Let's talk details!

How far along: 39 weeks/1 day (less than a week to go!)

Total weight gain: 34 pounds (up 1 pound from last week)

Maternity clothes: I have 7 dresses that I rotate. I also wear my yoga capri pants and pj pants. And that is about it. Can't wait for my old clothes to fit again!

Main symptoms: My. Big. Belly. It gets in the way of nearly everything I do. And it makesmy back hurt a little and I get tired and gassy. But other than that, nothing else...
Exercise: Stretching, bouncing on exercise ball, kegels, walking.

Best moment: Spending a relaxing Sunday with Papa Bean in downtown Bethesda where I got my hair cut and a mani/pedi! All ready for the big day!

Movement: Still VERY active in there! She is still head down, which is good. But with less room, the movements are more controlled rippeling and less crazy undulating.

Food cravings: Orange juice and cold fruit smoothies.

Gender: DEFINITELY A GIRL! We asked the new sonogram technician at our Week 38 ultrasound and he said for sure a girl. So we now have THREE DIFFERENT sonogram technicians telling us girl. If they are ALL wrong, that will be quite a shocker!

Labor signs: Still NONE! No Braxton Hicks contractions either! I am 1 cm dilated and 25% effaced, which is what I was last week. So, basically, we got nothing goning on here...

Belly button in or out? OUT. Totally. It's not too bad, but it is definitely OUT. Kinda weird...

What I miss: Red red wine... And my waist line.

What I am looking forward to: Baby's arrival! Any time now! Oh, and also my parents arrival on Friday, in anticipation of baby's arrival!

Weekly wisdom: Some of the baby stuff that we purchased, based on recommendations in books and at the store, has turned out to be possibly unsafe: breathable bumpers, Ultimate crib sheets, infant head rest for car seat. So, keep things in the packaging and keep your receipts and always do your homework! We might end up doing a few returns...

Milestones: We got our car seat installed! We took the babycare skills class at Sibley Hospital! I washed most baby bedding, swaddling blankets, burp clothes and newborn clothes! Papa Bean set up all our Pack 'n Play, Swing and Infant Bouncer! We got a beautiful outfit to take baby home in and Papa Bean ordered me a gorgeous Kate Spade diaper bag! We also took some maternity pictures... And our crib has finally been delivered! We now have sheets, towels, pillows, lamps and other things in our guest rooms and extra toilet paper downstairs. We are pretty much ready!

Exercise ball - For labor?

You might have noticed in my last post that one of my questions had to do with bringing an exercise ball with me to the hospital. No, I'm not planning to exercise while in labor!

I've read that using an exercise ball can be helpful for not only exercise (I've done abs on them before) but also for active labor. You can sit on them or kneel with your arms over the ball. You can also use them after birth to rock the baby - and get back into shape!

The nurse who taught our birth class a couple months ago recommended using one. Sibley hospital has several for use by women in labor, but you can also bring your own to make sure you have one to use and so you can use it both before and after labor.

Read more about using a "birth ball" during labor here and here and here. For pictures of the different positions, click here and here.

A while ago, I ordered a Valeo exercise ball from Amazon.com for $24.99. Now that we're moved into our new house and have more room, I asked Papa Bean to blow it up! Here is my beautiful pink ball, waiting to be labored on!