35 Weeks

The baby is... about the size of a honeydew melon, and growing.  There's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now, and supposedly that means there will be less flips and wild rolls because there's just not enough room any more!  Most of the time I can feel the baby's feet and legs on my right side, whether they're way up in my ribs or trying their best to poke out the side of my belly.  You know those pictures you've seen of pregnant women's bellies with the outline of the baby foot pushing out? Well I don't know if those are real, but it feels like that's what the baby is doing on my right side, so I'll keep my eyes peeled for the outline of a foot.

I'm feeling... pretty good- trying to stay upbeat.  I've found that if I stretch every day I'm more comfortable when I lay down at night.  I call it yoga, but it's more like the basic stretches you do in PE when you're a kid.

Cliche (or not!) pregnancy symptoms... I have heartburn frequently throughout the day, seemingly unrelated to what or when I eat.  It's very manageable with Tums, and I'm hoping it means our baby has a fuzzy little head.  Obviously when the baby gets here I won't care either way, but it's so fun to imagine a little head of soft downy hair.

Gestational Diabetes... Keeping my numbers low and consistent has actually gotten easier- which is not what I expected to happen.  I assumed as the baby got bigger it would get more difficult, but maybe I've just gotten better at it.  I do eat less carbs than I did in the beginning, but I've found that the most important factor seems to be eating enough protein.  Not only does it keep you full, but it really seems to lower your blood sugar.

Despite all that, sustaining a positive attitude has definitely gotten harder.  I'm tired of the restrictions, I'm tired of poking myself, and the holiday weekend was rough.  To avoid driving myself crazy I'm trying to shift my perspective back to something less negative.  As a result I've spent the last couple of days repeating dorky mantras in my head about how I'm doing a good job, I'm going to have a healthy baby, and I'm going to have an easier time getting into shape after the baby is born because I'm developing healthy habits and I'm not gaining a bunch of weight.  In the interest of keeping with the healthy lifestyle/fitness mindset as opposed to the woe-is-me-I-can't-have-anything-I-want perspective, I've also been keeping up with some of the light exercise they recommend for pregnant women every day.  FYI, Mister thinks squats are the most hilarious things he's ever seen in his entire life.  After he saw me do them for the first time the other day he periodically recalls it for everyone's enjoyment, "Hey, you guys remember when Jeska was squatting?"

I'm enjoying... Well yesterday the kids and I enjoyed Project Runway pretty much all day, and I don't even feel guilty about it.  Today a couple of them are drawing and designing clothes, which I find pretty awesome and totally get.  Watching that show makes me want to sew.  But not really, because I'm too tired to sew right now- I'll get back to that hobby sometime after the baby is born.  For now I'll just watch other people do it.

I'm looking forward to... a fairly uneventful weekend.  I plan on taking family maternity photos on Saturday evening- other than that we'll just relax.  Maybe we'll spend some time at the lake.

Speaking of photos, the kids (and a tripod) helped me take some silhouette photos yesterday.  I'm really happy with how they turned out.

I chose this pose.

Dear chose this one. ;)