36 weeks.

The end of pregnancy is ending and the beginning of something new and exciting is starting! The last few weeks haven't been without stress, but they've also been amazing and exciting. My belly is no longer round- it's in the shape of Layla now. Where she moves, my belly moves. I look down and sometimes I can see her butt sticking out! It is HILARIOUS! Watching and feeling her squirm around these days just leaves me in awe. I find myself staring at my belly just trying to catch a glimpse of her moving. It does hurt sometimes- I won't lie. If she's low enough- holy moly, I can barely walk! But, for the most part, feeling her move is the best feeling on the planet. I remember the worst feeling was the night I thought I was miscarrying. I was a wreck. I didn't know what to do. I came stumbling out of the bathroom in tears and Matt escorted me to the ER. We left with no answers. We had our emergency ultrasound- no answers. An excruciating couple of weeks crawled by and there was our baby- healthy, jumping around and just amazing. Matt was there and I'll never forget the look on his face seeing her for the first time. *sigh* my heart melts just thinking about it!

We have been very fortunate and blessed with our baby girl and couldn't be more thankful. 

This is me at 36 weeks pregnant. I know. Huge right? I definitely got my share of stretch marks. Which is fine really. I expected them. SO much is ahead that a few stretch marks are the least of my worries. The pain from them has subsided substantially and, although I'm aware the pain could come back, I have absolutely nothing wrong with dealing with it again. 

Meanwhile, It's almost midnight and I'm writing this blog. One thing pregnancy has done to me is taken away a lot of sleep. Tonight, I threw my back out- which is the main reason why I'm out on the couch watching Teen Mom and writing this blog...but, on top of that, I also have some mild heart burn and my RLS is acting up horribly. The RLS is acting up mostly because I haven't taken my Feosol today. When I had my glucose test done, they found that my hemoglobin was low and told me to take Feosol. It's an OTC supplement and has worked WONDERS on RLS. It's also improved my overall mood and energy level (and, hey! My skin doesn't have a yellow tinge anymore! SCORE!). If you find yourself struggling with RLS, I HIGHLY suggest talking to your doctor about your iron level. Mine was low enough to have to take this stuff twice a day. For me, RLS started coming on in the middle of the second trimester. Awful stuff. Just awful. But, I seem to have found a remedy and I just hope and pray that it goes away after I give birth (and I mean immediately after!).

My appointments are weekly now. It's great because I get to see Layla every week until she's here! I'm really hoping I start to "progress" this week. I'd really REALLY like her to get here a little early- providing she's healthy, of course! I'm anxious for her to arrive so I can see her, snuggle her and love her...but also because, I'm in pain. Yeah, I'm going to be a little selfish here. My back ACHES. It hurts to stand, to sit, to lay down...it just hurts. And now, I've thrown it completely. I can hardly walk around the house. I'm sure I'll be fine though, I've dealt with a thrown back before- I can add about 8 pounds of baby, placenta and amniotic fluid to the mix and be fine :).

Well, I'm off to try and get some sleep!