30 Weeks! The Arizona Shower

I was very excited to reach the 30 week milestone this week!  We are 3/4 of the way toward meeting our Little Man!  The Little Dude celebrated by kicking more than ever :) 

This week was a lot of fun because we headed to Arizona for a baby shower for Sweet Baby M.  My mother-in-law was kind enough to throw it and my mom was able to fly down so she could be there for it too!  We drove out to Phoenix on Thursday evening (roadtrips are not super fun when you have a munchkin kicking your bladder.)  Friday night we went to dinner with J's parents and my mom.  We went to a really delicious pizza place that had an amazing margherita pizza on a sourdough crust.  I am a huge sucker for really good mozzarella! I decided to stay at my mom's hotel with her that night and we had a great time doing a little shopping for Baby M and having a sleepover!  My mom and I don't get a ton of one on one time with me living far away and having four other siblings so we had a blast together!  I am so grateful that she will be our Little Man's grandma :)

Love My Mom!

Saturday was baby shower day and it was so great to be surrounded by so many people who already love our Little Guy!  We played a game that was actually fun (I'm not a big fan of cheesy shower games), ate some good food, and I received advice from all of the moms in the room. My sweet cousin E, who is six, gave the best advice which was to "Feed your baby!" That is definitely something I have to make sure I remember :)  I really appreciate all of the effort that was put in to making this a special day!

Me with both of Baby M's Grandmas :)

I wasn't great about getting pictures so unfortunately I don't have pictures of a lot of the people who were there.  Here are a few pictures that I did get.

 Then we moved on to opening presents.  We got some awesome stuff and we can't wait to see Baby M in all of his adorable little outfits!

Jessie's basket that was STUFFED with cute baby things :)

This blanket and sweater came all the way from Israel!

After the shower was over we spent one more day in Phoenix and then we packed up the car to head back to California.

It was absolutely packed with all of the great presents that we got.  We are really grateful to everyone who spoiled us!  Once we got home J unloaded the car and we got everything into the nursery.

Thanks everyone!

We were fortunate enough to get our crib, baby carrier, high chair, bouncer, bathtub, diapers and a mountain of clothes among other things!  Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of our shower!  We had a great trip and we were glad we were able to see so much family and so many friends!

 

Now onto the regular update:

How far along: 30 weeks
Baby is the size of a:  Head of lettuce
Total Weight Gain: 16 lbs

Maternity Clothes: yeah but mixed with some regular pieces

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty well but I do seem to wake up earlier than I would like to.  I would really like to take advantage of these last two months before my sleep gets totally screwed up!

Best Moment of the Week: Baby M's shower

Miss Anything: Having a full wardrobe to choose from

Movement: He is a very active little man!

Food Cravings: queso- I haven't given in to it yet but who knows if I'll be able to resist much longer!

Symptoms: My back was fairly sore but I think that was due to the road trip, other than that I have been really lucky!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button In or Out: In!  Though definitely getting closer to being flat

Looking Forward To: A Kentucky Derby party at my Aunt C's house this weekend!

29 Weeks

At 29 weeks, I have to say that things are going really well!  There are some movements that are getting a little harder as I continue to grow outward but other than that I have been feeling really good!  The Little Man seems to have decided to take up kickboxing this week as he is constantly moving and I feel jabs and kicks all day long.  It is fun to feel him so much more often! 

29 Week Bump

We started out the week with a hike at Torrey Pines with J's brothers G and P.  The weather was not ideal but we still had a good time.  It was super windy when we got there and I was worried I would be miserable the whole time but fortunately the wind died down and it got a lot more pleasant.  We are so spoiled here in Southern California with good weather all the time that 62 while cloudy and windy seems like a terrible weather day to us. 

P ready to catch me if I tumbled down the steep rocks

G and P were here until Tuesday and we really enjoyed their visit!  They decided to be the best house guests ever and they vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom before they left.  I would have been happy to do the cleaning but it was definitely a very pleasant surprise to find it already finished after they left!  I just wish we would have had better weather for their visit.
This weekend is back to beautiful sunny, warm weather.  We spent today at the beach soaking up the sun.  We figure we should take advantage of as many baby free beach days as possible before the Little Man takes over our lives :)  I felt  bit more self conscious than the last time we went to the beach because my bump has grown a ton but at least now it looks a lot more like a baby bump than a beer gut!

Beautiful beach day today!

Now onto the regular update:

How far along: 29 weeks
Baby is the size of a: butternut squash
Total Weight Gain: 14 lbs- somehow I lost a pound this week

Maternity Clothes: yep

Sleep: I have been waking up every morning around 7 to Baby M moving around like crazy but other than that sleep is going great!

Best Moment of the Week: Getting an early shower gift from my parents!  Pictures will follow next week

Miss Anything: Diet Coke!  and fitting through tight spaces- I can no longer squeeze between closely parked cars

Movement: It seemed like he took up kickboxing this week with all of his crazy movements!  He spent one entire afternoon kicking my ribcage repeatedly which wasn't super pleasant for me

Food Cravings: Ice cream

Symptoms: I have been lucky and not had to deal with any swelling, heartburn or other major symptoms. 

Labor Signs: none yet, thank goodness

Belly Button In or Out: In!  Though definitely getting closer to being flat

Looking Forward To: My baby shower in Arizona next weekend!

28 Weeks

Starting to Feel Huge at 28 Weeks

We are down to less than 12 weeks until we get to meet our Little Man (hopefully- I'll be pretty sad if he is overdue)!  At this point there is definitely no denying that I have a pretty distinct baby bump.  I have now reached the point where people in public regularly ask me when I am due.  It is fun but to be honest I am a little terrified of how much more I will expand over the next 12 weeks :)

Beach Day at the Harbor

This last week was fairly busy for us.  Last weekend J's brother G was in town for work so we spent Sunday at the beach with him.  It was a little overcast but still really nice to be outside.  G drove back this weekend with J's little brother P.  We went to the pier today but it was not only overcast, but also chilly.  We are hoping for better weather tomorrow when we are going to hike at Torrey Pines.  We are loving spending some time with J's brothers.  One of the hardest things about the military lifestyle is being far away from family so it is always nice when we can get some time in!  When we were walking back from the pier we saw a family trying to get a hill in a pedal cart (not really sure of the proper name) but they couldn't make it so G offered to jump in and help pedal.  G and J ended up pedaling and P helped push from behind.  The pregnant lady just walked up the hill next to them trying to get a picture.  :)

Brothers Helping Out

Brothers at the Pier

 
I had a doctors appointment this week for my 28 week checkup.  Everything is still looking good with Baby M!  We are both healthy and measuring right on schedule.  The last time I got measured I was on the smaller side but not this time.  Baby M has really been going through a serious growth spurt over the last two weeks!  I am starting to realize how little time we have left before the Little Man makes his appearance so I need to pick out which classes to take and get everything that we need before his arrival.  On that front, I finally got around to finishing the curtains for the nursery!  I love them and the blackout lining that I used truly does block out all of the light when they are closed.   I still have a bunch of projects left but it was nice to finally cross a big one off the list!

Finished Curtains!

Now onto the regular update:

How far along: 28 weeks
Baby is the size of a: cabbage
Total Weight Gain: 15 lbs according to the doctor

Maternity Clothes: yep

Sleep: I have been waking up once or twice a night needing to adjust my position to get comfortable but it has been easy to fall back to sleep so far so it's still going well!

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing Baby M's heartbeat, catching up with some friends from Quantico days, seeing J's brothers- it was  pretty busy week!

Miss Anything: being able to shop- I have never been a big shopper but now with my wardrobe being so limited it would be nice to be able to pick up some new stuff without having to search so hard

Movement:  Moving more and more every week- he still does the thing where he stops moving whenever anyone else tries to feel my stomach.

Food Cravings: Strawberries

Symptoms: My back still doesn't appreciate the kindergarten chairs and bending over is starting to get a bit more difficult but I have been lucky not to have any really bad symptoms!

Labor Signs: none yet, thank goodness

Belly Button In or Out: In!  It looks a little weird but I still don't think it's going to pop for at least a few more weeks

Looking Forward To: getting some nursery projects taken care of! 

27 Weeks

We have reached the third trimester!  I am SO excited to be in the final third of this pregnancy!  I am trying to enjoy the pregnancy and not wish away my last few months of sleeping in, but I cannot wait to meet our Little Man :)  This week he decided that he really needed to make his presence more prominent so I seemed to grow every single day. 

Easter Sunday

We had a very nice Easter with a lovely sermon followed by lunch with some friends. It was great to have J home this year since he has been gone for Easter the past few years.  While I was at my parents house last week I developed an addiction to Reese's Pieces Eggs (the eggs are much better than regular Reese's Pieces to me for some reason) so I had to run to the store here and pick some up because I NEEDED them.  That was probably the strongest craving that I have had during this pregnancy.  Fortunately, I was able to pick up a few bags at Target on Monday so I have a little stash :) 

27 Weeks- Growing Daily

I went back to work this week after having had a very enjoyable spring break and I have to say that the Kindergarten chairs, which weren't exactly comfortable to begin with, are now very uncomfortable for me to sit in.  Unfortunately, to be able to see my patient the way I need to to do my job, I have to sit in them and I'm pretty sure they are just going to get less and less comfortable every week.  The Little Man showed his displeasure with the mini chairs every time I sat down by repeatedly kicking me right in the bladder.  Every. Single. Time.  I don't think he likes the way that my legs are pushing into his space when I'm sitting that low.  I'm going to see my doctor this week so I will have to ask her if she has any recommendations to help me with this problem (like maybe recommending that I quit a few weeks earlier than planned :) 

Now onto the regular update:

How far along: 27 weeks
Baby is the size of a: head of cauliflower- he should weigh about 2 1/2 lbs now
Total Weight Gain: 12 lbs- probably thanks to all of the Reese's Pieces Eggs

Maternity Clothes: yep

Sleep: I have been really lucky with sleep so far!  I am trying to enjoy every single day that I get to sleep in because I know those days will be ending very soon.

Best Moment of the Week: Celebrating Easter!

Miss Anything: not being uncomfortable at work

Movement:  Baby M has been kicking me like crazy this week, especially when I sat in mini chairs- he doesn't like to have his space cramped

Food Cravings: Reese's Pieces Eggs

Symptoms: Just generally feeling big, a little back pain from the kinder chairs.  I have been lucky and not dealt with any swelling or major pains yet.

Labor Signs: none yet, thank goodness

Belly Button In or Out: In!  I don't think it is going to pop out for at least a few more weeks

Looking Forward To: My doctor's appointment this week and also having two of J's brothers visit next weekend.