30 weeks and counting...

We are finally in the home stretch (at least that is what I am going to keep telling myself as I brave the 100 degree plus weather, the nasty iron supplements I can't keep down, the heart burn, the numb and cramping legs, and my inability to eat ice cream or frozen yogurt due to being lactose intolerant.)  Anyway, I am getting very anxious for her to be here.  Can you tell?  I love feeling her daily, but I just wish I could feel her kicking me in the ribs.  It would mean she is head down, getting ready to come out like a good little girl versus making mommy go through major abdominal surgery.  

Since I last posted I have been incredibly busy with work and not been thinking very much of the baby.  Now that I have showers just around the corner and a nursery to decorate things are getting fun again.  Josh made my night a couple weeks ago when he bought the baby her memory book.  It is really adorable, and has some great keepsake moments for us to document in there.

One of the keepsake items you put in the book are belly pictures.  Being that I am growing every day, these are starting to get really fun.  But daddy decided he is not so pleased with his sympathy weight.  So he thought we should at least document that too.

 Crazy daddy!

Here are the "real" belly pics.  And in case you are wondering, yes I am getting tan.  Lucky for me, Madelyn loves the pool!   When ever I get too hot at night, I jump in the pool first thing in the morning.  Then, if I have no where to go that day, I just hang out in the AC in my bathing suit.  Whatever works right?

28 weeks

So as I approach 30 weeks there are a few things that I am hoping for. One, that my belly button will pop out. Not sure why I want that, I just think it is cool. Two, that she turns around. I found out at my appointment last week that she is defiantly breach and if she doesn't flip by the end of the eighth month they will schedule a c-section. To which my mother in law replied, "Now we will know when to come out." That at least made me laugh in the midst of my stress! And three, that the temperature will stay under 100 for as long as possible. I just get beat up when I am in the heat. Weddings the past couple of weeks have licked me for sure and my poor husband keeps going to bed with more and more clothes on, as I strip down to less and less while turning the AC down further and further. I can't even bear to think how hot I will be in July.

Here is what Baby Center says about Madelyn and Mommy this month (with some slight comentary by myself):

How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes (hopefully daddy's lashes). With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb (which someone told me to take the flashlight, put it on my stomach down by my pelvis and she would follow it, turning her out of breach). She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

How your life's changing:

You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds (Ha! That's funny!) this trimester. At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what's known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). No one knows for sure what causes RLS, but it's relatively common among expectant mothers (I totally have this!!). Try stretching or massaging your legs, and cut down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse. Ask your caregiver if you should try iron supplements, which can sometimes relieve RLS.