36 weeks and almost full term!

This week starts week 36 for me and Bambino! Next week I'll be full term. It's really hard to believe that we are only weeks away from meeting him/her. It's still surreal to me that we're having a baby! Time really does fly by when you're pregnant!

34 weeks, 6 days in the Dolomites, north
of Belluna, Italy

Last week was amazing- Josh and I spent a week in the Veneto region of Italy and relaxed. It's different traveling now because the car is really uncomfortable (my hips start to really hurt), and I get so winded because my lungs are being crushed by Bambino. This makes it difficult to do the things we used to do when we traveled (IE: spend a day driving around and visiting cities, walking many miles to see everything). Not to mention, needing to use the bathroom all of the time is difficult in Italy... There aren't many places that are open at this time of year! Not to mention they don't always let you use the bathroom. Even so, we were able to visit some pretty amazing places that I'll write about later.

Anything new this week for me? Well, my feet are constantly swollen now and it's driving me crazy. I have put myself of self-imposed bed rest in the afternoons to keep my feet up and that seems to help, but they are just always swollen now. I also feel like a complete hermit these days. Yes, we get out and do things, and I still see people, but I'm mostly happy just staying at home. It's so much easier- I don't have to search for a place to use the bathroom, and I have snacks readily available. My clothes are starting to get too tight now too. Some of my maternity clothes don't fit anymore, so I'm mainly in tanks and a pair of black maternity pj shorts, or a dress. It's been so hot that most of my maternity clothes wouldn't be comfortable anyways.

Things I'm excited for:
There are so many I'm not sure where to start! I'm really excited about Bambino finally arriving and meeting the little one. It will be nice to finally see the face, arms and legs that I've felt moving inside me for the past few months. In addition to that, I'm excited to get my old body back... I miss snuggling with Josh and night, and I miss being able to wear normal clothes. I'm also excited about running again!! I miss it so much.

New cravings?
Not really. I'm still craving sweet things and all of the gelato everywhere is driving me crazy! It's super hot now and everyone is eating gelato to cool off. Unfortunately it's not in my pregnancy diet, so it's just torture! I do have cravings for salty stuff now too though, and I've been craving beef. For whatever reason, Bambino needs lots of meat... so I've been craving anything with beef- tacos, sloppy joes, steak, hot dish, cheeseburgers... if it has beef, I want it!

35 weeks, overlooking the Valdobiadene wine region

Exercise:
It's getting more and more difficult to exercise, but I keep walking as much as possible. I even take the stairs when I can. But I find that prenatal yoga is the best thing for me now. It's challenging, but at the same time it really stretches everything and makes my body feel so much better. It really helps my back with all of the extra weight it's carrying these days.

Names:
We've narrowed it down to two boy’s names and one girl name. And no, I won't be sharing on the blog... you'll have to wait to hear them when we announce Bambino's arrival. But, I can tell you that it's been an interesting ongoing conversation and we've decided on an Italian middle name. Originally I really wanted Lillian (my grandmothers name), and I think my cousin Jenna wanted the same name for a girl! What's funny is that as soon as I told Josh about that, he vetoed it instantly (I believe the same thing happened with Jenna). I love the name, but apparently he had a babysitter named Lillian that he really didn't like, so the name brought bad memories.

Me, constantly eating and my "not happy" face because we've
been in the car all day. Man I feel huge now!

Josh has been so sweet throughout everything and he's even started "nesting" a bit too. I've been mainly preparing for the delivery (since the nursery is pretty much ready) with research and looking at ways to assist a natural birth, and he's been preparing as well. When we went to the grocery store the other day and saw that diapers were 40% off, he was excited to go back the next day and stock up on more diapers. We now have boxes upon boxes of diapers! But hopefully they will last us a while :)

With that, and a few things that Josh is picking up this week while he is in Minnesota for work, the nursery is all set for Bambino to arrive! He/she just has to wait until next week when Josh is back in Milan, and the baby will be full term. After that, I guess Bambino can arrive whenever he/she is ready! The car seat is even installed and waiting.