31 weeks 5 days

I'm reaching the end of Week 31!! Whoo hoo!! This past week, Krewson enjoyed a wonderful Christmas riding around in my belly. So amazing that at Christmas next year he'll be nearly 10 months old!

Our baby classes start up next Wednesday, which I'm looking forward to. Supposedly we'll learn all about labor and caring for a newborn. The classes are every Wednesday night through February 3rd. Which sounded just fine until I thought about it a few seconds longer and realized that this is only 3 weeks prior to my due date. We didn't pick the dates of the classes...the hospital did...and man are they cutting it close! Hope he doesn't plan on coming too early!

Krewson's movements in my belly have gradually become bolder and stronger. No more flutters or little pokes. Nope, now my entire belly rolls and distorts and jumps. He apparently does not like it when I put any pressure at all on my abdomen. If I lean against my desk, wear pants with a tight band, or lay my arms or a book on my belly, it doesn't take long before he starts pushing and kicking back. You'll frequently see a book I'm reading bouncing up and down, and the other day I was leaning against my desk and he pushed back so hard that it pinched my skin! Crazy boy.

I tell Dave about my crazy abdomen movements and shapes all the time (and probably much more than he'd like), but it's really hard for anyone other than me to get really excited about it until they actually see them for themselves. Then last night Dave was talking to Krewson with his head near my belly, and suddenly my entire abdomen contorted and rolled and a huge lump shifted from the left to the right. Dave's eyes got wide and he was like, "Was that you or the baby?!?!" I told him it was the baby...he was pretty amazed. :)

Along those lines, I had a dream the other night that I gave birth to Krewson. Then after he was born, I still felt strong kicking inside, so the docs were like, "Oh, you must have another in there." So I gave birth to another son. Then I was freaking out about having two babies when I started feeling more kicking and the docs were like, "Well, there must be a third in there." At that point I really started flipping out. And then I woke up (thank goodness!). And now I'm thinking, it's pretty funny, but I bet Krew was tumbling and kicking me while I was sleeping, and that's why in my dreams I kept feeling kicking after the babies were born. His kicks have yet to fully wake me up, but apparently they're making their appearances in my dreams!

Lets see, what else. My first baby shower is in Charlotte in a little over a week, and I'm pretty excited. I'll definitely give an update on how it goes. Also, I made a simple bedskirt for under Krew's crib last night. That way I can use the underneath area for storage. I'll have to take pics and share. :)

Oh, this past week I thought I was getting my first stretch mark. This pink line all of a sudden appeared on my skin and refused to go away. I was certain it was going to get worse and become stretch mark numero uno. I even showed my friend Sasi at work, and she agreed, "Yep, that's how they start!" Then, after a couple days, it just completely disappeared. I have no idea what it was. I keep lifting up my belly to see if it's making a reappearance, but no sign of it yet. God apparently wants to bless me with a little more time of stretch-mark-free bliss.

I guess the other thing that's really standing out to me about pregnancy right now is the number of Braxton Hicks contractions I get. I seriously get them ALL the time. ALL day long. Sometimes they even make me catch my breath a little because my whole midsection squeezes up so tightly. My mom said she had a lot of these during her pregnancies, too, so it might just be a family thing. They really feel crazy though. Not very comfortable at all.

Alright here's a picture of me and a corresponding diagram so you can see what's going on in my belly right now. :)

Yes, that's right, that baby is huge!!  I just can't believe God expects me to carry this child in my abdomen for 2 more months while he gets BIGGER.  Clearly, God's ways are not my own. (See Isaiah 55:8-9.)

Here is the info from all the pregnancy updates I get.  Read and enjoy.

*He weighs 3 to 5 lbs (4 lbs seems to be average) and is 16 to 19 inches in length (head to foot).

*He's entering a growth spurt. For the next eight weeks, he'll gain weight faster than he increases in length, at the rate of about half a pound a week. His appearance is similar to that at birth, but he will fill out more.

*He is beginning to develop his own immunity to mild infections. If he were born now, he could survive outside the womb and resist some disease.

*Your baby's appearance changes rapidly this week. Most of the wrinkles disappear from his face, and there may be a lot of hair on his head. In fact as the lanugo hair on his body begins to fall off, the hair on his head grows even faster. By week 32 some babies already have a thick head of hair while others have only a few strands.

*Your baby sleeps approximately 90 to 95 percent of the day now. (I would have never guess this.)

*Your blood volume has increased by 40% to 50% during the past 32 weeks. This allows your body to accommodate both you and your baby. This increased volume is also important because it makes up for the amount of blood you will lose during delivery. (Um, ok, scary.)

*You've probably gained about 3 to 4 pounds this month. Don't be alarmed—gaining a pound a week is quite normal during the last trimester because your baby's demand for nourishment increases as the baby experiences the final growth spurt before birth.

*Are you waddling? This is because the ligaments in your pelvis have softened, allowing your hips to spread in preparation for birth.

*As the skin on your belly expands, you may notice numb spots or highly sensitive areas on your upper abdomen or rib cage. (Oh yes.) This is because as your skin stretches, the nerve fibers in it stretch too. This can create extremely sensitive or insensitive areas on the skin, but this sensation will cease once your baby arrives. (Thank goodness.)

That's all for this week!  Happy New Year everyone!

30 weeks 4 days

Krewson continues to grow and grow!

I went in for my 30 week checkup yesterday, and everything looked good.  When the doc listened for his heart beat, the strongest signal was in my lower-left abdomen.  I asked her if she could tell which way Krew was laying, and she said she was pretty sure he was head-down already, with with his back curved on the left side of my body.  She said the bump I've been feeling in my upper abdomen is probably his butt.  So cute. :)

She also said my uterus is measuring almost 2 centimeters larger than average at this point.  Apparently they'll keep a watch on it, and if I continue to measure large a little later in the pregnancy then they'll do an ultrasound to make sure he's not getting too big.  She didn't say what comes after that, but I'm assuming that if he does look like he's getting too big then they'll induce me early.  Which would just be crazy.  You always focus on that 40-week mark and assume that's the end, but in reality you have no clue.  It could definitely be earlier, and I need to keep that in mind! :)

In the meantime, as long as he's healthy and growing then I'm content. :)

Here's my 30 1/2 week pic:

And here's what the baby websites have to say about Krew this week:

He's about 16 inches long head-to-foot and weighs about 3 lbs.

From this week on, your baby will continue to gain around 1/2 pound a week until shortly before birth. So he will gain about two pounds this next month. (Remember the average size of a newborn is about 7 ½ pounds and 19 to 21 inches long.)

Chances are your diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. Okay, a lot cramped. That's because your uterus is pushing up against it, crowding your lungs and making it more difficult for them to expand fully. The result: Your body is spare on air, and will be until your baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. Your baby, however, is happy as a clam since he gets all the oxygen he needs through the placenta.

He now almost fills up your entire uterine cavity and his arms and legs have grown much plumper, thanks to the continued growth of subcutaneous fat.  Your abdomen may be aching as it swells and your rib cage and pelvis may be sore as the baby gets bigger and fills up all the space you have available. It's a wonderful thing that your baby is growing so well, but it may not feel that way. You will find yourself with lots of aches and pains from the pressure and the decreased amount of room in your abdomen.

If you are feeling uncomfortable sitting, try to be more aware of your posture.  As your baby is becoming bigger and bigger by the week, you will find yourself slouching more.  Trying to maintain proper posture will help relieve some pain.

He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.

He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of awake (and moving) periods and sleeping (pretty still) periods.

Some babies suck their thumbs so vigorously while in the womb that they're born with a callus on their thumb.

Until next week!  Merry Christmas!

29 weeks 4 days

29 weeks and 3 days! Whoo hoo!!

Here's a pic of how I look this week:


What the pregnancy email updates have to say about Krewson this week:

He is about 15 inches head to toe and weighs about 3 lbs.

Space is getting really tight for the baby. He will have his knees tucked up to his chest now all the time in the 'fetal position'.

All 300 bones in the little one's body are present and accounted for now, though some of them will fuse after birth, leaving a grand, lifetime total of 206.

Your baby is now able to hear your voice and the voices of other family members and even make a distinction.

Much of the lanugo — the soft, downy hair covering your baby's body — is beginning to disappear now because both fat and the brain are regulating your baby's body temperature (so no need for that furry coat anymore).

He is able to use all five of his senses, hearing sounds and seeing bright lights in his mother's environment, and tasting, touching, and even smelling the amniotic fluid surrounding him.

His toenails have grown and are completely formed.

Lately I've been paying a lot of attention to his position.  He tends to keep his back on the right side of my belly and then I can feel his kicks and flutters from his hands on the left side.  I can't figure out if his head or butt is at the top of my belly, but whichever it is, I love to play with it and push it side to side. (I'm sure he just loves that, haha.)

I'm really having a pretty easy pregnancy right now. My biggest annoyance is probably the rib pain I get several times a day.  You'll regularly see me trying to stretch my body out so my uterus stops jabbing into my ribcage.  It can be quite painful!

I thought I'd share some pics of the nursery...it's definitely coming along. :)  We are in the process of ordering vinyl sticky paper so Dave can put a design on the wall behind the baby's crib, and I'm thinking of ideas for images/words I'd like to frame and hang.  We also need to put the handles back on the dresser and I have to get all the baby clothes and supplies organized.

As you can see, the color of the room looks quite different depending on the lighting.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the baby clothes are definitely stressing me out.  Just to give you an idea, here are some pictures of what I have to go through:

A completely full hamper.


A pile in the crib.


A pile on the edge of the crib.


An additional pile in the closet, with some outfits already hung.

And I haven't even had a baby shower yet!!! I am very blessed, I know, but the amount of clothes we have already is just craaaaaazy. I am pretty excited to dress my baby in all of them, though. :)

28 weeks 6 days

I'm trying take a weekly picture at this point since my belly seems to be growing so rapidly. So here is a picture at 28 weeks 6 days:

And here is an image to give you an idea of what Krewson looks like in there:

Yup he's getting big!!

28 weeks 3 days

The third trimester has begun!! I am now 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Crazy.

I had my 28-week checkup this morning. I ran through the bagillion things that have gone wrong with my body over the last month (random stabbing and cramping pain after urinating, pelvic/groin pain, sudden severe UTI last Friday night...) and the doc seemed less than concerned with all of it. So I guess things are just fine. :) I also gave blood for my glucose tolerance test...prayers that my slice of toast and cup of cottage cheese this morning didn't mess it up, because I sure don't want to go back for a 3-hour exam. (And just for the record, the doc's office told me to eat a normal breakfast...but I still have this fear that it is going to mess up my glucose levels somehow and then I'm going to be stuck there with them sticking needles in me every 10 minutes for 3 hours.)

My uterus is measuring 28 cm now, which is right on target. And Krewson is wriggling around like crazy. The doc seemed somewhat surprised by how much movement he was making during the exam. She made several comments about what an active baby he was. As she was trying to listen to his heartbeat, my stomach was bumping all over. After her remarks, I felt a twinge of pride in my unborn child...like it's my first glimpse of his personality, ya know? Of course I may not feel so joyful about his never-ending energy when he's mobile and ripping our house to shreds. But for now I will cherish it. :)

On another note, Dave and I finally got the baby room painted this past weekend. We also put up the valance that my mom made and put on the cushion covers for the glider, and I really like how the room is looking. :) I will have to take pictures and share. Dave is in the process of selecting supplies from online so he can make his design on the wall behind the crib. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Speaking of baby rooms...for any of you moms out there...any suggestions on how to sort baby clothes? I've got a dresser and a closet. And no idea what to put where. Every time I go in to organize it, I get frustrated after about 5 minutes and have to leave the room. And this isn't normal for me. I'm normally quite the efficient organizer. But these baby clothes have me stumped. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

And for anyone interested in Krewson's growth stats, the baby websites say that at this point he is probably around 15 inches long head-to-toe and weighs around 2.5 lbs. Pull out a tape measure and check it out. He's getting big!

27 weeks 5 days

Here's a pic of me at 27 weeks, 5 days:



:)

27 weeks 4 days

Today Krew and I played together for the first time. :) 

He had some body part (I don't know what it was) shoved into my upper belly.  So I pushed on it.  And he moved it to the left.  So I pushed on it again.  And he moved it to the right.  Then I pushed on it again.  He moved it further to the right.  I pushed again, and he moved it away for a second then surprised me with a bump lower in my stomach. 

He apparently got tired of the game because the body part is now MIA.

It was entertaining while it lasted. :)

27 weeks 3 days

Krewson's recent developments (according to all the online info I read):

*He now has his eyes open, blinks, and responds to light.
*His lungs are developed enough now that if born, with intensive care, he'd have a very high chance of surviving, with a 50% chance of not having any serious long-term complications.
*He weighs over 2 lbs and is 14-16 inches head-to-toe.
*While sleeping, he goes through the same sleep stages that we do.
*Within the last couple of days, he's begun jutting his butt into my upper abdomen on a regular basis. Then I'll feel little jabs somewhat nearby, which I'm assuming are him kicking his legs. My belly continues to visibly bump and move all over the place. It also continues to entertain me during work meetings.

We went to Indiana last week and received a ton of cute clothes for Krew from my parents, my grandparents, and my friend Jessica.  Krew's wardrobe will not be lacking. :) My mom also made the valance and chair cushion covers for his room, which look great.  Once we get the room painted, I'll share pictures.

Alright that's about it for now.  :)