37 weeks. Full term!

I'm totally ready for this little girl to make her grand appearance.

Sleep has been rough lately. And I know that won't actually get better once she's here, but I'm a great napper and even that has been terrible. I woke up every 20 minutes last night with my hip/butt throbbing. It's just so hard to get comfortable!  And the heat. Yuck. I could do without that (and I've been super lucky - it hasn't even been that hot out this summer!)

Enough complaining though - overall things are still going really really well (and I do still love being pregnant... I'm just looking forward to being a mom even more!).

I'm down to weekly OB appointments. Two weeks ago (36 weeks) I was 1 cm dilated, and a week later I was already up to 2 cm and 50% effaced. Baby girl is at 0 station, so she's hanging real low which is exciting (and evident if you take a look at my bump compared to a few weeks ago!). Doc said he expected me to go at or around my due date... probably not too much later... which is really exciting. It's also a little nerve-wracking that she really could come any day now! The little bit of sleep that I was able to get last night was filled with dreams of water-breaking and labor. Every time I'd wake up thinking it was happening, but no such luck :)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon out on the James River with my family. It was nice to see all of them and be outside for a bit. And probably the last time it will be just the 7 of us!

Without further ado, my most recent bump pictures. Once the baby comes, I'll have to do a post of all of them progressing through... it's fun to compare the early pictures where I was just wishing for a little hint of a bump! And I never thought I was that skinny, but looking back... damn I'd take that.

Humming Along

Things are going really well these days. It is starting to get pretty hot and I'm starting to feel pretty uncomfortable, but with under a month to go and the middle of July, I think both of those are expected.

We went to two weddings the last two weekends (dancing is a stretch these days, but they were both lots of fun!) and got CPR certified this past Saturday. At my last doctors appointment on Thursday, I got tested for Group B Step and had my first check -- 1 cm dilated and my cervix is starting to prep itself. We really are in the home stretch!! We're also down to weekly doctor appointments which is pretty crazy.

Brad and I have been doing a lot of work on the nursery these last few weeks. Yesterday he hung up all the artwork, so now all we are really waiting for is the crib (and curtains)! The crib is on back order until next week but should arrive soon. We have the pack and play to get us by until it comes should baby girl make an early appearance.

I can still feel her moving around often - though her kicks are less powerful as she is running out of room. She still gets the hiccups pretty often though. Seriously so adorable.

I've gained about 30lb this pregnancy 😁 though it seems to have slowed/steadied these last few weeks. It's been pretty hard coming to terms with the numbers I see on the scale, but I know it's all worth it! My belly button is half flat half out... Pretty weird looking overall. 

I started an email address for our little girl and have begun sending her emails and updates about everything as we prep for her arrival. I hope to share it with family/friends once she's here so they can write to her too! Then when she is older, we can tell her about it - I think that would be pretty cool!

Last but not least - recent bump pics!

Picture Update.

It's been a while.

Things are humming along here pretty well. I had a checkup on the 16th that Brad came to (he's been skipping most of them since they're about 30 seconds long and pretty uneventful). We had a few questions for Dr. Wolanski about the birthing process, cord blood donation, etc etc. We got to hear our little girl's heartbeat again (there's seriously nothing better!) and Dr. W said I'm measuring great and should expect a regular old 7 lb baby come August. Brad and I both laughed at him when he said that -- we were both over 9 lbs and two of the smallest from our families. 7lb is not likely. I'm going to go ahead and expect at least 9, and be pleasantly surprised if it works out another way :)

I had my baby shower on the 21st! It was absolutely amazing. Corey (and Michelle and the two grandmas) did such an amazing job - I seriously loved it. It was a Velveteen Rabbit themed shower (my favorite childhood book), and the weather held out perfectly so it was in the gardens right off the Lawn at UVA. My friend's daughter, Eloise, helped me open presents (she's so cute!) and we sat around and chatted and ate delicious carrot cake. It was a great day and I felt so loved and supported! We closed off the evening by heading out to a local brewery for dinner, which was a lot of fun.

My friend Caroline took some great pictures at the shower that I'll include below, including the real bunny that crashed the party!

Then this past weekend, I threw a FRIENDS-themed couples bridal shower for my friend Katie, who is getting married at the end of August. Again, we lucked out on weather and had a fantastic day!

Brad painted the nursery (mint green) and I finished my first baby blanket :) Now we're just waiting on the rest of the furniture to come and and getting ready for the little one to arrive!

And now another progression of bump pictures from the last few weeks...

Beachin'

Things have been busy busy in the Costella household!

Memorial Day weekend we skipped out of town and spent three days in the Outer Banks with my family. Brad's parents and his sister were able to come down for the last two days too, so it made for a great long weekend of relaxing and spending time with family.

There were also lots of beach games played by those who were a little more mobile than I am these days.

We came back for a few days of work, and early Friday morning we hit the road again with Rob and Rachel to spend 4 days down in Charleston. We stayed with Brad's grandmother, Kathy, and ate LOTS of delicious food and spent lots of time on the beach. It was a fantastic trip and I wish we were still down there!


Brad and I before dinner one night


Rachel trying to come to grips with the whole lobster on her plate

 
Drinks and views from the oceanside bar


Walking around Charleston with Kathy


Beautiful weather!


"Rainbow Row" along the water


Charleston City Market


HUSK, where we ate twice! 


Rob and Rachel


Brad and I


On the baby-front, things are progressing well. She's moving around constantly, which I still love feeling, and I'm definitely starting to get a good bit bigger. Some days I just feel SO PREGNANT! Either way, I love it. Brad's mom was in town the last two nights, and we ended up buying the crib! That should arrive in a few weeks. We also picked out a glider, which Target is shipping to our local store this week.

This weekend, we'll be cleaning and painting the nursery. We've also got strawberry picking, baseball games, and other errands on the to-do list. Should be a productive few days!

Week 31. Bump pic below!