36 weeks - one more month til d-day!

Yesterday marked 36 weeks, which means we are now one month away from my due date! I can't believe how close we are, and there is still so much going on! I still need to work on baby boy's quilt (yeah . . . I'm not as motivated as I was when I started it, so it's been a project I keep putting off haha), and we still have baby stuff all over the house that needs to get organized and put away. I sort of have a hospital bag packed . . . so I need to add to that in the coming weeks. In our birthing class they said ideally you want your bag packed by 36 weeks, so I'll start working on that soon. There are a few baby items I still need to purchase, and then we need to install the car seat base so we're ready to go once I go into labor. I still don't think I've had any braxton hicks so far, so it's hard to imagine what it will be like when I do start experiencing contractions. This past thursday in birthing class, to practice relaxing & breathing through pain, the teacher had us hold ice in our hands for the length of a contraction. I didn't really like it, and I told Martin that contractions are going to be in a totally different area, so I thought it was just mean to torture pregnant ladies, haha. However it was distracting to have to focus on my breathing and focus on a single object in the room while holding the ice. I still knew that I was holding ice and that it hurt, but it wasn't thinking "OW WHY AM I DOING THIS!?". ;)
I'm wanting to research ways to alleviate pain in labor. I'm bringing a birthing ball to the hospital since I've heard good things about that, and have been thinking about getting lavender oil or some other oil that would be soothing to rub on my belly during contractions. Did anyone have any good distraction/pain relief techniques they liked during labor? I'm curious to hear about them!

How far along: 36 weeks 

Fruit/Vegetable comparison: A honeydew melon! About 5-5.8 pounds, and 17.2-18.7 inches in length. 

Total weight gain: 31 pounds

Baby's new developments: Baby's liver and kidneys are now fully functioning, and baby's born at 36 weeks typically are able to breathe on their own. 

Sleep: Bathroom breaks are common, but I think I'm still sleeping well over all. I go to bed pretty early, since I'm pretty fatigued right now. Sometimes I wake up because the baby starts moving around, or I'm uncomfortable in the position I'm sleeping in, but I fall back asleep pretty quickly. 

Best moment of the week: I still love going to the pool and swimming around. The heat was not fun this week, being upwards of 99 and 100 degrees a couple of days, so the pool was my favorite place to go after work! 

Miss anything?: Not really this week. Sometimes I think about how I'll never sleep in again, and that's a little depressing, haha! But then again, I'm not doing much sleeping in these days anyways. 

Movement: He's still an active little guy, but he doesn't kick around so much as roll and stretch. He's running out of room! 

Food cravings: Jersey Mike's sandwiches (this has probably been my most consistent craving, I've wanted a sandwich there pretty much once a week since the beginning), and nectarines! There are FINALLY nectarines at the grocery store!!  

Symptoms: Shortness of breath, hot flashes, occasional nausea, occasional back aches, fatigue, minor aches and cramps when the baby moves into an uncomfortable position. Those symptoms aren't constant, though. Just come and go throughout the day. 

Looking forward to: My friend Sam had her baby this weekend, and I'm looking forward to hearing how she's doing! Her husband sent a text after Carson was born saying that mom and baby were doing great, so I'm glad to hear she had a good labor and delivery.