Pregnancy: Month 8

I am only one day late with this post! Since I include week 32 for Month 8, I don't take a picture and don't have a reminder that it's a new month. Final stretch now! Baby could be here in 5 weeks! My current guess (and has been for awhile) is he'll arrive around July 20-25. No particular reason, just a guess. Hopefully it'll narrow as we get closer and we'll see if my mommy intuition is as strong as it was with Jackson and Daniel. I feel very ready to have this baby and hold him and love on him. I know both the boys will love having a baby around. Daniel has been ultra clingy recently so that may be difficult at first, but I worried that Jackson would get jealous too and he thrived as a big brother. 

29 Weeks

*BH contractions are making me very positive I won't be pregnant again after this. We're pretty sure of that anyways, but man, these contractions are show stoppers! Doesn't make me look forward to the labor contractions to come. But I know it's all worth it and will be over before I know it. 

*Baby is very active when I'm trying to go to sleep and throughout the night. It'll be interesting trying to get him on the correct day/night schedule once he's born. 

*have been slightly craving cheese. Cream cheese, cheese topping everything, slices of cheese. Not positive this is a craving since I love cheese anyways. 

*sitting in church I was just feeling Chase wiggling around. It made me so excited to wear him to church the first few months before I put him in nursery. I just love the newborn stage and am so excited for all the newborn snuggles! When I picked up Daniel from his class, he sat on my hip and must have bumped right where Chase was lying. Chase kicked out hard! Daniel noticed and it hurt me! Getting stronger in there! Thankful he doesn't kick that hard all the time! 

*definitely sensitive to smell. I am very thankful that I haven't been overly sensitive up until this point, but the past week everything smells stronger to me. The kitchen "stinks" but Matt doesn't smell it (again, thankful it is my overactive nostrils and not actual rotting food), my perfume smells stronger, the boys and my breath smells super bad in the morning- like I wondered if they were sick and then realized it was just overly strong to me, food scents seem overwhelming- even if it isn't repulsive. 

*Left hip still hurts. I know my hips will hurt the closer I get to birth, but this is different. I definitely strained something and just haven't been able to figure out how to stretch it out yet. I try to rotate my leg and stretch as many ways as I can think of, but I'm worried I'll accidentally stretch it too far and make it worse. Hopefully I can work it out before birth because this will not be helpful during delivery!

30 Weeks

*Daniel gets frustrated at the belly getting in his snuggle way... And Chase kicks out at Daniel when the belly gets pushed or jostled! 

*baby is definitely longer- I feel him kicking and squirming up in my ribs and so low that I swear he's about to birth himself! 

*hungry all the time! I'm trying to limit snacks for the boys so they get on better meal schedules, but it's hard not to give them snacks when they ask when they see me eating. 

*sitting through a whole church service is starting to get uncomfortable. I slouched a little because baby boy was all cramped up and kicking me every which way!

*seems to prefer sitting on my right side. That side is more bulgy most often. 

31 Weeks

*most of my BH are after dinner and night time. I hope this doesn't mean we'll have to wake up our babysitters to come stay with the boys in the middle of the night! So much easier if they can come in the morning so Matt can hopefully be home for bedtime! 

*BH are uncomfortable, but not painful. They still have me worried about birth once again. God definitely dulls our memories of labor contractions and the birth process or no one would ever have more than one kid! I know I'm equally not remembering how painful it was and also imagining it being worse than it was. I don't know exactly how that is possible, but it is!

*literally always have to pee. I think I said this every other pregnancy too, but I am so looking forward to being able to fully empty my bladder and go about my life.

*ordered and received the large wooden "C" for above the crib and ordered and printed most of the prints for the gallery wall above the changing table. Just need to find a verse print for the gallery wall and hang everything up! 

*at my dr appt I am measuring 29 weeks. So we'll see if baby still ends up coming early, right on time, or late! I had been measuring one week small up until now, but now it's two weeks small! Heartbeat was in the 150s, the baby kept moving so the Dr had to move the monitor around.

32 Weeks

*waited for the mid month paycheck to drop then ordered the final nursery items I needed! I think, at least! This weekend I plan to sell the old strollers and other random things in the nursery so hopefully it will be all cleared out and ready for Chase when he arrives! I have to go to the store to get a new diaper pail (since ours is discontinued and the bags for it are no longer being produced) and some 3M strips to hang the art on the walls... But then I think we're all set! 

Even though I know from personally experience (and from other moms of 3 or more) that my love will just grow and not divide between my boys, I still cannot imagine how life will work once Chase is here with us. I certainly love him and have bonded with him already, but I still can't imagine having the same love for him as I do Jackson and Daniel. But I know that once he is here I will love him a completely as I love them and will wonder how life didn't seem incomplete before he was born. I am so excited for our little family to grow and for the new adventures awaiting the brothers Iveson.