37 Weeks Pregnant

Weekly Update: “You look miserable”

37 weeks pregnant aka full term!!!!! (Technically “early term” and it is best to go all the way to full term: 39-40 weeks because baby’s lungs are still developing). But I’m not going to lie, I’m over being pregnant. I was born at 37 weeks, so you better believe I’m praying this baby decides to be just like his mama and come early. Also, I saw my baby breathing on the ultrasound, he’s been measuring ahead this whole pregnancy, and I feel like he’s ready. I’m likely to be wrong and go right up to my due date or past since I have learned I am the worst at gut feelings.

Let’s start with the rant: I am so swollen now.

[Clarification: my feet are mainly swollen, my hands are a bit. The swelling came on gradually over the course of a couple weeks without a spike in weight gain or higher blood pressure. (My blood pressure is “amazing.” If you have high blood pressure, sudden swelling, or a big spike in weight gain, it could be Pre-eclampsia so talk to your doctor.]

Swollen

But here I am, puffy as a balloon. I can’t have anything on my fingers or wrists without going insane even if it doesn’t apply any pressure. Although I think this is because of my joints mores so than the swelling. Even typing is uncomfortable. I only can wear my UGGs or my Crocs. I’m also experiencing bad back aches – this kid is heavy – feels like a bowling ball is attached to my stomach when I stand up.

Pain

Definitely having Braxton-Hicks contractions (that actually hurt) that I pray turn into the real thing ASAP. It’s been fun growing a human, but I’m ready to have him on the outside. Again, I am SO SO thankful to have a healthy pregnancy and to be able to carry our child, I do not take this for granted at all, I thank God for this blessing every single day. I’m just ready to give him to his dad to hold a bit. Also, I’m tired of taking baths. I’ve never been a bath person, but laying in a warm bath (with my stomach completely out of the water) is the only thing that really helps my back pains. I did cave and buy a heating pad, but it doesn’t get my whole back.

Everyone wants dinner at 3 am right???

A lot of people say newborns have their nights and days confused. Well, I think this baby passed it on to me. I have no interest in eating during the day, but bring on the hours of 10 pm to 4 am and I would love a three course meal followed by a nice dessert please. My bedside almond butter crackers just aren’t cutting it anymore. However, the thought of getting up, going downstairs, fixing something to eat, eating, coming back upstairs, and then trying to go back to sleep makes me laugh hysterically. I know that I will be WIDE AWAKE if I attempt to make something to eat, 2) I will then not be able to sleep, which will turn to 3) hungry again. So, I just sit in the dark at the edge of my bed, eating my crackers, praying this baby comes soon.

37 Weeks Pregnant Questionnaire:

How far along? 37 Weeks

How big is baby? Huge. 19″ & 6.4 lbs; the size of a winter melon (which will be replaced by a honeydew melon for this week’s photos)

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Now I get up to pee every 1-2 hours and then when I’m awake I start thinking every single ache and pain could be the start of a contraction and baby is coming. Then, I fall asleep and stress dream about labor.

Best moment this week: Being full term

Movement: He stretches and wiggles more than kicks. He’s out of room. There’s lots of room out here buddy, come find out. I made a nice room for you with all the space you could ever want.

Food Cravings: Nothing

Food Aversions: Food is terrible.

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: Braxton-Hicks that I feel in my “stomach” (uterus but that’s weird to say) and also my back. They’re irregular but hurt and usually only occur at the end of the day and go away when I move, so not actual labor yet.

Pregnancy Symptoms: swollen; tired; STARVING, but only during sleep hours (see above); feeling huge; not sleeping; peeing as often as every five minutes; acne; a general cranky mess;

Belly Button in or out? Out

What I miss: everything. Literally everything. The only things I’m currently doing are 1) sitting (uncomfortably), 2) working (thank you Lord for my job, it’s keeping me sane), 3) obsessing over when the baby will come. So, that leaves a lot to miss. In no particular order missing:

• exercising
• eating a salad
• eating during normal hours
• shoes – all of my shoes
• clothes – basically all of my clothes
• wine
• sleeping
• being able to get off the couch without feeling like dying
• walking up the stairs and being able to breathe
• looking in the mirror and not feeling deflated that results in a verbal “eww” each time.
• not being the crazy lady saying “eww” to herself in the mirror in public bathrooms
• seeing the scale stay the same (or even go down! I like to dream)
• mimosas – yes they need their own line
• walking (not waddling)
• pants (didn’t see that one coming)
• energy

I know, I know. I should go into sales. Being pregnant is the best everyone! You should totally have a kid.

What I am looking forward to: holding him in the hospital. Actually at this point, I’m even looking forward to the pain of labor because it means Baby will be on his way to the outside.

Upcoming appointments/events: 1/25, 2/1 OB – we’re in the weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: I don’t know how many more weeks like this one I can endure. Confession, I googled all the natural induction methods. Most have been proven to not do a darn thing, and it is best to let your body and Baby decide the timing, so, I will wait. Thinking of taking up calligraphy or starting Duolingo for German to pass the time.

Milestones: full term!!! Thank you Jesus!

Bump Picture:

35 Weeks

Monday, Jimmy, Kai, Fitz (Kurt & Kate’s dog) and I watched the National Championship while eating homemade Beef & Barley soup. Of course we were rooting for Clemson. Go Tigers! We were watching Fitz because K&K went to Tampa for the game. Sadly, I couldn’t stay awake, but I heard it was a great game and obviously I’m happy with the winner 🙂 I didn’t find out the score until Baby’s 4:30 am dance party. He’s been doing that lately. Which makes me hungry so I casually sat on the edge of my bed eating a Nature Valley Biscuit Almond Butter (I would describe it as more of an almond butter cookie sandwich) and realized I didn’t know who won. So, I snacked, scrolled the ESPN app, and danced a bit with Baby to celebrate. By 4:38 we were back to sleep. Until 6 am when we were up again for a bathroom break. (Every 1-3 hours minimum).

Tuesday evening, I dropped Fitzgerald off at his house to wait for his parents to get back from FL. Then it was leftover Beef & Barley soup for a quick dinner before I headed back to work. Once a month I have a work night meeting. These are getting harder and harder since I get tired so early now. The good news is I earn comp time.

Wednesday, I had an OB appointment. I had my Group B strep test during this appointment. Not the most fun test to run, but it’s necessary. Basically, 1 in 4 women are carriers of this bacteria that is harmless to us, but could be very bad for baby – think pneumonia, sepsis, Meningitis – all sorts of very bad diseases and problems. If I test positive, I just have to have some antibiotics and we’ll (me and Baby) will be good to go.

Friday, I had a half day due to comp time. I seriously needed to catch up on laundry & cleaning. Jimmy has been AMAZING lately – doing the dishes, taking out the trash, cleaning out the fridge, being protective of me & how much I’m working, but he’s not the best bathroom cleaner. Also, his idea of laundry is everything in the wash at once, everything in the dryer, so I prefer to do those two chores. [I use green cleaners now while pregnant.]

Saturday, was a rainy gross day. I wanted to just watch movies on the couch all day, but instead we went to the mall. Oh joy. Jimmy needed a suit this week so, we had to go. He ended up getting a great charcoal Ralph Lauren suit (separates) for 60% off, a lavender dress shirt, and a new tie. He looks great in them! Everyone we encountered asked when I was due, when I answered: “one month to go,” they immediately replied: “that baby could come any day! It could come now!” and backed away cautiously. Thank you stranger, I’m not going to need your assistance and I am aware I am close to my due date. A girl’s still gotta help her husband buy clothes.

Sunday, we installed Mini Moose’s car seat. I feel so much better now that it’s installed! I’m going to get it inspected (75% of people incorrectly install a car seat), but Jimmy tugged and pulled on that thing with all his might and it didn’t budge so I’m feeling pretty good. After the car seat, Jimmy went shooting. I think he definitely needed to blow off some steam. I’ve been a good pregnant lady up until this point. However, once we hit week 35, I became a cranky uncomfortable mess who doesn’t want to do anything. Sorry.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 35 Weeks

How big is baby? 17.7″ & 4.7 lbs; the size of a durian – perfect, I already have three of those at home hahahahaha (seriously who comes up with these fruits?!?!?)

Maternity clothes? Yep.

Sleep: Nope.

Best moment this week: installing the car seat!

Movement: All. The. Time. Big kicks. Painful kicks. He also squirms that feels just like your stomach dropping when you’re on a rollercoaster. He’s getting too strong. The eviction process starts in T-1 month.

Food Cravings: bran muffins, all the water & juice in the world

Food Aversions: most food sounds terrible, but I’m either hungry or nauseous all the time  😦

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Weight Gain: I’m now up 36 lbs (and counting). Yep, that is the upper limit of what is a recommended range for an entire pregnancy. (Only 33% of women gain the recommended amount, 50% gain more FYI). I keep reading all these blogs and the women are “oh my goodness I’m so big, I’ve gained 17 lbs!” Just stop. I am big. I no longer recognize myself in the mirror. I’m seriously ready to not be big anymore. Could I have been healthier in my eating choices? Probably. But I was all “survival mode” eat-what-I-could-keep-down in the first trimester (aka mac and cheese or toast with butter), hungry ALL THE TIME in the second trimester, and eating well in the third, but the damage is done. Whatever, I will kill it in diet and exercise when this kid is born. I can definitely say a lot of it is swelling. My fingers are now two ring sizes bigger than they were pre-pregnancy. My feet fit in three pairs of shoes (the largest sizes & widths I own). Hopefully this means I’ll lose 23 lbs within two weeks like Blac Chyna. Also, I hate that I know that fact.

Labor Signs: I feel like my body is gearing up. While I haven’t had Braxton-Hicks contractions (that I can feel), I just have the feeling that my body is doing lots behind the scenes here.

Pregnancy Symptoms: fatigue; heartburn; inability to walk without being out of breath; inability to get off couch or out of bed;

Belly Button in or out? Out. It happened. It’s out. It’s super soft and squishy so it doesn’t poke out of my clothes (another eww fear of mine) but it’s out there.

What I miss: Not being out of breath after putting on shoes or walking up a flight of stairs….

What I am looking forward to: a couple long weekends – I need some rest

Upcoming appointments/events: 1/11, 1/18, 1/25 OB – we’re in the weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: Smile when you want to punch someone in the face. Which will happen. Smiling fakes your body into thinking you’re not in a hormonal sleep-deprived rage.

Milestones: Car seat is in, we’re ready to go! (But not actually ready; stay put Baby, your grandparents are in SC and the other set is on a cruise. And I swear, if you come next week while your Dad is briefly in SC for work, I will remind you of it every day for your entire life. I will also record myself reminding you and figure out a way to get it to automatically play on your future cell phone with some technology I will invent if I have to. Hugs and Kisses, Mom).

Bump Picture:

Sweatpants because, well, see above. Also, because the last month of pregnancy is rough. For reals. And those wrinkles are my tank top under the VT shirt, not some crazy wrinkles in my skin.

34 Weeks

Monday we had off for New Years. I used the time to pack up Jimmy’s hospital bag and to finish up the gallery wall in the nursery. I have never done a gallery wall before, but wanted to try. I knew wanted a mix of materials and sizes with a canvas painting, an oar, a letter, and some other pieces. I got the oar and the painting from Wayfair, the B and the I’ll Love You Forever print from Etsy, the frame from Ikea, and I made the sign. I ordered a sign from Etsy but it ended up being the wrong color, (a bright turquoise, which would not have gone with anything) so I traced the words from the wrong sign and made my own wood sign with barn wood from Hobby Lobby. Next time, I will just make my own signs to begin with, it was way easier than I thought and I totally could’ve come up with font combinations to trace onto the boards.

Now the nursery is complete 🙂 I’ll do a separate post with photos of the whole nursery and where I got everything.

Thursday morning was so weird. Before I go to bed, I check that I have my alarm turned on (sometimes I turn it off after hitting snooze). So, Wednesday night, I checked the alarm, it was on. Thursday morning, it did not go off. Luckily my numb left hip woke me up at 7:15 – the exact time I get up each morning. I glanced at my FitBit to see if I had time to roll over and sleep more or if it was close enough to wake up time that I should get up. It said 7:15. I looked at my phone. Alarm is still “on.” I laid there watching my phone until 7:15 when I decided the phone failed. I guess not all bad side effects are bad all the time. Thank you hip for getting me up so I could get to work on-time.

Friday evening, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I went to Paint Night. We bought tickets for my MIL’s Christmas gift. I love paint nights. Now that there is a paint bar in Mosaic (right near our house), I see lots of paint nights in the future.

Saturday, we got our first snow! One of my all time favorite things to do is sit by the fire and watch the snow fall. I love snow! We didn’t get enough for my liking – a good 4-6″ inches is nice – enough to play in, but not enough to be too difficult.

Saturday morning, Jimmy and I went to an Infant CPR class. I didn’t want to do a full CPR certification course (because I am very pregnant at this point and that sounds tiring), but I wanted to do some training. I fully believe in the umbrella theory; if you bring an umbrella it won’t rain. So, if we take a CPR class, we won’t ever need it. Or, if we (God forbid) do need it, we’ll be prepared. The class was great! I am so glad we took it. I’ve been CPR certified most of my life, but Jimmy never has taken any sort of class before so it was especially good for him to learn.

Somehow Jimmy and I got split into two different classes (his at 8:30 and mine at 11:30) which of course sent me into a panic. However, Jimmy took charge, said we’d both go to the 8:30 and he’d handle it. He talked to the instructor for us, explained the registration error, and let us both take it together. Life saver there!

Sunday, we had our Jack and Jill baby shower. We headed to Manassas so everyone in Jimmy’s life could celebrate baby. I’ve said before, but we feel so blessed there are so many people who are so excited for this baby. We had so much fun at the shower! My sister-in-law did an amazing job with the games, my father-in-law killed it with the food, and everyone had a blast! Jimmy and I couldn’t stop talking about how great it was the whole drive home. Finally, my in-laws were INCREDIBLE and got us our travel system car seat & stroller so we’re all ready for baby now!

Adorable cake and baby cookies – the only photo I took, so I’ll have to get some from Katie

Speaking of the car ride home, Jimmy had a few beers at the shower – he’s drinking for two after all 🙂 and wanted to call some people on the drive home. My phone was connected to my car’s bluetooth and is in my purse in the backseat, so he just used speakerphone. We called his best friend Andy, then called my brother, then finally called my parents. My Dad didn’t answer so Jimmy called my Mom’s cell. Then he dropped the phone in between my seat and the center console. I’m driving down I-66 so I can’t reach the phone. Of course, it goes to voicemail. Jimmy was going to leave a funny “This is a test of the Baby emergency announcement system” message but now that the phone is out of reach he goes “Dori! I dropped the phone. This will be a very long message.” While I am laughing so hard I’m starting to cry. Jimmy is going “pull over” and the whole thing is a hilarious mess. Well, my parents see that Jimmy (not me) called both of them. Then they listen to the scrambled message that sounds like me crying, Jimmy talking about something from far away, and general chaos. So, they instantly think I’m in labor. Apparently they were about to pack everything up and jump in the car for the 8 hour drive when we finally got a hold of them. Good times hahaha.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 34 Weeks

How big is baby? 17.7″ & 4.7 lbs; the size of a butternut squash

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: I have stress dreams about labor, finding daycare, work (typical for me), and parenting in general, so when I fall asleep I’m often restless. Something I haven’t mentioned yet on this blog, the drool. I never drooled before, I swear, but ever since I’ve been in the third trimester, I’ve actually woken myself up in a pool of drool. Ahhhh! It is disgusting. I guess my body goes into a super comatose sleep whenever I actually fall asleep and at that state, anything can happen. Pregnancy is so glamorous. If I’m not falling into that super-deep sleep, I’m not sleeping at all. I believe it’s been four nights since I’ve slept more than four hours. Sunday night was all about the Baby dance party the whole night. I think he was still excited from his baby shower.

Best moment this week: 1) baby shower, 2) infant CPR class, 3) paint night

Movement: Yes, some days he is more active than others, but every hour he’s at least wiggling around. We spent a while Monday night trying to get Jimmy to feel some movement. This kid did not cooperate.

Food Cravings: spaghetti

Food Aversions: most food sounds bad, but I’m either hungry or nauseous all the time  😦

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: He feels like he’s trying to kick his way out aka he’s kicking my cervix on the regular – didn’t even know that was possible to feel, but it is. I did have a nightmare this week that I had to deliver Baby in our bathtub because everything happened so quickly. While this sounds terrifying, I totally rocked that fake delivery and was calmly all “Jimmy, please put Kai in our bedroom for when paramedics get here. And call 911, Baby is coming now.” while holding a premie newborn. And, “Please go get our hospital bags, oh and Baby’s.” Followed by: “You’ll need to put pants on to go to the hospital. Perhaps you shouldn’t be driving.” So, maybe my subconscious is telling me I can handle anything (and apparently Jimmy cannot hahahaha).

Pregnancy Symptoms: fatigue; acne; nausea; this is feeling like the first trimester all over again + waddling. Oh and I peed my pants for the first time Thursday. Baby kicked my bladder so hard, there was nothing I could do. Luckily it happened right when I got home for lunch so I could change before going back to work. Finally, my face is super puffy now. I mean, yes I continue to gain weight so that contributes, but the photos from last week to this week are crazy how much puffier my face looks – at the same weight.

Belly Button in or out? Flat, but out more – the turkey pop up belly button is coming noooooo

What I miss: a large glass of wine (not drinking has been super easy, but I am definitely looking forward to that first glass of wine)

What I am looking forward to: our baby shower this weekend

Upcoming appointments/events: 1/11, 1/18, 1/25 OB – we’re in the weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: Walk like a penguin when walking over snow and ice when pregnant. Seriously, take the waddle to the next level. It’s easier for you to keep your balance and you’re less likely to fall. And wear proper shoes!

Milestones: Peed my pants. That seems like a pregnancy milestone.

Bump Picture:

Oh the lack of sleep is so apparent in my eyes

Butternut squash “Baby” got snow on my dress

33 Weeks

Monday, we had off in honor of Christmas. Jimmy went duck hunting in the Eastern Shore – super rough since he got about 4 hours of sleep thanks to staying at my parents’, but apparently worth it because he said he had lots of fun. We got back home around 7 pm, ate some leftovers (and some honey nut cheerios for me) and went to bed ASAP. However, I did NOT sleep well. Monday night brought on a whole new pregnancy side effect: my hip and knee will go numb while I’m sleeping and wake me up, so I roll over to the other side, then that side will go numb. Rinse and repeat all night long. Getting ready to have this baby here.

Wednesday, I had an OB appointment. Baby is doing great. I however, had an elevated heart rate. So, I need to slow down a bit. I also used the appointment to turn in my Family Medical Leave Act paper work for my doctor to fill out. Surprisingly, my employer does not actually have a maternity leave plan, but they do follow FMLA. So, after meeting with HR, I am going to use all my sick leave & vacation time to get 6 weeks of paid time and 6 weeks of unpaid time for the total of three months allowed under FMLA as my “maternity leave.” In order to do so, I have to have my doctor fill out the form that says I will be needing medical leave. I really want Baby to be as old as possible before he goes to daycare so I’m planning on working up until “D-Day” (delivery day).

Thursday night, we watched the Tech Arkansas bowl game. I made Jimmy-shot venison chili in the crock pot to have for dinner while we watched the game. Jimmy got home late from work (well earlier than normal, but later than the 5:30 time I gave him) so we were delayed watching the game until halftime. Talk about a comeback! We went to bed smiling that night. Oh, and I slept great!

Then it was New Years Eve! (Friday was uneventful) We took it easy this year and stopped by The City of Falls Church’s Watch Night – great free celebration.

Then we headed home for some sparkling cider and to try the Fre Champagne I got – alcohol removed champagne. While sparkling ciders are great, they’re a little sweet for me and I miss the flavor of real champagne, so I thought I’d give this a try. This brand offers champagne and a couple wines, all with alcohol removed. Let me tell you, it was delicious! Tasted just like champagne but without the buzz. Definitely a win for pregnancy. And no, I didn’t make it until midnight; I lasted until 10:30 pm.

Sunday, we went to the movies with Jimmy’s parents to see the new Star Wars movie. I’ve been battling a cold all weekend, so this was my only activity of the day. It was fun to get out for a bit.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 33 Weeks

How big is baby? 17.2″ & 4.2 lbs; the size of a pineapple

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Sleep is the worst now. If I’m not waking up to go to the bathroom, I’m waking up to a numb hip or knee. I cannot get comfortable. I spend most of the night petting Kai – poor dog is probably exhausted too – but this comforts me and helps me fall back asleep. I did have a couple good nights of sleep, which is life changing.

Best moment this week: 1) New Years Eve: 2017 is Baby year!, 2) watching our last Hokie football game of the year

Movement: Yes, but I think he’s running out of room because it’s more wiggles and waves than kicks and flips this week

Food Cravings: fruit, Chipotle, spaghetti

Food Aversions: had a few times where the thought of any food at all made me nauseous oh and I threw up my Honey Nut Cheerios (Tuesday’s dinner) so those might be out again just like 1st trimester

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: none that I can feel. I inflated my labor ball to start bouncing around on the regular. A friend of mine said she would bounce while watching TV and eating Domino’s pizza

Pregnancy Symptoms: sleep problems; I am hot ALL THE TIME – like open the window when it’s 34 degrees out hot; Tuesday brought back nausea and a round of vomiting for old time’s sake (aka I’m hoping this won’t be a recurring symptom again)

Belly Button in or out? Flat but in more?!?!?

What I miss: sleeping, even for two or three hours at a time

What I am looking forward to: the ability to bend – to paint my toes, reach something I dropped, put on shoes, etc – currently I either can’t or it squishes Baby and he lets me know that is NOT cool

Upcoming appointments/events: 12/28 OB & 1/11 OB – we’re in the bi-weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: slow down on the walks at this stage – apparently I elevate my heart rate easily

Milestones: we’re in 2017 aka Baby birth year!

Bump Picture:

32 Weeks

Merry Christmas!

This week was a whirlwind of activity. Monday night I hosted the fourth anniversary of our wine club. Sarah, Jayme, and Keli all came over for a fire and a delicious spread of pomegranate goat cheese salad, a red & green fruit tray, bagel bites, cookies, baked brie, and the gooiest fudge ever (fail). We missed you Meredith! This year marks the second of no drinking for me (last year I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out). Hopefully next year I can partake in the wine part of the wine club 🙂 I stayed up until after 10 laughing and having so much fun with these girls – totally worth being tired!

Tuesday was Jimmy’s 32 birthday! He got up bright and early to head to the gym. When he got home, I had breakfast waiting for him. Cheesy eggs, breakfast sausage, an english muffin, and coffee.

Tuesday during work, I had the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce buffet luncheon. I go up, get my food, start walking back to my table, and my meatball rolls off my plate, bounces off my belly, and rolls across the floor. I started crying I was laughing so hard! The director of the chamber watched the whole thing and was dying laughing too.

Tuesday night, we were both exhausted from three parties in three nights, so we got some takeout from Anthony’s Restaurant and chilled on the couch. It was wonderful.

Wednesday our glider came! I could not choose a glider for the life of me. We went into multiple stores to test them out. Obviously I loved the Dutailier reclining model (aka all the money ($500-$700). Jimmy really liked the armchair style ($360). However, I just could not feel ok spending that much money on a chair. Especially one that would likely get spit up on. So, I started looking for a glider that 1) had removable seats/pads (making cleaning easier), 2) was reasonably priced, 3) got good reviews, 4) would fit both me and Jimmy. This led me to the Shermag Glider Rocker Combo with Ottoman ($223). I added it to my Amazon Baby Registry and used my 15% completion discount to purchase the glider (and a bunch of other things we needed) so I ended up paying a little over $200. It glides smoothly and silently, is comfortable, fits Jimmy, has removable cushions. So, met all the requirements. Naturally, I needed to fully assemble the glider the same night I got it.

Ignore the tiny white Styrofoam pieces – didn’t get to vacuum before I snapped the picture

Wednesday night, at 10:36 pm, Kai had a COMPLETE FREAK OUT! He must have heard something in the backyard because he jumped out of bed barking. He then proceeded to bark at the top of the stairs – nope that’s not scary at all when you’re home alone (Jimmy was at lacrosse) and was just sleeping. I decided he probably needed to go out, so I bravely went downstairs and let him loose. He sprinted barking to our woodpile, jumped on top of the woodpile, and barked looking over the neighbor’s fence. This makes me think it was an animal in the backyard and not a scary home invader. I didn’t do any of the things Jimmy has me practice for when there’s a possible home threat. Actually, I didn’t even take out my earplugs to listen for a threat. Fails all around. I figured Kai sounded mean enough. Well, actually, I wasn’t thinking. I was exhausted and achy and super pregnant.

Friday, I got a half day from work in honor of Christmas Eve. So, I installed the Husky All Weather mats and cargo cover in my car.

Saturday morning (Christmas Eve), Jimmy went duck hunting with a friend. Later that day, we went to Jimmy’s parents’ for mass at All Saints in Manassas, enjoy the traditional Christmas Eve pizza dinner, and have a sleep over – Christmas jammies for the win! Christmas morning, we all opened presents and had breakfast. I know Jimmy loved waking up in his childhood home and going downstairs for Christmas morning just like he used to 🙂

Christmas Mass 2016

After the Racine Christmas, it was time to hit the road to head to Southern, MD for the Freemyer Christmas. I am thankful every holiday that our families live so close, so we are able to either do combo holidays, or celebrate with both separately and be able to continue with our own family traditions each year.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 32 Weeks

How big is baby? 16″ & 3.8 lbs; the size of a jicama (a what?!?!? so again, no fruit this week)

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Getting to the uncomfortable stage here. Oh and if I try to straighten and stretch out my legs while sleeping, I get a Charley Horse! I have never had one before; it is painful! I scared Kai terribly by yelling out in pain around 6 am Tuesday morning. Not fun. I’m also still getting up every hour. #LackOfSleepTrainingMama

Best moment this week: 1) Christmas, 2) wine club Christmas night (seeing Sarah!!!!), 3) Jimmy’s birthday

Movement: I’m trying to think the fact that only I can feel him (due to my anterior placenta), is special and a bond between just us, but really it’s annoying and I want my family and friends to share in the baby kick magic.

Food Cravings: spaghetti [met this craving twice on Tuesday – for lunch and dinner #NoShame]

Food Aversions: none

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: none that I can feel. I inflated my labor ball to start bouncing around on the regular.

Pregnancy Symptoms: I can breathe easier this week. He’s definitely lower than he was. Hopefully this means he’s getting head down and ready. Although we still have some time for that. However, this means that when I stand up, I instantly feel like I’m going to topple over because his weight is concentrated in a low ball. Other symptoms: those night-time Charley Horses (AHHHHHHHHH), getting up every hour, crying at random things (like this video that definitely is not sad or even sentimental)

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhokiesports%2Fvideos%2F1346149885431739%2F&show_text=0&width=560

Belly Button in or out? Flat

What I miss: walking instead of waddling

What I am looking forward to: the first time I get to hold him. I seriously dream about baby cuddles every single night.

Upcoming appointments/events: 12/28 OB – we’re in the bi-weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: get the nursery done in the 2nd trimester, I know this is aggressive, but by the third, you probably won’t be up for organizing, building, rearranging. I feel so settled knowing everything is ready for Baby.

Milestones: Bump’s first Christmas – I’m a purist and won’t say Baby’s first Christmas until he has one on the outside.

Bump Picture:

The funny one

31 Weeks

This week is going to be emotional for me. The moment I woke up Monday, I knew it. While I will try not to focus on it, I know almost every other thought will be “this is the week my brother was born.” My younger brother Kurt was born at 31 weeks in 1989. My mom had Preeclampsia (just with Kurt, not with me, so very rare for that to happen) and got really sick around 30/31 weeks. Her doctors were very quick-thinking advanced (for the time) and gave her steroid shots to accelerate Kurt’s lung development. They had to do an emergency c-section to save both her and Kurt. When Kurt was born, my dad’s wedding ring could fit over his foot. Kurt spent 1.5 months in the NICU. We spent countless hours visiting that NICU. I turned three while he was there. Actually, my very first memory is of the NICU. I would pull myself up on the railing and stand on the baseboard to peer in at my brother – I could only go in for limited time periods, but I wanted to see him more. Then, my dad would give me a Ginger Ale and sit me in the window at the end of the hall so I could people watch. I’d sit there for hours. I was an excellent toddler ha.

So, when the app tells me my Baby is the size of a coconut, I know of a much more accurate picture. I know how tiny and fragile he is. I know how he can survive outside, but it’s hard. I know how thin he is. How his little hands will grasp something and can squeeze yours, but they’re not ready to hold on long. How his lungs will get so tired trying to breathe all the time. I can get a great picture of my Baby at exactly this stage, because I remember his uncle at exactly this stage.

I can’t even imagine going into the hospital and having Baby now. But, that’s exactly what my parents did. I’m so so so thankful to be healthy this pregnancy. However, I did start to pack up my hospital bag and Baby’s hospital bag this week; partly to help with the emotions and partly because I like getting everything done early for this Baby.

On a funnier note, I have approximately five pairs of shoes that fit right now: a pair of knock-off glitter Toms, a pair of crocs, a pair of black Uggs, and two pairs of rain boots. None are really work appropriate. Confession: I’ve worn each of them to work multiple times and will continue to do so, but I figured I needed a pair of dressier boots. So, I ventured to Target Tuesday night to find a pair of black boots in a full two sizes larger than I normally wear. I didn’t have time to wait for shipping and all that nonesense.

On a cheerier note, Thursday night Santa came! Every year the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department drives their Santa Mobile around the City of Falls Church and some surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year. This year they had a tracker to know exactly where Santa was. Jimmy made it home just in time to run out with me (in the FREEZING cold) to yell HI SANTA!!! (me), take pictures and videos (also me), and watch the show (both of us).

On a happier note, this weekend we celebrated Jimmy’s 32 birthday! Saturday evening we had some friends over for Jimmy’s Jambalaya feast: cooked by Jimmy. Sunday, we had Jimmy’s family & my family over for a cookout. Cold weather, rain and ice can’t stop us!

Questionnaire:

How far along? 31 Weeks

How big is baby? 16″ & 3.33 lbs; the size of a coconut – the coconuts at the store were the size of Jimmy’s fist: that is not 3.3 lbs so no fruit in this week’s bump pic

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Oh my goodness, I only got up twice to go to the bathroom Tuesday night! It was glorious!

Best moment this week: 1) hearing Baby’s heartbeat, 2) celebrating Jimmy’s birthday with friends & family, 3) SantaMobile!

Movement: I like to picture him dancing like this (aka what it feels like he’s doing)
//giphy.com/embed/l0ErA4yJWrKFX8li0

via GIPHY

Food Cravings: chocolate, hamburger & fries

Food Aversions: none

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: nope. Liking that. It’s too early little guy, stay put.

Pregnancy Symptoms: sharp pain in my left foot; acne returned 😦

Belly Button in or out? Flat

What I miss: wine – having a party is more fun with a glass of pinot

What I am looking forward to: Christmas! And Jimmy’s birthday

Upcoming appointments/events: 12/28 OB – we’re in the bi-weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: Amazon for all your pregnancy Christmas shopping. Also gift bags.

Milestones: Baby has been “cooking” longer than his uncle did

Bump Picture:

I just realized I never stand in complete profile, I’m slightly angled. Fails

30 Weeks

Monday, Jimmy went hunting. Tuesday morning we took my car into the service center at CarMax. Last week, the airbag light came on and the “service airbag” message appeared. It’s still under CarMax warranty so we wanted to get it in quickly. Unfortunately, CarMax is no where near work or home and their service center is only open on the weekdays. This early morning combined with my monthly work night meeting, made for a very long day. Thursday was my mom’s birthday – she and my dad are at their place at the beach, so we sent flowers. Thursday night we decorated our tree!

Friday I went to pick up my car – I missed it! A connector went bad under the driver’s seat that was causing the airbag to not sense weight. All the airbags look good. Saturday, I planned on doing laundry and laying on the couch all day. Jimmy decided we should get out, so we went and saw a matinee of “Doctor Strange” at The Angelica at Mosaic. It was actually a lot of fun. Then we headed over to The Eden Center for some pho – we went to Pho VA. It was so cold! We needed that hot broth! The Eden Center was having a Christmas concert, so we got to hear some songs.

Despite the cold, Jimmy got bubble tea.

Honey Milk Green Tea with Mini Boba

Sunday after church, we buckled down on the cleaning and laundry. Jimmy built a surprise fire while I was cleaning upstairs that made it all worth it 🙂

First fire of the year 🙂

The rest of the day, I continued the laundry and also wrapped some presents. Jimmy ventured out into the arctic to scope out a hunting site. Then we had homemade chicken pot pie for dinner.

Umm I didn’t like this week. Sleep wise, I was up almost every night every two hours. That’s ok when I have my cute newborn, right now, it’s just super annoying. I’d be wide awake when I woke to go to the bathroom, to eat, or for no reason at all. I would kill (ok, not kill, but I’d run up and kick someone) for daily naps. On the weekends, when I can nap, I don’t sleep. Also, Thursday, I woke up super nauseous. It was a flashback to the first trimester, on the verge of throwing up nauseous. Finally, Wednesday night, I was having hot flashes. If this is what the third trimester is like the whole time, get this baby out STAT! (as soon as he’s fully developed of course, so let’s go with January 23 when it will be 37 weeks exactly aka full term).

Questionnaire:

How far along? 30 Weeks = 75% done

How big is baby? 15.7″ & 3 lbs; the size of a cabbage

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: still tired from that football game; Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday nights I was up every two hours.

Best moment this week: decorating our tree

Movement: he’s a wiggler.

Food Cravings: cereal, milk, ice cream, yogurt

Food Aversions: none

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: none. I’ve decided those were not Braxton-Hicks contractions last week.

Pregnancy Symptoms: So, everyone raves about pregnancy hair. They say their hair is thick and grows quickly and is wonderful. I had this type of hair before pregnancy. Now, I have hair that takes FOREVER to grow, is way thinner, and occasionally has a good day (like the bump picture below). I miss my pre-pregnancy hair. Pregnancy brain – it’s real friends. On Tuesday, I spent 2 minutes trying to put a pretzel in my ear to listen to Christmas music at work, instead of my earbud. I was so confused why it wasn’t working hahahahaha. See above for first third trimester misery.

Belly Button in or out? Flat

What I miss: working out hard – killing it at a class, lifting heavy (for me) weights, running

What I am looking forward to: Christmas! And Jimmy’s birthday

Upcoming appointments/events: 12/14 OB – we’re in the bi-weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: Power through the first trimester, enjoy the second, and countdown the third.

Milestones: 75% – solid C+ now (please tell me I’m not the only one who still thinks in terms of school grades)

Bump Picture:

29 Weeks

This week started the Christmas spirit with a downtown tree lighting ceremony for work (The City of Falls Church) on Monday. Santa was there! I took 11,000 steps Monday running around coordinating, planning, and putting this event together. It was totally worth it though, we had a great crowd come out. However, my feet were still sore all of Tuesday.

Monday was also a very bad day for my bank account. Is it just me or were the Cyber Monday deals great this year? I got so many things I needed for Baby, some Christmas shopping started, and might have gotten myself a couple things. How many times can I use the push present excuse for shopping?

Wednesday, I had my 7 month OB appointment and my glucose screening for gestational diabetes. I heard terrible things about the sugary drink you have to consume for the test. However, if my college days taught me anything, it’s that you can power through and chug a beverage when necessary. I was also pretty nervous about this test. Not because I thought I had gestational diabetes, but because you can fail the first screening (without having gestational diabetes) and have to take a second 3-hour test involving fasting. I do not do well with fasting. But guess what? I passed! 🙂

Honestly, I liked the drink. I thought it was delicious. Although I didn’t taste it too much because I did chug it. The lab technician said to finish it in three minutes. I did in one minute #overachiever. I impressed everyone in the room. Very proud moment in my life haha. Unfortunately, after the test I had to go back up to to doctor (they were running over an hour behind; I ended up staying there over 2 hours ahhhhhh). If the long waits weren’t killer enough, they gave me a shot too. It’s the whooping cough shot that I needed but still, I don’t like needles, after the four vials of blood for the glucose test (why must you take so much???) and then the shot, I was over the doctor. Good thing I get to go back in two weeks #sarcasm.

Wednesday evening, Jimmy and I went to a paint night together; this was his gift to me for my birthday. So fun! Although I did discover, I do better at these things with a glass of wine. I overthink without the vino. But, the Baby kicks I got to experience made me giggle and smile the whole time, so I didn’t mind not producing my best work one bit.

Friday night was a low-key movie night at our house. We watched Good Will Hunting. Jimmy had never seen it!

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My boys #cuddles #fridaynight #movienight

A post shared by Ingrid (@ifracine) on Dec 2, 2016 at 5:26pm PST

Saturday, we kept up with the tradition and went to Home Depot to get our Christmas tree. My family has been getting our trees from Home Depot my entire life. While we let the tree rest, [that’s a thing normal people do right???] I washed baby bottles and we decorated the nursery (nursery art pictured via: The Wildlands’ Etsy shop).

Merrifield Home Depot Christmas tree shopping

Foreshadowing

Measuring to hang nursery art

Kai is supervising

Saturday evening, we headed out with Kurt, Kate, Mike & Keli (and some of Kurt & Kate’s friends) to watch the ACC championship at Mister Day’s in Clarendon. This year was extra fun because it was Jimmy & my team (Virginia Tech) vs Kurt & Kate’s team (Clemson). Family feud at it’s finest. Our group was about half Hokies and half Tigers so it was great fun to watch the surprisingly close game. Sweaters via: Tipsy Elves

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Family feud night #Hokies #Tigers #accchampionship #TipsyElves

A post shared by Ingrid (@ifracine) on Dec 3, 2016 at 7:35pm PST

Jayme and Dave happened to go to the same bar we did! There’s a reason we’re all best friends 🙂

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Go Hokies! #bestfriends #babybump #babybumpinabar #accchampionship

A post shared by Ingrid (@ifracine) on Dec 3, 2016 at 7:48pm PST

Shots! (Iced tea for this mama-to-be)

Sunday, was church followed by brunch with co-workers (for me) and a scouting mission for hunting (for Jimmy). Then I took a nap because staying out until after midnight is not a thing I can do anymore. Finally, I decorated outside with Christmas lights.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 29 Weeks

How big is baby? 15.2″ & 2.5 lbs; the size of a bunch of grapes (smaller than the eggplant) or an acorn squash but I really want grapes now, so Baby will be the grapes this week

Maternity clothes? Absolutely. I did squeeze into a non-maternity sweater for the ACC Championship game – see above (I sized up and got a Medium so Baby bump could squeeze in with me)

Sleep: pretty good actually. Only got up twice Wednesday night to go to the bathroom – win!

Best moment this week: 1) decorating for Christmas & getting our tree! 2) watching the ACC Championship with Kurt & Kate

Movement: he was more wiggly than a kicker this week.

Food Cravings: cereal

Food Aversions: none

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: I might be having some Braxton Hicks. I get this muscle tingling at the top of my stomach that is super annoying but goes away if I move. Typically you hear Braxton Hicks are a tightening of your stomach that lasts under a minute and goes away if you move, so this new fun side effect might be not be Braxton Hicks. I’m sure I will know them when they actually happen.

Pregnancy Symptoms: my feet hate me – they’re really small to begin with (size 5, which is women’s not kid’s ThankYouVeryMuch) so walking with the extra weight on them is killing me

Belly Button in or out? Flat and hurts again

What I miss: the energy to do anything

What I am looking forward to: Christmas! And Jimmy’s birthday

Upcoming appointments/events: 12/14 OB – we’re in the bi-weekly appointments now

Weekly Wisdom: when strangers ask if you’re taking a birthing class (and you’re not actually taking a birthing class) lie, or be prepared for a 20 minute lecture. We’re I’m doing one online because all the classes were booked by the time Jimmy agreed to consider going to one. I’m not planning a natural birth or a home birth or anything Duggar-style like that #GiveMeTheDrugs so I’ll lean on my yoga days for breathing techniques. That, and at this exact moment, I’m considering hiring a birthing coach for day-of (I’m sure that’s a thing). Probably won’t, but I’ll spend at least two nights googling it just to be sure.

Milestones: passed my glucose screening; got my whooping cough vaccine

Bump Picture:

I have to start taking these pictures before 5 PM – it gets dark so early! Also, shout out to the two bunches of grapes I’m awkwardly holding to make one big one!

27 Weeks

Some sources start the third trimester this week. While I won’t officially say I’m in the third trimester until next week, I definitely feel a shift from what was a wonderful second trimester.

This week started rough because I was so tired from not sleeping well most of the weekend. Maybe the sleep had something to do with it, but I’m getting to the feeling huge level of pregnancy. My doctor said I’m perfect for weight gain, but it’s hard looking at the scale and seeing it higher than I ever imagined. Or trying on a shirt that used to be super loose only to need Jimmy to help me get it off. Yep, I’m getting stuck in clothing. I can only dread imagine how big I’ll get before this is over. Keep repeating: pregnancy is beautiful. Pregnancy is beautiful. Pregnancy is beautiful. On top of all that, I turned 30 this week.

Because I was sleeping so terribly, I moved rooms. Sunday night and Monday night I slept in the bed in Baby’s room. Tuesday morning I woke up to Jimmy bringing in breakfast in bed and feeling like a new person. It was glorious!

Friday night, my family went out to dinner at Ray’s the Steaks to celebrate Kurt’s birthday. I’m so thankful my parents had Kurt – he is the best brother and best friend I could ever ask for. Since the day my parents brought him home, I thought he was a gift for me 🙂

As a 30th birthday gift, Kurt & Jimmy insulated the attic on Saturday. This is something we needed to do. We have an older house, so the level of insulation we have in the attic isn’t up to today’s standards. Which, was fine when it was just Jimmy and me, but we’re going to be bringing home a newborn in the dead of winter. That doesn’t work for me. So, Kurt & Jimmy went to Home Depot, bought the 12 bags of insulation needed to get the free insulation blower rental (not foam, regular insulation) and went to work.

materials

Two engineers figuring out the blower

DIY attic insulation work crew

To be super safe, insulation installation meant I was kicked out of the house. My friends Jayme & Keli were super sweet and took me out for pedicures and then to brunch for a birthday celebration at Circa. It was so nice out, we decided to wander around Clarendon until game time (complete with a pit stop at Pottery Barn to lounge on their couches). Then we went to Clarendon Grill to meet up with parents & friends to watch the Virginia Tech/Notre Dame game.

Sunday was very low-key and relaxing with Kai, Jimmy, and Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Then we went to Founding Farmers in Tysons for dinner with my family and Jimmy’s family. It was a great day!

Questionnaire:

How far along? 27 Weeks

How big is baby? 14.4″ & 1.9 lb – the size of a head of cauliflower or an acorn squash. I know he’s bigger than these measurements though. He’s been measuring ahead most of my pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? Yes, definitely. I don’t think I could squeeze into any “normal” clothes if my life depended on it. I feel like a whale. Not Shamu level yet, maybe a Beluga whale.

normal sized child & me

Weight Gain: I stopped tracking this on the blog because it was driving me crazy with fluctuations – 4 lbs difference in one day taken at the same time of day?!?! However, I will pop in and update occasionally just so I can remember. I’m up 20-22 lbs depending on the day. I know a lot of it is water retention/swelling because some mornings my fake bigger sized rings indent my fingers. At my last appointment my doctor said I’m still “on track” for my recommended 30-35 lbs – how, seriously? If I stop gaining weight right now maybe, but umm, the baby is still growing… so, this doesn’t seem possible. Maybe my doctor has the ability to see the future because this week I had little interest in food (don’t worry, I ate regular meals, just didn’t NEED food all the time like the rest of this pregnancy) and specifically no desire to eat ice cream or sweets. So perhaps she is right and I will slow down on the weight gain. Or, perhaps I won’t. I’ve been eating healthy (minus the ice cream) and I’ve been working out 3+ x a week so it is what it is. I can’t wait to kick my butt with workouts this spring/summer. Jimmy’s quote on this: “don’t worry babe, this February you’ll give me baby and I’ll take care of him and you can go to the gym and workout.” [pause] (clearly he hasn’t read any of the books I gave him) [continue] “maybe March. We’ll start in March.”

Sleep: was so bad I moved rooms.

Best moment this week: birthday celebrations

Movement: pretty sure he headbutted me at one point this week. Oh and he must have discovered the tiny space kind of above my hip where the placenta isn’t because I felt his foot or elbow or something move against my skin. It freaked me out! Like take one finger and push down as hard as you can and rub your other hand from your finger to your wrist. That intensity, that length of time, that feeling, but from the inside. Thankful for my placenta padding everywhere else.

Food Cravings: tea, sparkling water with a splash of OJ, chicken noodle soup, reduced sugar dried cranberries – this really got Baby jumping!

Food Aversions: sweets – maybe my steady bowl of ice cream each night caught up to me because I want none of it now. I breath a sigh of relief *FINALLY*! I am not a sweets person. I usually skip all desserts without a second thought. However, it was all I wanted this pregnancy until this week. It was killing me. I couldn’t not have sweets. It made me cry multiple times. But Hallelujah we might be pass that! I also did not want anything to do with apples, bananas, potatoes, cheez-its, or chips.

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: nope. Stay that way for at least 2 months please.

Pregnancy Symptoms: swollen – FYI it is really hard to workout when your feet are super swollen; battling pregnancy insomnia; being a general emotional mess – multiple nights of uncontrollable sobbing; craziest thing: my bump is significantly bigger at the end of the day vs the morning now. Also, some days it’s much smaller than other days – I think this is based on how Baby is chilling that day.

Belly Button in or out? In but it is wider. It stopped hurting this week. That, or I’m going numb to slight pain.

What I miss: my pre-pregnancy body. This week was a hard one on my self-esteem. I blame the lack of sleep and my birthday.

What I am looking forward to: the summer when I can run & workout and eat healthy and be normal sized again (hopefully)

Upcoming appointments/events: 7 month OB & glucose screening 11/30

Weekly Wisdom: Eat as healthy as you can, be as active as you can, but don’t stress. There is plenty of time for insanity the month baby is born (if you listen to my husband) or about two months after baby is born if you listen to your doctor/other moms/the rest of the world.

Milestones: this is the last week of the 2nd trimester; Baby can open and close his eyes; I turned 30

Bump Picture:

Kai made it in both pictures this week! Note: this was by far the biggest bump day I had this week. I swear I look full term here. Nope, still 10 weeks until full term.

24 Weeks

This week started great! I had Monday off (because I worked Saturday). Jimmy worked from home in the morning (he had a marketing event that started at 9 am) so I made us pancakes. It was so nice to be able to eat a weekday breakfast together. Following breakfast, Kai & I were still sleepy so we closed our eyes for just a minute. Two hours later, I woke up… whoops. Guess I needed sleep. After our wonderful nap, came lunch, grocery shopping, a 30 minute walk – Kai was so happy! – some laundry, some Gilmore Girls, making homemade lasagna, and then Jimmy was home for dinner. I, being the super nerd that I am, made a Google Slide presentation that I put on our TV through chromecast to lead a family discussion on maternity leave, work, and daycare. In our ideal world, I’d be able to stay home with Mini Moose, but financially I don’t think that’s realistic at this point. We’re still discussing and running numbers, but right now it’s looking like I will keep working. I’m very thankful I have a job so close to home that offers some flexibility and comp time. This will help with what I’m sure will leave me an emotional wreck handing Baby over to a caregiver. I literally tear up just thinking about it already. 😦

Tuesday morning I had an OB appointment where I found out everything is just wonderful with Baby. The 2nd try 2nd level ultrasound got all angles of his heart; it looks great! I was informed next appointment I’ll be getting my glucose screening and a whooping cough vaccine. Jimmy, his parents and my parents all need the whooping cough vaccine too.

Saturday was my fall themed baby shower planned/designed by Calvert Designs and hosted by Kate. It was absolutely breathtaking! My mom, Aunt Julie, cousin Natalie, mother-in-law, sister-in-law Katie, sister-in-law Kate, Kate’s mom Charlotte, Caroline, Deb, Laura, Laura, Keli, Jayme, Meredith, and Lauren all came and showered Baby Racine and I with so much love. We even Facetimed in Sarah from CA & Facebook Messenger Video Chatted Aunt Shelia from France. Some photos below but please check out the separate post for more details.

Sunday was not my day for driving. I was headed to brunch with the above ladies at Tupelo Honey Cafe. So delicious! I can’t wait until we go and I can have one of their mimosas too 🙂 – Meredith & Laura came all the way up from Roanoke for this baby shower/birthday celebration weekend [Happy Belated Birthday Laura!!!] so we definitely wanted to get together  as much as possible before they headed back. I however, forgot about the Marine Corps Marathon. Every road I needed to take to get from Falls Church to Court House/ Rosslyn area was closed. My exit off of I-66 was closed. My usual side streets to get there were all closed – with school buses blocking the roads and lots of police! I ended up by my old church and calling my Dad to help direct me to a main road I could use to navigate over. Google Maps failed me big time and kept trying to take me on all the closed roads. Thank the Lord for fathers!

Sunday afternoon I met up with some co-workers at Tyson’s Biergarten – never been before, but great outdoor area with lots of games and beers – we had a lot of fun! However, getting there was very challenging. I spent about 15 minutes driving around the place. I could see basically where I wanted to go, but could NOT get there. Wouldn’t you know it: another closed road. Eventually I found a parking garage close enough by and finished the adventure by foot. I figured I’d be more successful that way. Sunday night we ended with watching Seinfield and eating some Chinese food – yum.

Questionnaire:

How far along? 24 Weeks

How big is baby? The size of a large cucumber, a zucchini or an ear of corn (this is still smaller than that darn papaya): 11.8 inches and 1.3 lbs (according to the app)

Maternity clothes? Even my coats & vests don’t fit anymore

Sleep: didn’t get enough over the weekend, but made up for it with a two hour nap on Monday, whoops. Tuesday morning I was awake at 5 am thinking about maternity leave, work & daycare. The rest of the week was good for sleeping. Like last weekend, I didn’t get enough sleep this weekend.

Best moment this week: baby shower

Movement: I can feel him now. All the time. I think this kid is going to take after his uncle Kurt because he never. stops. moving. Literally doing flips and kicks and who knows what else all day and all night. It’s adorable and annoying at the same time. In about a month he’ll be getting too big to do full flips so I’ll embrace the “going down a roller coaster stomach drop” feeling I get when he practices gymnastics. Jimmy was even able to feel him “fluttering” as he called it – umm no, that is him flipping. Fluttering was the adorable teeny movements about 10 weeks ago. These are full on Olympic events. I can’t wait for Jimmy to feel a really powerful kick.

Food cravings: Chinese food

Food Aversions: nothing really

Gender: Baby’s a boy!

Labor Signs: this question is irrelevant until later

Pregnancy Symptoms: my feet definitely swell if I’m walking or standing a lot. My blood pressure looks great so my doctor isn’t worried about Preeclampsia.

Belly Button in or out? In but it is bigger…

What I miss: Mimosas. Not really missing a glass of wine anymore or a beer, but I would love a mimosa. Mock-mosas are delicious and all, but Champagne is my family beverage.

What I am looking forward to: wearing my fun maternity Halloween shirt next week

Upcoming appointments/events: 7 month OB & glucose screening 11/30

Weekly Wisdom: If you’re having a hard time feeling the baby kicking, lie down flat on your back and be very still. Mine started as little “pops” but are now stronger.

Milestones: Feeling all the kicks and movement.

Bump Picture:

Corn is out of season so this is what we get for this week. 60% there!