Braxton Hicks

So I went home early today because I think I was having some Braxton Hicks contractions. They didn't last very long and they weren't painful, just uncomfortable. Kind of like when you're getting ready to start your period. Or really need to go #2. My boss is out of town and I had done all my important experiments for the week, so I figured I was safe to just rest at home. I think yesterday's uber long, busy, tiring day contributed to it. I was really thirsty and have read that lack of hydration can impact these things.

Anyway, I don't really think it was a big deal or anything and I'm happy to have a day of rest. Especially since I think I'm entering the nesting phase. I just really want the house clean and to wash all the baby stuff. I've already organized his closet (and rearranged our linen closet to make that possible).

Nine more weeks. Single digits. It's getting real.

Hymns

Lately I've found myself singing hymns to the baby. I know most people sing lullabies to babies, but for some reason I just find myself singing hymns. I really think this kid may grow up to be a pastor. He loves being in church and inspires me to sing hymns. Anyway...

The one I find myself singing the most is Peace like a River. I hope we find it as calming when he comes out.

Doctor

We had another doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is still looking good. Baby Madren is head down. And apparently not a giant. (I asked.) And Dr. Labban told me I can get my dTaP vaccine at the hospital after I give birth, so that will be taken care of.

shoes

Seth and I visited Once Upon A Child for the first time ever today. That place is amazing! I have the feeling I'll be spending a lot more time and money there.

But for today, we walked out six dollars poorer and two awesomely cute pairs of shoes richer!

Bump Watch 30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks
Baby is the size of a: head of cabbage (~3 pounds and ~15.7 inches)
News: He's learned how to do jumping jacks! I got a pretty good kick to the ribs yesterday.

Bump Watch 29 Weeks

How far along: 29 weeks
Baby is the size of a: butternut squash (~2.5 pounds and ~15 inches)
News: I ate some chocolate!

Busy Baby Day

Whew! It's been a busy day for us.

We took a cloth diapering class at The Green Nursery this morning. It was really informative and I think has helped me narrow down our strategy. I really feel like I have a better understanding of what's out there and what I think will work for us. I think we'll do prefolds and covers when he's really little and move to the pocket diaper style when he's a little bigger. I'm really excited about cloth diapering and really happy I feel more prepared for it!

Then we had our tour of the maternity ward of the hospital. Bloomington Hospital's facilities are really nice! And they have a lot of policies that I'm really happy about. They really promote breastfeeding and rooming in and making sure mom and baby and dad are settling in well. It also seems like they want to give you the birth experience you want. Bonus that we've heard absolutely nothing but good things about all the nurses and everyone who works in labor/delivery/postpartum care.

Then, while we were there, we stopped to visit my friend Rohini who had a baby yesterday morning. They all seemed to be doing well and her son is SO ADORABLE. I'm really glad I got to meet him and now I'm even more excited to meet our little one.

Hormones

OMG Pregnancy hormones are insane!

I was just laughing and carrying on with Seth, perfectly fine, and then ran into the corner of the medicine cabinet. It didn't even hurt that bad, but all of a sudden it was like the worst thing that's ever happened to me and the next thing I know, I'm totally sobbing.

Crazy.

Bump Watch 28 weeks

How far along: 28 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Chinese cabbage (about 14.8 inches and approximately 2 1/4 pounds)
Gender:  Boy
Total weight gain/loss: 23 pounds
Maternity clothes: yep
Sleep: Still waking up at least twice per night to pee. Getting harder to be comfortable at night.
Best moment this week: Passed my glucose test! And all my other lab work looked good.
Food cravings: Still apples. And pizza.  
Food aversions: Still chocolate.:(
Movement: Lots! He's getting stronger in there!
Symptoms: My hips hurt. I'm ginormous.
Labor Signs: Nope
Stretch Marks: Yep. They just appeared overnight and are really unattractive.
Swelling: Sometimes, but it's been better in the last couple weeks.
Belly Button in or out: In, but definitely getting more shallow.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night.
What I am looking forward to: I'm just looking forward to meeting him! 
Milestones: Third trimester, y'all!

Photo Comparison:

It's really too bad I don't have a 24 week picture because we were in North Carolina. Because holy crap our baby has grown a lot in the past 8 weeks.

Glucose

I had my 28 weeks lab appointment yesterday. I had to down a bottle of fruit punch flavored sugar water in five minutes then give blood an hour later. They called with my results this morning, and everything looked good. Yay, I don't have gestational diabetes!

But, yeah, that stuff is sort of gross. At first I didn't think it was too bad, but by the bottom of the bottle, I really didn't want any more. Although maybe if I had taken my actual five minutes instead of guzzling it in three, it wouldn't have been quite as bad... :)

Bump Watch 27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks
Baby is the size of a: head of cauliflower (~2 pounds and ~14.5 inches)
News: We can see him move on the outside!

Home

We are so glad Seth is home from Japan! We've definitely had a crazy few last weeks. We were home in North Carolina for baby showers with our families, home for four days, and then Seth went to Okinawa to attend a conference for a week. I just now feel like I've recovered from all of that. Also, the baby is really excited that everything is back to normal. He's been dancing around ever since Seth got home Friday afternoon. Not even officially met, and already he likes Seth better. Geez. :)

Anyway, I celebrated Seth's return by having him put together the carseat/stroller system and co-sleeper this afternoon. Then we sorted all our shower gifts. We only have a few returns to make because we got a few duplicate items. I think we'll just exchange them, probably for a little bit bigger clothes. We got a lot of 0-3 month things and almost no 3-9 month or beyond.

So we're looking at the third trimester starting next week and things are starting to get organized. We have another baby shower with our Bloomington friends next week, but it feels like things are coming together. I mean, he has a carseat and a bed and five diapers, so we're good to go, right?

Doctor

We had a checkup this morning. Everything looked good.

Dr. Labban has a medical student interning with him. I love having medical students! I like being part of the learning process. His name is Mark and he did most of my visit with Dr. Labban supervising. He poked around on my belly and figured out how the baby was situated and then we got to listen to both the baby's heartbeat and the pulse in the umbilical cord. That was pretty cool.

And now I'm pregnant enough to start going every two weeks and I have the glucose test and other labs next week.