30 weeks! It’s a milestone!
26 Aug 2011 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 3rd trimester, Me, pregnancy
What’s going on this week:
Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
My Update:
Due Date: November 4, 2011 – 70 days to go! (in other words, exactly 10 weeks…wonder if he’ll come sooner or later?)
Weight Gain: +16 lbs from pre-preg weight.
Symptoms: I can pretty much pee on command. Even if I just went. I can go again. And I think I had my first Braxton Hicks contraction! Scott and I were out walking one evening and my whole belly got very tight and then after about 15-20 seconds it started to relax again. That’s the only one I think I’ve had so far….at least that I’ve noticed.
Cravings/Aversions: Still crushed ice. And the other night, just as we were laying down to sleep I wanted orange juice really bad. I didn’t get up and get it though, because drinking OJ right before laying down sounds like a recipe for heartburn if you ask me, and I’ve managed to avoid that uncomfortable symptom completely, so far – no need to tempt fate.
Sleep: OK….I notice that on Thursday nights, after we’ve gone to our childbirth class, and talked and discussed a lot of baby-related things for a couple of hours, (both in the class and then Scott and I by ourselves at dinner afterwards) my mind is buzzing, and I fall asleep fine, but tend to wake up after a couple of hours and have trouble turning my brain off. Thankfully we’ve only got one more childbirth class left, and so I expect that after that, my normal sleep habits will resume.
I am loving: Working from home has been great so far. Especially since we’ve been having record breaking heat day in and day out….not having to go out in it every single day has been so nice. I’m feeling very lucky!
I miss: Being able to take a full breath without really concentrating on it. This baby is definitely getting bigger and sometimes he is positioned in such a way that I can barely catchy my breath if I am sitting or all all scrunched up. It’s a really strange sensation.
Movement: Still good! Lots of kicks, and I *think* he’s still head down, considering where I feel the hardest and most frequent kicks (off to my far right side).
Nursery progress: No change this week.
Exercise: We branched out and went for a bike ride this week instead of walking. As Scott said about 3/4 of the way through, “Try to enjoy this ride, because it’s your last one.” I think he was feeling pretty nervous about my bike riding abilities while pregnant and was envisioning a bad crash and towards the end of the ride was fully convinced it was a bad idea to begin with. I don’t have that great of a track record with bike riding, but it was a pretty easy ride and I did fine. The worst part was kind of being hunched over on the bike…the belly doesn’t smush like it used to, so that was kind of uncomfortable. All in all, I’m not upset to not get back on the bike until after this kiddo is born. We’ll stick with walking , or the stationary recumbent bike that’s in the air conditioning.
Looking forward to: Still the Houston baby shower! And on this Sunday I’m having a girls day out that should be a blast!
Belly Shot:
Happenings
25 Aug 2011 Comments Off on Happenings
in Uncategorized Tags: Domestic Bliss, Home Improvements, Me
So, not a lot has been going on baby-wise this week, and I noticed the other day that I had some pictures on my phone that I thought might be worth sharing, at the same time I caught everyone up on the weekend recap.
This past weekend Scott and I got to spend a lot of quality time together. We started off on Friday night by deciding to go out to eat and then to a movie. But there wasn’t really much showing at the theater that we were interested in seeing, except ‘The Help,’ which I had planned on just going to see by myself one day since I considered it a chick-flick and didn’t think Scott would be interested. I loved the book so much, that I was really anticipating the movie coming out, but nervous that it wouldn’t live up. But… I had heard from friends that the movie was well done and a good representation of the book so I was hopeful! Anyhow, lacking anything else that sparked our interest, we just decided to go out to eat and then come back home and watch a movie here, so we went ahead and got ready to go. But when I came downstairs, there were 2 tickets to ‘The Help’ printed out and ready to go! Yay! So we had a fine time out to dinner, wandering around Barnes and Noble to kill some time, and then heading to the movie. MMMMmmm..Coke and Reese’s Pieces.
(Side note: The movie was very good. I was quite happy with it, and even Scott liked it a lot. Of course, there was a lot of stuff left out, and the characters can’t be quite as developed as they were in the book, which is understandable. There’s only so much info you can fit into a 2.5 hour movie. But overall, they did a great job with it. I even dreamed about those characters that night – and they were all knocking around in my head for day or two after, as well. Kind of like getting to see, and visit with, old friends, but then having to say goodbye again. They stick with you for a while!)
And then on Saturday, we had planned to drive out to this gas station in Circleville (which is seriously a map-dot town about 20-30 minutes away from Georgetown) for lunch – Scott had a recommendation for fantastic hamburgers at a gas station there, from one of his co-workers, so we decided to be brave and check it out. I really wish I would have snapped a picture or two of this place, but there was no need to draw anymore attention to ourselves. I’m pretty sure they all knew we were ‘not from around those parts.’ It literally was an old, run-down gas station, kind of combined with an antique junk store, and it seriously looked like a perfect movie set for a scene where some hapless folks from out-of-town are driving through, and stop in for directions, never to be seen again. Obviously we made it out fine, and the burgers were quite good, but the place…well, I wish you all could have been there.
After lunch we drove around Taylor, Texas and Granger, Texas just for the heck of it. Mostly checking out the old, abandoned downtown areas and all the really cool old industrial buildings that Scott would love to get his hands on. And we stopped at this one really old historic home that was for sale in Granger and peeked in the windows and walked all around it, until we noticed some indicators that maybe someone actually still lived in it, so we got back in the car and took off before we got busted for being peeping toms.
Some shaved ice for me, and coffee for Scott, on the way home, and we were happy. I can’t really remember what happened on Sunday, so it must not have been too exciting, so we’ll just skip over it.
On to the random pictures!
So, Mom and I found this picture when I was in FL, and I loved it so much that I took a picture of it just so I could have it. It’s of me and Lisa and I really would love to know why I’m looking at her so suspiciously. She says she was probably pinching me under the towel. Also, be amazed, because Mom still has that towel in her possession.
Here is the finished china cabinet project! Which really wasn’t a ‘project’ at all – it was just me unpacking all the china and putting it in the cabinet, but it took a while…so…project! It turned out that every single piece fit just fine and looks quite nice, if I do say so myself. It is a full 12 place settings, with more plates for each setting than I really know what to do with, a coffee pot with sugar and creamer vessels, gravy boat with its own saucer, serving platters and a covered vegetable dish and an uncovered….other vegetable dish?
If anyone has a guess to why there are 14 coffee cups, but only 11 saucers, let me know.
I’m glad it’s done…hopefully the dishes will see some use, finally, during the upcoming holidays.
And just because the cats don’t get enough airtime here, a gratuitous picture of Bodhi in one of his latest favorite sleeping spots.
29w6d
29 weeks!
19 Aug 2011 9 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 3rd trimester, pregnancy
What’s going on this week:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you’ll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby’s hardening skeleton each day.
My Update:
Due Date: November 4, 2011 – 77 days to go! (I’ve started going in for midwife appointments every two weeks now!)
Weight Gain: +15 lbs from pre-preg weight. No change this week.
Symptoms: Nothing particularly new here.
Cravings/Aversions: Still crushed ice.
Sleep: Pretty good the last 4-5 nights. Scott and I have been going for walks still in the evenings, and I think that is making is even easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep really well.
I am loving: My belly. I really do love it.
I miss: Not feeling winded after going up the stairs.
Movement: Still really good! Lots of belly-shaking kicks. I like it especially when someone else gets to see them..it’s fun to share. 🙂
Nursery progress: I spackled the nail holes! Hurray!
Exercise: Still walking most nights…although I skipped yoga this week.
Looking forward to: The baby shower in Houston on the 3rd.
Belly Shot:
Thanks to Lisa for the hand-me-down dress. This was the first time I wore it and got 2 compliments!
Straight A Student
18 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 3rd trimester, Me, pregnancy
Well, to cut right to the chase, I aced both my glucose tolerance test and the BP re-check.
The glucose tolerance results came back perfect – my glucose was 81 (and they want it to be under 140), I’m not anemic, and my hemoglobin was behaving just right, as well. Yay! Cookies and desserts for everyone! Well, everyone that took a glucose test and passed it, that is. 🙂
And despite being worried about it for most of the day, my BP was 118/63 when I went in for my quick re-check. Heather, my midwife, was very pleased, and said to keep doing what I’ve been doing. So, whew.
And, that’s about all the updates I’ve got for you today.
So, here, have a picture of my belly, in all its glory.
28w6d
For the good of the baby….
16 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: 3rd trimester, Me, pregnancy
This was my breakfast yesterday…before my blood draw to check for gestational diabetes. It was a hard job, but it was my responsibility to do my best. With Scott’s encouragement of “you’d better pour the rest of that syrup on that pancake”, I was successful. I should have the results back tomorrow.
The rest of my check up was fine, except that my blood pressure was high again. So, I’m on an increased protein diet (100 grams a day!), extra hydration and lots of taking it easy and I go back on Thursday for them to recheck me. I’m hoping that it was just that I was a tad anxious about the glucose test (not that I could do anything about it one way or the other…I just want everything to be fine and to be free of the concern of it, you know?) and that by Thursday my blood pressure numbers will be back to an acceptable range.
Other than that pesky BP, my urine checked out fine, weight gain was good, and the baby’s heartbeat sounds perfect. Also, I noticed this past week that I started feeling what I am pretty sure are baby hiccups! I can feel them really low down by my pelvic bone, so I was *hoping* that meant the baby was now head down. (he’s been pretty much transverse as far as they can tell at each appointment so far.) The midwife agreed that she thought he was in the head down position while she did all the palpating of my belly, so that’s good! I know that he will probably change his alignment a time or two again between now and delivery, but at least I now know he knows HOW to get into the right position when the time comes.
28w4d
27 and (bonus!) 28 weeks!
14 Aug 2011 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 2nd trimester, 3rd trimester, Family Fun, Me, pregnancy, Working Out
Since I was out of town last week when I would normally post the weekly update, you get both weeks 27 and 28 rolled into one this time. You’re welcome.
Here we go!
What’s going on this week (27):
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don’t bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
What’s going on this week (28):
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
My Update:
Due Date: November 4, 2011 – as of today, 82 days to go! (Wow. That sounds…short.) Also, we’ve now entered the 3rd trimester!
Weight Gain: +15 lbs from pre-preg weight.
Symptoms: My belly really has made some impressive leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. It shocks me when I catch a side glimpse of myself in the mirror…but I still love the way I look! With the bigger size, comes a more noticeable ‘waddle,’ as they call it. My feet are turning out as I walk and my goodness, it just feels so much better that way!
Cravings/Aversions: Lisa and Meredith were right – the ice chewing/crunching is seriously addictive. That’s what I want all the time. A cold drink with crushed ice for constant chewing. I know it’s bad for my teeth, and outside of pregnancy I don’t usually do it, so I’m not beating myself up for it for these few months, when it makes me so happy right now!
Sleep: Not bad…I’m waking up about 2 times a night to pee, on average, which is annoying, but I was expecting it, so it’s bearable. Plus, I am really lucky to have the ability to fall right back asleep with almost no effort, so it doesn’t seem to disrupt me too much, overall. However, the maneuvering from one side to the other in bed is getting to be more and more challenging as the belly gets bigger and bigger. It involves some heavy breathing and usually a pause in the midst of all the shifting to sort of catch my breath, before settling back down. That part I could do without, if we’re being completely honest. And, seriously, I would really, really love to sleep on my stomach. Sometimes in the middle of the night, while I’m doing my flopping around from right to left and back again, I glare at Scott for a minute, when he is peacefully sacked out flat on his stomach.
I am loving: My last ‘baby-free’ trip to see my parents was great! Mom and I did lots of shopping, and we all did lots of eating. And even squeezed in a short beach day. The flights were nice and easy, and I met another pregnant girl in the Houston airport during my layover and we walked and talked together for a bit. All in all, a good success.
I miss: Mom and Dad. The beach. Sleeping on my stomach. I think that about covers it.
Movement: Excellent! The trip to Jacksonville seemed to be the trigger time for more constant and active movement. He seems to go to town with the kicking the most when I lay down in bed at night, or when Scott and I settle in to watch a movie or TV.
Nursery progress: No change since the last update, what with me being out of town and all. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I’ll get the nail holes in the walls spackled and covered and we can move on from there.
Exercise: Since I am home now when Scott gets home from work each day, we’ve gone out walking around the neighborhood some of the evenings, which I love…last night we went a bit farther than normal, and I think it might have been too much. I took a couple of sit-down breaks during the walk when I felt like I needed too, but after we were back home my hips and back were aching, and it felt like a little sciatica might have been kicking in. I feel better today, if just a little tired, so I think it’s just a matter of getting used to how this extra weight feels on my body and keeping on exercising so I can build up my strength.
Looking forward to: Oddly enough, my GTT (glucose tolerance test) on Monday morning. Most OB/GYNs have pregnant ladies come into the office, drink this super sugary glucose drink concoction and then wait for a hour and draw their blood to check for gestational diabetes. My midwives, however, are the most awesome people ever, and they disagree with this method, as it can tend to give inaccurate results, and feel that a much more realistic testing method is to have me eat a big breakfast of (and she listed all this stuff specifically, so you’d better believe I was taking very careful notes since I am a rule-follower): pancakes (with syrup!), a glass of juice, eggs, potatoes of some sort, toast and a breakfast meat (sausage/bacon, etc). Um…YES, PLEASE! Then 2 hours from the time I finish eating, I have my appointment for them to draw my blood to see how my body handles all those sugars. As you can well imagine, Scott was very put-off by the fact that he would just have to go in late to work that day in order to go out and have a huge breakfast with me. It’s for my health! And the baby’s heath! For science! Pregnancy is hard on the dudes, I tell ya. 🙂
Belly Shot:
OK – two weeks worth of belly, just for you guys!
27 weeks
I don't know why I look so smug.
28 weeks
Nursery progress to date
03 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Gearing Up!, pregnancy
Well, as far as putting together the nursery, there isn’t much actual progress, but I’ve got lots of pieces that will eventually come together in there, and so I’m going to document those for you today. Because who loves baby stuff? WE DO!
In all our infinite wisdom, years ago, we painted the baby’s room a nice bright yellow – that room used to house all of our workout equipment, and yellow seemed like a nice energizing color to workout in, so we went with it. (It turns out we liked that color so much we also painted the laundry room the same shade. And then when we moved the gym downstairs during a fit of rearranging the house, we used the exact same color all over again. So yes, we have 3 rooms in our house that are this color. We like it, OK?)
I believe it is called ‘Chilled Lemonade’ by Behr, and it is the backdrop for most of these pictures, and shows up pretty true to life, I think.
So, to start with, an overview of what I like to refer to in my head as the ‘small loot.’ As opposed to the ‘big loot,’ which is the furniture and stuff.
Clothes, blankets, diapers, carriers, diaper bags, etc...
Crib mattress and changing pad. Necessary, but kind of boring.
My Ikea lamp has a home on this black shelf. Along with baby’s first and second piggy banks, a piece of wall art still in the mailing envelope and some random screws…to the changing pad, I think?
Then came the special delivery from Oklahoma with with all sorts of ‘big loot.’
It has storage! And a removable Moses basket!
And the cradle that my Dad made about 20 years ago when Meredith was born. Still in pieces, but that sucker ain’t light, so we’re going to wait a while to put it together since we’ll likely need to keep moving it around until it’s time for it to move to its final home downstairs.
Once it's on the stand, it can rock or be locked into place.
And for more big loot, the recently acquired crib (un-assembled, but you get the idea) , glider and ottoman! Scott actually put together the glider in about 5 minutes after we opened all the boxes, so I wasted no time testing it out. It glides, or can be locked into place and it even reclines! All it needs is a cup holder. (Just kidding Scott – I do not need a cup holder on the glider. A side table will do just fine, instead.)
So comfy and cushy!
(Side note to my mom – those are the black pants you bought me!)
And last, just for some Awwws…tiny baby clothes hanging in the closet! (I think I will paint the clothing rod white, so just imagine it that way for now.)
These are just the clothes that were ALREADY on hangers - not everything, by a long shot.
So, there you have it – that’s pretty much the extent of what we’ve got going on so far. The glider is temporarily living in our bedroom, just so it’s out of the way, and the crib pieces are hanging out in the hallway, but soon and very soon it will all find its way to a very cute room for a soon to be arriving baby boy!
26w5d
Sisters! And a whole heap of pictures.
01 Aug 2011 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: 2nd trimester, Family Fun, Me
Last week/weekend, Scott and I had a female invasion (until Josh arrived, that is)! Lisa and Ada arrived on Wednesday and Ali and Grace showed up that same night a little later on. I am so, so glad that my sisters and I get along so well as adults. We truly love to hang out together, so an occasion to get together is always something to look forward to.
We hit it off!
This trip included a lot of firsts for Ada, who was only 11 weeks old at the time. First plane rides, first swim, first wedding, and first bath in a bucket. She is such a happy, adorable baby and won us all over!
She loved it!
Lisa, Ada, Ali, Grace and I did lots of shopping and even got in a pool trip while Ada slept at home with Scott on duty. It was SO SO hot here during the visit (as it is every day all summer!) so the pool was such a nice escape.
Ali brought us a bunch of goodies for the baby and I’ll include those pictures on my next nursery update post, but included was a bassinet for us to have for when the baby arrives, and it worked out perfectly since Ada used it the whole time for sleeping and napping. I think she might have been sad to leave it behind when she left.
Grace and I had the fun adventure of working together to clean up a blowout diaper while we were in a restaurant, and I was so impressed with how adept she is…I think she’s gotten a lot of baby practice with her nephew Tripp. By the time I got Ada’s outfit unbuttoned, Grace already had the wipes and a fresh diaper out of the bag and ready to hand to me. I think she’ll make a killing in a few years bringing in the babysitting cash!
Josh arrived Friday night, and on Saturday morning early Ali and Grace had to leave, so not much overlap time there, but Saturday night we had a wedding to go to, and, you know? It’s true what they say about everything taking longer with a baby. Who knew?! But, we all made it to the wedding, and everyone was dressed well, so it was a success.
Don’t you love how color coordinated Lisa and Josh are? And Lisa made Ada’s dress!
This was practice for Scott and I.
After all the activity on Saturday, we were able to relax for a bit on Sunday and got in some gaming time in Scott’s recently revamped home arcade. We had a bunch of games going at once and apparently, while possibly seizure-inducing, the lights and sounds of all those games at once is also a fantastic baby-sleep inducer. But, before she fell asleep, Ada worked on her high-score on Pac-Man a bit.
Lisa also worked on her scores:
And then…Monday morning Lisa and Josh headed down into Austin to do some visiting and it was back to work, as usual, for Scott and I. And we were sad. BUT! They are all coming back soon! And even more of them! In September! That’s only weeks away! I’m counting down. 🙂
26w2d
