31 Weeks

No "weekly update" today - it's early and I'm still half asleep, plus I'm not sure my answers would be any different this week from last!


I basically feel like anywhere from 31 weeks - 35 weeks is the "calm before the storm".  Obviously there's a huge urgency on my part to get things done cause even though I hear time and again from people, "Oh, you still have two months!" (which really annoys me - yes, it's true, but when you're 9 weeks from having a baby and you work full time you suddenly realize how little amount of time 9 weeks actually is) I am starting to get in major nesting mode.


As far as what we have right now, we've got the car seat, stroller, changing table that Brad built - and I cried when I saw it, ha (still needs to be painted) - I need to paint the cabinet we'll use for her clothes and we have some clothes and odds and ends that I've been stocking up on here and there.  My shower is next weekend so I'm hesitant to buy anything that's not a big purchase cause you never know what you'll get.


We still need to build the crib (Brad's building it as well) and get a chair for the nursery, but that's it as far as big pieces of furniture for in there.  I've started to turn the wheels in my head on a decorating scheme for her room and I think we're going to go with shades of cream, soft pink and gold.  But who knows, it could all change at the very last minute :)


I'm feeling pretty good these days.  Definitely am a lot more tired by the end of the day and have taken a few post-work naps.  My swelling hasn't been too bad, although it's about noon before I can get my replacement wedding ring on :(  My heartburn has been better this week, which is nice.  I've felt a little bit more of tenderness in my wrists, almost like I have a bit of carpal tunnel syndrome.  I can feel fairly sore after a long walk or sitting all day, which is an odd feeling cause I basically get tired and achy if I walk a lot or tired and achy if I sit a lot.  But overall I can't complain.  Baby girl is still moving all the time and I'm starting to learn her sleeping/wake times - she is usually awake and moving between 8-10 and it seems like every day around 10:30 I notice very little movement.  She has another period like that in the afternoon, and beyond that I don't notice cause I'm off work by then.  Night time is her most favorite time to move, and move she does!  I can watch my belly shake and twitch, it's the funniest thing.  Last night I was doing some "belly mapping" to try to figure out where she was and I'm pretty sure I could feel her little butt above my belly button.  I love it when I can feel small little pokes cause I know those have to be a little limb of some sort.  I truly am SO excited to meet her and just am so amazed at how much you can love someone that you have never met!

30 Weeks

Belly Observation of the Week: I think I look a little more "popped" since the last pic, right?  

How far along?  30 Weeks Today!  SO hard to believe there's only 10 weeks left!

Size of the baby? She's the size of a cucumber this week, or a little over 3lbs

Maternity Clothes? I haven't bought any maternity clothes for a month or so now, so it's mainly just regular shirts paired w/ maternity tanks and leggings and some shorts.  The shirt I'm wearing above is from Target -- fits quite a bit differently than it did when I bought it at 18 weeks pregnant!

Stretch marks? Nope, but I quote from one of my new favorite bloggers: "Nada but you can see my whole damn circulatory system..." The veins everywhere ARE getting a little ridiculous.

Sleep?  Varies day by day but still pretty good.  I think I sleep better when I'm walking in the evenings. 

Best Moment of the Week?  Making more and more baby purchases!  Helps it all feel a little more real.

Movement?  All the time.  I think the sweetest part of my day is in the morning when I first wake up, I'll wait to see how long it takes her to start moving around.  Usually not too long!  I've also been trying to figure out how she's positioned in my belly - lately there have been times that I'm certain she's transverse (across my belly rather than up and down) and other times I'm certain she's still breech.  And then sometimes I think she just may be head down!  It's definitely early enough for her to be moving in all these positions in there, but hopefully soon she'll settle in nice and snug in the good 'ol head down anterior position!

Symptoms? Listing these all out here might make it sound like I'm not feeling good when I really am, but it's a variety of things: sore hips, my fingers are usually a little swollen in the mornings and my feet are a little swollen in the evenings, definitely have to pee all the time...that's about it.  

Cravings?  Nothing much this week although I did have the biggest hankering for loaded french fries earlier this week - Texas fries topped with everything terrible for you :)  I haven't indulged but I keep thinking about them!  (However, I did indulge in 3 chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the night last night...this is not a pregnancy thing, unfortunately.  Just a Seanna thing)

Gender?  Baby GIRL!  

What do I miss? Drinking.  I feel like the biggest boozer when I say that, but I SO love having a drink in the summer!  We went to a little tourist island this past weekend and I so badly wanted a fruity drink from the bar.  I had a club soda instead.  

What I'm looking forward to? Finishing up the painting in the nursery - I'm finishing the closet this week and hopefully can talk Brad into painting the floor trim for me.  Once that's done we'll start hanging curtains, wall decs, etc.  And I'll start painting her clothing cabinet!  I'm SO excited for this piece of furniture, I bought it a number of years ago in Minneapolis and it's been sitting for the past year or so unused.  I'm going to repaint it a pretty cream color on the outside and maybe a fun color on the inside?  Not sure, but I can't wait to figure it out!  

Thank you, but you can stop now

Today I went up to Madeline Island with Brad and some of our family, and while we had a fun time, I feel like I'm paying for all the walking we did earlier today!  Now that I'm back home I'm sitting on the couch and my tailbone/sciatic nerve is seriously aching.  But I think the most painful thing I experienced all day is the pain of the baby moving over what I assume is my cervical area, while I'm walking.  That sounds strange, but probably every 10 or 15 minutes I would feel her slowly start to move and I would get this sharp, pinching pain way down low.  It felt especially uncomfortable when I had to use the restroom (which I've officially reached the "Okay, I'm peeing every 15 minutes now" stage).  There were a couple times that it almost made me stop walking because it was so uncomfortable!  Hence my blog post title :)


So here's my randoms for the week...before I hit the big 10 Week Countdown -- which starts on Tuesday!

• I bought our crib mattress, changing pad and one changing pad cover today!  I finally feel like I'm making some progress.  Here's what I bought...

This is the crib mattress, it's the Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams in White.  Great reviews and a great price http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004044LD4/ref=ox_ya_os_product   

This is the changing pad - LA Baby Contour Changing Pad.  I liked the price, that's pretty much why I bought it

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KUAS20/ref=oh_details_o00_s02_i00

And the changing pad cover - Carter's Super Soft Dot Changing Pad Cover in Ecru (I have plans to get another change-out pad cover, just will probably wait til after my shower to see if I'll need one)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016LVB4Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

• I'm debating whether or not we need to get a glider/rocker for the nursery.  Obviously I know we would use it but I'm just wondering if it's worth spending an extra couple hundred dollars for one?  Thing is, Brad is building our crib and changing table, I'm repainting a cabinet to use for her dresser, so we're honestly not putting much money into the nursery, so this could be our one "big" purchase for it.  The idea I had was to follow what this blogger had done and purchase the IKEA Ektorp Jenny Lund arm chair and have Brad attach a rocker/swivel base to it.  That would save lots of money and would be very much my style.  We'll see...

• This week I did something I swore I would never do pre-pregnancy...

I wore a shirt that did the "waterfall" look in the front and didn't curve around my belly.  I don't know why - actually I do know why, by 9:30am I was going crazy looking at it - but I just always hated maternity shirts that don't fit over your belly snugly and just blouse out in front of it.  It was a cute shirt, but I probably will save that one for post-pregnancy now.

• My little mover loves to be on the right side of my belly!  There's always been a slight pooch on that side, but sometimes it's super obvious - see below....

• Not sure if I mentioned this in my last update, but I've started having Braxton Hicks.  While they don't hurt at all, they're uncomfortable and frankly just freak me out a little cause the first night I had them, I actually had a few in a row and per my baby books, you're not supposed to have more than 4 in an hour before you need to call the doctor.  However, I think I brought them on myself due to a lot of walking combined with not enough water.  Trying not to make that mistake again!  

29 weeks

Funny - I wore this shirt (in a different color) at my 21 week update, quite the difference on how it fits! 

How far along?  29 weeks, 1 day

Size of the baby? the size of an acorn squash.  Again, I hate how The Bump has you at the size of an eggplant one week - a long vegetable - and then an acorn squash the next, which is a round vegetable.  What??  (side note, I am SO happy to be clicking on '3rd trimester' on the Bump website) 

Maternity Clothes? So after my vow last week to not buy any maternity clothes, I have come to the realization that I'm just going to have to get a few more things.  When the temps are in the mid-70's I can wear outfits like the above, which is just maternity leggings and a non-maternity tank & shirt.  But this last weekend it was almost in the 90's, and I was struggling big time cause all my shorts were dirty and I really don't have any maternity dresses or maxis that I like wearing anymore.  But I'm going to try and hold out for a few weeks before I get a couple more things so that hopefully they'll last til the end.  

Stretch marks? Nope 

Sleep?  It's still mostly good.  Still wake up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom, but that's not anything new from pre-pregnancy.  I've ever had a couple nights lately where I've slept mostly through the night.  

Best Moment of the Week?  Nothing I can put my finger on...just feeling very thankful for a healthy babe!

Movement?  Yep.  In fact, she's moving right now so much that it almost gets a little painful on my bladder/cervix area.  And the hiccups that I wasn't certain I was experiencing but thought I was?  Yes...she has them almost every day now :)  I'm not going to say that I love the feeling, especially when I'm trying to fall asleep, but there's nothing more reassuring than knowing your baby is healthy  (which I read somewhere that hiccups are a sign of being healthy cause it means their nervous system is developing well.  However, I also read that frequent hiccups are a sign that the baby could have reflux after being born.  So...)

Symptoms? I AM still feeling good - however, I'm also starting to feel a bit of a "turning point" that seems pretty typical with the 3rd trimester.  I feel great in the mornings - biggest complaint is that I wake up with pretty swollen fingers, it is seriously my biggest "pride" issue with being pregnant, I HATE that I can't wear my wedding ring - but by the end of the day, my belly is usually a little achy and I just feel a little more sore.  I've started walking every day a little bit, but the other night I walked a longer distance than I have been and the whole rest of the night I had Braxton Hicks, which freaked me out.  So I'm thinking I need to take it a little easier??  I don't know, I'll ask my doctor next week.  

Cravings?  McDonald's Vanilla Cone - it's a cheap dessert and it only has 150 calories!  Which is great cause I've had one almost every day since last Friday

Gender?  Baby GIRL!  

What do I miss? Not being swollen, wearing cute clothes.  Same old, same old.    

What I'm looking forward to? Hmm...on the "not relating to pregnancy" side, I'm going camping this weekend with my sister and brother in law on Madeline Island, which is a quaint little island off of Bayfield, WI on Lake Superior.  Should be fun, I figure since I'm sleeping well and feeling good that now is the time to do these things!  I'm a little dubious at what activities I can do - they've been talking about bike riding and I'm trying to decide if that's a really bad idea or not.  On the "pertaining to pregnancy" side, I'm looking forward to getting a few more things that we're going to need!  I'm planning to buy the crib mattress this week, and I really have no idea what else I will need to get!  Feeling pretty clueless overall :)

28 weeks

This is my vanity for you...I took this picture about a full 5 days before I normally post these updates just because I had done my hair today and it was still early morning enough for it to show :)  Speaking of hair, I always rolled my eyes at those people that made the "unintentionally ombre hair" jokes, but seriously, I am rocking that look right now.  And it is bad.  Hence why my hair will be pulled back every day until this Friday when I get a little fixin' done to it. 


Also, to LacyLouise (love your blog!  and I don't know how to reply to comments where you'll see them?!?), I'm due August 28th!  


On to the updates....

How far along?  28 weeks, 1 day

Size of the baby? The size of an eggplant!  She could now be over 2lbs, which is crazy to think about.  I know that's still tiny, but just 8 weeks ago she was less than 1 lb!  

Maternity Clothes? Both.  I'm still squeezing into my skinny jeans with the belly band, although I probably won't be able to do that for much longer, at least not for work where I sit all day.  They're hurting my belly pretty good by the end of the day.  This dress that I'm wearing above - which I would normally consider NOT my taste at all, and it's still kind of not, but options are limited when pregnant - is from Wal-Mart (I swear I paid like, $7 for it) and it actually works well with the belly.  I am so determined to not buy ANY more maternity clothes, and I don't even have that many!  I just feel like it's such a waste of money.  

Stretch marks? Nope, thankfully!  Maybe I'll do a bare belly shot before I start getting too big.  But honestly for now, I have to say I am loving my bare belly! I think it's pretty.

Weight?  ???  This was the best decision I ever made, to not find out how much I'm gaining.  Seriously.  

Sleep?  Some nights have been a little harder than others - mainly cause I'm getting up so much to use the bathroom, but the last couple nights I have slept really well.  Which probably just means I'm not drinking enough water.  Sigh.

Best Moment of the Week?  Reaching the 3rd trimester! Oh - and last week, it would've been passing my glucose test

Movement?  Lots of it!  And in big news, I'm pretty sure that Monday I experienced hiccups!  I was sitting at my desk and I started to notice this rhythmic tic-tic-tic in one part of my belly, and it went on for a couple minutes and then went away.  Her kicks have gotten much stronger and she's getting big enough that her movements in different parts of my belly will make my belly stick out on that side.  She usually hangs out on the right side of my belly and I'm fairly certain she's still breech...

Symptoms? Overall still feeling really good.  However, I went for a long walk (well, a couple miles.  But that's long when you haven't went on a 2 mile walk for months) last night and about 5 minutes into I had to go the bathroom, which I can see will maybe change my plans for where I walk in the future...and then the whole rest of the night my hips and lower belly were a little sore.  Great evidence that I need to get out more!  Swelling has been very minimal but it's also not been HOT hot.  Oh, and honestly, the most persistent, daily symptom is heartburn.  I used to let myself take 1 Tum a day...now I'm up to 2 or 3.  Not sure if it's just an "it is what it is" type thing or if I really need to change my diet?  Problem is that I looove acidic and spicy foods, so I hate to change it!

Cravings?  Club soda with a lime.  I could drink that all day long, which leads me to wonder, why do they only sell club soda in 1 liter bottles?  Hmm...

Gender?  Baby GIRL!  

What do I miss? This week, nothing really.  Pretty much anything I've said before :)  

What I'm looking forward to? You know, I think I am to the point where the thought of having this baby is becoming legitimately exciting to me.  Not that it wasn't exciting before this week, but it's really starting to feel REAL.  And because of that, I'm getting excited to meet her, which is a really neat feeling.  Up until now, even while being pregnant the thought of actually having a baby here has seemed to be this abstract concept.  Maybe it was a matter of getting through some big hurdles, like the 1st trimester and viability, and then making it into the 3rd trimester and feeling like, "okay, this is the final stretch!"  And even though I don't think any of this will feel absolutely real until she's here, I have started to think more about holding her, nursing her, getting up with her at night, talking to her, taking her places...and I literally tear up at how much my heart longs for her!  

27 Weeks

So I bought a new camera for us a couple weeks ago and I swear, I must have it on some obscure setting because the photos have been absolutely terrible and the camera has such great reviews.  Hence this terrible photo.  But there's no missing the belly :)


I decided against doing the weekly questionnaire cause I didn't really feel like the answers had changed much, and I'd rather write about my thoughts on my body as I'm going through this unique time where I've got a little "uterus inhabitant" that's causing my feet to swell and my nose (and hips) to widen and me seeing a number on a scale that I've never seen before (and actually, that's not true cause I still don't know what I've gained, I just choose not to find out!  I just know that I weigh quite a bit more than I ever have before).


How about some random little updates?

• I passed my glucose test!  My level was 111, and my doctor said she likes to see it below 140.  She also said my hemoglobin was good, which I have no clue why that's significant.  
• I bought our car seat and stroller tonight!  This is the one I bought, it's the Britax B-Agile System.  I basically bought it cause I liked the way it looked the best and I knew that it had good safety reviews.  I actually didn't buy it from Amazon cause they wouldn't ship it for 2 months, which would've been fine, but I was afraid that date would get delayed further and I really didn't want to be one month out from my due date trying to track down a car seat that I liked.  By the way, who knew that baby items were so hard to get exactly when you want them??  Most cribs and other baby items that I've looked at - save for small things - have these long ship dates.  PS - I bought it on hayneedle.com, which I had never heard of but it basically seems like another Amazon.  I got free shipping on it and it was only $5 more there.  
• I seriously can't get over the movement I've been experiencing!  This baby is a little mover.  The neatest thing is that they've gone less from being kick-like movements or little thuds, which is what I would expect to occur when there's lots of room for them to bounce around, to being these inward, long, rolling movements.  I'll feel pressure suddenly on one side and if I put my hand there then, it's always really hard and I'll almost always get a little nudge back.  I'm hoping she's rolling herself into the head-down position, although I wonder if she isn't transverse?  I don't know.  I literally feel movements on every part of my belly.  

The last week or two I've been struggling more with the way I perceive my body while being pregnant.    I know that, overall, I'm doing really well with my weight and general size, but I can't help but feel insecure about certain things I'm going through, such as my ankles swelling, or the fact that I just cannot get my wedding rings on anymore, or feeling like I'm noticing my face being fuller.  I know that these things are so normal in pregnancy, but maybe what bothers me is that I feel like I'm experiencing things sooner than I ever thought I would.  But as I was driving to work this morning and looking at my "substitution ring" I just knew that these little insecurities are so unimportant in the grand scheme of thing.  For some reason, I have always had such a heart for women that deal with infertility (maybe because I was convinced I would be one of them) and I have been SO determined to be thankful for every little thing in this pregnancy.  I know that if you would've asked me 20 weeks ago when I was going through my bleeding scare if I would just be able to keep this baby, would I care about my nose and ankles and fingers swelling, I would've said NO WAY, give me this baby and I will not complain about gaining a million pounds!  So it does offer me some perspective on what is truly important.  I can't look at my friends and the way they may have carried their babies and wonder why I don't look that way.  I know that I just need to thank the sweet Lord for blessing me with the chance to carry this active, healthy baby girl in me!


3rd trimester next week!