Baby Bump | 29 Weeks

Baby, baby, baby… That’s all that fills my mind these days it seems. I feel caught up in a whirlwind of “OMG PLEASE GET HERE NOW!” vs “AHHHH!!! NOT YET! I’M NOT READY AT ALL!!!” I am glad that even though late term discomforts still annoy me, I still have a smidge of nesting hormones still hanging around. This is very important since the baby room still barely looks like a baby room. The only hints are the newly grey walls and piles of hooded towels and clothes and other baby gifts.

The great news is that it looks like we’ll be getting the crib this week! I’ve mentioned before, I think, that I write these posts on Monday, even though I publish them on Wednesday (I know, I like to be complicated). So hopefully by the time you actually are reading this post we’ll have the crib and changing table!!! Once we have it and it’s all set up you can bet I’ll be taking a zillion pictures to show it off to the world. I can’t wait!!! I feel like it’s the huge thing I’ve been waiting for to feel like this is really a baby room after all.

I’m going to chat a bit about the busy-ness I have going on these days. I have a ton of work I’m furiously trying to finish for several design and photography clients and while there is still so much to get done, I am proud of myself for how productive I’ve been. I just hope I can balance this with all the other baby projects that I also need to finish before I finally take my “maternity leave.” I have been so motivated to accomplish things, even though I especially love to accomplish things for the baby. I bought fabric to make my own mobile and I’ll be tackling that task next, probably. Then I also have several things to paint and artwork to design/print/hang. I have a few other sewing projects and I wish I knew more about carpentry, etc… because I am itching to make this cubby storage bench thing for under the large window in the baby room. I have it all visualized in my head. I might have to get my Daddy’s help with this one. :)

In purely baby related things, I need to gush a moment about how much I love his movement these days. He kicks in the perfect place, in my opinion. Out the right side of my abdomen. That means I can lay on my left side and rest my hand on the side of my belly and feel his feet. Sometimes he kicks out sharply and sometimes he presses his feet into me and I love, love, love it. Steven got to feel it the other day and experience just how awesome it is. Every morning (sometimes as early as 4 a.m.) he will wake up and start pushing his feet into me. This morning I was in that 1/2 asleep state and I imagined him saying “wake up, Mommy!!! WAKE UP!!!” Lol. It is definitely not the worst way to be awakened. Then, at night when I’m laying in bed working up the desire for sleep, he will begin playing footsie again, as well as a few times throughout the day. It’s incredible.

One thing I must admit I am not really a fan of, is hiccups. I already knew it was normal for him to have them and I read up a bit and basically just read that it’s a great sign of a healthy baby. But he just gets them so much!!! Yesterday I swear he had the hiccups 8 times!!! Also, it’s not the most comfortable feeling for me. They don’t make him jump around in there too much, it’s just a subtle twitch of rhythmic thumping, but it’s still kind of annoying lol. I don’t know if it’s the repetitive pattern, or the fact that I feel them on my cervix and tailbone the most or simply because I don’t enjoy hiccups so I imagine him not feeling settled. Probably a combination of all three. But it is reassuring that it’s normal and good and all that.

The Bump
 

Baby’s Size| Butternut Squash

How far along | 29 weeks

Sleep | I think I’m having to get up even more often, but I feel like I’ve settled into a routine I can accept. I’ll wake up, get out of bed the same way each time, pee, come back, lay on the opposite side (or on my left if I can’t remember), pull the blankets over me and sigh as I drift back to sleep for another … I don’t know… 45 minutes or so? Lol. Then it repeats almost exactly. The best part lately about sleeping is waking up. Because I wake up to my little baby boy moving around like nuts in there. I’ll slowly wake up and check things on my phone with my left hand, while I feel my baby for awhile with my right hand. It’s nice.

Clothes | I barely even register that I wear clothes anymore. I have a small pile of maternity clothes on various surfaces of my bedroom and when it’s time to leave the comfort of my apartment, I only have to decide shorts or pants? Then rummage for a suitable top to match. Otherwise you’ll find me at my computer desk or on the couch or walking around the apartment in my lounge pants and a tank top. Sans bra, by the way. The bras I bought when I was first growing during my earlier pregnancy are too tight around now and very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. I guess that’s next on my must-buy list for maternity items. This time I’ll invest in a nursing bra (Wow. Crazy.)

Cravings | Mmmm Let’s talk about food… I’ve actually been doing a little better since my last OB appointment but I still indulge. I am happiest when I can have a filling meal that truly satisfies. Steak over the weekend, for instance, and footlong chicken subs. In the mornings I still get so excited about my decaf coffee with cream. I’ve been downing cherry 7up. One big problem has been that after every meal, especially dinner I get this intense desire for dessert. It gnaws at my brain until I do SOMETHING to satisfy it. Lately I’ve really wanted molten lava cakes. Yeah. BAAAADDD. I haven’t satisfied that craving yet, but I did make some killer strawberry shortcake. Yum!

Food Aversions |  Not much. For some reason eggs are about the only thing. I can have them in a breakfast burrito or sandwich but not by themselves and only if I don’t really think about what’s in the burrito haha.

Symptoms | I think my attitude may have had an impact on my symptoms this week or maybe it’s just not as bad as it has been. I’ve had some hormonal ups and downs but I’ve used them to my advantage. Friday I was so MAD about how messy our apartment was (this is not common for me) so I rushed around cleaning the heck out of everything out of anger. The kitchen and diningroom and livingroom were sparkling when I was done with them. I had some back pain that day, which is to be expected, but I was still not feeling as awful as I had before. Then I noticed all weekend my ankles were about 1/2 as swollen as they have been for weeks!!! I’m able to turn over in bed in 2-3 movements instead of 5 or more. (lol) The only time I really feel the weight of it all (literally) is when I have to walk very far. We went to the pool a couple times this week and by the time I’ve walked from our pool to the apartment I can barely breathe and I feel like I’ve been carrying a sack of rocks uphill. Lol. But I feel so much better about it all right now than I have in awhile.

Doctor’s Appointment | Next one is this week! I have to drink the nasty sugar swill. Not really looking forward to that.

Movement | I think my earlier paragraph has sufficiently expressed how awesome they are. Morning footsie = awesome. Hiccups 8 times a day = not as awesome. Pushing his head or butt or something into my bladder = Also not awesome. At all.

Belly Button | I’d say it’s almost totally neutral right now.

Gender | Male.

Best moment of the week | I know several footsie moments stand out to me as well as some fun adventures with Steven over the weeekend. Coming home to a clean apartment all weekend was pretty great. When Steven got to feel baby boy play footsie. Those were all pretty awesome.

What I miss | I haven’t missed things as much as I just get excited for after. After he’s born and I can squish him and adapt to life as a mommy. Once I can reacquaint myself with my body as my own. I have heard so many women say that they really miss the feeling of having their baby inside them. I think I finally am starting to understand that. I’ve never been one to be excited about pregnancy itself. To me it’s always just been a necessary means to having a my little baby in my arms. But with the kind of movement I’ve felt lately and the way my hormones are pretty awesome to me, I think I’m going to miss this a little when it’s over. Wow. Seriously never thought I would say that. Lol.