36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss? 29 pounds, although I find it really difficult to weigh myself in our rental property because none of the floors are even and the only room without carpeting is the kitchen!

Maternity clothes? Yes, and even some of these are too small to go over the bump. I still can zip up my puffy but unfortunately a little bit of my belly is left uncovered :)

Stretch Marks? No. I had a major itch attack in Paris though, my whole body was itching and I broke out in a rash on my face and chest, I told the midwife, and she's ordered a blood test to be on the safe side and make sure that it's not something to do with my liver, especially since I'm on blood thinners. She's pretty confident that all is fine and it's just pregnancy hormones but it will be a relief when this itchiness stops and my face no longer feels like I've been skiing everyday in the cold wind! 
To top it all off I went into a panic last night when I found out that my eczema cream, prescribed by the doctor, contains parabens which can be harmful in pregnancy and life in general. This led to a 60 minute Internet search on whether or not parabens are safe during pregnancy. From what I read the EU has strict regulations on the quantity of parabens in products that must be followed by law, unlike the USA, and they say there is no harm during pregnancy, phew! I'm still never using the cream again because who wants to add extra chemicals to their bodies, we're exposed to enough! I decided rubbing my 100% all natural Shea butter and coconut oil on my face was a better option, after all I have dry skin so I don't usually break out anyway so I figured the coconut oil would be just fine :)

Sleep? The sleep gods have finally reined down on this pregnant lady, my sleep is fantastic at the moment, if I get up in the night I'm able to fall right back asleep and it's pure heaven. I usually get pretty tired in the afternoon and need a nap though, it must be carrying around this extra weight, word of advice, don't get fat, ever, it really does a number on your body. I know I'm not fat, just pregnant, but this extra 30 pounds is exhausting, even climbing a flight of stairs feels like a full body workout. And to think that I almost considered taking the stairs to the top of the Eiffel tower to save a few euros, I would have been escorted out in a wheelchair if I attempted them at this stage! 

Best Moment this Week? Our last afternoon in Paris, we finished loading up the stand early, so we had the afternoon off to explore. Josh, Gareth, Jess, and I first went to a cafe for some amazing hot chocolate, then we went to a top rated restaurant for crepes and cider, I now have a new food obsession and have ordered Josh to purchase a special crepe frying pan so we can make our own at home. Jess and I then went to an adorable boutique which sold the most amazing shoes and we each purchased a pair. When I brought them back, Josh said, "Those are so Jess, but they're really cool." I don't have the best fashion sense so I was happy to have my sister in law along to help me pick out some new shoes, I liked them when I saw them but sometimes I like things that are really awful to everyone else, at least with Jess's approval I knew they were fashionable! We then made the trek to the Eiffel Tower and finally decided to spend the 15 Euros to go to the top, we froze for about 20 minutes, came back down, had a drink, laughed at Gareth, ate some Mexican, got a Gelato and went back to the flat. When we arrived back to the flat Josh read out an Amazon review for Veet Hair Removal for Men, I honestly can say that I've never laughed so hard in my life, we were all crying, and I almost peed my pants, just thinking about it now makes me crack up. It's a must read, click here: Veet Hair Removal for Men. You'll find several reviews, all hilarious, but the one that got us was the 3rd one down written by A. Chappell, enjoy!
Worst Moment this Week?  Arriving home to the house being 40 degrees Fahrenheit because I thought it was a good idea to switch the heating off since we were away for a week. Unfortunately, England decided to get really cold while we were away. Also, the rental only has overnight storage heaters, so the fact that I turned the heat on as soon as I got home didn't actually mean the house would get warm straight away, it takes 2+ days to get the house back to an acceptable temperature after the heaters have been switched off. Both Josh and I decided that the next time we go away, I won't be switching the heat off!

Miss Anything? Not really, I do wish our house was finished though, as the baby gear continues to expand our rental seems to be getting increasingly smaller. I suppose that when we finally get to move back into our finished house it will seem massive in comparison to the way we have lived all these years!

Movement? Yes and his heart is still as strong as ever.

Food Cravings?  Nothing in particular, I am thirsty all the time though.

Anything Make you Queasy or Sick? Just the smell of a woman's salad dressing on the train ride home Thursday.

Date and Weight Prediction? The midwife said he hasn't dropped at all yet so I'll say March 1st, also he weighs just under 6 pounds now so I'm going to say he'll weigh 7 pounds 8 ounces.

Labour signs? No, just some practice contractions here and there.

Symptoms?  Extreme itchiness!

Belly button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off?  On.

Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy

Looking forward to: A night in by the fire with Joshy and Hobson :)

Chalkboard idea and pregnancy questions came from littlebabygarvin.blogspot.com