37 weeks--plump as a pumpkin

Along: 37w0d--I'm considered full-term today! I sure FEEL full-term...
Size of baby: Sweet Pea is the size of a pumpkin--between 6-7 lbs and 20 inches long. There were no pumpkins to be found in August, and the remaining weeks of fruit are getting more rare, so we may just have 1-2 fruit pics left. I do have a belly sticker for all the remaining weeks, though!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I gained 0.9 lbs since last week, so I'm at a flat 27 lbs. I feel a lot softer and squishier in my body, and a lot bigger and tighter in my belly.
Maternity Clothes: I'm in pretty limited options. We're taking maternity pictures this weekend, and it was an ordeal to find something I already had to wear for them. There was no way I was buying something new for pictures and then wear it for less than 3 weeks. I compromised and bought a necklace. :)
Gender: It's a girl! Cara Beth Connell
Movement: Sweet girl is squirmy still. She does rolls, ripples, waves across the surface of my belly, balls up on the right side, throws her head back to create lots of great low pressure, and pretty much jostles from when I get up to when I go to sleep. So far, she's a night owl like mom, but she's probably taking her cues from me. When I've been up late at night this week, she's been bustling right along with me!
What I miss: being comfortable! I'm at that point--pretty much any position that I sit, lay, recline or stand, I get uncomfortable. She hasn't dropped, so I'm still having trouble breathing, so I still miss not getting winded when I do anything. I miss sleeping through the night, being able to turn off my brain and not requiring the A/C to be at 74 or lower. I'm planning a post about all my musings through my pregnancy, including a giant section of what I miss/what I hate/what I can't wait for, etc. These change from week to week.
Cravings: milk, ice water, frozen waffles, cereal, Whataburger Jrs. I still have my easily suggestible outlook on food, but I haven't been eating much this week. Partly because it's hot, and I've been tired and busy, but I've slacked on eating. I keep reminding myself that Cara doesn't feel the same way! I also finished off the last of Nana's chocolate cake (it was the perfect midnight snack while lesson planning), and felt sad that I couldn't have another one just because. I'll have to wait for my birthday for another one!
Symptoms: having a wired brain, feeling extremely tired, feeling quite uncomfortable, contractions--very sporadic, sometimes painful, sometimes not. I'm having some external belly pain--because my skin is stretching (but not leaving stretch marks!!), the nerves at the surface are breaking down, and I'm having numbness and pain. It feels sensitive, like a burn, tingles and just hurts. I've been putting warm compresses on it and lotion, but it's pretty irritating.
Best moment of the week: Finishing the nursery!! It feels so good to call it done and to do things in the room that are normal, like washing clothes and putting them away. It's all settled, so now I just stand in there and picture little CBC living and growing up in there. I'm also 90% done with 10 weeks of lessons for 2 courses. I'm going to finish 3 weeks tomorrow and put it to bed. I have worked really hard in the last 2 weeks, and I'm proud of how organized it is, but it has been a very hard project. It's going to be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders to leave it and walk away from it. I'm taking 10 weeks off of school and going back November 5--feels so good to say that! It also feels good to have the car seat installed/inspected, our swings built, the Pack 'n Play in our room and her bathroom set up with bathing necessities.
Looking forward to: Maternity pictures on Saturday. A teacher friend has a photography business as well, and she's going to take some of me and Chance. We're going early in the morning to miss as much of the heat as possible, and she's promised to take 30 minutes, tops. I'm also ready to pack (Emily, don't panic--I will get it done!!) the stacks I've been making and get that squared away and go on a nice date together to celebrate our last solo time together. It's exciting to think that any day I could wake up and go into labor, so I'll be looking forward to each day from here on out!