weeks 32 and 33 & my chapel hill shower

At almost 34 weeks, Noah has made it further along than I did (I was born at 32 weeks).  He is the size of an average cantaloupe, weighing 4 3/4 pounds.  It is hard to imagine that something that big fits into me and that he is getting so much bigger each week (he gains approximately 1/2 a pound per week).  On our second to last (yay!) ultrasound this morning, the tech confirmed he has a full head of hair, which explains the heartburn I have been having.  Of all the crazy things you hear about pregnancy symptoms, it sounds like this link may be true (Johns Hopkins thinks so at least -http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/health/20really.html).  Since he is so big (well technically average), the ultrasound pictures aren't great.  He still loves to cover his face with his hands, so this is the best profile picture we could get. And, yes, we realize his lips and nose look huge, but they promised he has a cute button nose.  We'll see...

34 weeks

Also, I have gotten several requests for a belly picture, so here I am:

34 weeks

Besides getting bigger each week, I feel pretty great.  Sleeping is still a  pain because I can't get comfortable, and both Ben and I caught colds this weeks, so the congestion has made sleeping even harder, but otherwise I feel as good as ever.  I keep waiting to feel worse, and maybe/hopefully I will be lucky enough to feel good until the end (famous last words?).  I will say that I have been extremely hot, so the start of winter couldn't come at a better time.  Poor George, Nibby and Ben (especially Nibby who hates the cold), are dying at our house because I keep turning the heat off.  I figure at least I'm saving money on the heating bill, and we can use that to buy the 10-12 diapers he will apparently go through every day.

Noah and I have had a pretty eventful couple of weeks.  Nesting has hit in full effect, so the disorganization of the closets and refrigerator at home are driving me crazy, which in turn is driving Ben crazy.  Ben was out of town last weekend visiting his family, and that gave me a chance to revamp all 3 closets downstairs.  The container store may become my home away from home for the next 6 weeks - it is basically a dream come true for someone who can't stand clutter.  I have several more projects lined up, so as soon as I'm done with work (12 more days!), I will get started.

Two weekends ago, Leni, Leslie, Jess, Kristen and Heather threw me a baby shower in Chapel Hill.  There were lots of amazing decorations, delicious food and fun games.  Noah and I are so blessed to have such great friends and overwhelmed by everything they have done for us.  We also are grateful to now be almost fully stocked with the baby items we think we need (yes, I expect we have plenty of things we don't need and that there are a million things I don't yet know that we need). 

The Nibby has helped us test out some of our gifts, namely some outfits and our stroller.  As you can see, he is definitely larger than a 0-3 month old baby.  I think he might be more in the 9-12 month size.

While I was in Chapel Hill, I got to see baby Annabelle again, who is still doing great (although she is keeping Leni up most of the night), and that same weekend was Madison's first birthday, so we got to celebrate with her.  It is hard to believe that just a year ago she was born - Noah will be able to learn a lot from her, and he is certainly meant to be with an older woman.