Week 29 Bumpdate

How far along: 29 weeks! 11 to go!!!

Baby size: 17 in / 2.9 lbs (Using the What to Expect App)

Maternity clothes: Yes

Stretch marks: Still none

Sleep: I am starting to have trouble falling back asleep after getting up to go to the bathroom… resulting in me not getting enough sleep and being exhausted all day :( I hope this is just a phase and not what I have in store for the next two months.

Gender: Male

Movement: Still kicking lots… I think I will miss these little kicks once he's here. He's the most active at night when I lay down to go to sleep.

Best moment this week: PASSING MY GLUCOSE TEST!!! That's right, no gestational diabetes for me :) Also, meeting up with my 2nd grade teacher on Saturday. I haven't seen her since I was like 12. She even got Pumpkin a gift!

Looking forward to: My Baby Shower this Saturday!!!! I'm so excited about all the people coming (some traveling from out of state to be here)! 

Food cravings: It's a weird one this week…. Cookie Cake! Rich and I went to dinner one night and the table next to us had a cookie cake for a birthday celebration. Ever since then I couldn't get that cookie cake out of my head. My sweet husband made a special trip to Publix tonight to get me one and it was delicious!

Anything making you sick: Not that I can think of.

Nursery: Not really any updates… but I'm sure I will have an update next week after the shower.

Belly button in or out: Still in

Wedding rings on or off: On (but off at night, otherwise it's tight in the morning)

Workouts: Work has been busy and my weekend was pretty full… so I didn't get a lot of workouts in this week.

What's going on with baby: Baby is almost at his full birth length. He's growing fat deposits under his skin and his energy is up because of it. He will double and maybe even triple (although I hope not) his weight by the time he's born.

Week 28 Bumpdate

How far along: 28 weeks! Only 12 to go until D-Day!

Baby size: 16 inches / 2.5 pounds (estimate using What to Expect app)

Maternity clothes: Yes. I purchased a new maternity dress for my shower this week :)

Stretch marks: Nope

Sleep: Same as it has been. Waking up a few times to go to the bathroom. I'm always exhausted at night, so I don't have any trouble falling asleep. I've also been having crazy dreams. I had a dream this week that I couldn't find my baby and then discovered I had put him in the diaper genie!

Gender: Bouncing Baby Boy

Movement: I feel him moving all the time. He likes to kick my ribs. 

Best moment this week: Getting my 28 week doctor's appointment over with! I got 2 shots, my glucose and several other blood tests out of the way… Still don't have results on the glucose test though. Hopefully I passed and won't have to go back to do the 3 hour test. After the appointment, Rich and I took the rest of the day off to have lunch together and shop.

Looking forward to: Getting my nails done this weekend. Also, now that I'm in the 3rd trimester I feel like I am so close to meeting my little boy. I keep daydreaming about holding him for the first time and seeing what he looks like!

Food cravings: Ice cream

Anything making you sick: Raw chicken. I have no problem with chicken if someone else makes it for me, but it makes me sick to think about preparing it myself.

What I miss: Red wine

Nursery: We tried rearranging the furniture this weekend and didn't find a way we like it better… so it will stay as is. My dad is going to bring the ends of the bookcase over before he builds it and put them in the space to see how much room he has to work with, what looks good etc. 

Belly button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On

Workouts: Elliptical and walking

What's going on with baby: Pumpkin should be starting to settle into the proper birth position. His sleep  now includes the REM cycle which means he's dreaming. I wonder what he dreams of….

Week 27 Bumpdate

How far along: 27 Weeks! Beginning of the third trimester!

Baby size: 15 inches / 2.2 pounds (estimate using the What to Expect app)

Maternity clothes: Yes

Stretch marks: Still none

Sleep: I've been doing okay this week. Still bathroom trips during the night, but not having trouble getting back to sleep.

Gender: Boy

Movement: Lots of movement. He's started kicking my ribs which feels kind of strange.

Best moment this week: Going to the St. Simons Island for Lindsey's bachelorette party!!! I "partied" all day on the beach with the girls and then went to sleep while they went out. Also, work got me a ergonomic back rest for my chair... it really makes it so much more comfortable to sit.

Looking forward to: Getting my doctor's appointment (this one involves the glucose test and 2 shots) over with on Friday. Rich and I are going to try to take the rest of the day off and do something fun Friday afternoon.

Food Cravings: Not really craving anything in particular this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

What I miss: Sitting in the hot tub... especially now that my back hurts a lot. 

Nursery: No updates. We need to try to rearrange to see if we can find a better place for the bookcase being built. Maybe we will do that this weekend. 

Belly button in or out? Still hanging on! In.

Wedding rings on or off?  Still on.

Workouts: The same... just walking and doing the elliptical.

What's going on with baby: Pumpkin's brain steam which controls all of his vital functions (heart rate, breathing, blood pressure) is fully developed. Also, he has brain activity and is starting to think, feel and perform voluntary actions. He can stretch and make grasping motions!

DIY Project- Directional Sign

Early last spring we did some "landscaping" in our back yard. Half of our yard was covered in weeds and we didn't really know what to do with it. You can't really grow grass on that half of the yard because there are too many trees. After several trips to the home improvement store to see what was available and "pinteresting" to get ideas, we decided to build a river rock path weaving through islands of pine straw. We spent several weekends working on this last spring, but it was worth it because the yard looks 100% better and is definitely more manageable.

After we completed the project, we had a large tree limb fall and take out a privacy screen left by the previous owners. I always thought it would be fun to have things along the path to see, so came up with the idea to create a directional sign with one of the posts left from the privacy screen. I wanted the places on the signs to be places that were significant to us... where we grew up, cities we've been to together etc. We finally got around to working on this project this weekend. It ended up being a very cheap and easy project because I already had most of the supplies on-hand and I love the way it turned out.

DIY Directional Sign:

Supplies:

-Large Post (you could also use a tree)

-Wooden Arrow Signs (I picked up mine at Michael's for $1 each)

-Various Colors of Paint (I just used left over paint from other projects)

-Paint Brush

-Sharpie Paint Pen(s)

-UV Protector Spray for Wood

- Hammer and nails (you'll probably need a ladder as well depending on how high you want to hang your signs)

Directions:

1. Paint one side of the wooden directional signs and allow to dry, then turn them over and paint the other side. It's important to paint both sides and the edges since you will be able to see the signs from multiple angles.

2. Once your signs are completely dry, use the paint pens to write your cities and distances on them. Plan out your cities in advance, using the Internet to determine the distance. Note: use the compass on your iphone to determine which way the arrows will need to point for each city before you write on the sign so you don't write the city upside-down).

3. Spray the signs with the UV Protector to protect them from fading in the sun and the paint from running when it rains.

4. Now you are ready to nail the signs into the post/tree. 

I love the bright colors we used on some of our signs. It really "pops" in the yard. 

Until next time....

Tressa

Week 26 Bumpdate

How far along: 26 weeks.... t-minus two weeks until the dreaded glucose tolerance test :(

Baby size: 9.2 inches / 2 lbs (estimate using the What to Expect App)

Maternity clothes: Yes

Stretch marks: None

Sleep: Very challenging... 1-2 trips to the bathroom per night and lots of tossing and turning. Trying to sleep on my side like I am supposed to, but I keep turning to my back after falling asleep.

Gender: Boy

Movement: Lot's of movement this week. It's gotten to the point where I can see my stomach move! It's really cool/freaky. I'm not at the point where I can identify what body parts are moving or what position he is in... I have no idea if he's kicking, punching or doing somersaults. I just know there is some kind of activity going on in there.

Best moment this week: Having a 3 day holiday weekend for Independence day... kicked off by our anniversary dinner at Kevin Rathbun steak on Thursday night. Next year we'll have to get a babysitter if we want to go out to dinner!

Looking forward to: My friend Lindsey's bachelorette party at St. Simons Island this weekend. I'm sure I will be the palest of the bunch and the only pregnant person there... but I plan on having a good time. This will be my last beach trip before having this baby! 

Food Cravings: The theme this week seems to be chips.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've started getting acid reflux this week. It constantly feels like something is going to come up no matter what I eat. I've read that this is a normal pregnancy symptom because the digestive system slows down and the uterus pushes up the stomach as it grows (sometimes pushing stomach acid up). It is suggested that pregnant women experiencing acid reflux eat several small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals.

What I miss: My relatively flat belly. It's starting to get hard to bend over to put my socks and shoes on.

Nursery: Sorry... there aren't really any updates in this area :(

Belly button in or out? In, but I give it one or two more weeks before its out.

Wedding rings on or off? On, however I started taking it off at night because it does feel tight when I get hot. My fear is that my hands will bloat overnight and then I won't be able to get it off!!!

Workouts: I finished the Peachtree Road Race 10-K on the 4th of July in 1 hour and 6 minutes! That's only about 10 minutes slower than my non-pregnant time! I ran most of it, but took a few walking and water breaks. I think this will be my last run of the pregnancy. Although the doctor says it's fine to run up until delivery, it just feels uncomfortable and I do worry that I'm hurting him. I'll be doing more low-impact workouts for the next 14 weeks.

What's going on with baby: Baby's eyes are starting to open this week (they have been fused together up until this point), although they don't have pigmentation yet (i.e. they aren't blue, green or brown yet). On that note.... I can't wait to see what color they are! He can see bright lights and may react to them. Also, he's practicing breathing and developing his lungs by inhaling and exhaling small amounts of fluid.

Until next time....

Tressa