32 Weeks

Once again I find myself a textbook case in the last trimester. I can't stop cleaning and organizing, and all I really want to do is get the house in order and "make room for baby". The Mave's room is finally painted and her crib is up! The closet fittings were pretty useless in her room, so we are going to get new stuff to install in there this weekend. Paul also built the toybox that Aunt Laura sent. :) Between that and the closet being finished shortly I can actually start putting things away in Mave's room. We ordered the rest of her furniture 2 weeks ago, when I was 10 weeks away from our due date. Of course they told us it would take 10 weeks for it to get here. Typical. As long as we have a crib and butt wiping supplies we should be fine if she decides to arrive early, but it would be nice if everything came early so I could have the room completely ready and not have to worry about finishing things when she is already here. Speaking of finishing things, I've also finished designing the birth announcements and have all the envelopes addressed and ready to be stuffed. I figured this was the only way they would actually go out and now all I will have to do is add the correct info on the mock-up and print them out, which may be easier said than done with a newborn. I've just gotten 2 very hard kicks in the abdomen. I'm taking this as a sign that someone down there is sick of hearing my stomach growl and I should go eat breakfast.

30 week belly pic

If your imagination is as warped as mine you might think my boobs and stomach look like a face, with the boobs being the 2 eyes, of course.

30 Weeks

10 weeks to go. Oh dear. I partially want to fast forward to the moment the Mave is born, while partially wanting to hit pause thinking about how everything is going to change. It's a whirlwind of mixed emotions, but both Paul and I are well up for the challenge of being parents. At this point we'd better be, right?
In preparation, we're taking some classes in a few weeks. Last night we went to an orientation at Encino-Tarzana hospital, where we're having the baby. I'd heard so many great things about the birthing center at this hospital that I decided I wanted to give birth there, despite there being a decent hospital 5 minutes down the road. Encino-Tarzana hospital is a 20 minute drive on the freeway, which could end up being longer if the Mave happens to decide rush hour is a good time to start her journey out. I'm not worried about giving birth in 30-40 minutes or anything (that would just be wishful thinking). I'm just trying to imagine what fantastical cuss words will be flying out of my mouth if stuck in traffic AND in labor. I'll probably have to write a whole new dictionary after the experience.
So back on track, we went to the orientation, sat in a room of very pregnant women shoving cheesecake into their gobs (afterthought: why did I opt for the cookie when I could have had the cheesecake?), and watched a slide show. Then they had a raffle. I know Paul was terribly upset to not win one of the daddy diaper bags, but I made up for it when I won a 20-pack of diapers! I won! And these ain't no storebought diapers; these are hospital grade absorbancy, baby! It says so on the packaging.
Anyway... the hospital is great (as far as hospitals go). They have an entire wing devoted to birthing, and it didn't seem stale like hospitals often do. The labor & delivery rooms are large and have beds made specifically for birthing (the bottom portion can be removed, making it easier for the OB to deliver the baby), and a bathroom with a sit down shower. There is also a warmer and bath center so the baby can stay with you after birth instead of having to get bathed in another room. After recovering for about an hour in the delivery rooms, you go to the postnatal room. These rooms are all singles!! YAY! No having to share a bathroom with a stranger (one of my least favorite things to do). They even have sleeper chairs so I don't have to worry about Paul being uncomfortable. So it looks like this hospital is well deserving of all the hype.
The Mave is doing well. Not much has changed since last week. I'll try to get an updated belly picture up in the next week.

29 Weeks

Things are looking pretty good here at 29 weeks. We went to the perinatologist yesterday for our third trimester ultrasound and the baby is doing great. All her organs, blood flow, and brain function look good, and she is now 2-1/2 pounds, which is pretty textbook at this point. I am feeling pretty good but can tell the energy is starting to fade a bit. It's not too bad yet, and I'm just trying to listen to my body and go with the flow. I never received that dreaded phone call saying I had to do the longer version of the glucose tolerance test, so looks like I'm negative for gestational diabetes. Yay! I'm off but I leave you with some pics of the Mave from yesterday's ultrasound. She's got chubby cheeks and her daddy's lips! (Click on the pictures for larger versions.)

Hiccups

26 weeks today and I felt hiccups for the first time! Paul and I bought a device that comes with earphones and amplifies the sounds in your belly. It was only $20, so it's nothing even close to the doppler the doctor uses. We can't hear the heartbeat through it yet, but we can hear kicks and various rumblings. She kicked me so hard it hurt a couple times after dinner so we thought we'd give her a listen and the random kicks suddenly turned into light, steady movements. I started to get a little worried someone planted a bomb in my abdomen when I wasn't looking until it occurred to me it was hiccups. Kind of cute! After they went away she resumed kicking the crap out of me.
As for the glucose tolerance test, I still haven't had it. I fasted all night last Sunday and Monday morning only to get to the lab and be turned away because the loopy nurse at our OB's office wrote the order up wrong. The lab called to get the correct info but since it was a Jewish holiday the office was closed. I was not a happy camper because between the heartburn (I wasn't sure if Tums were ok to take while you were fasting), middle of the night starvation (ever been pregnant? You may know what I'm talking about), and all the water this veinless wonder had to drink all night to be hydrated enough for veins to MAYBE put out (translation= I had to piss every 15 minutes), I didn't get much sleep. The good news is that the mistake was sort of in my favor because originally the order was for a 3 hour test when really it was just supposed to be a one hour test. If I fail the one hour test I will have to do the longer one anyway, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Enough babbling about playing pincushion.
We took down all the furniture in the guest bedroom and are now waiting to recover from property tax time. I hope those sonsabitches are proud of themselves, taking the money from a poor, helpless baby's nursery fund. Bastards.
I leave you with that.

25 Weeks

Well it's my last week in the 2nd trimester, folks. Apart from all the sinus issues, I really didn't have too many complaints the past 2 months. Rumor has it it all goes downhill from here. We'll see. I am hoping working out will help with the aches and pains associated with pregnancy in the next 3 months, but who am I kidding here? There's probably a reason you never see really pregnant women on the elliptical, and I am already having a tough time cramming my bump in some of the resistance machines. Luckily it's almost pool time, and I may just not come out all summer. If you need me that's where I'll be. Get this woman a giant floating chair and some water pillows! I might look like a prune by birth, but at least I'll have spent my last 3 months in a cool way and not a cranky, sweaty, swelled up mass of flesh.

On with the Mavis update... she is kicking like crazy, and I can tell you our daughter is no wimp! I think when it first started happening I said she felt like an eel swimming around in my belly. Forget that. There is nothing swimming anymore. These are clearly the kicks and punches of a creature trapped in a small space. I still can't tell which way she is turned, and which kicks/punches are feet or hands. Maybe our ultrasound on May 15th will shed some light on that. Last week Paul decided to put his head on my belly and got a kick to the head. He said he could hear the movements. I guess that's one thing he can experience that I can't during pregnancy because I don't see myself becoming a contortionist anytime soon.

On Monday I go for the standard glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. Not looking forward to being a pin cushion, which is what people with tiny collapsing veins like me have become accustomed to. Not fun, and after about 16 hours of not being able to consume anything but water (and that nasty sugary syrup they make you drink), you'd better believe this pregnant lady is going to be heading over to Taco Bell on the way home. I'll try and update on Monday about how it all went.

23 Weeks

I haven't written lately because, other than a few varicose veins and slighly larger belly, not much has changed. The heat has subsided, so no swelling. Yay. The baby's movements are getting stronger, but are still sporadic. The oddness of feeling some sort of alien movement going on in my abdomen is gone and now it's purely exciting and feels more like genuine kicks and punches. Remind me I was excited about those the day I write and complain about getting kicked in the ribs.
Over the weekend we bought a crib, and I actually made a decision on paint color. I made a decision! What a feat these days. It really was ridiculous how long it took me to decide between slightly different shades of green, but we have a winner, and in 2 weeks we're going to start moving the furniture and getting ready to paint the nursery. In the meantime the closet is housing the crib bedding, a dozen or so cute outfits, and a few blankets and stuffed animals waiting to be put in place. I can't wait to get the rest of the furniture picked out and everything set up. Maybe then it will sink in that there really is a person living in my belly and the roundness is not just the product of too many tacos.