Now all I need is a baby. 35 weeks 6 days.

The nursery is all put together. Everything has been washed, sanitized, and organized. All the gear that blinks, shakes, or sings has batteries. We've attended a breastfeeding class and next week we learn about Infant Care for the First Six Weeks of Life. We have two weeks of Bradley classes left. I'm running out of reasons to go to Target. We are so ready for this baby, which means I'm super bored.

I use the term "ready" loosely, because of course you can always use more time in these situations. However I do feel like if I went into labor right now I would feel totally confident in our preparedness. We've been practicing the labor techniques we learned in class, so I feel like we have that down pretty well. The only reason why going into labor now would not be good is because I still have some projects to wrap up at work. My temporary replacement started this past week so I've been working on training her which is taking time away from my being productive in the final weeks. She's really nice and she's been in HR for something like 30 years. I really hope she doesn't do a better job than I do, otherwise they may not want me to come back! Must.. find a way.. to sabotage her...

I've been having those annoying stabbing pains more often. I asked my doctor about them a couple weeks ago and she said it's just the baby moving around, and since space is limited as she gets bigger that's why it's becoming painful. It feels like Zoey is headbutting my cervix, trying to break free! I don't think I've had any more contractions, and if I have then they aren't painful. My stomach does feel awfully tight sometimes so perhaps those are very mild Braxton Hicks contractions. Other than that I'm feeling really good lately. I'm not giant and swollen yet and I still have a good amount of energy. I do get tired pretty early - in fact last night (Friday) I started nodding off at 9:30. How lame am I! I used to be quite the night owl. Now I can't even make it through the local news.

I have a feeling Zoey is going to arrive early. Not really sure why, just a premonition I have. :)

• How far along?: 35 weeks
  
• Weight gain: 17 pounds
  
• Maternity clothes: So tired of the elastic waist bands that go up to my arm pits. I miss my old clothes.
  
• Sleep: I love to sleep, any time of day. I still have to get up two to three times a night to go to the bathroom.
  
• Stretch marks: Oh my god they are coming on fast and furious now. Every time I feel an itch on my belly I know another one is popping up. So very sad. :(
  
• Movement: I get kicked in the ribs pretty often, hiccups are pretty regular, and she likes to stretch and swim around a lot.
  
• Gender: Girl!!!
  
• Best moment of this week: 5:00pm on Friday when I could finally relax! It has been a long week.
  
• Food cravings: I have to have sweets almost daily, other than that nothing notable.
  
• Belly button in or out: In, and doesn't look like it's going anywhere.
  
• What I miss most: Booze. And a stomach free of blemishes.
  
• What I'm looking forward to: My appointment on Tuesday. I think I may have my first internal this week, so here's hoping for some progress!
• Words of wisdom: "There's no hope without dope." -Jake's dad, after I told him I'm having a natural birth