Baby Bump Update

How far along: 37 weeks...full term! What?! How did this happen?! 

It's almost 11 p.m. after a 12 hour work day...give me a break;)

Size of baby: This is exactly what my weekly update said: Your baby is the size of a winter melon! He likely measures around 18.9 to 20.9 inches and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. He's gaining about 1/2 ounce each day.  What the heck is a winter melon and if my baby weighs 9 pounds right now I am freaking out!  My weekly phone app update says watermelon and about 6.5 pounds. Sounds a little better to me:)

My body: So it looks like just the top half of my belly button is going to stick out.  

Movement: I really need to figure out how to upload videos because I recorded Lucas moving and it is pretty funny...very alien;)  He had been only elbowing me on the left side but today the right elbow started going.  Kevin thinks he's trying to figure out how to get out...haha!

Sleep: I have almost given up.  The last two nights were a little better and I have a feeling it is because I am SO exhausted!

Symptoms: I'm pretty sure I felt two contractions on Saturday.  I think I'm getting a small rash on my stomach.  I have no idea if this is a symptom but I'm going with it. It doesn't itch or anything I can just see it.  My acne is back with a vengeance:( My hips really hurt sometimes and I happen to read that this happens when they are getting read for the labor.  So crazy what our body does!

Cravings: I am still LOVING my smoothies and pears!

Aversions: Anything that gives me acid reflux...now if I could only figure out everything that entails.

What I'm looking forward to: One more day of work! Oh thank goodness! I have been working 10-12 hour days to try and get everything done and transitioned.  The hubby and I are also going out in the city Friday night with friends.  I wanted Kevin to be able to have a "last hoorah" before the baby comes.

Baby Daddy: He's ready for me to be done working.  Really he's ready for Lucas to make his arrival but knows that I won't be ready until I'm done working and can complete everything I want to before baby's arrival.  I think he is also ready for me to have time to do laundry, put away dishes, make dinner;)

Thoughts: My mind has been consumed with work.  I have so much I want to blog about so be prepared for multiple posts over the next week:)

Baby Bump Update

How far along: 36 weeks! I am due in just four weeks! I also now go to the doctor every week.

Size of baby: Still a guess.  I don't know why this annoys me:) A honeydew melon, almost 6 pounds and 18.5 inches long.

My body: I am really loving this slow leg hair growth.  Especially since it is so hard to bend over.  My hair (on my head) has gotten pretty long and my nails grow pretty fast.  My belly button is still on it's way out.  I don't yet have that line that goes down your belly.  The hubby thinks its still coming but I hope not!  I haven't had any stretch marks (crossing my fingers that stays true) and I hear that this is normally a hereditary thing and no one in my family got them.  I can only sleep on my right side for less than an hour or my hip really starts to hurt.  Only happens on that side, don't know why!

Movement: Continuous.  He had stayed away from my right ribs over the last week but he moved back today.  He is pretty low and now punches my groin...fun! He also hits these nerves that makes it feel like nails scratching the inside of my hooha.  It hurts so bad I end up bent over in pain.  Last week Kevin's arm ended up over my stomach while we were going to sleep and Lucas was moving.  Kevin couldn't believe that is what I was feeling all night and related the baby to an alien...again:)

Sleep: Blah.  I am so uncomfortable and it doesn't help that I wake myself up worrying about things I need to do either.

Symptoms: Still the same and continuous.  I think I've only felt one Braxton Hicks contraction.

Cravings: Oh how I love a good pear!  Kevin's company brings in huge fruit baskets each day and if there is a pear in there when he is leaving he will bring it home for me.  We have to find out where these people get their fruit because I have yet to pick out a pear that is perfectly ripened like the ones they get.  I also really have been craving smoothies but I found out this little town I now live in has no smoothie shop anywhere close so I started making my own...mmmmm!

Aversions: No new ones.

What I'm looking forward to: My last shower this weekend and I only have 6 more work days left!

Baby Daddy: He has been talking to Lucas a little more and feeling my stomach a bit more.  I love it. He is also in full nesting mode:)

Thoughts: I have been so sure that this little one is going to come early because he has been head down since at least 29 weeks, he is so low and it seems like he just is ready to come out.  Last week my doctor asked if I have felt any contractions.  I haven't had any yet.  I have read that most people have felt Braxton Hicks contractions by now but I have felt only one and that is a maybe.  I am so curious what my son's birthday will be:)

Baby Bump Update

How far along: 35 weeks! Whoah! In two weeks we will be at term and little Lucas will be here within the next 6 weeks (My doctor won't let me go past 41 weeks).

I apologize for the poor quality. We are having some issues locating our new camera's charger:(

Size of baby: Who freaking knows.  My food size comparison today was a coconut.  They also say the baby is between 4.5 - 5.5 lbs and 17 - 19 inches.  I have never seen a coconut that size so I would love to have a discussion with the person who picks the food each week.  Everything I have read though agrees that baby shouldn't really get any taller, he will just gain some weight.

My body: I also read that I will gain about .5 lb each week.  I don't yet waddle but I may if I pack on the pounds in the next couple weeks.  Speaking of waddling, a few ladies in our birthing class were full on waddling.  Their bellies weren't that big so I really don't understand why they were doing that.  It sure made Kevin and I laugh though!  My belly button seems to be sticking out a little bit more each week.

Movement: The last couple weeks there has been a lot of focus on music at this point in a pregnancy.  Some suggest singing nursery songs to the baby now so that when they arrive their is a comforting voice that they are used.  Nothing about my singing is comforting but my hubby can carry a tune, though he hasn't jumped on board with singing to my tummy.  Well, at my aunt's services there was quite a bit of music and singing and boy did Lucas go crazy.  It was so funny.  He really reacted to all of it so Kevin and I are discussing some singing or maybe just playing more music.  Today I swear Lucas moved for a solid hour non-stop.  I just really hope he didn't flip back to breach.  I don't think so because it still feels like he his kicking my ribs but we'll know for sure at our doctor's appointment tomorrow.

Sleep: I've had a few good hours over the last few nights.  I think my body is getting used to just sleeping on one side and not moving.  Last night though I woke up to use the restroom and I could have sworn I had been asleep for hours because I was wide awake.  Nope, it was 12:30 and I fell asleep a bit after 11:( I have been dreaming about Lucas's birth a bit more lately.  The last one involved him coming before I was out on maternity leave (2 weeks and 1 day BTW) and not everything had been transferred to my backups so I had to go back to work on Monday after giving birth on Saturday...ah!

Maternity Clothes: Yep.

Symptoms: Still the same.  My back really starts hurting in the early afternoon and pretty much stays that way until I wake up the next morning.  Last night Kevin said he felt I was really over being pregnant because I am uncomfortable ALL THE TIME.  I am but Lucas isn't full term yet so I will take it for the next couple weeks but then I'm going to research all the natural ways to go into labor:)

Cravings: I saw some friends on Facebook claim offers for Jamba Juice today and it made me want one soooo bad.  On Monday my friend was looking up places to eat around me and mentioned Jamba Juice.  I couldn't think of where it would be located so I looked it up and they had moved:( I was SO bummed.  I'll have to get one this weekend.

Aversions: This is a slight exaggeration but food.  One meal and I feel like I would be good to go.  By the time dinner rolls around I usually don't want anything.  I do eat, for Lucas's sake, but sometimes I really have to force it.  I just get full so easily with all that is in my belly.

What I'm looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment tomorrow which happens to also be Valentine's Day and I just find that a little bit more special.  My Bay Area shower is this weekend and I am so excited to see everyone that is coming.

Baby Daddy: This will be our 11th Valentine's Day together and in previous years we have gone out to dinner, gone away for the weekend or some other adventure.  A few years ago we decided that we would rather just have a nice night in with each other.  Dungeness crab is my favorite food (after Aunt Ang's gnocchi) and I turned Kevin onto it so we get some fresh whole crabs which happen to still be in season and make a mess at home.  We really love this night.  Well a few days ago Kevin said he wanted to add building Lucas's crib together on V-day.  He knows how important it is to me that we do his nursery together so I really appreciate him thinking of doing this.

Weekend Wrap-up

I can only summarize this past weekend as full of emotion.

Friday night we started the celebration of my Aunt Ang's life with a Rosary ceremony.  I did not grow up Catholic so I did not really know what to expect.  Apparently I've been to one or two of these when I was little but I don't remember this part.  Though it was a sad occasion that brought us all together there was so much family there that I hadn't seen in a long time and that got to finally meet Kevin.  We laughed, which was ok because Aunt Ang laughed all the time and preferred to laugh.  My Aunt Debbie created an amazing slideshow that included pictures of just about every family member and friend that has been around for a long time with Aunt Ang.  This was then proceeded with 50 Hail Mary's.  Not being Catholic I've never done this before but toward the end I was able to Hail Mary with the rest of the group:)

My sisters and me with Aunt Ang at my bridal shower in 2011.

On Saturday we had a morning mass to continue the celebration of her life.  The priest who performed the ceremony had known my Aunt Ang for about 30 years so it was a very personal celebration which was really nice.  My Uncle Mark said the eulogy and he did an incredible job.  There were some tears shed but my aunt wasn't really a cryer, she laughed and I appreciated that everyone respected that.  

As a Christmas present my mom had given me tickets to the ProAm golf tournament.  My mom and I have been to a few PGA US Opens together and we absolutely love it.  My mom loves golf.  I don't ever watch it or play but to go to the live events and to do it with my mom is just something that I enjoy so much.   Since I have a baby coming my mom wasn't sure how many more tournaments we could go to together so she got us these tickets.  The ProAm happened to be on Saturday also so we weren't going to go but then the family urged us to.  It's what Aunt Ang would have wanted.  Well, really she just wanted everyone to do what they enjoy.  So after the mass we headed over to Pebble Beach and I am so glad we went.  US Opens are pretty stuffy and very crowded.  The ProAm was so much more relaxed and fun.  Since I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant my mom got us upgraded tickets to the Clubhouse on the 17th hole so I could sit and be a bit more comfortable if needed.  We had the best time!  We saw so many celebrities.  Josh Duhamel's ball landed right in front of us and he looked up and gave us a wave.  We almost died.  He is gorgeous!  Even though we were allowed to have our cell phones no pictures were allowed.  I am not one to test the waters when it comes to rules, especially when I had already seen a couple people get in trouble for trying to take pictures so I wasn't able to really get any but the last group to go had Bill Murray.  By this time there was at least one layer of guys behind us and they all took out their phones so I said, what the heck! I'll hear them get in trouble before I get caught so I got one of him:) We were up on the second floor of the clubhouse looking down.

This man is quite the jokester and almost hit one of the pros in the head with his ball when he was getting out of the sand trap out of turn.

My mom and I finally got a picture at a tournament.  I think we will definitely be doing this again! There were quite a few babies and kids here so we feel completely comfortable brining Lucas next year. I think we're going to try and go during the week though because there seems to be a lot more chances of celebrity interaction when you don't go on a championship day.

After the mass Kevin came home to work on the house.  We were supposed to get our new windows this weekend but after a series of unfortunate events for our contractor he wasn't able to come out so we will get them this weekend.  Kevin was able to remove this large mass of a rose bush that really was a tree in our front yard.

Before (Sorry for the glare, these are from my phone)

Kevin breaking it all down.

After

We still have a lot of landscaping to do (and a fence to replace) but it's moving along.  While Kevin was doing this he met quite a few of our neighbors and three of them offered their yard waste cans to use so we could dump all of the debris in one haul.  We are learning that we have very nice and close-knit neighbors which I'm excited about.  We haven't met any with little ones but a couple do have baby-sitting age kids;)

My little sister also is up for the week because of the funeral and then my shower so she stayed with us the last couple days and I got my hair done!  I really wanted to just go back to my natural color for just a while.  My sister is the only one who I let color my hair and since she lives so far away I don't get to do all the fun things with my hair that I used to/would want or I would have roots constantly.  We'll see how long this lasts though:)

Hope you all are having a great start to your week!

Baby Bump Update

How far along: 34 weeks!

32 weeks

33 weeks

34 weeks...boy I have grown in the last two weeks!

Size of baby: For the food comparison I have seen butternut squash and a cantaloupe but 31 weeks was a pineapple...I don't know how they come up with these foods.  He is about 4.5-5.5 lbs and 17-18 inches long.

My body: I have not been weighing myself as I know how stuck I can get on a number and that wouldn't be healthy for baby or me but I do get weighed each time I go to the doctor and I am in the perfectly healthy range.  So other than that I would like to keep track of some things my body is going through.  A couple weeks ago I told my husband that I didn't think my belly button would pop out because it seemed to be going more inny(sp?) but I was wrong.  It has moved it's way on out.  Just the top part of it sticks out and the rest is flush with my belly...very odd.  I feel like I'm retaining water in my calves...are cankles on my horizon?! My belly looks like a basketball.

Movement: At 29 weeks the doctor said Lucas was head down but we didn't know if that would stay.  At my appointment last week he was still head down which is why my ribs are bruised.  His positioning won't really matter, in my doctor's opinion until my appointment next week.  His little bum, which doesn't feel so little, is pushing against the right side of my ribs.  I almost wish that he would switch back and forth between my ribs because boy does that one side hurt but my doctor said this is normal especially since I have a small rib cage.  Sometimes I can feel his bum and I push back on it.  He gets back at me later though:)  I've always heard that moms can feel their baby's feet, or that's his elbow, or whatever... I never know what body part I'm feeling.  Maybe as he gets bigger I'll figure it out.

Sleep: See my symptoms below. Yeah, sleep is not so great.  I also get horrible stomach cramps when I try and get up too fast from laying down, like my stomach muscles are tearing.  In the last couple weeks I had two women who are about my mom's age tell me how much they loved being pregnant, oh it was just amazing.  Umm...I am so incredibly grateful and thankful for going through this but love it? Nope.

Maternity Clothes: I bought what I believe will be my last pieces.  I should be able to go the rest of the pregnancy with what I have.

Symptoms: My ribs are enflamed and bruised.  I get Charlie Horses in my calves while sleeping a couple nights a week.  My legs get very restless.  My back hurts.  Acid reflux! Ugh! Apparently there are different symptoms with this but mine is just a horrific burning in my throat so I looked up what the causes could be and have been trying to keep them out of my diet. Sounds fun doesn't it?:)

Cravings: Still loving my fruit! Especially a perfectly ripened pear...mmm!

Baby Daddy: I think he is more in a nesting mode than I am.  This guy moves around here like the Energizer Bunny.  Last week he was putting stuff in Lucas's room, looks at me and says "I cannot wait until he gets here." Love!  We live kind of in the boonies...not really but the two roads/highways you would have to take to get here are two lanes, no lights, and very, very winding.  One night we were driving home and I think it was the first completely dark night we were driving on one of the roads.  I was thinking how I didn't want my little sister to drive on it at night (she's visiting soon and my motherly instincts kicked in the day my middle sister was born).  Well, while I was thinking this Kevin says to me "I know that it's not likely we'll be here this long but I really don't want Lucas driving on this road." His fatherly instincts are really kicking in.

A couple notes/memories: We finished our birthing classes last week.  I have never seen a real birthing video before and after the first class I went back to the car and cried on my husband.  I'm deathly afraid of giving birth.  I honestly can't think about it.  I am supposed to have a birth plan put together in the next couple weeks but that just means I have to really think about the birth which puts me in panic mode.  I'm actually just going to be really open about my day.  I think I would love to have an unmedicated birth but I have no idea what a contraction feels like so I am not going to be upset if I decide to get an epidural.  I also know that a c-section is something that can happen and if it does and that is how we can have a healthy birth than so be it.  I also had another breakdown last week.  For almost 10.5 years it has been just Kevin and me.  Now we are going to have someone else...all. the. time.  Don't get me wrong, I have literally wanted to be a mom since I can remember and I am so excited.  It's just going to be different.  I guess I should add emotional and hormonal to my symptoms:)

I'm back!

I swear, nothing has been easy regarding this move but we are here and finally have functioning internet.
I would like to catch you all up on what has happened over the last three weekends...
The weekend of January 19 we went and checked out the house and all the floors had been removed.

Kitchen

Living Room/Dining Room

We also finished painting.

That Sunday we went to our niece's first, and, as she informed us, only recital.  Dance has pretty much always been a part of my life so I'm glad I got at least one in!

So cute!

Taking pictures is probably her least favorite thing to do.

The next weekend was moving weekend! We had to get movers since I was of no help which was kind of amazing.  We've always moved ourselves but boy was it awesome to have other people do the heavy lifting and figure out how to get the couch around the corner and down the stairs...Pivot! anyone?:)  One of the movers was awesome, the other...eh.  He ended up forgetting to give us back one of our couch feet so we called him just a couple minutes after he left.  He refused to turn around but said he would be in the city and we were headed back that evening anyway.  Once we got there he wanted a ride! Don't know where from or to but that was not going to happen.  After multiple calls with most of them being unreturned he finally gave us back our missing part a week later!  Oh, while this was all going down on Saturday I had scheduled our cable and internet to be set up that afternoon.  After the technician missed our first window appointment I was assured that he would be there within the next hour.  He was still a no show, though he wrote in his notes that he called me but I did not answer...lie! so I called the company back and they said they didn't know where he was so they would have to write up a ticket and someone would get back to me within a half hour but someone would definitely be by that day to set us up.  Another half hour went by and no phone so I called back again. The appointment had been changed to an all day appointment vs my 12-2 pm and I was assured that someone would be there before 7 p.m.  Wait, how long will the appointment take? Oh, no more than 4 hours.  What?!  Well the tech finally came by, no apology mind you, and informed me that we did not have cabling to our house so another specialized tech would be here in 3-5 days to do that and then I would have to make another appointment.  I already didn't like this provider and that was the last straw so we have gone another way.  Not sure how I feel about them either but they came out the next days and were very nice.  We had to get internet through someone else which is why it took so long and of course that didn't work like they said it would so today I got it all fixed...phew!  We were able to pack and clean out our appointment a day early so we were home Saturday night and have literally been doing stuff to the house since then.

We forgot to take pictures of the new flooring before we moved in so this is the only one I have from my phone. (I did take a video on my phone but I can't get it to upload on Blogger or YouTube and I'm too tired to spend any more time trying to figure it out.) Our house is not yet ready to have pictures taken of it now but we're almost there!

I am in love with our new floors!

This past weekend I went home for my dear friend's baby shower.  Kaysie and I have known each other since we were about 12 years old.  We are 20 days apart, we got engaged the same year, married the same year and now our children are due 19 days apart.  It is pretty awesome to experience all of these life-changing events with someone.

I had literally told Kevin last week...you know, my belly isn't that big.  Boy was I wrong...that baby sticks out so far! He's a basketball:)

Belly Bump!

The beautiful hostess, Michelle.  Another friend from my childhood who may also have the most amazing twin daughters.

Sunday was SuperBowl.  Being a life-long 49er fan I was so excited for the game!  Obviously, it didn't turn out the way I wanted so there really weren't any pictures taken but beside the outcome of the game we had a wonderful day with our friends.

I was going to wear my jersey!:) I ended up wearing my other which fit a little better...

While all of this action was going on this weekend a black cloud was over my head.  On Saturday I went to visit my great aunt who was in hospice care.  In October she had fallen and broken her hip so she had emergency surgery.  She never really fully recovered from that day.  Granted, she would be 99 at the end of this month, was in the late stages of dimentia and had terminal breast cancer but she is the liveliest woman I have ever met.  My visit showed me how serious everything was and on Sunday night she went and met the rest of our family angels.  My Aunt Ang never married or had children.  She lived to take care of our family.  She took care of her mom, my Nonna, until she died at 101.  She took care of my father, uncle, aunts and their cousins when they were little and she took care of my sisters, cousins and me when we were little.  This woman was as Catholic Italian as they came and made the most amazing home-made Italian food.  She loved us unconditionally, no matter what we did.  She may not have known who any of us were at the end but we will always remember all of her amazingness.  I miss her dearly but know that she is up with all of those who have past before us and she is watching, shaking her head that we are not eating enough:) Oh, how I loved this woman!

My little sister was named after this great woman.