30 Weeks {photo}

30 Week Celebration! {pic}

A first time feeling.

This morning was the first time that I realized I'm going to miss sharing my body with my little punkin' pie once she's born. I always get so wrapped up and excited with "getting my body back", the delivery moments, and finally getting to meet her that I forget that once I get what I wish for...I may want the opposite. I've had a couple of Mom-friends of mine tell me they miss feeling the fluttering, kicks, and movements of their baby inside of their belly but with all of the hardships that pregnancy brings it's hard to keep that in mind.

So my short term goal for these next 10 weeks (more or less) is to really appreciate these special sharing moments that I have with her. Feeling her jolt and move around, guessing which part of her body is pushing outwards, trying to understand her patterns, and getting shocked when she kicks me hard right in the middle of a conversation with one of my doctors (that's always a funny moment).

I'm excited to meet you, baby girl. But for now, you just sit tight and let's enjoy this final stage together since this is the closest we will ever be...awh, I just got a little emotional typing that!

Love you all,

Momma Dre

Ouch!

Days like this make it difficult to work all day long but I did it! And in this heat! And I added a grocery run on top of it!

Last night my middle-outer back started aching and Paul volunteered to give me a massage (good hubby!). But I took a tylenol, which I have rarely done during the pregnancy, and it helped me get to bed but I had to be strategic with positioning the pillows around my body to stay asleep.

This morning my belly was super tight. I think it's one of those "growy days" (as I've been calling them) where my little pumpkin is making some more space in there. All day I felt the muscles around the sides of my belly and around my back stretching forward.

Anyway, ultimately I'm fine and I'm going to get used to the "growy days" ASAP because I have a feeling there's going to be more of them than not in these final 11 weeks. (WOW! Just 11 weeks to go! And just 2 more weeks til we see our babies face in the 4D ultrasound! And just 2 more weeks til our baby shower! So many amazing things to be excited about!)

The perfect song.

Nicole told me about this song and now I can't stop listening to it (and crying) ... how perfect is it?

You can get it off of iTunes, too.

28 Weeks {Photo}

Kicks galore!

I love sharing her kicks with the world around me. Anytime I feel her "going nuts" as I call it, I grab the nearest friend or family members hand and throw it on my belly. I guess I just assume everyone wants to feel her move and no one has turned me down yet! She's a powerful mover and shaker so I want to share in the experience. It's cute too because once I share the kicks with one person, others around inevitably want to join in the fun. I love it :)

Calling an audible.

Unfortunately, there are many disappointments in life. And today, one of my disappointments came in the form of unavailable bedding. (I'm being overly dramatic here, really not that big of a deal ha ha). But anyway - most of you know my dream bedding was this cute "Lambie" style from Pottery Barn Kids. I guess it's my curse for looking at bedding choices too soon but I realized today that Pottery Barn Kids has (for some crazy reason) changed the availability of all of the pieces to a "backordered until November 24, 2009" status. Nice, huh? Anyway, I'm not going to cry about it. I'm going to put Lambs all up in her room still. It's just not going to be in the form of bedding (bumper, sheets, etc.). I found an adorable set that I really like and changed everything out for that. I'm still framing the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" pages in an arrangement on the wall and I still have cute stuffed lambs for the room (so far, one from her cousin Collin and one from a trip I made to Build A Bear). And as Paul reminds me, our baby is going to have no clue any of this happened. Oh the weird things I've chosen to worry about. Ha ha.

That was nice.

I did it! I went swimming at our pool with Paul tonight and it was awesome. I did the breaststroke, which felt the most comfortable. The cold water felt amazing in this inferno weather we are having. I reallllllllyyy didn't want to get out of the pool because I knew gravity would be back and I would feel the heaviness of my belly. And I was right. As soon as I walked out of the pool, I felt the weight hit me like a ton of bricks. It's nice being buoyant for a bit but it makes the weight more noticeable right after. Either way, I LOVE swimming. Especially because it's great quality time with Paul (my fish-for-a-husband). :)

Ha!

Paul said that when I'm sleeping (I like to lay on my back when it's comfortable), I look like a turtle stuck on its back unable to flip over. Ha ha! I totally feel that way! Paul has to help me sit up sometimes! A good laugh :)

Charging into the 3rd Trimester! (ok, waddling into it)

One thing I plan on telling my baby girl when she is old enough to understand is how much she LOVED rolling around, kicking, moving, and salsa dancing in my tummy. She pretty much moves all of the time at this almost 28 week mark. She used to be on a schedule where I knew what times of day she would move. Now, I'm wondering if there is a time where she isn't moving? (PS. She kicked my bladder for the first time at Leaza's Rehearsal Dinner last friday night! Literally had to jump up and run to the bathroom to avoid peeing myself! ha!)

Last night, I felt what seemed like baby girl trying to dig a small hole near my belly button with either her finger or toe so that she could come out and greet me. This is the first time where I felt a very small pointy part of her. Very cool! If Paul were around, it would have freaked him out a bit to see how my stomach was jumping.

It's almost like clockwork, when I hit the 3rd trimester last friday. I officially have the 3rd trimester exhaustion. I really really want to workout but I have no energy to do it. I'm still hungry all of the time. And at our doctors appointment on monday, I weighed in at 147lbs. I jumped up in weight these past 4 weeks but Dr. Kroll says that happens. I'll probably hit 160lbs by the time she shows up. Dr. Kroll says that with the heat the way it's been (100 degrees PLUS!), she expects that I'll probably pee out 30lbs of water after I deliver. (Note to self: Get pregnant in the summer so you're huge in the winter).

It's weird being exhausted but ironically I'm willing to only get up to nest somemore. I want everything done and ready to go by October 27 so I can just chill for the last month. Plus, if I go early (which could happen since I'm considered "full term" on November 6th) I won't feel much anxiety about not being all situated. And let's be honest, I like being organized.

My sis' is sending out baby shower invites today (for September 26th). My coworker is also throwing me one at our Clubhouse on October 10th.

We got the glider and ottoman on Monday night and put it together much faster than the crib. Once I feel warm and fuzzy about how the nursery looks, I'll post some before/after pictures. Probably won't be until the beginning to middle of October.

I'm still reading amazing books to help me feel confident and prepared. I finished "Heading Home with Your Newborn" -- super good stuff on the basics. Now I'm reading "Baby Whisperer" which is really cool (I think it's mostly about being patient with yourself and the baby and remember to always treat the baby with respect...more to come). I've also been recommended to get the book called "The Happiest Baby on the Block". I'm sure I'll check it out.

Much love,
Andrea