Thirty Two Weeks

Well, I am now eight months pregnant now, and boy do I feel like it all of a sudden. My body is tired and achy this week. My back is starting to hurt, and I have a ton of pressure in my pelvis. Eight more weeks until my "guess date," but only five until I'm full term. Since Will was 10 days early, I have always felt this baby will be early too. Plus, I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) this time around which I never had with Will. Apparently, according to my midwife, there is a lot more uterine activity with subsequent pregnancies compared to the first one. Whatever that means.

I say that this baby is going to come early and I have all these mommy instincts about it now, but I'm most certainly completely jinxing myself with all that talk. She probably hears me in there and is now planning on coming about 2 weeks late just to show me who's boss. As long as she doesn't come on Will's birthday, or close enough to his birthday that I will be in the hospital on that day, I don't really care when she arrives. It would break my heart to be away from my little guy on his birthday though. It's going to be hard enough being separated from him while I'm in the hospital as it is.

Here is the email from the gurus for this week...

How Your Baby is Growing:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

I had no clue what on earth a jicama is, but according to Wikipedia, it's a Mexcian turnip. Interesting. You'd think I'd be a bit more knowledgable about these things with all of the Top Chef and Food Network that I watch.


Cheers,
L

Father and Son

When I married Rob, I had a sneaking suspicion that he would be a great dad. I really had no idea just how great though. I didn't know that he would lay with him every night before bed, make up silly songs, and do alligator shapes on the wall. I didn't know that he would miss him while he slept. I didn't foresee how huge and deep their relationship would become. I knew he would love his son, and I knew Will would love him, but I had no idea how completely and utterly smitten they would be with each other. Then little moments like this happen and I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have them both, and how lucky they are to have each other.





Have a happy week,
L

Thirty One Weeks

I have 9 weeks to go until my "guess date," but I will be full term in 6 weeks. It's hard to believe that she could actually be arriving in 6 weeks. WOW. Everything isn't ready for her, but I am. I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable these days. I am still sleeping, but I toss and turn all night from my left to my right side. I snore like a bear as well. (Or so Rob claims.) I get up quite a bit in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. My bladder feels like it's about the size of a pea right now. My heartburn is back with a vengeance regardless of whether I eat small and frequent meals, steer clear of spicy foods, or all those other things they tell you to do to avoid it. I drank a glass of water the other day and got heartburn. How is that even possible? My favorite "new" pregnancy side effect however is that my boobs now touch my stomach. Yep, you read that right. If I don't have a bra on, MY BOOBS LAY ON MY STOMACH. (That one is not in the What to Expect When You're Expecting book, ladies, but it happens.) It grosses me out more than I can tell you, so I try and keep a bra on at all times, which isn't really my idea of a good time either. Pregnancy is full of tough choices and the "let my boobs touch my stomach or wear a bra 24/7" decision is a real doozy. Sacrifices must be made.

And here's the email for week 31...

How Your Baby is Growing:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.



Really? Four navel oranges? That's the best they could come up with? I think it's totally cheating that they are throwing multiple vegetables into the pool now. I want to see some crazy hybrid cantaloupe/watermelon picture. It's the least they can do really.



And here is a belly pic that was taken a couple days ago. Okay, so I'm not officially 31 weeks here, but pretty darn close.


Have a happy week,
L

Thirty Weeks

Only 10 weeks to go. My nesting phase is really starting to kick in. I've got this sudden urge to move furniture around and decorate. Rob is in real trouble. This past weekend, we bought the paint for Avery's room and he painted it (thanks, honey). I love the color, and can't wait to assemble the crib and put on all the finishing touches. Remember a couple weeks back when I said that I was going to take it easy, be patient and just wait to work on her room until later in the 3rd trimester? Yeah, I lied. I need it done. Like now. For my sanity and all.

In other pregnancy news, my belly seems to be growing by the day and I have to pee at least 17 times a day (5 of those being in the middle of the night). As a result, my hands are super dry from the constant washing. I need to invest in a good lotion before my skin falls off. My boobs are out of control as well. I'm now a very full C, pushing a D. I know that doesn't sound big to all of those ample bosomed ladies out there, but for a girl who has always been somewhat lacking in the chest department, this is a big jump for me. It grosses me out for some reason, and every time I look at my boobs and think "YUCK!!", I remind myself of all those years in middle school when I prayed for a larger chest. This is my punishment for that. I should have never been so judgmental of my small chest. Just wait till my milk comes in. I can't even fathom how big those suckers will swell then. Ew.

And here's the email for week 30...

How Your Baby is Growing:
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.)



Remember how she was a Chinese cabbage a couple of weeks back? Now she's just a regular ol' cabbage. I told you they were going to start running out of vegetables. I resist the urge to skip ahead and see what next weeks fruit or vegetable will be, but it really kills me to do so sometimes. I know there is going to have to be a watermelon in there at some point, but I believe they are saving that baby up for the big finale.



Cheers,
L

Boo!

Last weekend was Halloween, and Will has reached the age where he was actually excited and anxious about it. It probably helped that we had been jazzing him all week about going trick or treating. Come Saturday, he was ready to bust. He wanted to be a race car driver this year, because well, the kid loves race cars. He dreams about racing, and will inform me in the morning, "I beat you, Mommy," after he awakes from his race car dreams in which he always emerges the winner. When he grows up he wants to "go real fast," so naturally we couldn't deny the kid his race car costume.

He really thought he was something in it too. He wouldn't smile when Rob took his picture, because this is no joking matter.

The Fast and the Serious

Once or twice, he couldn't help it and cracked a grin though. After all, he was about to go get a butt load of candy from a bunch of complete strangers. Who wouldn't be happy about that?






When the time finally arrived, he and Ripley ran from house to house like they had been training for this since birth. They stuck their little buckets out, exclaimed TRICK OR TREAT, and got so much candy, they could hardly carry it by the end of the night. When got home, Will dumped his bucket and I finally understood the meaning of the saying, "Like a kid in a candy store."



Bedtime that night was.....interesting.

Happy weekend,
L

Twenty Nine Weeks

29 weeks. So close, yet so far away. I've been concentrating on doing my Hypnobabies home study course so that I can have a natural VBAC this time around. I really love the program. If it doesn't do anything else for me, it is making me more positive and confident throughout this pregnancy. I listen to my scripts every night and though I was a cynic at first, I'm a believer now after seeing how quickly I can put myself into hypnosis. I just have to keep trusting that it is going to work for me come Avery's birthday. I'm becoming more and more assured that it will.

And here is the email for week 29...

How Your Baby is Growing:
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.



That squash looks huge next to the quarter, right? I can't believe that she's almost 3 pounds in there now. Then she rolls over, kicks me in the ribs and tries to poke a body part out of my belly button and I'm all, OH YEAH, I can believe it!



Halloween stories and pics coming in the next couple of days. Hang on to your hats.

L