month 8 {august}

35 weeks, 2 days

How Far Along: 35 weeks, 2 days

Size: Currently the size of a mini lop rabbit, but soon she'll be the size of a chihuahua! Funny, she seems a lot bigger than that. She also weighs about 5-6 pounds and is about 18-19 inches long, according to my app (so, you know, that could be completely wrong haha).

Gender: It's a girl! :)

Name: Ada Charlotte :)

Movement: I felt Ada hiccup for the first time on August 1st. At first it was infrequent, but it soon started happening at least once each day. It's so weird! Haha it's like having a little twitch in my belly that I can't get rid of! She also seems to have made her final decision on position. She's head down, with her bum on my right side and her feet on my left. I love seeing those little feet poke my belly from the inside! She's always moving now, and always putting a lot of pressure on my stomach haha. I can't wait to see her move on the outside! :)

Fun Fact: I COULD BE HAVING A BABY this next month! Since my due date is October 3, it's very likely that she could be born in the last few days of September (and I'm kinda hoping for that, because it seems like the perfect time for a birthday :) )

Sleep: Well, I guess even the Purple isn't quite enough at 7.5 - 8 months pregnant. The bed is still very comfortable, but I'm getting to the point where I carry so much weight in my belly and my hips ache when I lie on one side for too long,  so it's very hard to change positions without being woken up by those two factors. I wake up every time I switch sides now, and I also can't make it through the night without a bathroom break. Oh, well. I'm taking a nap nearly every day now that I'm no longer working, and that's often some of the best sleep I get. It's really a shame that sleep becomes so difficult right before sleep is going to be constantly interrupted by a tiny child! Haha :)

Weight Gain: Part of this month was pretty awesome. On two of my weigh-ins (I weigh in each Monday), I actually lost weight from the previous week (and I make sure conditions for weighing in are the same every time, so it wasn't just clothes I was wearing or something)! However, for the last two weeks, I haven't been walking every day because it's hard and it's dark and early at 6am, so I gained more significantly than I should have in those two weeks. My net gain was 4 pounds this month. Overall, my weight gain is 41 pounds. 

I saw quite a few pics of my pre-pregnant self this month as I looked up certain events or whatever, and it's just crazy to me how different I look! And crazy to me how I wasn't satisfied with my looks pre-pregnancy. Bodies are so interesting. Or rather, how we perceive bodies is so interesting. I've never been horribly put off by my body, but I'm definitely going to make a more conscious effort to really love my body from now on. There really is no use in wasting time hoping for something other than what we have right now. Take steps to be healthy, sure; but also just appreciate your body for being a body and doing so many amazing things!

Symptoms: I'm mostly just feeling quite big. My belly is pretty uncomfortable these days, and when Ada puts pressure in different places, it feels like my belly might explode! In fact, I've gotten a few more stretch marks over the past month or two, this time on my belly. Those spots are super tender, especially when she puts extra pressure there :(

Speaking of feeling big, I use the handicapped restroom stalls as often as possible because it's hard to fit into regular stalls and still get the door shut! Haha :')

My left eye has also been twitching LIKE CRAZY this month! No idea if it's pregnancy-related or just tired-related, but it's quite a bother haha.

I haven't had any heartburn throughout my pregnancy, but I do feel more prone to throw-up burps (#yum #sarcasm #tmi) these days, as food has a bit of an obstacle to make it all the way down to my stomach haha.

Also, I don't think I've mentioned this symptom before, but my hair has definitely been thicker and stronger throughout pregnancy. I used to lose hair in the shower, when I brushed it, and when I styled it . . . like a lot of hair! And now I lose probably less than 5 hairs in that whole process. It's amazing! Not looking forward to the whole hair-falling-out process that I'm sure will come sooner or later,  but I'll enjoy the thick hair while I've got it :)

I also don't think I ever mentioned that I've had my wedding ring off for quiiiiite some time now, like at least since 20 weeks, if not earlier. At first it was because I would go on walks during lunchtime every day, and between the heat and the walking, my ring got tight. But even now, without hot walks, whenever I try my ring on again, it won't go on, so I guess that will have to wait!

Although the swelling in my feet from flying (that I mentioned last month) went down, my feet have been swelling again lately. It sort of comes and goes.

Diabetes: Ever since I quit work, I have not been testing my blood sugar as regularly (because I used to test at very specific times throughout the work day), and it definitely makes a difference! My A1c climbed from 6.7 to 7.2 over the last month, so I need to work harder throughout this final month to make sure I'm doing all I can to keep my baby girl healthy :)

Cravings/Aversions: I'm beginning to think these are a myth haha. The only thing I thought of was that maybe, maybe, I have more of an aversion to car smells than I had pre-pregnancy, but that's hard to tell because I'm pretty sure I hated those smells pre-pregnancy, as well. I'm talking about exhaust, coolant, gas, and new asphalt smells. I just can't handle them these days haha.

Missing Most: Maneuverability, man. Shaving and clipping my toe nails are like olympic sports, and even just moving around has become taxing. One night, Russ was in the office and I was in our bedroom. He asked me, "Are you working out?" And I said, "Nope, just taking these pants off!" To which he replied, " . . . sounds like you're working out!" Haha it was clearly a difficult thing to get those pants off! (Partially because I was lying down on the bed, so I had to move around a lot to not lay on the pants.) Also, we're not even talking like skinny jeans or anything -- we're talking sweat shorts! 

SLEEP.

Being able to do dishes without my belly bumping the counter -- it hurts so I have to like hunch over whenever I do them!

Energy! Since I'm no longer working, I have all this time and all these productive things I want to do with it, but I get worn out so quickly and things just take so much longer!

Lying on my belly.

I also miss hugging Russ with our bodies touching from head to toe. I just feel like I can't hug him properly these days!

Nursery: Last month I mentioned that I was going to give a shelf I bought one more shot with different spray paint, and luckily, it worked! Although, I definitely had to clear-coat it afterward because every time we touched the shelf, we'd get gold on our hands and fingerprints on the shelf. But now it looks great, it's hung, and all of the banners I initially imagined hanging from the shelf are also hung! They look so perfect! 

I also finally did a Pinterest-inspired project that I've had in mind for ages (way before getting pregnant). I want my daughter to know that she is the daughter of a Heavenly King; she has divine nature and divine potential. So I created this crown to remind her of those things:

And we're currently in the process of getting the curtain rod hung and choosing curtains. Hoping to finish up with that yesterday in the next day or two. Then I'll have just a few more projects to complete the room!

Daddy: Is my favorite :) Having a baby is an exciting thing, but I'm just so very happy that I get to share the whole experience with Russ. At least at this moment in time, it's hard to imagine how having a baby can put a strain on a marriage, because so far it has only brought us closer! We've talked about how we want to make sure we keep that up even after Ada is born by continuing to date each other and talk to each other and stuff. Although we tried to start our family over two years ago, I'm grateful for the extra time we've had to get to know each other better before moving on to this next stage of life. It's been an amazing four years together, but we've definitely had to learn some tough lessons about each other and about how we work together. I feel closer than ever before (and I've always felt close!) to Russ, and I think God really helped us time things perfectly :)

Also, not super related to Ada but perhaps a bit related, Russ set a bunch of goals this month. He has been working harder than I've ever seen on his physical, spiritual, and mental/emotional health, and it's really pretty amazing. I love seeing him so dedicated to things that are important to him. I think he's trying to be the best husband and dad he can be, but also just that he's trying to be the best him he can be. Ada and I are lucky girls to have this amazing man in our lives :)

One day Russ just rubbed my belly and then said, "I love that baby." It was really sweet :)

Another day he just sent a bunch of cute texts all in a row :)

Highlights & Memories: 

• Welp. I got my first unsolicited belly rub this month. It was as awkward as everyone says! But part of the reason it was awkward was because it happened right in the middle of Sacrament meeting! As I was just sitting there, minding my own business and listening to the speakers, this deacon (12- or 13-year-old) walked by, noticed my belly and came up to me and started rubbing it, saying something along the lines of "You're pregnant!" (I had a lot of interaction with the youth in my ward during the first quarter this year for the Cultural Celebration, so I knew this kid, but I guess he hadn't noticed by big belly until this month.) That was awkward, but then, AGAIN, later on in the meeting, he came up to me and started asking me questions about gender and such, and I was just thinking, "This is so not the time for chatting!" It was an interesting situation for sure.
• Hadley and Adeline (my Utah nieces) are still two of Ada's biggest fans. Every time they see me, they rub my belly and talk about the baby and give her kisses. It's so sweet :) One time, I had Hadley wait until Ada was actually kicking/moving before feeling, and her little face was so cute when she saw and felt the movement!
• My cousin Aubrianne got married this month. Russ had to work, so he couldn't make it to her sealing and luncheon, but he drove up to meet me at the reception (after I had been at the other wedding festivities all day). The day was just so focused on love, and the sealing took place where Russ and I got sealed, so the whole thing just made me feel suuuuuper lovey dovey about Russ. I got a reallllly good one :)
• We had our babymoon this month! Although the getaway part only lasted about 24 hours, the whole weekend was actually really great . . . Russ and I just had a lot of quality time together, sweet words for each other, and we were both just over-the-top happy about our marriage and our little family :)
• I also had my first baby shower this month! Two of my best friends from college, Caroline and Sarah, threw it for me, and it was so perfect :)
• As I passed a lady in the Walmart parking lot, she said, "Any day now, right?" To which I replied, ". . . a month . . ." I wasn't offended so much as amused. Why is it that people just think they can comment on pregnant bodies and imply or even explicitly say, "Dang you look HUGE!"? Well gee thanks, I feel huge, too. 

Can't Wait For: Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready to be done, and the truth is, YES! Except that I have two baby showers this upcoming month, and I don't want to miss out on those. So I can't wait to have those showers, and then like, the day after my last one, I will be more than ready for Ada to make her debut haha :) I'm pretty excited to hold that tiny baby in my arms :)

**ashleynicole