Adventures of Lil' Popeye: You're the size of a {head of romaine lettuce]

Being 36+ week pregnant...

Where has the time gone? I'm going to assume that it only gets worse from here; time lapsing before my very eyes and months pass by when has felt like only a week. Popeye will be born in just a few weeks and before we know it, she'll be walking and talking like a little adult! These past 36 1/2 (nearly 37 as I've writing this) weeks have been filled with many activities.

I'm not at the stage where I want to be "unpregnant" nor am I really uncomfortable yet. I do look forward to bending over again to more easily put on my socks or pick up something off the floor. The only soreness I have are my adductor muscles. Not sure what those are? Take a look at the most amusing pic I could find on the web! Adductor muscles and the ligaments in the area are essential for birthing (as you may assume when looking at the picture). Not sure if the lady pictured above is weight lifting or preparing to push out her child in her 6-pack belly. Either way, you get my point of where my body is sore. I've been very fortunate to have the experience I have had.

We had Popeye's 36 week check-in appointment on Tuesday. Like the other appointment, everything checked out great. I lost a pound (we'll get to this in the next section), the baby's heart rate was in the 120's, I got the Group B Strep test (negative!) and the first internal exam. We learned that Popeye is in the right position, facing down - but still is hiding far away from the cervix. She isn't done baking yet - which is a good thing! We really need to make it until March 16th (her due date) mostly because that will make exactly 12 weeks until the end of the school year and we are starting the cake decorating unit which wraps up the Friday before she is due. Yes, I realize that I have no say in the matter but I'll be crossing my legs as long as I can to hold her in!

According to babycenter.com "Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long (about the size of a head of romaine lettuce). She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. Most likely your baby is already head-down."

I didn't write a post last week because, well....many of us came down with flu-like symptoms after our baby shower. Nearly 1/3 of the guest list came down with Influenza A or a very serious viral infection. And, it didn't seem to matter whether or not you got the flu shot. This super bug was awful and there are still a couple of people who are dealing with the aftermath. G and I lucked out. I had gotten the flu-shot but Grant didn't. I started feeling bad on Monday after I worked a 13 hour day. In fact, I felt icky all day on Monday but we had a mandatory work night until 8 pm so I had to stay. By Tuesday morning, the illness was in full effect. I was coughing up phlegm, had a slight fever, sore throat, night sweats.....it wasn't pretty. Since the students were in the kitchens baking everyday this week, I went to work only to teach the 2 hours in the afternoon. It was rough. I spent the rest of my time sleeping from 5 pm until 10 am the next day....waking to eat a little but mostly just slept because I couldn't do much else. G started seeing symptoms the day after me but had more stiffness in his neck and night chills. We went on a hot date to Urgent Care together and then picked up some pre-made soup from the grocery store because the thought of even spending 15 minutes on my feet prepping an easy meal, was not something I could do mentally or physically at that time. The next day on my way home from work, I picked up more soup....again, because working just 2 hours wiped me out. And, as I describe this, please know that G and I got off this illness easy. There are others who had WAY worse symptoms :/

So, G and I decided no more life event parties because we have a tendency to get people sick when we are in a large group together. Take, for instance, our wedding. We say that we made everyone love sick...but another flu bug went around and got numerous people ill. :/

Aside from passing around the Super Bug and people getting sick, the baby shower was phenomenal! The theme was winter-inspired "Baby It's Cold Outside". So many of our close friends and family came to celebrate with us and it was great to spend a little bit of time with everyone. Holly made a winter-inspired Diaper Cake of a Snowman....too adorable and something you'd find in a craft magazine!

Holly's Diaper Cake

Maggie's Hot Cocoa Bar

The food was fantastic - Nina had a friend make these amazing cupcakes and cookies that were to die for. Holly picked up some of my very favorite cheese, Queso Fundido, from Chino Latino and made this MAGICAL punch - one for us pregnant people (non-alcoholic) and one called "baby maker" (spiked). While Maggie couldn't be there, she crafted up this awesome hot cocoa bar that looked like it was straight from a page in a magazine. There were other delicious snacks that I devoured of course but those were the top highlights.

The beautiful, creative cupcakes

The Adorable Cookies

Since the planning crew knew I wasn't into playing shower games, there was a wish tree, decorate-a-onesie station, and a baby daddy quiz. I'd like to say that I tied with my mom and Deb on the highest score! :)

Here are some of the creative onesies people made: