35 Week Update
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Size of baby:  Camden is over 18 inches long head to heel and weighs in at 5.25 pounds, about the weight of a honeydew melon.

Total weight gain/loss:  +23.5 pounds

Maternity clothes:  Of course.

Gender:  Boy!

Movement:  I've begun doing kick counts to make sure all is well.  I still feel the occasional squirm or jab, but nothing like the acrobatics of the past several weeks.

Sleep:  Getting worse.

What I miss:  Being able to get out of bed without using a whole lot of effort.

Cravings:  Eric says I'm craving Fanta Orange, maybe he's right.

How I'm feeling:  Achy and swollen, but excited that we're getting closer and closer to meeting Camden.

Highlight of the week:  Camden's baseball themed baby shower was this past weekend.  We received a lot of the things we need to get life started with this little guy.  Now if we can just get his room painted and ready. . . .

35 weeks

We decided to let Maddie pick out some presents to take to baby brother's baby shower on Saturday.  I knew she'd have no interest in actually choosing something off of the registry, since when you're two years old toys are much more interesting than diapers and sheets.  I also knew we had quite a few baby toys packed away and there's no sense in buying more since he's not going to play with them very much.  So, I came up with the idea of letting her shop through her old toys and whatever she "bought" (put in her shopping cart) is what we'd let her take to the shower.  Here's what happened:

She cracks me up.  I guess I'll have to go through her "purchases" and decide what she's actually going to take.  I'm glad we did it this way as opposed to going to a store to pick out a toy.  She had so much fun shopping with her pink cart.  :)

A bulleted update:

• I'm 34 weeks today.  The swelling of my feet and ankles has officially begun and there's no stopping labor once it starts.
• We cleaned out Camden's room yesterday.  Now it's just a matter of figuring out furniture arrangement and painting a border and baseball wall.
• Camden's shower is on Saturday.  I'm excited!
• Sarah's coming to town this coming weekend too!
• Someone mowed our yard while we were at church.  Thank you, whoever you are.
• Maddie loves to sing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."  This isn't the best video seeing as how she's running around and congested, but it's all I've got right now:

Have you ever sold anything on a consignment page or Craigslist?  Oh my gosh, it is too much fun!  I've posted several items to these sites in the last few days.  Here's what I like about it:

• Taking pictures of the item.  Seriously.  I really believe that a good quality picture of the product makes it more sell-able, even on one of these kinds of sites.  Plus the objects sit still, much unlike Maddie, so it's not too hard to get a good shot, which in turn makes me feel pretty good about my picture taking abilities. :)

• Coming up with the briefest possible description that has enough detail to catch one's eye, but not so much that they get tired of reading.
• Sitting back and waiting for a response.  It's particularly fun when the response is within a few minutes of posting.
• Making money.  Eric and I have decided to keep the money we make in a jar to put towards something.  We could use some help figuring out what that something should be, if you want to contribute your ideas.  I think it'll be better for us to purposely set the money aside, otherwise it will go in my wallet, a little will be spent here and there, and before we know it it will be gone.
• Clearing our house of unwanted items.  Less to dust, less to organize.

I suppose all of this makes me a really big nerd, but at least I'm having fun doing it!

33 Week Update

Size of baby:  Camden is approximately 17.5 inches and weighs about 4.5 pounds, about as much as a grownup duck. . . or a pineapple, but a duck's more interesting, right?

Total weight gain/loss:  +21 pounds, not bad!  :)  I don't have horribly swollen feet and legs like I did with Maddie, so I think that is helping keep my weight down.

Maternity clothes:  Yes

Gender:  Boy

Movement:  He still moves quite a bit, but I can definitely tell he's starting to run out of space.

Sleep:  Uncomfortable, but at least I don't have to get up to go to the bathroom multiple times. . . yet.

What I miss:  Being comfortable.  I think this will be my staple answer for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Cravings:  Fruit and vegetables.  Not!

How I'm feeling:  Like I have a bowling ball very low in my belly.

Highlight of the week:  Getting the remainder of my doctor's appointments scheduled.  Camden will be here before we know it!

33 weeks, 2 days

Baby Boy has had a name for a while now and I was perfectly fine keeping it a secret until I realized Maddie was saying his name more and more regularly when we asked her.  So on August 25th Eric and I were ready to reveal his name, but since several family members couldn't make it over to our house we just told my sister, Rachel, and waited for a more convenient time to tell everyone else.

That time finally came on September 7th.  My mom and Aunt Carol decided to play things up and decorated our house with balloons, a cake, and baby boy plates and napkins.  Once everyone made it over, we gave them a stack of index cards, each of which had a letter from Baby Boy's name written on it.  With a little help from Maddie, they were able to figure out the first name.  Shortly thereafter, they determined the middle name as well.

I suppose this is where I should tell YOU what Baby Boy's name is, but I'll let Maddie do the honors instead:

There you have it!  We can finally refer to Baby Boy by his name!  He does have a middle name as well, but I don't want to reveal it on here for privacy's sake.  Just ask and we'll be happy to share.  :)

P.S.  Am I the only one who can't get her child to look at the camera and smile on cue?

I really wish I was one of those people who cleaned house when stressed out. . . instead I eat.  :/  After half a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I just feel sick.  I really should find a new stress reducer.

What do you do when stressed?  Bake, clean, sleep, exercise?