Week 36

Welcome to week 36!  The countdown has started and we are officially less than 30 days from meeting this little person.  It seems impossible, but there we are!  So, what's happening in pregnancy world this week?

For baby

Baby is now 18 to 19 inches long and weighs about 6 pounds! Baby should be shedding most of the lanugo, which is the fuzzy hair that covers their body, as well as the vernix, which is the waxy stuff that protects the baby's skin in the womb.   The baby's skull bones are not completely fused together, and won't be until well after birth.  This is to make it possible to move through the birth canal without getting stuck.  Circulation and immune systems should be complete and working on their own to keep the baby safe from infections.  The digestive system is still working to get completed though, and won't be done until after birth because the baby will continue to rely on the umbilical cord for nutrition until birth.  Baby should also already be head down, and has been at all of our appointments so far.  Here's hoping it stays that way.  I go back to the Dr. on Friday, June 16th and will give you an update on how things look at that point.

For momma:

Physically, I feel ok.  My tailbone still hurts but in general I feel pretty good.  Baby is pushed up against all my organs, so there are definitely moments where I have to pee quickly, or where I'm just not hungry because my stomach already feels full, but in general none of those are major issues.  I still have heartburn semi-regularly, but it doesn't seem as bad as it has been in weeks past.  I'm also still dealing with some random swelling in my feet, most often on days where my entire work day is spent sitting in meetings.   When I do have time to walk around, I'm trying incredibly hard not to waddle!  

Pregnancy Brain Returns

Adventures in Pregnancy Brain returns.  Whee!??!  I figure I should blog this while I still remember it happening...


I had sincerely hoped that I would miss out on Pregnancy Brain this time since I dealt with it so badly with Orion, but as of Saturday I can no longer pretend that I'm not currently brain fried completely.  So, what happened?  Let me explain:

Saturday, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend.  I took Seth's car to the store, parked, and successfully bought all my groceries with no problems whatsoever.  Yay, me!  I go back to the car, open the trunk, and put all the groceries in.  Then, like a good patron, I walk the cart to the cart holder and put it away and return to my car.   I try to unlock the door, and the doors don't seem to respond to the buttons I'm pushing.  I try again, and no go..the doors will not unlock!  I lock the car again, and hear the honk, so I know that it's working.  I try to unlock them again, but nope, still won't unlock.  I try to think, and realize that I had just opened the trunk with the same key fob, so I try to open it again, but nope...the trunk won't open either.  What the hell!  Now I'm getting mad.  This isn't even my car and the damn thing won't work, and I'm stuck in the Hy-vee parking lot with groceries in the trunk.  Grr!

So, since the car is push to start, it has the hidden key in the keyfob where you can manually unlock the car...so I take out the manual key and...wouldn't you know it, I can't open the damn door with the manual key either!  What the heck!??! I lock the door again and hear the "honk" that it locks.  At this point, I take out my cell phone and try to call Seth to ask him if he has had problems with this damn fob unlocking his car.  As I'm calling him, I click the damn lock button like 3 times in a row..."Honk!  Honk! Honk!"

It is at that point that I realize that the honk is not coming from in front of me...but instead seems to be coming from behind me...

I hang up the phone quickly before Seth can answer.  I turn around and, wouldn't you know it, 2 cars away from me is Seth's car, trunk wide open, honking proudly that the doors are locked.  I rush over to the car, slam the lid closed, then unlock the doors and get in before looking around to see just how many people are watching me try to break in to the wrong car.

Of course, at that point Seth was calling me back and I couldn't get away with just a "nevermind" answer...because when you're pregnant, your man gets WAY more concerned when he misses a call from you, so I told him the story and he enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd share it with all of you.


What can I say except, you're welcome?

Week 35

Welcome to week 35!  The weather is hot, the sunshine is bright, and we're now only 35 days until this little one is supposed to be arriving.  I can't believe we're so close already and 35 days seems both so close and so far away at the same time.  It's a little bit crazy!  So, what's happening in pregnancy world this week?

For baby

Baby should now be somewhere between 18 and 20 inches long depending on how big they are going to be.  Baby should also weigh over 5 pounds now! They will continue to put on about 1/2 a pound each week until arrival.  Fingernails and toenails are in place, and the kidneys and liver are fully developed to process waste from their little bodies.

For momma:

For me, I feel alright.  Very full, but in general not terrible.  My tail bone hurts fairly regularly, which is no fun, but most other aches and pains are temporary.  There is a lot of movement now, which is entertaining and very distracting at the same time, but it's one of my favorite things in pregnancy.  Even Orion is now regularly feeling the baby dancing around and talks to her often.  He even gives me 2 hugs in the morning, one for each of us, which I think is sweet.  I know he is going to be an incredible big brother.  

I'm a bad blogger

So, I'm a couple weeks behind in baby updates, and haven't even posted about my latest doctor's appointment.  Let me reassure you that everything is going just fine!  I'm just plain lazy...or exhausted...or busy.  It's definitely been some combination of those things.  I want to continue writing and sharing this journey, so I'm going to ignore those missing posts that guilt me into not posting at all, and instead focus on moving forward.  I'm going to try to go back to posting the regular updates as I can going forward, so look forward to the next baby update on Sunday.  Thanks for reading through our journey as parents, and caring about our family.

Sweet moments with our son

Last night, as we were tucking Orion into bed, he sat me down and started talking about being a big brother.  He's decided that if the baby gets scared or has a bad dream that they can come sleep in his bed with him so he can take care of them and show them that there is nothing to be afraid of.  His heart is so big and he is so loving and sweet that I can't wait to see how he is as a big brother.

Each morning, not only does he hug me, but he also makes sure to hug my belly separately to say good morning to the baby.  He is so sweet to me and I really look forward to seeing him in action as a big brother.  I truly think he will be amazing, and I hope that he loves this baby just as much when he finally gets to meet them.

Dreams #8

Yay for more random dreams!

The first dream that I'll share today was a dream that I was a ballerina.  Let me begin by saying that I have never in my life wanted to be a ballerina, so I have no idea where this dream came from, but I was highly entertained by it nonetheless.  My dream was that I had a ballet recital.  It starts with me on stage surrounded by random small children and my dance instructor.  I was 8 months pregnant and wearing a black leotard and a little black tutu.  I pranced across the stage as my instructor repeated "padichu" over and over like it was the name of the dance move.  Waking me knows that "padichu" is the French word for "puff pastry" but sleeping me definitely thought it was a fancy ballet dance move.  I finished my recital, and my mother and grandmother were there watching.  They came up to the stage and my mother was crying because she was so proud of me.  My grandmother told me "now don't forget that grandad left those veggies down in the cellar".  I still have no idea what that means, but it definitely seems like some randomness that my grandma would say.  I woke up giggling at the thought of me as a pregnant ballerina.


Last night's dream was short, but sweet.  I was holding a tiny infant baby with dark hair and lactating everywhere!  I was trying to get the baby to eat, but it seemed like more milk was pouring out of me and onto my clothes than there was going into the baby I was trying to feed.  It was short, but super weird.

Week 32

Welcome to week 32!  Spring is here, the weather is warm, and we are now less than 60 days until we meet this little person.  So, what's happening in pregnancy world this week?

For baby

Baby is now about 18 inches long and weighs about 4 pounds! Baby will continue to put on about 1/2 a pound each week.  If baby is going to be born with hair, the fuzzy hair will now be in place.  Also, baby should now have all of their fingernails and toenails.

For momma:

So far this week seems a little bit better than last week.  Mother's day was lovely and I'm sunburned and tired in the best possible way.  I'm still tired but I feel better about it today, so that's a good thing. This baby is sitting up way higher than Orion did, so I'm a bit uncomfortable, but nothing unbearable.  This week looks pretty positive, and I'm happy.