38 weeks: Lots of Tummy Love!

Along: 38 weeks

Size of baby:  He is the size of a leek. Noah is around six pounds. He has grown a lot this past week. I swear every morning I wake up- I look bigger. My belly button is also about to pop. I will have an outie by the end of these 40 weeks if I carry him full term. I could possibly carry him two weeks over- I’m afraid to even think what my belly button will look like by then. Let’s just hope it pops right back in after Noah arrives!

Weight gain: 25 pounds give or take. I think this is the time where women can lose some weight. It’s not because the baby isn’t getting bigger, it’s because the woman’s stomach is so smashed that it’s hard to fit a lot of food in there. I can tell a decrease in my appetite sometimes, but I expect that when I go to the doctor tomorrow, I probably will weigh the same.

Maternity Clothes:    Yes. I wear a mixture of both. A lot of the dresses are now too short because the belly makes the dress hike up. It’s funny to see how different clothes fit from the beginning of this pregnancy to the end. I am all belly so anything that was a kind of tight a month ago now fights like a glove.

 Gender:  Noah Walker Clem- A BOY!

Movement:  Yes! Boy oh Boy! I feel like he doesn’t stop most of the time. I’m now one of those ladies whose hand is usually on her belly. A couple times I have poked him and he will poke me back.

Sleep: I’ve had trouble sleeping more this week. I have been really warm at night and my mind races about 100 miles per hour. I’m not sure what has changed but I have all this energy while trying to sleep and then feel like a zombie with little energy during the day. Maybe my body is getting ready for no sleep for a while. I guess we shall see. 

What I miss:     I miss being able to fit between cracks- what I mean by this is at restaurants with tables or something like that, I can’t just squeeze by to get around. I sometimes have to map a longer way in order to get to my destination because I can’t get between two tables. I’ve also had this problem with cars. Sometimes if someone parks really close to me, I have trouble fitting between the two cars. I’ll be glad to have a smaller stomach in a couple weeks or days depending on when this little nugget Noah arrives.  

Cravings:  Chocolate Milk, Pineapple, Peaches, Salads, and Ice Water

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks, Sciatica, Bathroom Breaks about 20,000 a day, Swollen Feet, Back pain, and so much more! It’s all manageable. He is growing and my body is adjusting with these types of symptoms. I’m not complaining- I’m just glad he’s healthy.

Best Moment This Week:   On Saturday night, I had the opportunity to celebrate my friend Sharmada’s 25th birthday at an Indian restaurant downtown. It was a great little venue and all the girls seemed to love the food. For most of the night, the girls kept trying to get Noah to move for them. They’d put their hands on the belly and try to get him to stir but he wasn’t performing- maybe a little stage fright- there was a lot of laughing going on. Anyways, at the very end he decided to start doing the tootsie roll. I grabbed Katie’s hand and she really felt him go. Within two second, all of the girls had their hands on the belly and they all felt him doing his little nugget moves.  See the picture below.  I will never forget it. Noah is very excited to meet all these adopted aunties! 

They all felt Noah kick exactly like this!

The dinner bunch in front on the sign! :)

Ashley and Matt came to pick me up! She got to join the bunch for a bit!