Times, they are a changin'

I'm close to 35 weeks along at this point, and somewhere between Christmas and New Year's, everything just sort of changed. I had been warned that this would happen, but I'm amazed at how quickly I could go from feeling great to feeling like sludge. All of a sudden, I feel slower, heavier, more tired and just much more uncomfortable, all ... day ... long. All the energy I had throughout my second trimester and early third trimester? Gone. And those oh-so-cute baby kicks and punches that I had been feeling the past couple of months? Well they've been replaced by stronger rolling and stretching baby movements that spread from my ribcage to my pelvis. Baby M's favorite thing to do is jut out his/her back along the right side of my abdomen and stretch the walls of my uterus as far as it will possibly go. Thanks for that, Baby M. Trust me, I know you're there. I haven't forgotten. Between that and the daily Braxton Hicks contractions that highjack my abdomen with sudden hardening sensations, I'm feeling less and less in control of what my body is up to these days.

At least we don't have all that much more to do in preparation for Baby M. The nursery is basically complete, baby gear has been washed and I'm already slowly packing my hospital bag. We've got appointments with pediatricians and a car seat inspector within the next few weeks, but other than that, we're trying to enjoy our last few weeks of independence before becoming feeding and diaper changing machines. And honestly, we couldn't be more excited.

Here are some pics of Baby M's nursery. It's my favorite spot in the house (other than on the couch), and I just love going in there and looking around at all the colors and little baby things.