Great Expectations: 34 & 35 Weeks

How Far Along: 34 & 35 weeks (The holidays fell in the midst of my blogging and as I'll mention later my brain is foggy, so trying to distinguish between the two weeks is nearly impossible at this point.)

Fruit Size Comparison: Butternut Squash & Coconut

Weight/ Clothes: I saw the doctor right before heading to Virginia for the holidays and she was pleased with my new weight gain habits...gaining less than half a pound the past few weeks. I didn't really gain this week, but Christmas is coming and I don't know that I'll have the same results when I head back to the doctor after returning to Boston. For a few days right around Christmas it was GOOD FOOD ALL THE TIME, but then things slowed down and I tried to make good choices like I make regularly at home.

On the clothes front, I'm filling out all my maternity clothes now. I'm feeling pretty cute and round. There is definitely a difference in my belly roundness between the morning and later at night. We saw lots of friends and family over the holidays and it was nice to hear people say how small I looked for being due in a month. Thanks everyone for the self-esteem boost.

Cravings: I'm kind of bummed because I yet to have any exciting craving...it's pretty much been soup and that's it...Where's my craving for ice cream and pickles?!

Gender: Friends were trying to catch me off guard over the holidays in order to find out the name...I am excited to reveal that last surprise when Baby Herndon arrives. Adam has started using the name with me and we continue to LOVE it...so that's good.

Movement: The baby moves pretty regularly now between random Braxton Hicks. The car rides have been especially exciting because he was kicking right up into my ribs!

Symptoms: I got a serious cold right after Christmas. NO FUN for this pregnant girl! I've been using saline spray, a salt water gargle, lots of hot tea and tissues tissues tissues!!! My doc said I could also use Tylenol Cold medicine depending on how bad it got. The cough situation was the worst because it would strain my round ligaments...boo!

I also find myself waddling around depending on the time of day and how tight or loose I'm feeling. One night we went to Yardhouse with friends and I had this whole arm swing thing going to try and keep up with everyone as we walked from the parking garage to the restaurant. It was a pretty funny sight. There was also a fun quote from this evening as I ordered my club soda and lime on the rocks...Shelby says to the waiter, "Don't mind her, she's in AA."

Mental State: PREGNANCY BRAIN!! I'm not sure what happened to my brain function over the past few weeks, but upon arriving in Virginia it's like it shut down. I have no memory and my reasoning has SERIOUSLY slowed down, which made for some very entertaining moments and conversations with friends.

Appointment Updates: I saw my OB right before leaving for Virginia. All is well with Baby Herndon. His heartrate is still between 135 and 140. My blood pressure is great too! It was a pretty quick appointment, but I think they'll start checking my progress at the next appointment. CRAZY!

We started our birthing class and we're both getting all sorts of good information. We learned about 5-1-1...you head to the hospital when contractions are 5 minutes apart for 1 minute for 1 hour. We practiced some different body positions to help with labor. We learned that drinking something cold and sweet on the way to the hospital will help the baby wake up and get an awake reading when they put me on the heartrate monitor upon checking in at the hospital and looking to see where I am in the labor process. I also got a list of student doulas to email because we'd like to have one present during the labor and delivery process to help Adam do his best coaching. I also got a list of helpful questions to ask these doula candidates from my friend Megan who is a doula...these questions were SUPER helpful and not things I would have known to ask...I think I'll do a separate post with those for anyone looking to interview a doula in the future. We missed one class while in Virginia but were able to make it up on the Saturday before we left town.  We have two more classes left.

Best Moment of the Week: Being home for the holidays. It was wonderful getting to spend time with friends and family.
Highlights:
Celebrating Haley's 30th birthday in Richmond
Seeing A Christmas Carol at the Well's Theater with my girlfriends
Dinner Club
Cola and Shelby threw us a wonderful "peanut" themed baby shower with my OSL family
Leslie's Christmas Eve Brunch
Christmas Eve lived up to its yearly hype...great company and DELICIOUS food!
Christmas Day complete with presents for Peanut
Seeing Les Mis at the Commodore
And time catching up with friends throughout the break!