Endless Summer

And no, I do not miss the "seasons."

Pregnancy and a cat harness?

Not in this lifetime...

I happen to stumble across this gal's blog entry from a posting on BabyCenter* and I have to share. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant AND have put tried to put Baxter in a harness, but I get this. Pregnancy and putting Baxter in a harness? Surprisingly, there's a correlation.

I'm sure Rob appreciates the uncontrollable laughing coming from the living room at 6-something this morning. (As a result of my inability to sleep, of course).

*BabyCenter - a sometimes helpful website with pregnancy/kid related information. I usually check out the pregnant lady forums for my daily dose of eye-rolling.

Two Months...Whaaaaat?!

I know I haven't blogged lately but I've been tired, I have heartburn (MAJOR heartburn), I have/had back pain (which thanks to chiropractic care and a little ice/heat therapy has pretty much gone away), I can't move as easily, Braxton Hicks contractions, etc. etc. etc... But I do have lots to say! Just not enough energy to sit down and actually type it out. I want to write about our babymoon to Maui (post coming soon) and gaining 40lbs (ok, maybe not really), Lamaze classes, our desire to have completely natural birth, and how in TWO MONTHS we're going to have a baby! It's getting real... and a little scary, I'm not gonna lie. I have TOTAL and complete faith in Rob as a father, but ME as a mother?! I'm going to be someone's MOM?! I realize right now that I'm "one of those." Baby baby baby... but for the past 7 months, that's all my life has revolved around - growing this baby!

But one thing I've been doing is checking into my blog to read my little ticker across the top. This week's made me laugh out loud - "I bet Mommy feels like I'm trying to claw my way out right now." I really can't put it into better words myself. That's exactly what it feels like sometimes. I feel less random kicks these days, but lots of movement. Lots of turning and shifting and I know this his butt/backside usually chill on the right side of my belly. I get elbowed frequently and kicked in the ribs too...and sometimes it really hurts! But I love it and it always makes me smile. He's growing and growing and growing... along with my belly and thighs. But man, I am so excited to meet this little guy! We love him SO much already and would do anything for him. 60ish days to go - that's 2 months. Little man, keep cooking! We'll be meeting you soon!

29 Weeks

Completely unrelated to this post view of Waikiki from Pu'u Ualaka's State Park

Tick tock! Here I am... 29 weeks (7 months) and into my 3rd trimester. I had my usual Tuesday doctor's appointment and I'm actually measuring one week ahead (30 weeks), but they won't be changing my due date. Just a month ago I was measuring one week behind, so I think the little one may be going through a growth spurt. And ironically enough, the first ultrasounds they do, are the most accurate for dating the pregnancy and determining due date. I guess it's pretty common for women to fluctuate around now. The heartbeat is good and strong, hanging out in the 130-150bpm range. It's crazy how she can almost immediately find the heart rate when using the doppler, when at the beginning she had to hunt for it. His heart beat makes a fun "swish swish swish swish" sound. But it is like music to our ears.

Not that I have any doubt about anything because I get lots of reassuring jabs, kicks, and pokes throughout the day that he's in there swimming around doing gymnastics. Not sure how much longer though since he'll soon be running out of room. In the next 10 weeks he'll more than double his weight! According to BabyCenter, he'll be topping off around 2.5lbs this week... and in 10 more weeks, he'll be anywhere from 5 - 9 (or more...eek!) pounds.

One less than awesome side effect of pregnancy is the pressure currently being put on my sciatic nerve. I've read conflicting things about whether that is actually what's happening, as true sciatica is rare. Either way, I've had pain in my lower back/hip/butt area for about 10 weeks now off and on. Yesterday it hit me full force and it was unbearable pain. It was a 10. I cried walking home from work. So today I got in to see a chiropractor that also specializes with pregnant women. After an hour of icing, soft tissue massage, laser therapy (intense pulses of light - no heat or anything weird), and gentle manipulation, I am walking virtually pain-free. I am FIRM believer in the benefits of chiropractic care. I'll be going back on Friday for a follow-up. He also gave me some stretches to do to help ease the pain.

"They" say the 3rd trimester is the hardest, but this soon into it, I'm feeling pretty good (other than above mentioned pain). We start Lamaze classes next week and a new season of Cupcake Wars starts! Exciting week ahead!!

(gasp)

Have you ever been somewhere (the Grand Canyon, flying into Southeast Alaska) or seen something that just takes your breath away? You want to share it with everyone, so you take a hundred pictures, but they NEVER come out looking as cool/awesome/magnificent as seeing it in person. That happens frequently here. I'd say definitely once a week. Driving on the Pali Highway always does it for me. But last night, it happened again too. I had just hopped out the shower and happened to look out the window and saw the most vibrant sunset. I grabbed my robe and my camera and ran out the door yelling, "look outside! look outside!" to Rob. This is what I saw.

3rd Trimester and a Knot on my Ass

So here I am. The home stretch - the 3rd trimester, which to be honest, felt like it'd never get here. I can't believe that I have about 12 weeks left before we get to meet our little man! I still feel like it's forever away, but when I think about it in terms of "less than 3 months to go," I start getting panicky and feeling WAY underprepared. Cue nesting.

Nesting - an instinct in mothers and mothers-to-be to get things ready (for lack of a better phrase) for baby. It's real. Oh, and it's not just humans... animals do it too. Well, hence the word nesting. Dictionary.com says this: "the tendency to arrange one's immediate surrounds...to create a place where one feels secure, comfortable, or in control." I'm building a nest. My first serious urge to nest resulted in a 4 hour trip to Babies-R-Us and new carseat. It has continued... the need to rearrange the bedroom so baby will have a place to sleep in his bassinet next to me. And thanks to my amaaaaaazing husband, the room is completely rearranged. We now have a 9-cube shelf for mostly baby stuff and this Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. Although, nothing is out of the boxes yet... and my next big project is to wash all the baby clothes.

This week also brought on the task of searching for a pediatrician. At my last appointment my doctor said, "have you found a pediatrician yet?" Me: blank stare, look at Rob. "No." So she explained the process, which I knew nothing about. We get to interview doctors. She gave us a handful of pediatricians in the area and comforting advice...obviously because my doctor is awesome and saw the panic in my eyes. Today I found the top 3 doctors I want us to meet and "interview." Views on immunizations? Treatment for sickness? Oh, the list goes on. So when I tried to call ALL 3 doctors today, two closed at noon on Thursdays and one was currently closed for lunch. Oh, Hawaii.

So, what about this knot on my butt? Every week I go in for the progesterone shots. The solution is mixed with castor oil and is very thick. One thing I've figured out is, if they inject it with a bigger needle, it goes in quicker and life is much better. If they choose to use a smaller needle (thinking it will be less painful??), the needle stays in for longer and then I get a knot near the injection site. Well, bonus! Last week, I got both!! (Sarcasm font). She starts the injection. Pulls it out and says, "I'm going to get a smaller needle." Comes back and starts round two. The next morning, I woke up with THE BIGGEST knot to date. It was a solid 2 inches long by 1 inch wide. And it was red. And it itched. Begin googling frenzy. Ok, it's normal for there to be a knot, but this knot was ridiculous, so I called the doctor. She confirmed that it was indeed normal and to massage as much as possible and ice it. Which I did and it is almost completely gone. I'm going to have a serious talk with my doctor next week and have her add in my chart, "BIG NEEDLE ONLY!" It doesn't hurt, like they think it does, and I always reassure them of this. And with approximately 7 shots left, I'm finally taking a stand.

So here we are. Approaching 29 weeks. We have a name to call our son, clothes for him to wear, a place for him to sleep, and a ridiculous amount of love for this boy we haven't met, but my ribs sure have felt. Oh, and my stomach is getting bigger by the minute.