moved – everything is painted and looks great, according to the painting crew (i.e. my parents). I can’t wait to see the furniture all painted when we go home this weekend for Mother’s Day!

Lastly, I’ve been having a blast designing our baby announcements with the help of an Etsy seller who offers custom printable birth announcements; I’ve already seen a proof of the announcement (which, of course, is missing the baby’s statistics, like birthday, height, weight, name, etc.), and it looks adorable! I can’t wait until the baby’s born so that we can send these suckers out. :)

What I’m looking forward to: Eating my father-in-law’s famous fajitas on Saturday; celebrating Mother’s Day with our Mamas {and celebrating my “first” Mother’s Day as a Mama-to-be!}; moving next week; being so close to full term (which is 37 weeks)!

What I miss: Lunch meat. I haven’t eaten any lunch meat throughout my pregnancy (unless it’s warmed up in an oven or comes toasted, like a sub) out of caution; since listeria is one of the only infections that can be transmitted to the baby across the placenta, I’ve been avoiding lunch meat throughout my pregnancy. But, a Jimmy John’s just opened in Vermillion, and it’s KILLING me not to be able to get a yummy Beach Club from there! I already told Jordan that I want a Beach Club from Jimmy John’s after I give birth as my post-birth meal :)

Next appointment: Our next prenatal appointment is May 17. Our next ultrasound appointment is May 25.

Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he’s born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you’ve been nervous about preterm labor, you’ll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

How far along: 34 weeks.

Total weight gain: I weigh the same as last time – yay! Total weight gain so far is around 35 pounds.

Report – This Week’s Prenatal Appointment: All is well with Baby Gillis! His heartbeat was right around 140 again today, and the doctor thinks that he is in a head-down position again (remember, he was breech last week!). The most interesting thing from today’s appointment is that I’m measuring large for dates! The doctor today measured me at about 37 centimeters, which has me about 3 weeks ahead measurement-wise. However, we saw a different doctor than our usual practitioner today, and the doctor that we saw today estimated that she and our doctor may measure a bit differently, which could explain what was going on.

After the appointment, we scheduled our next prenatal appointment – for 36 weeks! – and we also scheduled an ultrasound in my 37th week to check on the baby’s growth and my amniotic fluid levels, as recommended by the perinatologist that we saw in Sioux Falls.

I asked a bunch of questions at today’s appointment, and here’s what I found out: Jordan and I don’t need to worry about pre-registering before I go into labor, since the hospital takes care of all of that. Whew! I also found out which number to call if I have questions about my pregnancy outside of clinic hours (while the nurse who led our baby class told us to call the hospital with any questions that we might have, she never gave us the number to call!). Finally, I learned that it’s good practice (if possible) to call ahead when I think that I am experiencing labor pains, so that the hospital staff can ready the birthing room and rearrange their staffing of nurses, if necessary. I’m also supposed to go in to the hospital as soon as my contractions are five minutes apart and have lasted for at least one hour. Finally, I asked the doctor if/when I should be home-bound and not visit Sioux Falls for weekend-long trips; while she encouraged me not to worry too much about it, since Vermillion and Sioux Falls are only an hour apart, she mentioned that if I was concerned, I should limit my weekends in Sioux Falls at around the 36-week mark.

Pictures:

{What I’m Wearing: Blue Dress (Maternity – Old Navy); Earrings (A Gift from my Husband for our Wedding!); Black Headband (Target); Bracelet (A Gift from my Brother and his Girlfriend – Fossil)}

Best moments of the week: Submitting my students’ final grades and officially signing off as a USD teaching assistant – sad but exciting, since I’m so close to my next (and most important!) “job” as a fulltime Mama!; finding out on Wednesday that our two-bedroom apartment will be ready for us to move into in just two weeks, which means that we’ll likely be settled in our new place before baby boy joins us!; finishing revising my thesis introduction and the first and second chapters – I have only the conclusion left to revise before I defend my thesis next Friday, May 11!

Nesting report: As I mentioned above, we learned yesterday that we can move into our new two-bedroom apartment (which is located in our same apartment complex, just three doors down) on May 18! We are SO excited to move, and we’re feeling so blessed to be able to move before our baby comes, and to have family and friends stepping up to help us move. Of course, I can’t wait to set up the baby’s room – that’s priority #1 for me (other than rebuilding our bed in our new apartment, ha – this pregnant lady has to have somewhere to sleep!).

In other nesting news, we were blessed to receive gifts for our little man from Jordan’s aunt and uncle this past weekend, so I washed up all of the clothing that they gave us and stored them with the rest of his clothes. I also washed the last cloth diaper that we own – my Mom borrowed it to show her coworkers, so I couldn’t wash it with the rest of the batch, but as of today, all of the diapers are washed, sized and ready to go when the baby fits into them! Our crib has also arrived, and truthfully, I wish we were moving into our new apartment RIGHT NOW so that we could build the crib – it’s driving me nuts to have to stare at the box and not be able to build it (or have my brother build it, which is his job, ha!).

My parents are finishing up their job as painters of the baby’s furniture – as of Wednesday night, the dresser is completely done, the rocker is nearly done, and the changing table/dresser has its first coat of paint on it! I can’t wait to see all of the furniture in the baby’s room after we move – I know that it will look so cute! :)

Finally, I’ve also been corresponding with an Etsy seller who offers custom printable birth announcements. While I was planning on purchasing birth announcements from Shutterfly, I want something a little more creative and cutesy than Shutterfly offers for birth announcements. I just LOVE what this seller is offering us, for a SUPER price, so I’ll save my wonderful gift cards to Shutterfly (which the Motherhood Maternity store gives out like candy!) for our baptism invitations/announcements and a few surprise gifts later in the year for family members :) I’m hoping that my Dad will help us print our announcements soon after the baby is born; his coworkers helped us with our wedding stationery, and it was such an enjoyable process!

What I’m looking forward to: Baby-sitting my 3-month-old nephew overnight this week – it’ll be great practice for me as a Mama, plus he’s just so darn cute and cuddly!; defending my thesis on May 11 – even though I’m nervous about it, I’m ready to defend my work; going home next weekend to see one of Jordan’s good buddies who will be in town; eating my father-in-law’s famous fajitas next Saturday; celebrating Mother’s Day with our Mamas!

What I miss: Sleeping well. I miss being able to go to bed at nine o’clock knowing that I will sleep until morning with no major issues with comfort! That being said, I know that I’ll be even more sleep-deprived when the baby arrives, so I’m trying to do my best to get some shut eye while I can!

Next appointment: Our next prenatal appointment is May 17. Our next ultrasound appointment is May 25.

Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He’s rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren’t fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don’t entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

How far along: 33 weeks.

Total weight gain: At the perinatologist appointment, the doctors weighed me, and I believe that I am up a pound or two from last week. So, I’m estimating around 35 lbs. of total weight gain so far! That’s getting near the top end of weight gain for pregnant women, but that’s nothing too worry about as of yet.

Report – Geneticist/Perinatologist Appointment: Jordan and I feel SO blessed to share that everything is going well with our little man, and that at this point, there is no reason for us to worry about the baby’s shorter limbs. After meeting with a genetic counselor and undergoing another ultrasound with both a sonographer and the perinatologist himself, we learned that what’s most likely going on is that our little boy’s body will be shaped a lot like his papa’s body – shorter limbs combined with “normal-sized” head, torso, hands and feet. We feel so blessed and so thankful that we don’t have to worry about our baby having any serious complications or disorders. While we would have been able to handle whatever God gave to us with our son, we feel SO blessed to have a healthy, growing boy.

We will have another ultrasound at our hospital in Vermillion in four weeks (when I’m 37 weeks-ish) to make sure that the baby has continued to grow, but assuming that all goes well in that check-up (as the perinatologist expects), the specialist we saw today sees no reason for us to change our birth plan (which is to have the baby in Vermillion). The only reason we would need to give birth in Sioux Falls is if we needed access to the NICU there, but the perinatologist doesn’t foresee any issues with our baby – yay!

Thank you to all of our family members and friends for your extra love, support and prayers this week – we feel so fortunate to have such a loving community pulling for us and for our little man!

Pictures:

{What I’m Wearing: T-shirt (non-maternity; Ann Taylor LOFT); Sweater (non-maternity; Express); jeans (Motherhood Maternity); earrings (vintage)}

Best moments of the week: Teaching my final two classes of ENGL 101 – I’ll greatly miss most of my students this semester, but it is so nice to be one step closer to the end of the semester, and one BIG step closer to being a Mama; learning that everything is looking wonderful with our little man; getting a “thumbs up” from our little boy in our ultrasound this week; finishing off my independent study on short fiction stories this semester; hearing great things about my writing in my thesis workshop this week – I’m planning to defend my thesis in mid-May!; reading what my husband’s looking forward to most about being a daddy.

Strange dreams: I woke up on Tuesday morning crying because of a dream I had, in which my husband picked me up on Christmas Day from my Grandma’s old house in Sioux Falls – in my dream, I was devastated because one of my uncles, who apparently was “in charge” of Christmas that year, wanted us all to eat Christmas dinner at the airport! I distinctly remember my dad chasing me down the street as Jordan and I pulled away from the house.

Then, later that morning, after I fell back asleep, I had a dream that I was still 32 weeks pregnant, but that I was in labor! I was 3 centimeters dilated, and the scariest part – the hospital wouldn’t let me call Jordan to tell him that I was in labor!! I’ve always had strange, vivid dreams – my entire life, I swear – but my dreams sure have taken a stranger turn during pregnancy!

Nesting report: At the beginning of the week, I washed our little man’s crib sheets, one of his changing pad covers, his little 4th of July jammies – so cute!, a few pairs of athletic-type socks for our boy, and my new aden + anais swaddle blankets (my one expensive request this pregnancy – thanks, Mom and Dad – they are so cozy!). I also sized down and stuffed our little Fuzzibunz pocket diapers – they look so tiny and cute waiting for our little man to fit into them! As a reminder, little newborn babies usually don’t fit into one-size cloth diapers until they are about one month old, so we’ll be using earth-friendly disposable diapers for a few weeks until our little guy can fit into our cloth diapers. We can’t wait!

This past weekend, my family and I also worked on sanding down the baby’s dresser and rocking chair to prepare for primer and paint – I can’t wait to get everything painted so that we can finally put away all of our little man’s clothes and start decorating his “nursery,” which, as you’ll remember, is located in our bedroom until we get the word that we can move into our new two-bedroom apartment. As of mid-week, my parents have already primed the furniture, and they plan to put the first coat of paint on two pieces of the furniture this weekend – we’re so excited! I also ordered the crib from Amazon this week – YAY! The baby’s birth feels so close now, especially with the crib on its way to us :)

What I’m looking forward to: Jordan’s Aunt Vicki & Uncle JR are visiting this weekend, and I’m so excited to see them! I’m also looking forward to our maternity photo shoot this weekend – we’re teaming up again with Kara and Aaron of Creative Kindling, and we can’t wait to see how our pictures turn out! I’ll be back next week with a full report, and maybe even a teaser photo or two :)

What I miss: Trying out new (to me) yummy red wine! With Vicki & JR in town, there’s sure to be a fun wine to try, and I miss being able to pair wine with food to see how the taste of the wine changes! Soon enough, though, I’ll be able to sneak more than just a sip every now and then :)

Next appointment: Our next prenatal appointment is on May 4 at 8:45 A.M. Our doctor will be out of town, so we will be seeing one of her colleagues – I’m excited to meet her! If I’m counting correctly, I only have two more appointments that will occur every two weeks (the one on May 4 and the one after that), and then we’ll start seeing the doctor every week – it’s crazy how time flies!

Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he’ll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

How far along: 32 weeks.

Total weight gain: 33 lbs. total; gained 2 pounds in two weeks. Right on track, according to my doctor!

Report – Recent Prenatal Appointment: We had our 32-week ultrasound and a prenatal check-up on Thursday of this week. In our ultrasound appointment, we learned that our little boy has HAIR! We could see little strands of hair on the back of his head on the ultrasound – so adorable and so unexpected, especially since Jordan and I were both bald at birth! We also got a few 3D pictures of our little guy, and I swear, he has my nose! He also is sporting some adorable chubby cheeks :) All of baby’s biology looked good (great brain, great heart, good size head and abdomen), but we did learn that our little man’s legs and arms are measuring a bit short. While our doctor says that we shouldn’t necessarily be alarmed, especially since our little guy is doing so well physically otherwise, she is sending us to visit a perinatologist (a specialist) next week in Sioux Falls to check out what’s going on with baby’s limbs. Jordan and I are trying not to worry, but if you could please keep us and our little man in your prayers, we’d very much appreciate it!

At my prenatal appointment, we learned that I’ve gained 2 pounds since my last appointment, and that baby’s heart rate sounds great at about 140 bpm.

Pictures:

{What I’m Wearing: Brown sweater (non-maternity) – Ann Taylor Loft; Jeans – Motherhood Maternity}

Nursery update: This past weekend, my parents came to visit, and they brought along a mile-long list of baby items that I requested. Let’s just say that the nesting urge has hit me hard! (As a reminder, Jordan and I are still waiting to hear when we will be able to move into our two-bedroom apartment, so for now, we’re making a home for the baby in our current one-bedroom apartment.)

Jordan and I deep-cleaned the apartment (I even organized under the kitchen sink and under our bed, and I also vacuumed our baseboards!). Jordan and my Dad moved our dresser in our bedroom so that we have room on one wall of our bedroom for the baby’s furniture, like the crib, his dresser, etc. My Dad put together a little bouncy seat for our boy, and my Dad and Jordan put together the Pack ‘n’ Play as well, so that I could “visualize” baby hanging out and sleeping in our room :) While the boys were hard at work, my Mom and I organized and hung up some of our little man’s clothes. We also put the baby’s blankets/towels/socks/shoes/hats/etc. into little baskets in our Expedit shelving unit from IKEA, which currently resides in our living room, and we organized the bottom shelf above the washer and dryer, which is currently functioning as baby storage.

I also got an update from my Mom this week (remember, she’s sewing the crib bedding for us): our baby now has two solid white crib sheets, a soft knit blanket and a changing pad cover that are completely finished, and she’s planning to be hard at work on other bedding necessities this week! I’m also excited because my parents plan to ready both the changing table and the baby’s dresser for new coats of paint in the coming weeks – everything is coming together nicely!

Here’s what our little “nursery” looks like now:

REMINDER: We plan to purchase baby boy’s crib in May (I am so anxious, which is why the pack ‘n’ play is set up in our room right now!), as well as my books on breastfeeding and some other little necessities. And in June, we’ll purchase the baby’s swing and our Bob stroller.

Best moments of the week: Eating a delicious meal of homemade nachos on Monday night, followed by ice cream for dessert (I’m a hungry gal lately!); writing my last (!!) short story for my independent study class on short fiction – I’m really proud of this story, too; learning that our little boy has HAIR!

Food cravings: Nacho Cheese Doritos (don’t worry, I’m rationing them!); pink lemonade (still!)

Nesting report: I plan to start packing my hospital bag this weekend, after I purchase a few essential items (like Lansinoh cream) at our local store. I’ve already begun packing the diaper bag for the hospital; here’s a peek into my Vera Bradley diaper bag (which I already love, btw!):

You can’t see it very well, but our baby’s first outfit is inside the bag! :)

I’ve already printed our birth plan and our list of family members and friends to call when the baby arrives, and I’ll place those into our hospital bag this weekend. I’ve started selecting and purchasing Mother’s Day and birthday gifts for our loved ones who have special days in May and June, so that I’m ready to celebrate with everyone well in advance of the baby’s arrival. I made a list of addresses to send out birth announcements (which I’ve already designed on Shutterfly – as soon as baby is born, all I need to do is upload a picture and update the details – birthday, weight, etc. – and then we’ll be ready to order them). My Dad is making address labels for us, so that the addressing and mailing process for our birth announcements is quick and easy after the baby arrives. I’ve brainstormed and made planning lists for our baby’s baptism, which will hopefully take place in August – I’ve even designed baptism invitations on Shutterfly! I’m also washing everything in our house like a madwoman, from our sofa slipcovers to our duvet cover to curtains – anything that I can do to get ready for the baby, I’m doing!

Also, in SUPER exciting news, I’m all set to prewash our Fuzzibunz cloth diapers this weekend! I can’t wait to wash them up and get them all ready for our little boy. Despite the fact that he may be a bit too tiny to fit into the diapers right away (most newborns don’t fit into one-size diapers until they are 3 weeks to one month old), I’m so excited to get them ready!

What I’m looking forward to: More and more nesting activities; a relaxing weekend (and a date night!) with my husband; going home to see my parents and brother for the day on Sunday.

What I miss: The warm weather that we had in late March/early April; we’re back to cooler temperatures in the 40s and 50s here in Vermillion! We’ve also been dealing with rain – eww!

Next appointment: We have an appointment with a perinatologist in Sioux Falls on Wednesday, April 25, to check out our little man’s arms and legs, which are measuring a bit short. Then, our next prenatal appointment is on May 4 at 8:45 A.M.

* *

Also, a shout-out to our friends Jared and Amanda, who also blog; their little boy Miles turned one year old this week – happy happy birthday, Miles!

Here’s what’s going on with Baby Gillis developmentally this week (from BabyCenter):

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

How far along: 31 weeks.

Total weight gain: Approximately 31 pounds as of my last weigh-in at the doctor’s office.

Pictures {boo for rainy days!}:

{What I’m Wearing: Sweater (non-maternity): Express; grey tank top: Gap Maternity; black leggings: Motherhood Maternity; grey flats: Gap; umbrella: Target}

Baby gear update: Thanks to our lovely family and friends, we’ve been blessed with quite the collection of baby-related items as a result of our baby shower! I’m so excited to tell you all that we combined the Target gift cards that we received to purchase our baby’s crib mattress, which we are now storing at my parents’ house with the rest of our baby “stuff.” It was so unexpected to be able to purchase the crib mattress with gift cards only – we had budgeted to purchase this ourselves in May, but now that money can go elsewhere to help us prepare for our little boy’s arrival! We were blessed to receive some cozy blankets, a few outfits, and a ton of baby gear on our registry (from our Moby wrap to our changing pad – thanks Mom and Dad! – and much more!) at our baby shower – only a few things left to purchase before our little man makes his debut!

We plan to purchase baby boy’s crib in May, as well as my books on breastfeeding and a humidifier for the baby’s room. And in June, we’ll purchase the baby’s swing and our awesome Bob stroller, thanks to Jordan’s parents, who gifted us money to help put towards this big purchase!

Best moments of the week: My baby shower; celebrating Easter with both families; submitting my thesis to my committee on Tuesday (!!!); washing our baby boy’s little clothes in the middle of the week (who ever knew that laundry could be so fun?!); starting our baby/childbirth classes at the hospital this week!

Food cravings: Pink lemonade and strawberries!

Symptoms: This past week, I’ve experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions! I felt one when I was walking to the USD library on Tuesday, and then on Tuesday night, I felt a few in a row that were aggravating, but not painful. To cope with the Braxton Hicks that I felt on Tuesday night, I simply laid down on the couch and relaxed for about a half hour, which helped immensely! Again, they weren’t painful, just relatively uncomfortable.

Nesting report: As I mentioned above, I’ve been washing the baby’s clothes this week. Big thanks to my husband Jordan, who helped me organize the clothing into loads! It’s been so much fun to wash and fold the little man’s clothing this week – it makes me remember that this baby is really coming in just nine(ish) short weeks!

What I’m looking forward to: Not having to think about my thesis until next Monday, when I begin to draft my 8-10 page conclusion section; a relaxing weekend in Vermillion with my husband and Wyatt the dog; trying a new church on Sunday; our ultrasound appointment next week on April 19!

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably. My body pillow is still quite the rock star in helping me to sleep, but I’ve been waking up with night sweats more frequently as my belly grows, which not only are uncomfortable, but also make me feel icky!

Next appointment: Thursday, April 19. I have my 32-week ultrasound in the morning, followed by a regular prenatal check-up. I can’t wait to find out how much our little man has grown since our last ultrasound at 21 weeks!

I was blessed to be thrown a wonderful baby shower over Easter weekend, and I wanted to share some pictures and some memories from the day with you!

My cousin Kristen threw me the shower, along with great help from my Mom, my Aunt Becky and my Grandma Helen. The shower was held at my grandmother’s church, and it was a lovely atmosphere for a small gathering. We had a crowd of around 20 of my loved ones, and I so enjoyed getting to spend time with my family and friends.

We were blessed to receive so many gifts, the first of which came from my husband – he brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers to celebrate my baby shower! It was such a sweet gesture. We received a smorgasbord of lovely things for our little man, including a few outfits and many sweet things for the nursery.

Here are a few pictures from the day; it was such a fun afternoon! Big thanks to my sister-in-law Larissa for the photos!