As the weeks get shorter (only 7 more to go!) and our time as DINKS (dual income no kids) dwindles, I’m finding it a lot harder to concentrate on anything but baby – our life before him, the moments when we will meet him and everything after and in between.  There seems to be endless lists of “things to do before baby” and “things to buy for baby” and “things to remember to do when baby is here and you will be running on no sleep and look like crap but you will still need to function as a human.” You should take a peek at my iPhone notepad. All sorts of wild ramblings on there.

Including many of these updates! Please excuse any typos or nonsensical sentences…what’s left of the room in my belly and in my brain is quite small. :)

28 weeks: Baby is as big as a PAPAYA!

How I am feeling: After the rush of last week, the holidays, my baby shower and the minimal sleep patterns of last week, I feel like my body went into a mini shut down this week. On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling better after a good night’s sleep, but on Wednesday I woke up to my legs feeling like I had just ran a marathon – totally stiff, achy and as heavy as cement. I still dragged myself to yoga, but dreamed of the moment I got home and could collapse on the couch. The cement leg syndrome was gone by Thursday, but the exhaustion lingered. Baby boy is also doing flips in my belly in the middle of the night (last night it actually jolted me awake) and so maybe he is just preparing his mama to be a night owl. :)

How my body is changing: Welp, not sure if it was the extra helpings of lasagna over Christmas or the fact that I am only 11 weeks away from being full term, but my belly has grown substantially over the last two weeks. And thanks to people who think it is appropriate to say things like “wow, you are huge now!” it is increasingly apparent.

(Seriously, I have a mental list of the crazy shiz people have said over the last few months, but I’m thinking of writing it down for a rant blog post. Think: references to Ghost Busters marshmallow man, awful stories about miscarriages and birth and even a “no no no” shaking finger (from a grown man) as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Pregnant peeps or mamas: what the hell is wrong with these people? And non-pregnant people or non-mamas: STOP TALKING.)

Favorite memory: A lot of them again this week: Hilary’s surprise bachelorette party (where an extremely wonderful bartender made me and my fellow pregnant friend DELICIOUS pink lemonade shots to fit in with the rest of the crowd, ringing in New Year’s with wonderful people (and pajamas) and spending our last day in Buffalo with all of my family. I am so lucky to be bringing our baby boy into such a glorious world filled with the very best people.

Oh, ALSO – seeing (and making eye contact with, TWICE) Taylor Kitsch, aka Tim Riggins, out and about in Austin. I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN EVENTUALLY. My walks around downtown will never be the same.

Best thing I ate all week: First part of the week – Buffalo pizza and my mom’s Christmas cookies. Second half of the week – green smoothies and quinoa salads. Balance out that third trimester weight gain, ya know?

 

29 Weeks: Baby is as big as a BUTTERNUT SQAUSH!

How I am feeling: Mentally, a bit stressed! Something about being in the last week of my “20s” has got me all cray cray. I somehow JUST realized that with 11 weeks to go, we havent purchased or even made any decisions on the nursery. Nor have I been a crafty mama and made anything, like my Pinterest boards are pressuring me to. There are so many things I want to do and make and buy and not enough time and energy and money to do all of it all right now. We are also still buying big items for the rest of the home (hey, kitchen table and chairs) and so every weekend seems to be filled with decisions but I don’t feel like I have made any for baby’s arrival. However, as many people like to tell me – as long as that kid has a place to sleep and your boobs, he will be fine. :)

Physically, I go back and forth from feeling exhausted to having boundless energy. I have been taking advantage of nice, breezy weather in Austin to go for long power walks and went to yoga last night. I found out one of my favorite instructors is also pregnant, so that was pretty exciting! I’m hoping she can empathize with my limited movements and frequent child pose breaks a bit more now. :) I haven’t ran at all this week or really at all since 27 weeks – walking just seems like a better option for me right now as I get bigger, a bit more off-balanced and out of breath faster. I have always loved to walk, and if the sun didn’t set so early still I would be out on that trail for hours after work. In addition to helping me stay healthy, walking also helps me to clear my mind and settle my nerves…which, as you can tell, is the therapy I need right now!

Best Thing I Ate all week: Okay, so this wasn’t the best thing I ate, but it was the company in which I shared it with that made it and the moment so nice. My friend/previous boss/always mentor Robin was in town from DC for a conference here in Austin, and on Saturday we made the drive to Waco to visit Magnolia Market at the Silos. We oogled over Joanna’s decor, walked around the green space and then just hadddd to stop in to the new Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. Robin got a lemon lavendar cupcake, while I opted for my favorite classic, vanilla with chocolate frosting. Robin’s was WAY better, as she was wonderful enough to share with me, while mine was a bit dry.

And, well, speaking of baked goods, this week two of my coworkers and I visited our RICE university client, who oversees the university’s award-winning dining program. Along the tour of the campus, we stopped in one of the pastry kitchens for a tasting of just-baked chocolate and rasper compote cake. I wanted to hug the pastry chef…and end my tour there, with the rest of the cake.

Favorite Memory: Seeing Baby Izzo at a 29 week check-in ultrasound! I had back-to-back doctor’s appointments, with the first one being my blood test for gestational diabetes, which apparently you can get when you are pregnant. To take that test, I had to drink a mini water bottle full of sugar water – which made my ultrasound and the rest of the day a pretty big party in my belly. Baby Izzo was pretty much having a sugar high dance attack for hours, and let me tell ya – the kid’s got moves. At my ultrasound, he had his hands up by his face, and then down, and then he flipped around to give us a great profile shot (the doctor printed out about 23 pictures for us) and at one point, he even stuck his tongue out! Definitely his father’s son. :)

 

30 Weeks: Baby is as big as a head of CABBAGE!

How I am feeling: In the beginning of the week, I felt pretty great –  we got a lot of stuff done over the weekend for the nursery and the house (baby’s dresser! National Park posters! Amazing RECLINING glider chair! Anddd kitchen chairs!). Poor Matt –  I had him running from Bed Bath and Beyond to Buy Buy Baby to Home Goods to Pottery Barn Kids to Babies R Us to even Ikea – Ikea! – and he did it all with a smile, as he knows how stressed out I have been over our laundry list of things to do before Baby Izzo comes into the world.

However, I think all of that running around (plus a four-hour glucose blood testing session, as I failed the first test) took a toll on me. I have been feeling achy, feverish and just all-around gross since Tuesday. I’ve tried to ignore it, and stupidly pushed myself to yoga and walking the trail to try and feel better, but last night I came home, dropped on the couch and didn’t move for three hours. I watched the Devil Wears Prada and Baby Izzo’s dance moves in my belly. I swear, this kid does not stop moving!

How my body is changing: My belly felt like the baby was curled up and pushing its back right outside of my belly button – it felt so heavy for the first time in my pregnancy! Like when you are uncomfortably full and just want to lay down to take the pressure off and/or unbutton your jeans…thats how I feel. Except I have to work all day and I am wearing stretchy pants. THERE IS NO RELIEF. I guess I shouldn’t complain at all now, as I still have 10 weeks to go/grow! My boobs have also started aching a bit, reminding me of the very early weeks of pregnancy. Got milk, maybe?

Favorite memory: Probably the Saturday we spent doing ALL THE THINGS for baby. It was fun walking around baby stores with Matt, as if it were his first time actually realizing that we were going to have most of this crap in our house soon. He kept picking things up and asking “did we register for this?” or “CAN we register for this?” when he saw things like a kid-size Mercedes SUV and superhero onesies. Glad I just went and registered with my sister-in-law Kim the first time!

Best thing I ate all week: I have been craving P. Terry’s, a local fast-food burger place that ACTUALLY makes its own veggie burgers on the reg- since I got pregnant. Somehow and someway…I still had not had it. So after my four-hour glucose test/12-hour fasting session, it was obviously where we b-lined to upon leaving the doctor’s office. I sat and devoured the entire meal in silence, which probably only took me three-four minutes. Just writing about it makes me want to make a run there now…

What I am craving: Besides P.Terry’s…ORANGE JUICE. All day every day, it is probably been the most intense craving I have had throughout this pregnancy. Other things – like the P.Terry’s mentioned above – have been cravings that have been consistent but not outright urgent. Orange juice on the other hand…I have to have it. Right now. Not sure when the craving first hit – whether it was when we were having breakfast one morning or maybe as I passed the refrigerated section in the grocery store, but since that magical moment, I’ve consistently taken down more than three glasses (and about 60 grams of sugar) before 7 a.m. every morning. GIVE ME THE JUICE!

 

31 Weeks: Baby is as long as a head of ROMAINE LETTUCE!

How I am feeling: Pregnancy-wise, I think I would still feel great if it wasn’t for this awful chest cold that seems to be getting worse by the day instead of better. I am coughing so much day and night that I feel like I’m constantly disturbing this little baby – he jerks around seconds after I cough. Which, is about every three seconds. The other night I swear neither one of us got any sleep! It also isn’t fun that my cough gets worse at night, when my belly feels the heaviest. It is like there is no extra room to breathe deeper or cough harder – it just hurts. I might bruise some ribs by the time this cough runs through me, as my lung capacity seems to be getting smaller as my cough seems to be getting bigger.

At my 31 week appointment on Friday, the doctor said that Robitussin and Mucinex were safe to take, so we bought both later that day. Hopefully one of them does the trick!

Speaking of my doctor’s appointment, I actually saw a different doctor in the practice this time, just in case my doctor isn’t on call when I go into labor. I absolutely love my doctor, but it was nice to meet another one and know that I will be in good hands no matter what. Honestly, as long as the doctor delivering the baby is nice, tells me what to do (nicely) and knows what they are doing to deliver a healthy baby boy, I am good! I think I’ll meet one or two other doctors in my appointments from now until baby. Now, whether they want to deal with me is another conversation… :)

How my body is changing: My belly is obviously growing, but it is all the movements within this bigger belly that really steal the show. Baby boy is always moving around, and many nights I go to bed with the intention of reading my book but instead end up just watching my belly dance around. It is so funny, and fascinating and weird and surreal all at the same time. It’s funny how easy it is to forget you have a little human in there during moments of the day – but then when you actually sit and watch said little human boogie down within its tiny living space, all the feels come rushing back.

He also gets the hiccups at least once a day, and a lot of times it is in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes they are soft, tiny hiccups, and other times it is like he is a little sailor. Let’s hope he isn’t such a lightweight when he goes to Bona’s someday!

What I’m eating: May be because of my cough, but I’m back in my first trimester “nothing sounds good to me” phase this week. Meaning there have been lot of cereal dinners and apples with peanut butter snacks. Oh…and at least two gallons of orange juice. Still can’t possibly get enough.

Best thing I ate all week: Probably the two gallons of orange juice. No one can question if I am getting enough vitamin C. Or refined sugar.

Favorite memory: This week at work I got to be a part of our Tradewinds Tea website video shoot, which was pretty amazing! I have been the project manager for other clients’ video shoots in the past, and have even been a hand model in a few social media videos, but this was my first time being on set all day for this type of production. So yea, that was pretty awesome, and I have to assume that the baby loved being in a of the action too, as he gleefully moved around all day during the shoot.

We also made progress on the nursery over the weekend – I painted the dresser (outside, with a paint mask on) and bought the crib! And drove four miles home with said crib package sticking completely out of our trunk…which was closed down to the box with boxing tape. It’s okay, the 19-year-old Boy Scout Target employee rigged it up. TOTALLY SAFE.

 

Onto the next to-do list items! Including our “Childbirth and Beyond” class next week and calling my insurance about breast pumps. Remember when my biggest concern was which Teen Bop magazine had the best Justin Timberlake poster options?