3/4 of the Way There!

At 30 weeks, my pregnancy is already 3/4 of the way finished!  I can't believe how fast time has flown and that baby will be here in a mere 10 weeks (give or take).

30 Weeks Pregnant

I decided to resurrect the weekly t-shirt, since my bump will hopefully make it look more flattering by now!

And that would be a no, it's still not flattering!

Time to retire this bad boy!

This week, baby's brain is developing many convolutions that allow for an increased amount of brain tissue.  His/her brain and new fat cells are taking over temperature regulation, so the soft downy coat of lanugo is beginning to disappear.  Also, baby's bone marrow is beginning to take over production of red blood cells (where before this was the job of the spleen and other tissues).  Baby seems a little less active than in the previous few weeks, probably because s/he is running out of room in there!  Estimated at just over 3 lbs by my phone apps, s/he is definitely growing in size and bulging my baby bump out with him/her!

I'm now re-experiencing some of the symptoms I had in my first trimester:  fatigue combined with breathlessness (especially after climbing stairs or hills!), some heartburn, frequent getting up to pee during the night, and the ever-present swollen ankles.  But, if you know me, you know that I don't stop being busy very easily, so putting my feet up is a chore!

I recently signed us up for classes on childbirth and breastfeeding at the hospital.  We'll also get a complimentary tour of the maternity ward.  (I can't believe we'll be in there for the real thing in no time!)  Craig tells me that the class on childbirth will basically result in him saying "Breathe, babe, breath!" and "Push, babe, push!" and then the baby will be out, haha.  If labor & delivery goes that easily, I will be impressed!  I also sent in our information for pre-registration and started working on the birth certificate paperwork (one can never be too prepared and really, who wants to do all that when you're holding your cute new baby?).

Today we had our next doctor's appointment.  The doc said baby is measuring about 2-2.5 lbs (so a little less than what my phone apps are saying), but he said that it's within normal limits and my uterus is an appropriate size for the stage of my pregnancy.  According to him, babies start to show whether they are going to be large in size starting around week 34.  He seems to think mine will be of average size (thankfully not the heavyweight champion of babies!), but only time will tell.  We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again, which is always thrilling!

Thus begins the visits every two weeks until week 36 (then it becomes a weekly routine).  What they get from seeing me that frequently is a mystery to me!

Other happenings this week include my picking up some of the remaining odds and ends off our registries to complete baby's list of necessities.  Not much was left after the generosity of our family and friends, but those gift cards and monetary gifts definitely came in handy to pick up some of the little things.  I've been arranging and re-arranging the nursery closet to fit everything, but without having baby's dressers here yet, it's difficult to find places for everything.  And there are large boxes taking up room in there too - from the crib to the swing to the car seat.  At least the time is fast approaching when Craig will "let" us put things together!  I hope to have the car seat installed in my car and the majority of the big items that will be needed right away open and in place by the beginning of October, just in case the baby decides to arrive early!

I finally had a chance to add the baby hunches from the NY shower guests to the website.  (There's still plenty of time to add yours to see if you win the prize for the closest guesses to baby's birth statistics!  Click here and enter the password "babylatour" to submit your guesses.)  Here's the new update on guess percentages:

It looks like the guess of "girl" is still going strong!