31 Weeks!

Well, here we are at 31 weeks! I CANNOT believe that I have two months to go. I am starting to loose faith in babycenter.com, because according to them this baby now weighs approximately 3.3 pounds and I am certain the he weighs at least 6 pounds already! I am really starting to have more difficulty moving around. The other day, I was in the passenger seat of Adam's truck and I reached down to grab my water bottle out of the cup holder, and I literally could not reach it! At least my butt doesn't look so huge when you compare it to my belly! Even the doctor said, "He really feels big" when she felt my belly! YIKES! I have definitely been experiencing more physical discomfort over the past couple of weeks. I pulled a muscle in my inner thigh like four months ago (apparently there is a hormone released during pregnancy which relaxes all your muscles and tendons so that the can stretch as your hips widen ect. This means when you do pull a muscle it may not heal at all while you are preggers). This has been the case for me for sure and all this extra weight now seems to be making it worse.To make matters worse, when I stand up from my desk at work I get a shooting pain in my tail bone from sitting on it for so long. Between that and my pulled muscle I have to lumber half way down the hall before everything "adjusts" and I can resume a somewhat normal gate (or waddle).

Anyway, things have been really crazy around here lately (which is why my posts have gotten less frequent). Adam and I have been keeping so busy with various obligations. We have had weddings, showers, graduation celebrations, and multiple family birthdays to attend. Not to mention our two new favorite holidays, Mother's Day and Father's Day (Adam sent me flowers at work the day before mother's day...so sweet). Every spare minute is spent either working, attending our classes, or doing things around the house to get things ready (We picked out a rug one Sunday in between two Father's Day celebrations!). I am exhausted. We still have a ton of boxes to go through and things get rid of or put in the attic. The girls are doing their best to pitch in, but they are very easily distracted. Most of the time it' s just easier to do things myself! The nursery is really coming along. We now have the crib and the rug in place and it is really starting to feel cozy! I will try to post again this week. I always have a fun time doing it, but some nights I just can't bare to come home and sit in front of another computer. Maybe I need a special pillow for my bum now too! I am a mess, but lovin every minute of it!

Tummy Time

I have recently been reading about the importance of "Tummy Time" for infants preparing to crawl. I had never heard of it before, but apparently babies getting ready to crawl should spend some time on their bellies every day to begin to develop the muscles they will eventually use to crawl.

For now, Baby C and I have our own little version of "Tummy Time". It is my favorite time of the day. It is when I take a nice warm bath in the evening. Not only does it soak away the aches and pains of the day, but I have the best view of my own belly. I could lay there for hours just watching my belly and talking to the him. He really seems to enjoy it as well because he always starts to move around and kick those reassuring little kicks during bath time. In fact, the first time I felt him move, I was in the bath.

Well, several weeks ago while in the bath, I actually saw the baby kick for the first time. I was lying there staring at my belly button amazed at how shallow it had become when BAM, the side of my belly quickly and violently changed shape for a second and the water pooled in my ever shrinking belly button shook like the glass of water in that scene from Jurassic Park! I laughed at the Jurassic Park image and the thought of being chased by a giant prehistoric beast. It was very cool, even if somewhat startling. It was as if he was saying, "Um, hello out there! I think you have more important things to think about than your own belly button!" He's right, I thought.........we have to finish the nursery.........I am thinking a woodland/animal theme. Then two more sharp jabs from inside brought me back the the present. Well, I guess there are even more important things to think about than the nursery, I thought. My mind began to drift to the big stuff: money, IRA'a, 401K's, college funds, life insurance plans. Suddenly I found myself panicking, thinking it would actually be less stressful to be chased down by a dinosaur!

Just in time to prevent a full blown panic attack I felt a few soft pokes from within. It was like he was saying, "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out. You can think about the nursery. You have time for all that other stuff". What a sweet baby already!

It's funny how before they are even born, babies have a way of putting things in perspective. I may just have to add some dinosaurs to the nursery motif.

How my life has changed.........

I thought I would give you all a sample of how very much my life has already changed. One amusing example is my nightly routine. I used to simply put on pj's, wash my face, maybe put on some moisturizer, brush my teeth, and I was good to go. A once simple routine has become a tiresome ordeal which usually results in my falling into bed utterly exhausted. Sometimes, I have to take a nap before even starting the routine. Here's how it plays out:

After my most recent meal has has several hours to make it through my digestive system (I have to stay vertical for several hours to avoid acid reflux), I am able to start getting ready for bed.

1) First, I usually take a warm shower or bath to soak my achy muscles and bones. I am always amazed at how I can be so sore after just sitting at my desk all day.

2) Next, I have to slather anti-stretch mark cream over all the areas of my body that I can still reach (which are become fewer by the day).

3) After that I brush my teeth, being ever mindful of my still heightened gag reflexes and super sensitive gums.

4) Next, I clear my nasal passages with a few flushing sprays of Saline Solution. I never knew that increased congestion and bloody noses were a symptom of pregnancy.

5) Now it is time for one of my favorites. I apply the self-adhesive Breath Right strip to my nose to combat my earthshaking snoring and try to give Adam some peace.

6) As if I am not already feeling sexy enough by this point, next come the task of PJ's. After leaving ample time for my stretch mark cream to dry, I now pull on my only pajama bottoms that still fit. They are these little cropped white pj pant which used to be really cute. Now, I feel like one of those cartoon men with a huge belly whose pants are too short.

7) Finally, I fall into bed and arrange all of my special pillows. One to help with the snoring and sleep apnea I have developed and a second which is sort of shaped like a giant narrow C. You can wrap your legs around it and support your belly. It really has helped with the pain in my hips.

Truthfully, this is an ideal scenario. There are probably more nights when I just roll into bed with my clothes still on. I swear, if you didn't know I was pregnant, you would think I was a 90 year old man! At least I Preparation H is not a part of my regimen (yet anyway)!

Even with all of these interesting (and sometimes uncomfortable) changes, I am so amazed at what my body is doing right now and I feel blessed to have the honor of experiencing it!


And thankfully, Pussca has finally found a comfortable position among the piles of specialized pillows. My belly doesn't look very big in this picture, but she is resting her chin on the top and has her paw wrapped around the side. So cute! I wonder if she knows what's up or if she just thinks I am getting fat. I know I should be sleeping on my left side, but somehow I always wake up on my back covered in cats! Go figure!

28 Weeks!

Well, here we are at 28 weeks! I can not believe that that shirt used to fit me like a regular shirt; now it's like a skin tight baby tee! I can barely pull it over my belly button! Apparently "Baby C" weighs about two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He is pretty active (must be taking after his dad). I am convinced that he is in there drumming away.

I have to apologize for not posting for so long. Since our Florida trip things have been kind of crazy. We have recently started our classes at St. Mary's Hospital. I swear, when I was registering for them I was having flashbacks to graduate school, trying to get the best times and most popular professors! So far we have taken a tour of the birthing center and started our Lamaze class (Yes, I am going to try natural, but we'll see. I have no idea what to expect; I may be screaming for drugs a couple of hours in. I plan to make my birth plan somewhat flexible and to include anti-psychotic medications (for Adam...just in case) as a possible intervention). I have taken a breast feeding class (I was able to spare Adam from that one). We are also registered for Infant CPR and"Newborn Nuances" (which we are hoping is a crash course in everything else you need to know before leaving the hospital with a tiny human). I know there is only so much you can do to prepare, but we are doing our best.

In addition to attending our classes, Adam has been painting the trim in the nursery, the cats have been enjoying their newly completed sun room/office, and I have been freaking out about what I need to register for. I have also been taking a prenatal yoga class which has been enormously helpful in helping to manage my occasional freak outs!

I hope all of this preparation is good training for the time management skills that I am sure will be necessary in the coming months (and years). Well, I better sign off before I make myself start to freak out again. I will do another post this week, I promise! Happy summer everyone!