Moving into week 32 (Almost 8 months)

Can't believe we will be full term in less than six weeks! Wow! Can't believe it! The baby has been getting really big and I can feel arms/ legs/ feet protruding from my belly many times a day especially when I am sitting still and trying to take a deposition, standing up in the courtroom etc. LOL. This baby always has good timing. We had our third baby class yesterday and learned about C-sections and more medical interventions. We also toured the hospital (for the third time). We know it well!

Here is what the baby is doing:
Your baby continues to put on weight each week of your pregnancy. At 32 weeks your baby weighs 3.7 pounds and measures about 16.7 inches long.
By 32 weeks pregnant, your baby’s fingernails have grown long enough that they reach the tip of his fingers. Some babies will have settled into their labor position – with head down, chin tucked into chest, and bottom up. Your baby may even be smiling. At 32 weeks of pregnancy, it is not uncommon for unborn babies to smile, sticking out their tongues, and even make faces.
At this stage of pregnancy, your baby's face is much more rounded and adorable!

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 31 weeks. Wow.
How big is Baby? Probably around 3.75 lbs
Maternity clothes? They are starting to get a little tight :) I think they should last til the end though.
Stretch marks? Nope. Is it possible I could have escaped them? I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Best moment this week: Feeling the baby bouncing around so much. Brandon said he could "Play with the baby" i.e. feel the baby move and talk to him/ her all day long.
Movement: LOVING it! He/she is crazy these days.
Food cravings: Coldstone chocolate ice cream with kit kat and banana :) mmmm
Gender: Who knows...we sure don't
Labor Signs: None I don't think but tons of Braxton Hicks while I am trying to sleep
Belly Button in or out? In--is it possible it will stay that way?
What I am looking forward to: Meeting our baby!

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? Just hit 30 weeks, moving into my 31st week.
How big is Baby? Around 3.3-3.5 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes, a necessity.
Stretch marks? No, thank goodness.
Sleep? I require about 10 hours per night.
Best Moment? Being able to distinguish body parts of the baby by feeling my belly.
Movement? Yes, all the time. Crazy baby does a lot of somersaults
Cravings? I want ice cream right now :) LOL. I LOVE chocolate and anything banana chocolate.
Gender? Anyone's guess. Would love to hear what people think :) We have NO idea.
Belly button in/ or out? In still. Thank goodness-I actually think it may stay that way. We will see.
What I am looking forward to? Maternity leave!

Moving into Week 31

It is amazing how much this baby has grown in just a few weeks. Over the last two weeks (and especially this weekend), we have really been able to feel and see our baby move on the outside of my belly. It is pretty incredible. The baby has been VERY active. We had our second baby class on saturday and studied the stages of labor, breathing techniques, and more pain coping techniques. The class is very good at getting everyone involved and it has been very useful so far. Brandon put together our Moses Basket & stand this weekend and it is now set up in our room awaiting a sweet baby to sleep in there :) We have spent the weekend cleaning/ resting. It has literally been snowing non-stop since late Thursday night and we are getting pretty sick of it.

This week, our baby's new wall book shelf will be delivered and we will organize all our baby's books and hang it up on the wall. Last weekend we bought the baby some of our favorite childhood books including Corduroy and some Dr. Seuss classics. We are also going to buy some containers to organize the baby closet/ toys. We are really hoping the snow will stop soon too. :)

Here is what the baby is doing this week:
This week, the baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds 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.

Pregnancy Survey

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? Just hit 29 weeks, moving into my 30th week.
How big is Baby? Atleast 3 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes, a necessity obviously.
Stretch marks? No, thank goodness.
Sleep? I require about 10 hours per night. I get tired and am in bed by 10 pm (usually earlier)
Best Moment? Feeling the baby's foot through my tummy.
Movement? Yes, all the time. Crazy baby!
Cravings? I love pretty much everything again, most food aversions are gone. I have been eating a lot of fruit. I LOVE chocolate and anything banana chocolate. I can also eat Mexican again. Thank goodness.
Gender? Anyone's guess. Most guesses are saying girl.
Belly button in/ or out? In still. Thank goodness (but barely).
What I am looking forward to? Maternity leave!

Heading Into Week 30 (Wow)

Everyone said when you get into the 30ish weeks it will all start to become very real. Well, the fact that we could potentially have this baby in eight weeks and still be term is a little nutty. However, even more nutty is the fact that last night, I could literally feel a foot gouging out of my belly (and even crazier-Brandon could feel it too). We sat very still and Brandon talked into my belly very close. Each time he did, a little foot (we think) would come to the surface and brush against his face. The baby truly was reacting to daddy's voice and letting us know that he/ she is in there and doing good! It was pretty magical.

We have had several guesses of the gender this week from clients and other people I don't even know-most of them are guessing girl now. :) I guess we will see. :) I would love to have a healthy baby girl or boy. My baby girl coming home outfit is mighty cute though!

On another front, the third trimester is having some interesting side effects. As the baby gets bigger, he or she is smashing the rest of my organs, causing some stomach aches and some interesting aches and pains. I have even woken up to some Braxton Hicks contractions, which are interesting. Overall though, I do feel pretty darn good and I am thrilled that we have made it this far with no problems. The baby is growing like a weed. Here is an update:

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.)

Happy (Snowy) Valentine's Day!

I woke up this morning to a lot of snow falling. It is really beautiful and I always love snow when it is on the weekend. It is supposed to be gone before tomorrow, which will make me happy. :) We have had a fun yet uneventful weekend. Yesterday we had our prepared childbirth baby class. We really enjoyed it-the teacher is so great! It is a four week course on saturday mornings for three hours. I think it will be really helpful. The focus of the class yesterday was how your partner can assist you during the laboring process. The teacher is very big on getting your husband/ partner involved. We got up early, made some breakfast at home and headed over to our class After that, we went to a baby store called The Giggling Green Bean. It features green baby products and cloth diapers (which are ridiculously cute by the way) and has a great selection of things. We are taking a cloth diapering class there soon, which I think will be really helpful. The store had some great things and we really had fun looking around! We then had some lunch at a local BBQ place called Hoss BBQ. It was pretty good. We had dinner reservations at a nice restaurant, but decided to cancel when we were still full from lunch/ my exhaustion began to set it (I get very tired these days). I am glad we cancelled. Instead, we got home to a special delivery that arrived a short time later: White tulips from "Baby Albano" (better known as Baby Albano's sweet daddy). The card said: "Dear Mom: Thank you for providing me a safe and warm place to grow. I love you. Thank you for also taking care of my daddy and my vin-dog. Love, Baby Albano" So cute! I have three very cute and wonderful valentines in my life!

We stayed in for the night after that. Brandon had bought me 6 huge chocolate covered strawberries which I can't wait to eat, and we picked up some ice cream from ColdStone and movies. It was a great night. Today, we will probably hang close to home. Wishing everyone a Happy Valentines!

As We Move into Week 29!

We are moving on into week 29! I can' t believe in a couple of weeks I will be 30 weeks! We don't have too much longer until we meet our little angel. Although I blog to inform people of what is going on, I am starting to realize how great it is to have a journal that I can look back on to see what happened in our lives. I am going to be making a real effort to document the pregnancy as we head into these last ten weeks or so.

These days the baby is moving a lot. I feel great, but do get tired a little more easily. My body is usually pretty tired by the end of the day. I have taken short naps both days this weekend but really have gotten a lot done too. My stomach is slowly getting encroached upon as I find myself hungry, but can't eat large meals. I became the queen of "to go" boxes this weekend. I also had the most amazing strawberry chocolate chip pancakes ever today, yummy!

We organized our "baby" shelves in the kitchen cabinets this weekend. We also bought some size 2 diapers :) We are trying to stock up on all different sizes. We registered at the hospital, filled out the birth certificate and social security card forms and worked on our "birth plan." Although I understand that usually nothing goes according to plan, we figured we should atleast think about it ahead of time. We have our first appt with the mid-wife on wednesday and I will let you guys know how that goes.

I also got the cutest bottle drying rack ever, the Boon Grass Drying Rack, it is supposed to look like real grass, I love it:

As we head into week 29, this is what the baby is doing:

The 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.

Our new dining room light

Here are some pics. :)

28 Weeks Pregnant

Here is a picture from today-I am officially 28 weeks pregnant!