32 Weeks

 

Well, I arrived at the hospital yesterday very much looking forward to my 32 week appointment only to find out it had been cancelled.  Apparently they "sent a letter in December" telling me that was the case but as I was standing there, there were 2 other women who did not receive such a letter either.  They rescheduled me for next week which means I will have an appointment at 33 weeks, 34 weeks, 36 weeks and then weekly from there.  A little ridiculous...

How Far Along:   32 Weeks, 1 Day

Baby's Size:  Squash Average size: 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lbs (Another source says baby weighs more than 3 lbs and is approximately 18 inches head to toe.)
Sleeping and waking cycles are establishing.

Total Weight Gain:
Home scale: 1.4 lbs this week (yes, 1.4 yet again!) bringing me to 19.4 lbs total
Doctor’s scale:  18 lbs at our 28 week appointment on January 24th
Weight gained with Grant at this point: 28.8 lbs

Maternity Clothes:  You betcha! 

Baby's Movement:  I have been having a lot of really low tiny, tickle like movements.  It makes me wonder what body part is down there. 

Food Cravings:  Fish, fish, and more fish!  I try to limit myself to once per week but I still want it all of the time.  I have even upped my omega 3 fish oil prenatal thinking that maybe I am lacking something in my diet that is making me crave fish so much.  Fruit... pretty much of any kind.  Spinach and artichoke dip from Ala Roma... we took care of that one over the weekend. 

Food Aversions:  One of my favorite recipes, four cheese chicken fettuccine alfredo just did not taste good this week when I made it.  It also made me extremely gassy :) 

Sleep:  My undisturbed nights of sleep haven't been the case lately.  I have been waking on most nights to turn over or around 3:00-4:00 for no reason... not even potty breaks.  I don't like it.  I enjoyed my week or so of sleeping like a rock. 

Symptoms:  Nesting.  I am beginning to feel a little more tired again but still have so much I want to get done!  Reflux, rib discomfort, and oh my goodness where did these boobs come from? 

Best Moment(s) This Week:  Shopping for props for newborn pictures and basically finishing her room!  If you missed the post, click here for a glimpse. 

What I Miss:  Relaxing weekends.  It seems like right now there is so much I want to get done and not enough time to do it.  I try to run my errands and get as much done when Grant sleeps because I want to spend as much time with him as I can when he is awake.  Previously, when Grant would nap, I would sneak in a nap as well and just veg out.   

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Starting to think about what I may or may not want to pack in a hospital bag!  Yikes!  Digging out the car seat, swing, breast pump, bottles, washing clothes... the list goes on and on.  I would say I am definitely nesting! 

What's Different This Time:  I honestly find girls clothes very overwhelming. Everyone says girls are so much fun because they have better clothes. Maybe it is just the fact that I am not a girly girl and never have been. I don't accessorize my outfits even now. Going through baby clothes and looking at outfits is just exhausting. Leggings and bloomers and headbands and on and on. Grant was lucky if he had shoes that remotely matched an outfit he was wearing. Nice and simple. Jeans or khakis and a shirt to match for boys. Girls... not even close.  Unfortunately, our daughter probably won't be winning any best dressed awards anytime soon much like her mother. 
 
Next Appointment:
February 28th - 33 week appointment (my rescheduled 32 week appointment)

A Glimpse of the Nursery

Well it was a productive weekend and the nursery is done for the most part!  We are still in need of some wall art/decor but otherwise we are good to go.

Going into nursery planning I knew I wanted either paisley or damask print bedding.  I came across the pink/teal color combo and my search for bedding began.  I love this bedding!  It was even very reasonably priced.

 

After a trip to the local hardware store and working with the awesome paint guy... Tom at Kitz and Pfeil he mixed us up some custom paint colors.  We wanted pale teal and very pale pink.  Something that wouldn't completely overwhelm the room.  It's hard to tell in this picture but the wall that the crib is on is obviously the teal but the other three walls are the pale pink color. 
  

Check out the tissue paper pom poms I made in the corner.

We are using our crib, changing table, and glider all used by Grant.  We even took half of the cubes that were orginally in Grant's room and not really being used, painted them and will use them in her room.

Overall, we are pleased with how it turned out.  We wanted fun and funky without being too girly.  Now we just need a beautiful little girl to put in here!

To top it all off this weekend I even added in a couple of sewing projects by making 2 baby blankets.  One side of each blanket is the purple minky fabrix and the other sides are the two fabrics in the picture.  Nesting?  I think so! 

31 Weeks

Different tank top this week... as you can see my belly doesn't have nearly enough room in this one!

How Far Along: 31 Weeks... my mom will be here in less than two months.  Hopefully baby waits until she gets here but we'll see!

Baby's Size:  Pineapple Average size: 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lbs (Another source says baby weighs more than 3 lbs and is approximately 18 inches head to toe.)
All five of baby's senses are working.

Total Weight Gain:
Home scale:  1.4 lbs this week (seems to be the common theme the last 3 weeks) bringing me to 18.0 lbs total
Doctor’s scale: 18 lbs at our 28 week appointment on January 24th
Weight gained with Grant at this point:  25.2 lbs

Maternity Clothes:  Yes and I am finding some of my looser fitting shirts are fitting much better.  Instead of looking fat and frumpy, I look pregnant.  They also don't make me look like I am much more pregnant than I really am.   

Baby's Movement:  She still moves non stop.  I am beginning to feel much stronger movements and I am still trying to not obsess over her position too much.  There are times when I am sure she is head down and others when I am convinced she is head up.  It will definitely be on my list of questions at my next appointment.  Regardless, she is all up in my ribs when I am sitting!     

Food Cravings:  Fish, salads, brownies (we had a box in the pantry just begging to be made!), oranges, cheese... basically starving this week!

Food Aversions:  Festival Foods brand cheddar brats.  Matt grilled some Sunday and I couldn't touch them.  Had they been Johnsonville I don't think I would have had any problems.  Weird, I know.

Sleep:  Like a rock... actually I would say better than ever.  I have even slept completely through the night several nights this week with no waking for position changes or a potty break.  I LOVE it! 

Symptoms:  I have had some waves of nausea here and there.  I am not sure if it is her position or what.  I know some women report that the nausea/sickness they experience in their 1st trimester comes back in the 3rd.  I sure hope that isn't the case!  I have also been having more leg and foot cramps usually when I stretch or I am trying to work myself out of bed.  I woke up Sunday and couldn't get my rings on.  With in a couple of hours, I had no problem getting them on and then no problem getting them off at the end of the day.  It seems there has been a lull in Braxton hicks and I haven't noticed hiccups as frequently but maybe that is because she is moving so much.  With a lull of those comes and increase in urination!  It seems like I am peeing all day everyday. 

Best Moment(s) This Week:  Date night with my hubby. 

What I Miss:  Being able to hold Grant without a growing belly in the way.  It's just a lot more work!   

What I Am Looking Forward To:  I would say before the weekend is over we should have everything in her room and done. 

Feeling confident in a name choice... We decided early on that we wanted to narrow our list down to about 2-3 and decide for sure after we meet her just like we did with Grant.  Well, just when we thought we had our name list narrowed down to 2 favorites and about 5 other maybes we both decided we didn't like one of our "favorites" anymore and aren't willing to commit 100% to the other favorite.  We will see if any of the 5 or so back ups move up to the favorite list.

What's Different This Time:  I have been a bit more religious about an exercise routine this time around (not that the scale has reflected that lately!).  With Grant, I worked out/exercised probably 2-4 days a week to a cheesy pregnancy DVD.  This time around I have taken to walking in our large basement at work (1/2 mile twice per day) on my breaks as well as doing some stretches and other exercises.  I have also taken a Dancing for Birth class taught by our doula which incorporates some various hip circles and yoga poses.  I have incorporated some of these moves into my daily routine as well.

Next Appointment:
February 21st - 32 week appointment

Potty Training Tales

We had been trying not to push the potty training issue and telling ourselves that when Grant was ready both he and we would be ready.  Of course we were keeping our fingers crossed that we wouldn't have two in diapers once our daughter arrives.  Well, it seems that in the last 1-2 weeks he has decided it is time.  It was honestly as if a light switch flipped.

The week of Jan 29th at daycare he went potty on the toilet at least 3-5 times per day.  The trend continued so when we would get home in the afternoons that week we put underwear on and he wasn't having any accidents.  There was one occasion this same week where he actually told me he had to go (while still in a diaper) so we put him on the toilet and sure enough he went.

On Friday, when I picked him up I talked with his teacher about his progress and she said she would feel comfortable with him in underwear on the following Monday.  I told her we would keep him in underwear all weekend and see how it went.  Friday night before we left the house for dinner we told him we were going to eat and he needed to go potty before we left.  He proceeded to pee and off we went.  We thought it was a huge accomplishment that he was peeing on command essentially.  That night we went to dinner with him in underwear.  He was fine sitting on the toilet at the restaurant but never had to go.  As soon as we walked in the door at Matt's parent's house after dinner he went potty.  Again, another proud moment that we had an outing and he held it.

He has since been in undewear at home and daycare.  He has had very few potty accidents in the last week and has come home in the same pants he has gone to school four out of the five days last week.  He has also woken up dry from bed time and nap time for 4 days in a row (we put a diaper on during these times just in case).  We are working on pushing him a little longer between potty breaks hoping he will begin to be more vocal about when he has to go instead of putting him on the potty on a schedule.  He is getting there slowly but surely.      

Poop is another story but from other parent's anecdotes and my research poop is always the 2nd to come.  He has gone on the toilet several times but will still poop in his pants before he will tell us he has to go.  He will get there and in the mean time we are enjoying only going through 2 diapers a day and having to scrub some occasional skid marks out of undies. 

In life, it is the little milestones and we are so very proud!  We will gladly take this progress at 25 months old!

30 Weeks

 

How Far Along:  30 Weeks (Approximately 70 days to go!)

If there is one thing I remember vividly from my pregnancy with Grant it is that once you hit 30 weeks the remaining time FLIES BY!  Hold on because here we go!

Baby's Size:  Cucumber Average size: 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 lbs (Another source says baby weighs almost 3 lbs and is approximately 17 inches head to toe.)
Baby is strong enough to grasp a finger now.

Total Weight Gain:
Home scale:  1.4 lbs this week bringing me to 16.6 lbs total
Doctor’s scale:  18 lbs at our 28 week appointment on January 24th
Weight gained with Grant at this point:  24.6 lbs

Maternity Clothes:  Not much of a choice anymore... 

Baby's Movement:  She is still a very busy girl.  I do need to quit obsessing about what position she may be in though.  It will all work out and in the end I know she will cooperate...

Food Cravings:  Salads... if we are going to eat out somewhere my first thought is always "Do they have good salads there?"  I have still been indulging in my nightly bowl of cereal before bed as well.  I need to really chill out at meal time and eat smaller meals.  I find myself overly stuff and uncomfortable usually with reflux because I eat too much.   

Food Aversions:  Meatloaf and cheesy hashbrowns but that is mainly because I caught a stomach bug and they came back up in the middle of the night. 

Sleep:  Like a champ!  It still frustrates me when I have to briefly wake to roll over and reposition my pillows but I fall right back asleep. 

Symptoms:  Not really a pregnancy symptom but I had a 24 hour bought with the stomach flu.  Apparently Super Bowls are bad luck for me.  Three years ago my appendix ruptured and this year I was puking and had diarrhea.  Otherwise, things are pretty par for the course... occasional reflux, feeling full after eating two bites then being hungry five minutes later, very slight swelling in my ankles by the end of the day...

Best Moment(s) This Week:  A massage and a painted baby room!  Most of the stuff is in there but not necessarily organized yet. 

What I Miss:  My carefree 2nd trimester... Now that the 3rd has hit and we have hit 30 weeks I am feeling the push and the stress.  I want everything done and ready now!  It is as if having everything just so before she arrives will make the transition of having two children and managing two schedules and all that easier.  I know we will find a new norm and develop new schedules and find a routine that works for us but it still makes me very nervous. 

What I Am Looking Forward To:  Washing and sorting baby clothes.  I don't know about looking forward to it but it needs to be done.   

What's Different This Time:  After Grant being breech, I vowed that after 30 weeks I would not spend my nights lounging on the couch or in the recliner.  I have been spending a lot of time watching nightly TV sitting on my birthing ball or more conscientious of my position.  There are some nights I just can't resist though.  I have been trying to find the happy medium of not obsessing over it but still being conscientious of it.     

Next Appointment:
February 21st - 32 week appointment