Hello Trimester #3!

This week marks 28 weeks (7 months) of pregnancy, which puts us into the 3rd trimester.  Wow, already?  (The weeks/months time tracking is really screwed up with pregnancy - the whole "months may have 28, 30, or 31 days" concept means that 4 weeks may or may not equal one month.  See the pregnancy timing diagram I added to this post for more info:  Happy 6 Months!)  Anyway, that means that baby is due in ONLY 12 weeks and it's time to really get crazy thinking about his/her arrival!

Oh yeah, and HELLO baby bump!  It's getting out of control, haha!

28 Weeks Pregnant

My mother professed to me yesterday that I am way too excited (or maybe the phrase she used was "overly excited?") about being pregnant and having a baby.  She said she has never seen someone so excited about a baby (or so willing to talk continuously, literally for hours, about a baby) in her life; she was never this way when she was pregnant.  I laughed and came back with "At least I'm not feeling lousy and being depressed about a baby coming!" and she agreed that yes, this was better, but still way over the top.  Haha!  I don't care; I could think and talk about this baby and my pregnancy all the time, but no one really wants to hear about it that often, do they?  Well, at least not Mom.  Nor Craig!  (That being said, anyone who wants to talk baby A LOT can give me a call anytime!  ::wink wink::)

I am still feeling good for the most part.  Just a little more tired doing minor things like vacuuming and having a little back pain from my expanding baby bump and shifting center of gravity.  Oh, and I get happy in the mornings when I wake up and have little (normal) ankles!  I treated myself to a mani/pedi yesterday in preparation for the baby showers, and I very much enjoyed doing NOTHING but reading a Cosmo magazine and chatting casually for 2 hours.

Happy toes!

Speaking of baby showers, I am getting really excited (even more so than before!) for the NY shower this weekend.  I expect that the weekend will be a blast!  I can't wait to see all the family and friends who are able to join us for this celebration.  Next week in MA will be awesome too, I'm sure!  All the fun of baby showers will hopefully supersede the fact that work will be starting back up shortly.  I'm happy to get back to teaching again, but it unfortunately means the summer is ending.  Though, that also means that baby will be arriving soon!

My Lil' Sidekick

The baby seems to finally be having regular sleep/wake patterns in the womb.  S/he kicks like crazy (seriously, like a stampede!) from when I wake up until I eat breakfast (maybe that's his/her way of telling me to hurry up and eat?), mostly on the upper right side of my belly.  S/he also usually wakes up about a half hour after I eat lunch, dinner, or a snack.  Nighttime has been quiet time recently, as opposed to a few weeks ago when s/he was practicing goal kicks (hooray for soccer!) right as I was trying to go to sleep.

Baby's kicking is like having a stampede in my belly!

It's really cool to feel a little life inside me.  I consider him/her "my lil' sidekick" since literally, that's where s/he's been kicking lately.  I am hoping for one of those moments eventually when his/her little foot is pressed against my belly so that you can see it externally & we can try to get a picture.

Over the weekend, I also got the results on my gestational diabetes screening test.  Yippee!  All looks normal.  My toxoplasma antibody level is still negative, another good thing.  (Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can be present in cat feces, so it's a pretty big occupational hazard for me, considering my profession.  An infection during pregnancy can cause harm to the unborn child, including brain defects and blindness.  Passing off litter box duty and/or practicing excellent hand-washing hygiene can help prevent exposure.  Once a person has antibodies, she can fight off possible infection, but not having antibodies before conception exposes the fetus to risk of infection.)

Hooray for good blood work results!

Baby Age Blocks

I don't know that this warranted it's own blog post, but I was really excited to have finished this project!  After seeing a friend's baby age blocks (used when photographing baby to mark his/her age) and finding others online that weren't perhaps my fondest color scheme, I decided to create some of my own!  The blocks flip from "days" to "weeks" to "months" to "years," and the numbers flip to create any number combination.  Now, to make sure that I actually take the pictures when baby is here!

These homemade blocks flip to chart baby's age!

Closing Out the 2nd Trimester

Well, we are rounding out the end of the 2nd trimester!  Baby seems to be doing well.  My doctor's appointment today was good.  My uterus is measuring appropriately, and the baby's heartbeat sounded good via Doppler.  I got my whooping cough vaccine to protect the baby when s/he's born, since s/he can't get vaccinated until 6 weeks of age and it'll already be cold/flu season in October.

I also drank the sickly-sweet gatorade-like orange drink for a gestational diabetes screening blood test.  It wasn't as yucky tasting as people had mentioned, so I chugged it really quickly.  I should get the results in a few days, and here's to hoping for normal bloodwork!

I am still feeling good, though the 80+ degree heat is very uncomfortable (thank goodness for air conditioning!).  Speaking of air conditioning, it was very unpleasant at the hospital today because their A/C was broken!  I feel bad for the pregnant ladies going to appointments later in the day, when it's supposed to be 90+ outside.

27 Weeks Pregnant

This week, baby is the size of a head of cauliflower and weighing in at over 2 lbs!  S/he can hear a little better and has definitely been kicking around like a soccer player.  Kicks come mostly in the morning & after meals.  It's fun to watch my belly because now it jumps when the baby does a good kick!

This week, baby is the size of a head of cauliflower!

I am getting really super-duper excited for the baby showers!  The first one is next weekend already!  I can't wait to see everyone that's able to come and have fun talking about all things baby.

Mommy AND Auntie (again!)

We're having a good weekend here in the LaTour household.  My mommy (baby's Babcia) is visiting for the weekend!  We have a few baby-related plans:  put down a deposit for the restaurant for baby's baptism luncheon and find some baby shower outfits.  Somehow this has translated into my mother keeping me out shopping very late into the evening (can you believe Kohl's is actually open till 11pm?  At least she finally "let" me call it quits at 10pm last night...).  Today will be a marathon to hit all the stores we have planned.  Here's to another night of probably swollen ankles, but at least we'll have some fun!

I am so very excited to officially be able to say that my brother and sister-in-law will be having a sweet baby girl about 7 weeks before Baby LaTour will make an entrance.  My little nephew Noah will be a big brother!  How exciting! It will be great to have two of our little ones so close in age.  Of course, now that I'm perusing baby clothes, everything girl is looking super cute for her and I'm having to restrain myself from buying all I see to send to them.  I've been rooting for "Alessandra" for her name, but it doesn't seem to be the front runner...  Including myself & Christina, the Sarrica side of my family has started & will be popping out 5 babies in the next 6 months!  The year of the baby indeed!

It's hard to believe the first baby shower is only 2 weeks from today!  I've recruited some great photographers for each shower (thanks to my cousins Basia & Kevin and to my good friend & baby's future Godmother Chelsea!) to chart these wonderful memories in the making.

A few days ago I also officially told my job that I'll be planning to take maternity leave from October to January.  It will be an interesting semester with a few staffing changes, maternity leave, and new responsibilities on my plate (due to a promotion).  I'm excited to get back to teaching, though I will miss being home and working on various projects with Craig (only to be home in a few more months to hang out with baby!).

Fewer Than 100 Days Left!

With only 2 weeks left to round out my 2nd trimester (wow, already?), baby is about the size of a hothouse cucumber (you know, those really HUGE cucumbers) and weighs at least 2 lbs!

Baby is the size of a hothouse cucumber this week!

Baby is opening his/her eyes and can see what's going on in my womb (though it's probably not too exciting).  S/he has been practicing his/her soccer skills this past week, too.  There are times when s/he won't stop kicking or punching or rolling for minutes at a time!  Craig has finally felt him/her kick on the outside of my belly; he said it was like feeling hiccups.

I am still feeling good, though a little tired.  Sleep is somewhat elusive - either I'm attempting to lay on a belly that feels like a melon, or my arms are falling asleep when I'm on my side, or I can't breathe really well when I'm on my back.  Sounds like fun, right?  Add in a baby pressing on my bladder and it's really a party at night!  I figure that as long as I'm not getting dark bags under my eyes, I must be getting enough sleep, even if it's in fits and starts.

26 Weeks Pregnant

The baby bump has been showing up some days and hiding on others.  On the latter days, you wouldn't even know I was already 6 and a 1/2 months pregnant!  And can you believe that there are fewer than 100 days left until baby is due?  It's crazy!

This week included RSVP dates for both baby showers (I also can't believe those are in only a few short weeks!), figuring out health insurance charges for labor and delivery, and discussing FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) regulations for maternity leave with my employer.  I'm a planner, so it's helping me to figure out what to expect around the time of baby, even if I don't know when baby is coming or whether it's a she or a he!  (I'm still excited about waiting to know the sex until delivery!  I hope the doctor will let Craig tell me, instead of shouting it out right away.)

I'm gearing up for our next doctor's appointment next week, which will include a glucose test for gestational diabetes and the whooping cough vaccine.  I can't believe July is already half over!  I'll be back to work soon (and then off again when baby arrives a couple months later); it seems like the summer has flown by!  That means baby will be here before we know it!

Getting More Excited!

I can't believe it's only a few more weeks until the baby showers!  I am getting super-excited (like crazy cheerleader excited!) about them.  It's really helpful that I love tiny baby things, haha!  I also can't wait to see the friends & family that are going to be celebrating with us (there will even be a few other pregnant ladies on hand!).  I am so thankful that my mom and Craig's cousin Lorene will be hosting the showers; there are many others on both sides of the family helping out with food and decorations to whom I am also grateful.

Getting excited about the baby showers!

This weekend I finished off the baby onesies that I was embroidering.  They are ready to head into the washer & dryer for another cycle (to remove any remaining dye).  I can't wait to hang them in the baby's closet.  A few more previews:

A few of the finished products!

Independence Day & Our Jelly Bean

It was a rainy 4th of July here in MA, but the 5th was beautiful.  Craig, Baby, & I spent it with his family (who consequently entered about 5 hunches in the baby hunch pool!  If you haven't checked it out, it's at www.babyhunch.com and the password is "babylatour") to celebrate several birthdays in the month of July.  I asked Craig to take a picture before we left the house, but it would have taken many more shots to get the exact view of my bump looking large-&-in-charge from the perfect angle and the photographer only had so much patience!

July 5th - unsuccessfully attempting to show the bump

Then on the 6th was the first time I felt the baby kicking on the outside of my belly (finally!).  Of course, it was during Mass - s/he seems to really like the peacefulness of church on Sunday mornings (like Mommy, like baby!).  I have been waiting all day for big kicks again so that Craig can feel them.  It seems like every time I put my hand on my belly to feel them, s/he stops cold.  Ah, well, this only means good things to come since s/he's getting bigger in there!

25 Weeks Pregnant

We snagged a great deal on a like-new glider and ottoman set today, thanks to Craig's savvy internet searching.  It's not the wood color I was longing for, but you can't beat the great price!  I'm sure it will be my new happy place in the house.  (The two things I was hoping for when I eventually got pregnant was a glider and big boobs.  At least one goal has been successfully accomplished!)  Doesn't the glider look great in front of the window in baby's room?

Loving my glider!

Speaking of Craig, I actually got him into Babies 'R' Us today!  That's how we figured out the above glider solution - we were sitting side by side on two of the floor models in the store.  He seems to have approved of my infant car seat & stroller choices, but we ended up changing the toddler car seat on the registry to something a little different (perhaps it was just for the cup holder Craig says a toddler has to have?).  It was actually pretty fun, considering Craig is not a shopper!

It seems like our household is constantly in a yippee-baby-is-coming-soon mood now (well, until Craig states his regular reminder that our freedom is ending in just over 15 weeks!).  Things are rolling off the registries and being delivered, I'm still working on embroidering some of the baby onesies, and we have been lucky enough to receive some hand-me-downs from our friends.  I also finally cleared a cabinet shelf for baby bottles, etc.  I can't believe a few short days will mark week 25 of my pregnancy and less than 15 weeks to wait for baby!  I hope you all are as excited as we are!  We are also so thankful for everyone that has been helping us in various ways, from planning baby showers to purchasing gifts for the baby.  It's always amazing to see your generosity!  I will absolutely make sure that baby starts penning his/her own set of thank you notes as soon as s/he arrives in October!

Happy 6 Months!

Wow, we can't believe that time has flown by and we're already rounding out 24 weeks of pregnancy!  That puts baby into the 6th month (months don't line up every 4 weeks in pregnancy, which is a bit strange - see the image below).

The unusual pairing of weeks and months of pregnancy.

This week, baby is the length of an ear of corn and already over 1 1/2 pounds!  S/he is using her respiratory system to "breathe" amniotic fluid, in preparation for breathing air after s/he's born.  Baby can hear a lot of sounds outside the womb (and apparently the sounds my body is making, like breathing, blood movement, and digestion); the other day I made Craig turn down the base volume for a movie we were watching because it was way too loud for me, though I used the excuse of baby's fragile ears, haha!  I also read somewhere that a tune that baby hears commonly when in the womb can be a source of soothing when s/he comes out as a newborn.  (Craig is getting "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen ready to go!)

Baby is the length of an ear of corn this week.

I am still feeling really good, though I can feel my center of balance shifting (leading to minor lower back soreness) as my belly gets bigger.  It's getting hard to cover up the fact that there's a belly there now!  Baby kicks fairly often, and I think it's getting closer to being felt from the outside - exciting for Craig!

24 Weeks Pregnant

I am still working on the baby onesies.  They all have iron-on shapes or words applied already, but I'm doing some embroidery to secure the patches on so they make it through washings better.  I love baby clothes!  It's slow going though, because I keep poking my left hand ring finger (where's a thimble when you need one?) when I push the needle through the fabric.  (And sewing/embroidery to the small list of crafts I am not great at...)  Here's a preview of a couple of the finished ones:

Palm tree & seahorse onesies