Bumpdate: 36 weeks!

Guess What?! I hit 36 weeks today! Officially hit the 9 month mark and holy crap, that means Baby Boy is going to be here SOON! It blows my mind that if labor starts next week that they won't try to stop it. Eeek!!

Bumpdate Stats:

Weight Gain: About 28 pounds at 9 months. I was hoping to not gain anymore than 30 so we're getting close to that mark. I've honestly ate pretty well throughout the whole pregnancy and stay active at work. I was hoping to get some more workout's in, but by the time that I'm done with work, I'm pretty spent for the day and crash once I get home. I really can't wait to be active again and to have some energy after pregnancy. :)

Baby Size: Head of Romaine Lettuce (18 1/2 inches long and almost 6 pounds). At this point baby gains about an ounce a day.

What I've Been Eating: Little meals at a time because there's no room for much more. Still eating lots of peanut butter, fruits and veggies. Been digging nuts lately too. And of course lots of Turkey this week. :)

How I've Been Feeling: Tired and getting a bit more achy. Work kicks my butt when I stand all day (back aches). Still no swelling though so that's awesome! I feel like he's moved down lower so that's becoming uncomfortable to the point that it makes me wince at times. To be honest, for being 9 months pregnant I thought that I'd feel a lot worse so I'm pretty thankful.

Am I Showing Yet:  Duh.

I can't really tell if I've dropped...can you?

Any Other Symptoms: Occasional Braxton Hicks contractions and some insomnia. I think a lot of it has to deal with my work schedule kind of being all over the place (some days I work 1st shift and then others I'm working 2nd shift)

Best Moment of the Week: We had a great Thanksgiving with family. We had my parents over and Ryan's as well. It was great to not have to travel on the holidays like we have done for the last 10 years. Lots of great foods, company and celebrating. My sister got to feel the baby move too, so it was a pretty good feeling too. We also did lots of relaxing on our days off and Christmas decorating.

My sis and I

Ryan and my mom helping out in the kitchen and carving the bird.

The dads hanging out by the fireplace

The turkey apron my grandma made has been passed down to me. :) 

Anything Else: I have a work baby shower on Friday so that's really exciting. I feel so lucky and thankful to have my co-workers do this for me. I'm sure he'll be spoiled. :)  Also started my week OB visits this week. His heartbeat was strong and steady at 150. And we FINALLY told family what his name is going to be.

At this time next week there could be a baby?!?!?! WHOA! 

Any last minute labor and delivery tips that I need to know/remember?

Thanksgiving Eve.

I'm all about being prepared.  If you ask my husband he would probably tell you that I think it through and worry about having everything prepped way too much when it comes to hosting a party/dinner.  My thought behind all of this is that I want to spend the day enjoying myself with family and friends, instead of slaving away behind the stove.  Don't get me wrong, I love the cooking aspect of it, but want to spend as much time with our guests as possibly, hence why I spend the day before prepping as much as I can.

As you probably already guessed, today was spent preparing for tomorrow.  Initially, it was just going to be the husband & I, but his family is now coming up to celebrate with us.  The only thing that could make it better would be if my family was also able to make the trip, but traveling is a bit more difficult for my family.  I woke up and headed to the kitchen right away.  First thing I started on was the cranberry sauce that I can wait to dive into.

I started with 3 cups of fresh cranberries, added the juice and zest of one tangerine, 1/3 cup of water, 3/4 cup of sugar and dash of allspice.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then lower temp and simmer for 25 minutes. Once it cools it thickens up.

Let me tell you: This smells amazing.  I love pairing a nice juicy turkey breast with the sweetness of cranberry.

After this was complete, I jumped into the next project of stuffing.  Originally I planned on making an artichoke stuffing, but was unable to get all the ingredients needed, so instead improvised.  I'm always trying to make sure to waste as little as I can when it comes to food in our house.  Often times I'll find a recipe that sounds amazing, but use it as a base and add and subtract ingredients based on what we have in the house and what needs to be used.  For the most part it always works well, so I'm crossing my fingers that this one does as well.  

Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
• 2 granny smith apples chopped (with skin)
• 2 small onions - diced
• 2 medium loaves of french bread (it's what we had that needed used, could substitute).  Around 8 cups of bread needed.
• 1 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1-2 teaspoons of italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning.

Heat oven to 375 & coat baking dish with butter.

Chop your bread of choice into small cubes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Once melted add the celery. apple and onion and saute until the apples are easily pierced with a fork.  

Add your broth, and also the poultry and italian seasoning and bring to boil.  Once you reach boil, reduce temperature and simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Add your veggie & broth mixture to your bread cubes and mix well, making sure it is evenly distributed.

Place into baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top of the stuffing starts to brown.

I stored mine in a bowl and covered and placed in the fridge until tomorrow when I plan on baking it.  The smell of it alone has me excited for tomorrow.

What's everyone's holiday plans?  Anything in particular that you are making or excited to make?