30 Weeks!

I am sooo excited to be writing a 30 week post!  Somehow I feel like now that I am in the 30's, things are becoming more real and close! (which is both exciting and kinda scary) 10 more weeks.... or maybe less....or more... still the thought is pretty crazy.  Since coming back from our Minneapolis trip we are really getting a move on baby's room. Or well, we're trying. The plan is to move the rest of the husbands stuff out this weekend and start to paint the room.  We picked up the paint the other day, and decided on a beigey color.  I really want something neutral that will go with most things. I plan to incorporate a fair amount of white in accents, and when the baby is born to hopefully personalize it a bit more whether it is a girl or boy. Our biggest challenge to date is finding a glider.  I cannot believe how hard it is to find a glider in a natural wood finish!  All of the ones I seem to find are espresso,oak, or cherry, and when you try to order it in natural? they up the price several hundred dollars. This is soooo infuriating!  The other day I thought I got lucky at finding one online and second hand, but when i went to see it, the cushions (while beige) looked too grandma like. Blech. All paisley and such.  So, back to square one.

How far along? 30 Weeks

Total weight gain? 19 Lbs

Maternity clothes? Can I just leave out this question now? Pretty much unless I found a flattering top that works in a bigger size

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? Usually the sleeping itself isn't that difficult (except when this little monkey is crawling all over the place. Last night it was like non stop!) What is tough is the getting up to pee or when I need to roll over it feels like a bowling ball in there.

Best moment this week? Just being 30 Weeks!

Miss anything? Being able to sit comfortably. My back is either sore or it is putting too much pressure on the lower part of my belly.  Since I am not very long in the torso, my belly comes right out from below my boobs. Sometimes I am starting to wonder if the baby will have enough room to be head down and vertical! So far it really likes to be diagonal.

Movement? Um, yeah. I honestly have not even bothered to count kicks.  I really haven't needed to! Now there are a lot more rolls and slides though, and being able to feel more pokey bits like elbows and knees.

Food cravings?  Nothing specific. Since being home from our weekend of food adventure I have been back to eating pretty healthy.

Food aversions? My new Omega three gummies. Blah. I can definitely taste the fishyness.  so stupid that Costco gets rid of things so fast.  These taste like sugared fruity fish jelly.

Labor signs? Some painless Braxton hicks

Symptoms? Pressure on the ribs (and organs?) when i sit and lean over (who are we kidding, slouch),  The need to pee has increased again, back pain (the chiro said it looks really good now, but i won't be able to be totally pain free with being pregnant) and achy in the legs when I stand too long at work (been pretty good at wearing my compression stockings and they seem to help a bit)

Belly button in or out? In

Looking forward to? Having baby's room painted so we can set up the furniture!

So since I missed my 29 week post, here are pictures for both 29 and 30 weeks :)

29 Weeks

30 Weeks

30 weeks

Weekend trip

I realize there is something missing here.... my 29 week post.  Le sigh, things sort of got away from me this week.  I've noticed that if i don't post by Wednesday, it seems more appropriate to wait until the next week.  I do have 29 week bump pics that I took in Minneapolis on our trip though! I will hopefully be posting my 30 week post tomorrow!

So lets talk about Minneapolis. Our little weekend trip didn't start off amazing...  First it was Friday the 13th. Driving out was rainy and foggy and we sort of may have hit a raccoon.  The Yaris, slightly damaged with cracked bumper, was the only one who probably walked (drove...ha) away from the incident out of the two. We didn't look for the raccoon, but given the bits of fur we found stuck in the cracks, I don't think we would have wanted to.  We continued on to Fargo where we stayed the first night. Looking for our hotel proved to be the next challenge. It was nowhere in sight.  Finally we started comparing addresses and realized ours belonged to an Econolodge, not a Comfort in which we had booked. Upon check-in we were informed that they had just made the switch and had changed the sign a few hours earlier!  Then? we were put in room 213. Several other odd things happened that day too, and even though I am not typically a superstitious person, I was glad when midnight rolled around.

Saturday and the rest of the weekend proved to be much better!  We did the outlet mall in Albertville, Checked into our hotel in Minneapolis (which by the way we got an AMAZING deal on booking with Hotwire) and went to eat at Chevy's for dinner.  This is a chain restaurant but it is fresh mex and very yummy. They even make their own salsa, tortilla's and tortilla chips.  After we both practically rolled out of the restaurant it was off to bed!

Marc with his MASSIVE margarita. This really is to scale. It was almost the size of

 his head. I was a bit jealous, not gonna lie, but most of the time when we go out since

 I have been pregnant he doesn't bother orderinga lchoholic drinks. What a great husband!

Sunday our eating adventure really began when we went to our first of three restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives! this one was called the Colossal cafe and extremely delicious. We even met and chatted with a retired couple with the same idea as us! They said whenever they travel they try to hit up restaurants from DDD's.  In most cases we tried to order what was recommended on the show!

Cheese and herb scone.....mmmmm

Marinated berkshire pork sandwich

Flappers made with yeast topped with Brie, walnuts, apples and honey

We then hit up the Mall of America and Ikea.  I have to say, I think being pregnant actually saved me in the spending money department.  While walking past the endless lovely wearable things for my pre pregnant self was a bit depressing, I probably spent less money. At Ikea we picked up a dresser and night table for our room. Since the husband is being kicked out of his getting ready room for baby, We needed a dresser in our room.  We didn't have one that will fit right with the angles of the room. Right now we have built in drawers besides the closet,  and um I am not really willing to share ;)    We finished the evening off with a trip to the Blue Door Pub, another DDD and tried their yummy burgers.  Basically burgers stuffed with delicious things. 

The Bluecy stuffed with blue cheese and garlic. Yes those are tater tots in the
background.We also tried the beer battered green beans. Very health conscious on this trip :)

Monday we went to Al's breakfast.  It is so small that we actually drove past it.  It is the tiniest narrow building close to the campus in Dinkytown (!??!) that looks like it has been there forever. Super kitschy with only 14 stools at the counter. You basically walk in, and squish yourselves against the wall behind the people eating while you are waiting for a seat. We were smart going on a Monday. We only waited about 15 minutes. I have heard that the wait can be hours!!! I'm glad i wasn't more pregnant because i can tell you that it might have been hard to fit against the wall without bumping someone with my belly! Oh and, no bathroom! is this even allowed???  A pregnant woman's worst nightmare. Thankfully I made it through.

Best. Eggs. Benedict. ever.

The Jose, a house specialty. Poached eggs with cheese over
 hash browns with homemade salsa on the side

See how tiny it is?!

We finished off the trip by going to Trader Joe's on our way out of town. Can I just say how much i LOVE this store!?!  The husband had to pull me away from the cheese aisle.  At one point I said to him, I don't think we have enough snacks. He looked at our cart and said "you're kidding right?" and actually I wasn't.  Its healthy, interesting, inexpensive food and we figured that if we had a Trader Joe's here in Canada, we would spend a third less on groceries!  Likely the prices would be higher here if there was one, so that's why I am banking on Fargo or Grand Forks getting one. I can dream.  

That pretty much was our trip. Eating and shopping! two things I love.  I was hoping to get some good prices at Target on jumbo boxes of diapers that I had priced out but it seemed like these sizes were available only online.  We didn't save very much, but that's ok We're a bit more prepared now. I can say it was very strange walking out of Target with $100 worth of diapers for the first time.  This really was our last road trip together before baby.  I have a feeling these last 10 weeks are going to go by very fast! Yikes.

28 weeks

Hello 3rd trimester!  I feel like the 6th month went by pretty fast, despite being sick for much of it.  Now that I am starting to feel a bit better, of course the tiredness is setting in. I had been doing pretty well for that, with quite a bit of energy all through the 2nd trimester.  Now I don't know if it's just that my body is so drained out from the last few weeks or if its the 7th month that's really hitting me. Yesterday I went out for just a few hours and had to come home for an hour nap. Today I just dragged myself around work all day like a zombie, totally out of it.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The husband and I are headed to Minneapolis for some shopping and together time. Our last little weekend away before baby comes.  We would have waited a little longer to go, but considering we're driving, It probably wouldn't be that comfortable at 8 months pregnant. Also, I am looking forward to getting some new maternity clothes that I can wear these last few months.  Hopefully we will be able to get some good deals on things to stock up on for baby, such as diapers, wipes, maybe some more outfits and other essentials.

We're also hoping to stop by a few places that we saw on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. Yumm! I really love that show  (my other favorite is Eat St. and sadly there are not many food trucks like that in Winnipeg due to the long winter I guess), although everytime I watch it I get hungry.  It might sound funny, but it is actually a dream of mine to do a big food road trip.  I'll have to settle for this for now!

How far along?  28 weeks

Total weight gain? 17 Lbs

Maternity clothes? Getting to the limit of the non maternity tops, although some bigger sizes of flowy tops work 

Stretch marks? No

Sleep?  Getting more and more uncomfortable. When I rotate myself during the night it sometimes feels like i am moving a rock inside my belly. Almost kind of a sick feeling

Best moment this week? Making it to the 3rd trimester milestone!

Miss anything? Being able to sit without my legs apart.  Again, I get that sick feeling if there is too much pressure on my lower abdomen

Movement? Now that there is less room in there I am feeling more and more rolls rather than kicks. Lots of pressure pushing out on my belly from some parts of baby. Still tough for me to figure out which body part is which though!

Food cravings? Brownies, chocolate things 

Food aversions? Not really

Labor signs? Not really this week (Braxton hicks)

Symptoms? Headaches. Ugh. Although i am wondering if these could be due to the antibiotics the doctor put me on because of my plague.  One more day of these pills, and hoping my head stops being sad.

Looking forward to? This weekend's roadtrip to Minneapolis!

27 (and 1/2!) weeks

So it has been a rough few weeks, but I feel like I have improved a little bit over the last few days! I am finally able to sleep laying down with less coughing and sleep in general has been a bit better. I have actually found that sleeping on our futon is actually better on my back.  It sucks though to think of going the next few months sleeping in the den... especially with the husband not there.  We can both fit on it, but it is a little more cramped. 
Had my monthly doctors appt yesterday, and all appears excellent! I was supposed to have my glucose test, but stupid me, I had coffee a little too close to test time.  We're just reschedulling it until next month. The doctor obviously doesn't seem concerned that I have any issues there.  Heart rate is 150 and the crazy little animal is very active!  After next month I move to the every 2-3 week appointments!

So here we go....

How far along?  27 (and 1/2!) weeks

Weight gain?  About 17 lbs

Maternity clothes?  I have gotten lucky with Joe lately having some cute peasant tops that I just bought in a larger size.  Will hopefully have some luck when we are in Minneapolis next weekend shopping for some things to make me feel good!

Stretch marks?    Nope. I have started looking all the time though. Fingers crossed.

Sleep?  Slightly better because of the futon, and actually making it through the night without peeing sometimes!  I am enjoying this now because towards the end I know it will get bad!

Best moment this week?  Just knowing that I am starting to feel a bit better!

Miss anything?  Um have I mentioned how shaving is nearly impossible? 

Movement?  Um have I mentioned the crazy animal inside my belly that is doing acrobatics constantly?

Food Cravings?  Two words. Mini Eggs.  And with easter coming? They are always in my face!

Food aversions?  Nope

Labour Signs?  No, other than what I have finally decided must be the odd Braxton Hicks contractions. Totally painless, just the belly gets rock hard.

Symptoms?  I have been very sleepy the last few days, despite having been better rested than I have been in the last several weeks. Either it's because I have been sick, or because the 3rd trimester is right around the corner!  Is this the start of my energy lever decreasing?

Looking forward to?  Our trip to Minneapolis next weekend! Hello shopping!

The Sick

First? Let me just say OH MY GOD. I never remember being sick like this before.  Now, this hasn't been the kind of sick where you just cannot get out of bed, its WORSE! I cannot get IN bed!

I got sick somewhere in the beginning of last week. Over last weekend I thought i was getting better. Better meant develloping a terrible cough like nothing i had ever experienced.  My whole belly still feels like it is being ripped apart everytime i cough.  Then there is the sleeping. Ohhhh the sleeping. Or lack thereof.  Basically anything that resembles a reclining position is out of the question with this cough.  The den has become my sleeping quarters for the past 3 nights, (I decided to finally spare the husband the misery of sleeping next to me)  and when i am not sleeping (which is 3/4 of the night) I am planning and constructing new pillow fortresses that may allow me to sleep in a comfortable/cough free position for more than an hour at a time.  Throw in the ridiculous back pain that i have been having in general while sleeping these last few months and you have a great combination.

 Also? you really take for granted being able to take whatever cold medication/sleep medication you can when you are not pregnant.  I finally went to the doctor with the hope that she could give me something.  She prescribed me Codeine syrup. The little bottle looked so promising. Alas, it was nothing but a tease. The doctor said it should help with the cough and help to make me sleep. She also warned I would likely notice the baby get sleepy and move around less. Yeah right. since my last post it has been like a crazy little animal in there, climbing all across my belly, and having parties. The one thing I did notice from the syrup was that I got crazy dry mouth and throat.  I actually started fantasizing about swallowing olive oil to moisturize it. I'm not joking. Yeah that's not normal right?

Anyway,  I am back at work. I only took wednesday off.  Here is something else about me.  I get crazy guilty when I take a sick day.  Whenever i finally make the decision, the guilt makes me think; Am I really that sick? Can't I just suck it up?  This time however, i realized that my clients would probably be thankful that my plague and I stayed home.

I am hopeful that the end of this is in sight. I feel bad also for my little baby who is probably wondering what the heck is going on out here :(

Here, for your viewing pleasure is a photo of my sick den. Notice the skilled pillow fortress design? I will call this the Sleep-Sitting instillation. And that was done in the dark! HAH! I'm so talented.

26 Weeks

Oups.  Things got a little busy around here...or maybe i got lazy.... and missed my 25 weeks post.  I've been sick most of this last week, my first big cold since being pregnant. Ugh, you really realize how much you rely on cold meds when you can't take them :(   Hopefully the light is at the end of the tunnel.

I've still been going to the Chiropractor, and while my sciatic nerve pain seems to have mostly subsided, I am still dealing with the annoying back pain. It's so hard for me to sleep in now, when i have the time, because at that point my back has totally had enough of that horizontal position business. I bought a stability ball so sometimes I use that instead of a chair when I am at the computer, because just sitting in the wrong position is often painful.

Work is getting a little tougher. With standing on my feet all day I need to take more and more breaks to rest my feet and legs.  My varicose vein worries keep nagging at me. I see them starting already and I feel a lot of pressure at the back of my legs by the end of the day. I went to a place to look at support stockings and the first lower priced option made me feel like a grandma stuffed in a sausage. Yes this is my best description. All in all, they made my legs feel sad.  My next option, only slightly better, were far more expensive and I am hesitant to spend all of that money on something that i may decide i hate and not wear. Also, the weather is warming up, do i really want to wear those stupid hot things all day?  I am torn about this. I need to think about it a bit more, going to ask my OB for her opinion at next week's visit.  I realize this post sounds a bit negative, truth is this whole sick thing has given me a case of the blahs. What the husband likes to call me being a "grumpy little munchkin".  I know I have had it pretty easy this pregnancy so far. I consider myself lucky, I really do.  Looking forward to a new week.

How far along? 26 Weeks

Total weight gain? About 16 pounds

Maternity clothes? Still some regular tops

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? See above. Ugh.

Best moment this week? Hmm hard to say since I've been sick all week

Miss anything? Advil cold and sinus

Movement? Not as much the last day or two, could baby be feeling the effects of my blahness?

Food cravings? Not as much the last week. Only starting to get my sense of taste back.

Food aversions? Not really

Labor signs? Shouldn't this be a question for the end of the pregnancy?? no real Braxton Hicks yet

Symptoms? Pretty sure I saw the first signs of colostrum.

Looking forward to? Feeling like myself again!

Parents in training

So this last weekend on Saturday night we babysat for our niece and nephew, Manon and Aubrey.  They stayed overnight so we got a bit of a taste of how hectic life is with 2 kids (and one on the way!)
They were pretty awesome, went to bed really easy, but nevertheless we were pretty tired. We settled down for a movie and then just looked at each other and decided we both just wanted to go to bed. Hahah.  The husband made a comment of how we probably got more sleep with them over than normal, but then i reminded him that if they were our kids, we wouldn't just be passing out at 10, there would likely be other things to do!
The next morning we made blueberry and banana pancakes (sorry, no picture this time) then went for a walk to the park.  My sister in law and her husband came to pick the kids up at 10:30 a.m. and I seriously felt like It must have been mid afternoon! Anyway, we all had fun, it was nice to spend some good time with the kids before our own little one is here to keep us busy!

I love the second photo! Such a cute expression!