Week 33!

This week is number 33...only 7 more to go! It's crazy how fast it goes by. As much as I am tired of being pregnant, I am also not ready for Levi to come quite yet. He has some more cooking to do and I have some more preparing to do.

So my dear, sweet friends Kari and Lindsay threw me an amazing baby shower for my close friends and family! A big THANK YOU to everyone who was able to come. :) We got almost everything we needed and a bunch of other great things. We ended up having a monkey theme going on unintentionally, and let me tell you, we are stocked up with monkey stuff! So cute. Monkeys are kind of a thing for me, when I was little I had a stuffed monkey named Bobo and my dad used to make up bedtime stories about Bobo's adventures (kinda like Curious George)...mom made Bobo an outfit once too. So Lev is carrying on the tradition! Here are a few pics:

Clay's mom got us this onesie...ha!:

My niece Brooklynn and sis-in-law Kassi...Brooke likes her cousin already!

The hostesses with the mostess..ess!:

In other pregnancy news, Clay and I went to the doctor for a checkup last week and I was informed that I have gained almost 5 pounds in 2 weeks!! That is twice the weight I am "supposed" to be gaining. The doctor said "so um...just try to slow it down a little bit..." HA! I can't say I ever thought I'd hear that! Besides that, everything looks like it's going well, except for the fact that little Mr. Levi is still laying horizontally, which isn't too much of a problem at this point, but he should start to be heading head down fairly soon, which I hope he does because I really want to avoid having a C-section.



He...and myself too....are getting large. He's about 5 pounds already and should be gaining a half a pound a week from here on out! He's started pushing his hand (or foot?) out and I can GRAB IT!! Then he'll pull it back...wait a second or two...and do it again. I think he likes this little game.

One thing that has it's pros and cons lately is the "advice" I have been getting, which actually is nothing new because everyone has been adding in their two cents since I've become pregnant. Now, this isn't to say that I don't like advice or that I don't find it helpful. It most definitely is! And for the most part I truly do like hearing people's pregnancy and birth stories and tips that they've discovered. But to be honest, it gets a little annoying sometimes, usually when it's from strangers or people who feel like they have to scare me with every little detail. So for the record, I do not enjoy being told how "huge" my belly is getting...I do own a mirror. And telling me that only makes me feel freakish and scared that I'm going to have a ginormous baby to deliver. I don't like being told that my boobs haven't gotten much bigger either. I am aware of this fact. Yes, I know my clothes don't fit anymore but I'm tired of buying ugly clothes that I grow out of every 2 weeks, so deal with it. You don't have to look at my bellybutton through my shirt if it bothers you that much. I don't talk about your body or criticize how you look all the time, and just because I happen to have a human growing inside of me doesn't give you the right to either. I also do not like being made fun of for using the restroom constantly...there is a 5 pound kid tap dancing on my bladder, thank you very much. I also do not appreciate stories of your 60 hour labor, your guts on the table during your c-section, and your newborn's brush with death. I'm freaked out enough, and telling me horror stories doesn't better prepare me for anything. So there's my rant.

Anyway, last night Clay and I started our first birth class (we have 3 all together) at the hospital. It was kinda fun actually, probably much more so for me than for Clay, but he didn't look too miserable. ;) And get this: out of the 14 couples in the class, 12 of us are having boys!! Weird huh? I thought so.

It was more of an introduction class, but we did learn about signs of early labor, pre-term labor, and some breathing and relaxation techniques. Man oh man am I scared to give birth!! BUT we learned that fear is a huge contributer to tension, which increases pain, so I guess the more relaxed I am hopefully the better it will be. I'm countin' on Coach Clay!