How do I only have 6 weeks to go?  I honestly don’t know how time seems to be slipping away during this pregnancy!

I’m starting to feel achy and tired much of the time.  My back hurts a lot, especially on my days at work where I am sitting in front of a computer all day.  If I walk too much or do too many things around the house, I get contractions.  They don’t hurt, but they *are* pretty uncomfortable.  I’ve had a lot of pressure with the contractions, so I’m just thinking my body is doing exactly what it did with Holden—that is, it’s preparing for a quick labor well in advance of my due date.

I’m up 25 lbs. total and my urine came back clean, so I don’t have to worry about additional antibiotics (whew!) Baby is measuring right where he should.  And EVERYONE comments on how active he is.  He kicks and squirms at just about all hours of the day and night.  He’s active more often than not, which is pretty different from my pregnancy with Holden, where H seemed to mostly rest but only kick occasionally.  This new baby kicks frequently *and* with force!  He wakes me up at night with his kicks.  My co-workers can see my shirt move from the kicks.  My blankets are often moved by his kicking at night.  My mother-in-law treated me to a massage last weekend (which was lovely), and the massage therapist commented that I have a very active baby. She was massaging my back but could still feel the kicking.  How weird is that?

I’ve begun packing the hospital bag already, complete with lanolin, freshly-laundered baby clothes, and granola bars.  I’m not going to pack any “tools” for getting through labor, since I am 99% sure I will be skipping early labor and going straight into transition (again).  Once you’re in transition, tools are just a nuisance and a pain.  I’m hoping for a short hospital stay this time—we were in the hospital for 4 days and 4 nights with Holden, which was way too long.  I want to be home inside of 2 days this time, but we’ll see how things go.

Holden is ready for his little brother to get here—he’s always waving at my belly, giving his brother kisses, and talking about how he wants to snuggle with him and “nurse” him after he’s born.

Other updates will have to wait until I have more energy to post—I’m *soooo* tired these days!  Hopefully I’ll have a moment to hop on tomorrow to share more of what has been going on.