30 Weeks

Three-quarters of the way to meeting my baby girl! Apparently she's the size of a cabbage. I'm guessing she's around 3 lbs by now. Based on what I saw at the 4D ultrasound, 2 lbs of her are her cheeks. :)

I had my 30 week midwife appointment today. I'm still measuring at 30, which puts me right on track. (I was measuring at 30 two weeks ago as well.) I put on 2 more lbs for a grand total of 31 lbs at 30 weeks. Her heartbeat is at 140 and the midwife also believes she's head down now.

No new symptoms. I'm still battling the round ligament pain and constant peeing. I move like an elephant in slow motion, and when I'm on my back, I'm definitely a turtle who's landed on her shell. I get swollen ankles and feet when I'm doing a lot of walking.

We really haven't made much nursery progress other than getting the rug. My dad is coming over this weekend to help me hang curtain rods, and then I'll be testing out some curtains. We're also going to try finding her, and maybe us, a dresser.

We have our maternity session coming up on Sunday, and I'm so anxious. I set really high expectations for myself when I book a pro shoot, and I spent three hours in the mall tonight trying to find a new dress with absolutely no luck. I hate when I have a vision that I can't make work. So I'm going to try to use what I have. I'm also coming equipped with lots of different props, so maybe that will disguise any poor choices in wardrobe I make.

Invites arrived today for my baby shower which will be in three weeks! 

Baby Girl in 4D!

I'll admit it: I used to majorly side-eye 3D/4D sonogram pics. I thought they were pretty creepy with their sometimes alien-like distorted features. And then I majorly side-eyed parents who used them as their FB profile pics, etc.

But when it's YOUR baby up on that screen -- ohmygod, completely changed my tune. It was the best $125 I could have spent. I'm just in awe. My baby is beautiful and perfect! Watching her contort around, arms holding up legs, fists on her head, mouth moving to suck in amniotic fluid -- there are just no words.

One of my favorites even though the arms by her head make for some distortion

I stare at her pics (and the DVD of it) and just start tearing up every time. She's MINE! Well, mine and W's. But, we MADE her! And she's amazing. I still can't figure out who she looks like -- I see both parts of our noses; lips could be mine.

Somehow it's made my pregnancy annoyances seem a lot more tolerable, and now when I feel her tumble around in my belly I can put a face to it.

We also learned she is head down now (hopefully stays that way!) and got confirmation she's still a girl. :)

29 Weeks

Almost out of the 20s! Somehow being in your 30-some weeks seems a lot more closer. Also, baby is the size of a butternut squash.

Because pregnancy seems to have brought on adult ADHD, here's another random list of thoughts/things that happened during the past week.

• We went to my favorite amusement park last weekend, but it was like 80% less fun being pregnant. Between all the bathroom trips, elephant walking, only riding two rides.... blech. The only thing that got me through was the thought we'd be pushing around our (outside) baby next year.
• Had my first baby shower Sunday (details and photos in last blog post.)
• Attended a physical therapy class for pregnant women Monday, where we learned how to prevent back pain through better posture and little exercises. Also talked about pelvic floor/bladder issues. I definitely learned a few things (like how to log roll out of bed which is preventing a lot of my round ligament pain squeals), but I still can't get the right posture down! 
• Made some very minor progress on the nursery. I really need our schedules to chill out a bit for a few weeks so I can get some more done. I think I know what rug we're getting. I'm testing out a pair of curtains soon, and I'm ordering the crib skirt. Dresser hunting continues at actual furniture stores hopefully tomorrow. 
• Also tomorrow? 4D ULTRASOUND! I'm so nervous. While I can't wait to get a better peek at our little girl, I've always been one to get creeped out by these ultrasounds because they can look so distorted. With any luck, I'll be able to post some photos tomorrow night!! 

Getting started on photo session outfits and props. :)

Baby Shower #1

I had the first of my three baby showers this past weekend. Though it was an intimate gathering of former coworkers/friends, the details nearly sent me over the edge into hormonal tears. The entree was my favorite meal -- chicken and broccoli from my favorite Chinese place. The cake was a two-tiered round funfetti, but the food detail I loved the most: the baby buggy fruit salad. I may have screamed out "That's on Pinterest" when I first saw it. 

I'm so blessed to have so many awesome people in my life -- and soon, my baby's. :)

28 Weeks

Highlights of the past week

• Baby girl attended her first bridal shower and bachelorette party! Though I did have to tell her she won't be attending another b-party until she's 21. ;) I had a minor freakout when I thought the loud music/bass was keeping her up and active too long (parenting is going to be soooo mentally exhausting!), but I was then reassured she was most likely bouncing around in the womb, having a blast. 
• I signed us up for our Saturday childbirth class -- we go in early October. The bad part about that is it's 7 hours long! 
• I took my one-hour glucose test -- and passed! I don't know why, but I had convinced myself I was going to fail it and/or be diagnosed with GD. Bullet dodged. Pass the cookies.
• But I should maybe pass on cookies, considering I went up another 7 lbs this month. OMG. I'm now a total of 29 pounds up from starting weight. Surprisingly I'm not freaking out. Yes, I could make healthier choices, but I believe my body is going to do what it's going to do to grow this child. Weight can always be lost. 
• More progress made on the nursery, i.e. there's a freaking CRIB in my house!!! It's so surreal. I guarantee I'll be spending a lot of time in her nursery just staring in amazement that soon there'll be a little girl in it. Blows my mind a little more each day. 

Me, baby, and the beautiful bachelorette!

CRIB!

27 Weeks

I REALLY don't want to whine again, especially because part of this blog's purpose is to serve as documentation for my daughter to read someday, but it's really had to put a positive spin on the past week. To put it bluntly, I've been a miserable, sad sack of a pregnant woman. The aches, pains, rampant bladder problems, combined with body image issues ... it's been messing with me mentally. And I hate it. I hate being down because of pregnancy. I want to focus on what's ahead and the tiny little baby who is living in my uterus, depending on me for everything. But I'm trapped in my own head, fervently wishing I could hit the fast forward button to November.

And then the guilt comes. Because as sucky as the negative parts are, I don't want to rush this. Like I said before, this is a very epic period in my life, and I don't want to wish it away. I always knew that the latter half of my pregnancy would be a little more cruel since first tri was such a breeze.

But the good news? We've hit the third trimester! (Most sites say 3rd tri begins at 27 weeks, so that's what I'm going with.) Third tri will be full with many events -- showers, weddings, my baby showers -- and things like finishing her nursery, getting maternity photos done, attending childbirth class ... it will be busy for sure!

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 22 lbs as of 3 weeks ago.

Maternity clothes? Basically everything is maternity now. Sadly I've sized out of some of my early maternity clothes. :( 

Stretch marks? No new ones anyway!

Sleep: Still sleeping on the couch every night. I can sleep soundly and comfortably until the mother nature calls. 

Best moment this week: Making it to third tri 

Miss Anything? Pre-pregnancy body that didn't hurt, a cold beer, dresses with waistlines

Movement: Lots of movement. Baby girl is active. I think she's been taking in too much Olympics -- she likes to use my uterus for her floor mat routine.

Food cravings: The past few weeks I've had cravings for turkey BLT sandwiches.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Girl :) 

Labor Signs: None. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, constant need to pee, round ligament pain

 Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? I bought a fake diamond ring a few weeks ago because my wedding band was getting tight. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: This week? Very moody. 

Looking forward to: Seeing college friends this weekend to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of one of my bests. 

Bare Bump 26w2d + Closet Progress

26 Weeks

Looks like my last week of 2nd trimester!

This week baby girl must have had a growth spurt -- I noticed a decent change in bump size, plus I've been getting ravenously hungry between 10 pm and 1 am. She's been getting more feisty around 3:30-4:30 with kicking. And while I haven't had specific food cravings most of 2nd trimester, the past two weeks I've been really into turkey BLT sandwiches.

Also this past week we've made a minor dent in nursery preparations. We've mostly cleared out all the stuff from the second bedroom and found innovative ways to combine closet space. Friends have graciously helped me paint the trim, walls and closets. I have lots to do yet to finish those basics, but we're very sloooowly getting somewhere. The crib is purchased but still in the box. I'll definitely need to call in the reinforcements to help us since we're assembly challenged in a big way! The next two weekends will be completely full between traveling and other outings, so I really want to accomplish a lot this weekend. Maybe the nesting phase is kicking in?

Another thing we can check off our pre-baby checklist is visiting her future daycare. It's close to our home and one of the few places that offer half day hours. While I'm not gaga over the very dated building and tattered equipment, I'm reminded by other moms it's the care that matters.

In other news, we found out that our baby will have a built-in family bestie -- W's sister and brother-in-law had their anatomy scan today and found out they're having a girl too! I think it will be sweet to see the two together at family functions.