Our Baby (a.k.a. Lil' Feisty):
- Is about 4.5 pounds now, and over 17 inches long. In case you were wondering what that weird fruit is in the picture, it's a durian. It's getting harder and harder to find produce that's the appropriate size!
- Has open eyes when awake.
- Is developing sucking and swallowing skills, both necessary for feeding.
- Could grow up to a full inch this week!
- Will have a harder and harder skeleton as the weeks go on, except for the skull, which needs to stay flexible for birth.
I (traditionally):
- Am finally stuck in a body that just won't let me get comfortable for the next two months or so.
- Could be feeling hot and overheated a lot of the time.
- Might have some nice headaches, due to all that overheating and hormone fluctuation.
- Should actually think about installing the car seat now.
- Could even start planning my hospital bag if I wanted to be super proactive.
- Still have trouble with baby brain.
- Am big enough that everyone will ask when I'm due....and offer opinions on whether I'm actually the right size for that date.
- Might find myself hitting things with my belly much more often as it grows bigger and bigger.
I (actually):
- Have my ups and downs when it comes to physical discomfort. Honestly, it's nothing big enough to overshadow the thrill of being pregnant (which has not worn off even after 8 months!)
- Run a good 10 to 15 degrees hotter than I used to. When Levi wants to crawl under a blanket because he's feeling cold I'm stretched out in shorts and a tank top enjoying a nice, cool breeze for once.
- Had a two day headache that FINALLY went away this morning. Not a migraine, but just enough that I felt a bit crummy.
- Installed my car seat this last weekend. I might not have done it so early, but when you scroll down and read my section about road trips then it might make more sense.
- Packed the lightest and most basic hospital bag imaginable. Why? See the bullet point above.
- Had some major trouble with baby brain this weekend....
- Experienced a lot more speculation about my due date and size at church this Sunday. No insensitive comments were made, thankfully.
- Definitely ran into a number of things due to my belly's size. ALWAYS the water from doing dishes. The stall doors in public restrooms (it's either that or back my legs up against the toilets....no thank you). A nail sticking out of Levi's work bench (ouch!). The steering wheel on my own car (don't ask).
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It finally happened! Ok, well, if I'm being honest, I MADE it happen through much squeezing and prodding, but, either way, colostrum is here! It's here, and BOY is it a whole lot grosser than I thought it was going to be. Not the process of a human breast producing food for a baby. No, that's beautiful and amazing and miraculous. Rather, I'm talking about the substance of colostrum itself. It is indeed yellow and thick. Ready for a gross image? It's like pus. Seriously. That's what it looked like to me. *Shudder*
I registered at Target. It seems that my online registry was a bit complicated and threw a large wrench into the works when it came to the concept of an in-person baby shower, so despite my all-consuming desire to be different and not register at a big box store, I went ahead and put a handful of items on a registry at Target. I didn't want to stress anyone out, and it turns out it's pretty fun to walk around a store and scan items. That little BEEP is pretty satisfying.
And I took a road trip yesterday. I'm writing all of this from Kansas City, y'all! It's my last HUZZAH before being grounded from all travel. Also, I was super excited to write "huzzah" because I FINALLY get to go to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival for the first time in years! What used to be a yearly, family tradition has been sorely missed. Even better? I get to support my mom's madrigal choir AND see my sister who is also coming for a visit this week. Score!
All that being said, it turns out it's pretty exciting business going on an extended car ride at 33 months pregnant. First, the position of your seat is SUPER important--not too low, not too high, not too far back, and not too reclined. Second, it turns out that sun shining through the window is TERRIBLE because it makes you hot, and nothing is worse than being hot in a place where you cannot escape it. Third, you must always pay attention to the location of the next rest stop. Sometimes they're 90 miles apart! And that might feel fine when you pass up a rest stop, but it won't feel fine when baby decides to start head-banging on your bladder. I may or may not have scanned a few stands of bushes to evaluate their privacy offerings before being saved at the last minute by the sign "Rest Stop: 2 miles ahead."
With two 10-hour drives ahead of me (solo, by the way), and one of them at 34 weeks pregnant (that's when I go home next week), I figured it might be prudent to be prepared in case Feisty decides to make an early appearance. I packed a very light hospital bag (it didn't even fill up my large purse/weekender) and put the car seat in the car.
In this hospital bag? Two little outfits for a newborn (one with a pair of socks and a hat). A travel packet of wipes and about 5 disposable newborn diapers. A swaddle blanket and a regular blanket. My folder with all of my records, birth preferences, and HypnoBirthing materials. An extra (roomy) change of clothes for me, including a pair of non-slip socks. My headphones, hair ties, and chapstick. Pillows from home. My toiletries were already in my travel bag, and any extra clothes and such could be pulled from that. I figured all of that was more than enough at the moment.
Putting the car seat in the car for the first time? Oh, you mean the toughest workout I've had in months and months? I don't know if y'all have ever tried to put a car seat into a car, but when you've never done it before that seemingly easy and simple task becomes stressful and exhausting. It's not that the directions are hard. Oh no, they're easy. It's actually COMPLETING those directions that's all kinds of impossible. First, I had to figure out the middle seat belt in my back seat--turns out, if you stretch the shoulder belt across the middle of the back seat bench your car seat will get yanked up on one side. Then, once I had that all taken care of (shoulder belt over the OUTSIDE of the back bench), I had to figure out how to get the belt through the openings on the seat. Those openings are small, y'all! And I have smaller arms, too. How in the world do men manage it?! Finally, once the belt was through the car seat and my arms bore the red marks and scratches to attest to it, it was time to tighten that sucker down. I thought for sure I was going to break my car. Turns out, you can yank on that belt as hard as you want and it'll be just fine. You'd probably hurt yourself before you'd hurt the car, honestly. Either way, it was all, FINALLY, installed. It didn't wobble, and the base wasn't hiked up on one side.
Phew! I KNOW I would cry if I had to move it and redo the whole thing again. Just saying.
I registered at Target. It seems that my online registry was a bit complicated and threw a large wrench into the works when it came to the concept of an in-person baby shower, so despite my all-consuming desire to be different and not register at a big box store, I went ahead and put a handful of items on a registry at Target. I didn't want to stress anyone out, and it turns out it's pretty fun to walk around a store and scan items. That little BEEP is pretty satisfying.
And I took a road trip yesterday. I'm writing all of this from Kansas City, y'all! It's my last HUZZAH before being grounded from all travel. Also, I was super excited to write "huzzah" because I FINALLY get to go to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival for the first time in years! What used to be a yearly, family tradition has been sorely missed. Even better? I get to support my mom's madrigal choir AND see my sister who is also coming for a visit this week. Score!
All that being said, it turns out it's pretty exciting business going on an extended car ride at 33 months pregnant. First, the position of your seat is SUPER important--not too low, not too high, not too far back, and not too reclined. Second, it turns out that sun shining through the window is TERRIBLE because it makes you hot, and nothing is worse than being hot in a place where you cannot escape it. Third, you must always pay attention to the location of the next rest stop. Sometimes they're 90 miles apart! And that might feel fine when you pass up a rest stop, but it won't feel fine when baby decides to start head-banging on your bladder. I may or may not have scanned a few stands of bushes to evaluate their privacy offerings before being saved at the last minute by the sign "Rest Stop: 2 miles ahead."
With two 10-hour drives ahead of me (solo, by the way), and one of them at 34 weeks pregnant (that's when I go home next week), I figured it might be prudent to be prepared in case Feisty decides to make an early appearance. I packed a very light hospital bag (it didn't even fill up my large purse/weekender) and put the car seat in the car.
In this hospital bag? Two little outfits for a newborn (one with a pair of socks and a hat). A travel packet of wipes and about 5 disposable newborn diapers. A swaddle blanket and a regular blanket. My folder with all of my records, birth preferences, and HypnoBirthing materials. An extra (roomy) change of clothes for me, including a pair of non-slip socks. My headphones, hair ties, and chapstick. Pillows from home. My toiletries were already in my travel bag, and any extra clothes and such could be pulled from that. I figured all of that was more than enough at the moment.
Putting the car seat in the car for the first time? Oh, you mean the toughest workout I've had in months and months? I don't know if y'all have ever tried to put a car seat into a car, but when you've never done it before that seemingly easy and simple task becomes stressful and exhausting. It's not that the directions are hard. Oh no, they're easy. It's actually COMPLETING those directions that's all kinds of impossible. First, I had to figure out the middle seat belt in my back seat--turns out, if you stretch the shoulder belt across the middle of the back seat bench your car seat will get yanked up on one side. Then, once I had that all taken care of (shoulder belt over the OUTSIDE of the back bench), I had to figure out how to get the belt through the openings on the seat. Those openings are small, y'all! And I have smaller arms, too. How in the world do men manage it?! Finally, once the belt was through the car seat and my arms bore the red marks and scratches to attest to it, it was time to tighten that sucker down. I thought for sure I was going to break my car. Turns out, you can yank on that belt as hard as you want and it'll be just fine. You'd probably hurt yourself before you'd hurt the car, honestly. Either way, it was all, FINALLY, installed. It didn't wobble, and the base wasn't hiked up on one side.
Phew! I KNOW I would cry if I had to move it and redo the whole thing again. Just saying.
Freak-Out Moments:
Ok, so the colostrum was a freak-out moment for both me and Levi. But in a good way! It finally hit home that we're getting close to having Feisty in our arms now.
And I had a minor freak-out after a BAD bout of pregnancy brain. See, I was trying to do a nice thing. I was trying to give Levi an entire stack of clean undershirts for while I was gone. This would hopefully prevent him from having to worry about laundry. Well, since all of his undershirts still wasn't enough to even half fill out washer, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and get some of my clothes clean, too. One of those things was my new(er) pair of indigo blue jeans. Pregnancy brain hit hard and fast when I just dumped it all in and pressed the start button. Then I just dumped it all in the dryer, blissfully unaware of anything else. It was only when I dumped the clean clothes on the bed in front of Levi and watched his eyes widen in disbelief that I realized what I'd done. I'd washed it all in HOT WATER. And Levi was now sitting in a pile of powder blue undershirts. I didn't care about all my new, powder blue underwear, but oh man, those shirts. The shame. The SHAME. He was totally OK with it and very understanding, but man alive was I embarrassed.
-
All right, y'all! Keep it real this week.
Ok, so the colostrum was a freak-out moment for both me and Levi. But in a good way! It finally hit home that we're getting close to having Feisty in our arms now.
And I had a minor freak-out after a BAD bout of pregnancy brain. See, I was trying to do a nice thing. I was trying to give Levi an entire stack of clean undershirts for while I was gone. This would hopefully prevent him from having to worry about laundry. Well, since all of his undershirts still wasn't enough to even half fill out washer, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and get some of my clothes clean, too. One of those things was my new(er) pair of indigo blue jeans. Pregnancy brain hit hard and fast when I just dumped it all in and pressed the start button. Then I just dumped it all in the dryer, blissfully unaware of anything else. It was only when I dumped the clean clothes on the bed in front of Levi and watched his eyes widen in disbelief that I realized what I'd done. I'd washed it all in HOT WATER. And Levi was now sitting in a pile of powder blue undershirts. I didn't care about all my new, powder blue underwear, but oh man, those shirts. The shame. The SHAME. He was totally OK with it and very understanding, but man alive was I embarrassed.
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All right, y'all! Keep it real this week.
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