32 Weeks - Babymoon!

How far along? 32 weeks

Baby size? She weighs almost 4 pounds and measures about 17 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? She's gaining weight (about half a pound a week). She has toenails, fingernails, and hair and her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps in preparation for birth. She's also head down (as of my last appointment) and will hopefully stay like that until birth. And the best news: If she was born now, she would have an excellent change of surviving without life-threatening complications (but all that aside we are no where near ready for her so she better keep cooking for now!)

Total weight gain/loss: I no longer believe in scales. Or buttons for that matter.

Maternity clothes? You know it!

Stretch marks? Still nothing thankfully

Sleep: Not great, but I'm mastering the art of being a zombie, so I guess that's just one more baby preparedness item I can check off my list!

Best moment this week: There are a couple... 

Remember that huge horrible 2 day test Joe took in April? Well, he PASSED! He's officially a licensed Structural Engineer in the state of California, I couldn't be more proud of him! What's that you say? That best moment isn't baby-related? Untrue. If Joe hadn't passed, he'd have to re-take it in October when it's next offered... with a 2 month old baby in the mix. Guess how effective THAT studying would have been? Not so much. But now we don't have to worry about it and baby girl can keep daddy up all hours of the night without feeling guilty that she's messing up his study schedule.

Also, Joe and I went on our Babymoon! We felt like it was important to take one of our last weekends when it's still just the two of us and get away for some R&R. We went to Pismo Beach, only about a 3.5 hour drive from home and stayed at a fabulous oceanfront hotel...

On Our Way!!!

Not a bad view from our room eh?

Dinner at Jocko's - That's a 44 oz. Spencer Cut that we split. Please don't calculate the calories consumed

My self-prescribed Iron supplement. Red MEAT.

Our balcony... Where we spent most of our time

Pool time! Yes, that's an SPF smiley face circa Billy Madison. And yes I did in fact rub it in after the photo was taken.

Belly has officially reached Kindle-stand status!!! SCORE!!!

Traditional Givens Dinner - Splash Cafe Clam Chowder, Mo's Ribs, Yanagi Sushi (cooked), and Cracked Crab crab sandwich. Followed by Tums of course.

And the obligatory San Luis Obispo stop - Firestone Grill Tri-Tip Sandwiches!

Awkward moment this week: A 32 week pregnant lady, a guy in crutches and a full-gowned bride get in an elevator... Who gets to exit first? Yeah that happened at the hotel during the Babymoon and the answer is the bride because I'm pretty sure she was too nervous to even realize there were other people in the elevator. 

Miss anything? After that amazing Babymoon weekend, nope. Life is good.

Movement: ALL the time. Which is good because apparently baby girl should be kicking/moving at least 10 times per hour according to the doctor.

Food cravings: See pictures above.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Waiting in line for food. I go from content to STARVING in about 10 minutes flat and then I very quickly reach queasy. It's not a way to live I tell ya.

Have you started to show yet? See bikini pictures above. 

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button in or out? Very slight outtie. VERY slight.

Cankle Watch 2013: It's BEGUN!! The bloat fairy has visited me and is making my inner ankle start to fade. It's only gonna get uglier from here.

Wedding rings on or off? Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to make it another 8 weeks and still fit my ring. Makes me tear up just thinking about it!!!

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy. A weekend away celebrating my marriage, our baby and food has that effect on me.

Looking forward to: My baby shower this week! Can't wait to see everyone!!!

30 Weeks - 75% Cooked!

How far along? 30 weeks... 75% Cooked!

Baby size? She weighs almost 3 pounds and measures 15.7 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will shrink as she gets bigger and takes up more room. 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.

Total weight gain/loss: Met a new milestone recently. I've joined the ranks of pregnant women that waddle. Oh yeah, be jealous. I've perfected the side-to-side swagger. 

Maternity clothes? yup.

Stretch marks? None yet!

Sleep: Third trimester is kicking in... I now have a new sleep schedule: wake up at 3:30 am, unable to fall asleep until about 5:30. For no particular reason at all. Any and all suggestions about what to do with my newfound 2 hours of quasi-consciousness are welcome.

Best moment this week: There are a couple... 

We had our third trimester ultrasound! Remember baby girl's two vessel cord issue? This was just a follow up fetal growth ultrasound to make sure everything is growing and developing normally and sure enough she is! Unfortunately we didnt get to see as much as we have in past ultrasounds because she's getting so big! (just like her mama lol) She's gotten too big to get a full profile picture and she kept her hands in front of her head the whole time, so we'll have to wait until we meet her in person so see that beautiful face again.

Also, our crib and glider have arrived!! Unfortunately they are currently sitting boxed up in our garage until we figure out an acceptable standard of carpet cleaning in the nursery. Three rounds of carpet cleaners later and we're still not satisfied. We've still got a couple tricks up our sleeves to try out and then we'll be ready to move in the rest of baby's furniture!

Awkward moment this week: Grocery shopping with Joe, and we're standing in the cereal aisle...
Me: What kind of cereal do you want?
Joe: Anything that you won't eat.
I guess I've been a little hungrier these days and MAY have been sneaking bowls of cereal from his boxes. I'm officially the fat kid in this relationship.

Miss anything? Getting through a whole day at work without my back aching. Baby girl's starting to grow up into my diaphragm and it's becoming a major pain in my ribs. By about 2pm, I turn into a squirming maniac sitting at my desk. Hopefully this is a phase and wont last for the next 10 weeks.

Movement: She's certainly strecthing out a lot in there and I FINALLY caught it on camera!

Fetus Fitness

Pretty crazy right? 

Food cravings: Milkshakes. Big time.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Iron. In my latest round of routine blood tests I found out I've become anemic, a fairly common thing when your blood volume increases a bunch in pregnancy it sort of dilutes your hemoglobin levels which causes anemia. SO I now get the pleasure of drinking the world's nastiest iron supplement on an empty stomach twice a day. Barf-tastic.

Have you started to show yet? Yes and no. Yes my belly shows and no my feet no longer do, when I look down.

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor signs: Nothin.

Belly button in or out? I call it an "itty". Starting to poke out, which you can see in some of my tighter shirts (yes, technically all shirts are now tight on me, thanks) but it's not a full outtie in my opinion. 

Cankle Watch 2013: I think I still have ankles, but due to my limited visibility, it might just be one of those "if a tree falls in a forest" things. If I have cankles but can't see them below my ginormous belly, do I really have cankles?

Wedding rings on or off? On and not getting any looser.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, but I'd be happier with less back/rib pain and a little more sleep. 

Looking forward to: Getting more of the nursery moved in!