35 Weeks

In the last week, I seem to have made up for the weight I haven't been gaining, all in one fell swoop. My weight this morning is 144.2 pounds. That's a little over five pounds in one week! I suspect the fine Belgian chocolates and the 3 rounds of snacks I've been stuffing in my purse every morning have helped enormously. My face looks a little puffy this morning, but none of the rest of me is. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and if I'm still puffy then, I'll raise it. It's more likely that it's puffy from waking every hour to pee/roll over, than anything dodgy. I am like a giant turtle on its back--I have to actually get out of bed to turn over, because my belly is so huge that it's too uncomfortable to manage, otherwise.

We are still stuck on names. We had come up with a name that I loved for her first name, and for most of this pregnancy, I was sure that would be her name. I still love it, but it's more of a surname than a first name (although now being used as a first name). All of a sudden, that bothers me. Miss M's name is very old-fashioned and has a whole history to it. The name that I love for this baby doesn't have that sense of history. I know that is such a weird thing to be hung up on, but there it is. I want a name that is classic yet obscure, with a strong historical sense behind it. I don't know why. I just do. So, the search continues.

Similarly, we are exactly nowhere on a middle name. We gave Miss M my last name as a middle name, since T and I have different last names. I wanted to do the same thing again, so that both girls had a piece of me in their names. T doesn't want to do that again, though. I'd like a name that has significance for the middle name. Unfortunately, neither my first or middle name has a variant that I like, and I don't want to give her either of my actual names (my middle name, in particular, is VERY old-fashioned, and not really in a good way). Argh.

Time is flying by, and I still have so many things to do before the baby comes. I'd better hurry up! I made no progress last weekend in getting out, sorting and washing baby things. I'm hoping to get some of that done today, as well as some reorganizing of Miss M's things. T is no help at all in that regard, and shoves things everywhere. It drives me crazy that he's so disorganized and messy!

As for the baby, she seems to be doing well. I am thinking (hoping, praying. . .) that she has finally turned head-down. I feel her kicks up near my ribs, and I was extremely uncomfortable yesterday with something pressing on my cervix/bladder/etc. I feel hands down low in my abdomen, as well, toward my back. I really, really hope she is in the right position, and stays there for the next five weeks.

I've been thinking about her birth, and reading some of the books I read before Miss M was born. It's funny--I never noticed that most of the books I bought before were geared to first time mothers, but sure enough, now that I reread them, I can see that about them. I want things to go as perfectly as they did with Miss M's birth, but I do wonder whether it's possible to have things go so well twice in a row. I wonder the same thing about babyhood. Miss M was a really easy baby, in hindsight. Can we have that twice in a row? I hope so, but I also know that every child is different. It freaks me out a little, actually. I feel like I'm almost asking for too much to have two amazing births, two amazing children.

T has just taken Miss M to the park. Although I haven't been tired at all during this pregnancy, I am tired today. All of the night waking is taking its toll on me. I think I might take a nap.