The Home Stretch...

Well...again it has been awhile since my last post, but I figured we are getting closer to the due date for Baby Bennett, and I should probably write while I have the chance.  They say no news is good news.  I am counting on that.

This picture is actually from about 31 weeks so I am actually a month further along than this now... 

The last few months has been packed full of fun times, such as a long weekend back in Colorado with our best friends, celebrating the pending arrival of this little one.  It was so good to see all of our friends that we miss SO much from Colorado. We were also pleasantly surprised that two of my oldest friends surprised me and flew in from the west coast!  It was truly a wonderful weekend and it made us miss everyone that much more! My best friend Laurie hosted a shower where we got to mingle with friends and eat good food.  It was low key and the guys partook in several frosty beverages on a beautiful, sunny Colorado day.

Steph, me, Laurie, and Abby in Colorado! 

Abby and Leslie 

I was also honored when my mother-in-law hosted me a baby shower here in Muscatine with some local family and friends.  We had a delicious quiche, fruit salad, and scones at a local coffee house that overlooks the Mississippi River!  We played games, including a game which entailed guests estimating how big around I was with a streamer. It is amazing how people over-estimate, but there were a couple of close guesses! It was a wonderful morning, and I am very grateful for everyone that was able to be there. 

Leslie, Jen, and Erin after the shower

Now Sam and I are in the home stretch with about five weeks to go to the estimated due date.  Luckily I am finished with work since the school year ended, and I have been forcing myself to complete one "major" project per day, usually consisting of mundane household chores such as the adventure cleaning out the refrigerator yesterday, scrubbing the walls and baseboards, or organizing the nursery.  I am getting there step-by-step (in between lots of breaks) all-the-while entertaining two almost-one-year-old puppies.  Sam has been very good about putting together all the baby gadgets!

Sam and the stroller!

Although I am uncomfortable at times, I feel like I have been pretty lucky in my pregnancy.  I don't really mind being pregnant for the most part.  I would say that night time is the hardest part to get-through , as several of my discomforts seem to manifest during the wee hours of the morning.  One of my biggest issues has been carpel tunnel of pregnancy, which has resorted to me wearing wrist braces at least at night to avoid numbness and nerve pain in my hands due to swelling.  It has gradually gotten worse, but at least I have learned to tolerate it now that I have the correct braces.  Other than that, I would say acid reflux has been the second-biggest culprit to my sleepless nights, but something somewhat within my control. Everyone says that these sleepless nights are good practice for when the baby arrives, and although I wish I was getting more sleep, I think I agree.

Our hospital includes a 3D ultrasound, but unfortunately not much came out of it, as the baby was somewhat uncooperative.  First her knee was in front of her face, and then a knee.  She (?) wouldn't allow us a nice shot to verify the gender and then completely turned around.  Is this a sign of things to come? However, we got a few nice profile shots.

My belly continues to grow as this baby girl gets bigger and it is just now about where to "put" my belly in bed or holding it up when I waddle through the store. All of my appointments have been routine and everything seems to be going well.  She definitely moves now, and I am fascinated by the distorted shape my belly takes on as I feel her wriggling around inside. Yesterday I even think she had the hiccups!  I am 35 weeks tomorrow, which means only 35 more days (or so) until we get to meet this little one!