what I didn't expect when expecting {part 2}

Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I am sad to say bye to the glorious 2nd trimester where I just had a cute belly and felt great and say hello to feeling super huge and exhausted. Everyone keeps saying "that went by so fast.. I can't believe your almost done!" Relatively speaking- yes I'm almost done but I still have a ways to go. Although I wouldn't necessary say time is dragging... its been a solid 8 months for me and I'm ready for the end result. I've actually loved being pregnant and I seriously have no big complaints but I can't wait to have my little boy outside of my body. 7 more weeks!

4D ultrasound since this boy was measuring 8 days smaller for my due date at my 20 week appt they had me come in at 28 weeks. It went better then expected- Not only did he measure 1 day bigger, we got to see him in 4D... amazing! Everything looked perfect.

Braxton Hicks when I was about 30 weeks I woke up in the middle of the night with intense cramping... I woke up scotty and he got me water and helped me to the living room where I could stretch. It felt like menstrual cramps- bearable but painful. I felt super nauseous and uncomfortable. Super annoying because he kept saying "how far apart are they?!" I have no clue.. they just hurt!! How can you time them?! I felt them roughly every 10-15 mins, but its not like they came and were gone.. I was in constant pain the whole time with just tightening once in awhile. Anywho, it was a terrible night. I went into work late the next day and still felt them throughout the day. Took a warm bath that night and felt better. Walked to walk the next morning and starting feeling them again, but worse. So my OB had me go to l&d to be monitored. The contractions, although strong, were far enough apart that I was ok and the baby isn't coming anytime soon :)

I've heard a lot of women get braxton hicks and even though its common, it still sucks!

{ps most awkward pelvic exam ever}

belly button Looking forward to the day when I have my body back and I can't see the inside of my belly button anymore. Although I'm embracing this huge belly of mine, its not the cutest hing to see sticking out through my shirts. Belly bands seem to help and although uncomfortable to wear at work they also give me some support!

dry skin lets just skip the tmi and say that I have started to invest in lanilon oil. I just bought Motherlove off amazon.. heard its a must for breastfeeding. {on the plus side my rash has basically gone away. I learned that my skin is super senistive so I onlyBioOil morning and night .. seriously the best!! }

pure exhaustion now that he is over 4 lbs, crazy!, his kicks and movements are getting a lot stronger. The other night I just gave up and layed there while he spased out. I seriously think my rib is bruised. Since I had a rough week last week with contractions I just layed around after work. Even though I didn't do anything I was so tired. My belly hurts, my back aches, my inner thighs kill, my knees give out on me, my feet hate me when I stand up. I've been taking baths at night cause I have no energy to get ready in the morning for work. So basically I'm really cute lately. Sorry for my complaints- not being negative just calling it as it is.

Chubby cheeks fyi its not ok to tell a prego that her face is getting fatter. not ok. Just say you look amazing and move on. I've always had a rounder face but its starting to get a little bigger and I'm starting to feel chubby. Like I said earlier, I am embracing pregnancy and love my belly but its hard some days to feel cute and its tiring to even try.

overwhelming checkoff list now that I have had all my baby showers its time to take complete inventory of what I have and what I need. I have a new obession with craiglist, even though I haven't gotten a lot of items off it- I get like a high looking at it at work to try and find deals. Even though we still need a lot, I feel a little more prepared with what we have so far... crib, dresser, bassinet, stroller/carseat, enough clothes/recieving blankets/bibs/burp clothes, crib bedding, binkies, bottles/bottle cleaner, some diapers, baby bath & some bath items, moby wrap, glider & ottoman, swing, playmat, bumbo, boppy, scotts northface manly diaper bag {I'm still waiting to get my diaper bag from pbk}, a baby white noise machine.. We still need a lot but its nice to have the larger items checked off the list. The nursery is pretty much full and our apartment is starting to feel a lot smaller. I'll post pics once I get more organized!

large appetiate but cant eat a lot I haven't had any strange cravings... but I could live off peanut butter and ice water. When I try to eat a large meal I end up throwing up a little in my mouth when this boy kicks, gross. Its hard to go out to dinner cause I can either eat a ton and want dessert or eat one bit and be done. So I eat smaller meals now and more frequently. I try to eat healthy but at the end of the day I would rather have a hamburger and salty fries over a salad. Working and not sleeping well has also gotten me to occassionally (cough daily cough) have a soda, preferrably diet dew- dont judge.

Any other things I should be aware of.. any advice for the final weeks?

If you had to pack your hospital bag again, what would you for sure put in and what would you leave out?