baby ole :: week 31

single digits in # of weeks left... yikes!! :)

this weekend i didn't do much, and it was great! we had plans to run into eau claire saturday morning for the carseat check before al had to work, but it was snowing so we decided against it (there is a carseat technician here in bloomer, so we'll schedule a time to meet with her). and i was planning to go to the cities saturday afternoon to see mom and finish up christmas shopping, but with the snow and being tired, i decided against that too. i did go into bloomer on saturday once but otherwise didn't leave the house. :)

then monday was work, my midwife appointment (they seem silly these days: i go in, get weighed, blood pressure, they ask if i have any questions, listen to heartbeat, measure uterus, then done. but i'm sure it's good to have checkups just to be sure), then home to study for my final. the midwife was able to tell with some confidence that baby ole's head is down (that explains all the pressure & hardness down there) and he's mostly on my right side (must be his back). since my appointments are on odd weeks, i'll wait 3 weeks now for my next one to get on even weeks (which appeases this numbers person!).

tuesday was my final. it went ok; better than i expected but still hard. now we wait and see. but i'm SO happy to be done with school and homework and studying. it's going to be great coming home and not having that to do. but i have a bunch of cleaning and stuff around the house i've been putting off to catch up on.

countdown to christmas is on!

How big is baby: size of a pineapple (via the bump) or a bunch of asparagus (via my app); approximately 16.2 inches and 3.3 pounds; crazy!!

Weight gain/loss: 18-23 pounds

Stretch marks: just the one on my side

Sleep: still flip flop a lot but sleeping well (hopefully this little guy is learning to sleep well too :])

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: nothing really, my apple a day has turned into an orange a day

Movement: movement daily, felt hiccups for the 2nd time and they were longer this time.

What I'm loving: school being done, christmas cookies :)

Symptoms: heartburn or reflux (amazingly monday-thursday i had absolutely no heartburn; awesome!! let's hope this continues), and hip aches, return of some round ligament pain/pressure

What I'm looking forward to: christmas, short work weeks

Best moment of the week: school getting done (can you tell i'm relieved?) :) secret santa at work

How I'm feeling: feeling pretty good. i've been really tired this week, like beyond normal tired; wanting to sleep all the time after noon and tired while driving.

baby ole :: week 30

friday-sunday al and i both had off work!! friday night we had the brown christmas at uncle munk's house. it was great to see everyone, talk with them about being preggo, and the food & cookies were excellent!! then saturday morning we did cookie making with mom and then in the afternoon we headed to shane and jodi's house. it was a blast; we ate, watched some football, played rockband and the dogs got tired out! :) it was also tator's 5th birthday on saturday. sunday we headed home in the snow and got a few things done around the house including football watching and napping.

monday-wednesday were brutally cold and windy. especially the walk to school over the bridge. i also had lots of heartburn and a return of the round ligament pain. with the pain/ache in the front and back (due to the usual hip aches) i was definitely waddling and forced to walk slower. not what you want when it's freezing outside. also, i was very tired this week; like get home from school and fall asleep sitting up tired. but i've heard other people are too this week, could be the low temps & cold season or could be being preggo.

this is my last week of class, then just the final on tuesday! so happy to be done with school!!

 tator wanted in a shot too :) 

since i was feeling huge, i thought i'd do another side by side

so i could see if i was really that much bigger...

15, 20, 25, 30 weeks

How big is baby: size of a cucumber (via the bump) or a large cabbage (via my app)

Weight gain/loss: 18-23 pounds

Stretch marks: i think i have my first stretch mark :( it's on my side. i will be lotioning even more now in an attempt to avoid more.

Sleep: still flip flop a lot and wake up occasionally but usually go right back to sleep. lots of heartburn as soon as i lay down

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: nothing really, my apple a day has turned into an orange a day

Movement: feeling movement daily, although it's much less now than before. i've read that's because he has less room in there.

What I'm loving: christmas cookies! :) and the sunshine even though it's really really cold

Symptoms: heartburn or reflux, and hip aches, return of some round ligament pain/pressure

What I'm looking forward to: the end of school and christmas

Best moment of the week:  the whole weekend was pretty great although it flew by

How I'm feeling: the weekdays this week i was feeling ready to be done being pregnant; i feel huge (after taking christmas card pictures), my engagement portion of my ring was snug (i wore the larger of the 2 wedding bands this week, instead), and not being able to walk normally or bend over or... but this little guy needs to cook a while longer, so i'll endure it and try to enjoy it!

baby ole :: week 29

this week started with a little bit of black friday shopping with mom. but we do it later style. :) we left bloomer about 8 am and were in eau claire for 2 hours, then we came back and made our own turkey dinner mostly just for the left overs :) we hit menards, target and penney's (tried kohls but the line, as always, was way too long). we got baby ole a 9 cube shelf at menards for a good deal so we put that together and al carried up the changing table before he went to work. it feels good to have his room a little more put together; now just have to make up my mind on the crib.

saturday and sunday were pretty relaxing (i didn't even open my backpack...). i put up some of our (my) outdoor christmas lights but need some more and some longer extension cords. monday was back to work and school with hurting hips. but i got a 94% on my test!! we also got some snow this week, starting on monday. and happy birthday uncle-to-be tyler!!

both sunday and monday night i woke up in the middle of the night (when al got home) and was wide awake for several hours. monday night from midnight-3a. not good for this sleeper; i need my sleep, but during this time i felt baby's hiccups for the first time! tuesday i had another midwife appointment and asked about the sleep. she said it's likely pregnancy insomnia by way of the body preparing itself to wake up every couple hours with a newborn... :(

baby ole is measuring 2 weeks bigger (well the belly is anyhow) and he has a great, steady heartbeat! will start appointments every 2 weeks now.

 29w4d

i need to remember to take my pictures during the daylight

because this room has very little light.

here's an above shot of the belly while waiting for the midwife.

it looks a lot bigger from above.

candy cane belly & new boots :)

How big is baby: size of an acorn squash (thebump.com's sizes are kind of throwing us off so i'll list my app's sizes as well) or butternut squash

Weight gain/loss: 18-23 pounds (thanksgiving meals did not help this...)

Stretch marks: none, although my belly button is starting to stretch out

Sleep: sleeping ok when i'm asleep, but wake up for hours at a time in the middle of the night. flip flopping a lot, uncomfortable by morning.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: nothing really, still loving my apple a day

Movement: feeling movement daily

What I'm loving: looking forward to the end of school and christmas

Symptoms: heartburn or reflux, and hip aches

What I'm looking forward to: al has a 5 day weekend starting this wednesday until sunday! this includes the brown christmas (dad's side), cookie making with mom, time with shane & jodi, and christmas card pictures on sunday (hopefully i get them in time and then out on time)

Best moment of the week:  4 day, pretty relaxing weekend

How I'm feeling: monday i was over everything: school, work, being pregnant, but i remind myself that i'm lucky and this time will be over before i know it. the end of the week was better but thursday was bitter cold, with the windchill, so walking to school was terrible.

baby ole :: week 28

this week we had our annual nesset lefse making day at mom's house. it was a good time and mostly stayed on ruby duty :) the lefse was fantastic!! and we played cards and talked lots; always good to see family.

it was also thanksgiving week!! i had a test on monday and then no class the rest of the week! only 3 days of work and a much needed 4 day weekend!! mom and tyler came to bloomer on thanksgiving morning and we loaded up and headed to wausau for thanksgiving with the oleson's/wilcox's. we had thanksgiving at al's grampa's house which is now his cousin jeremy's house. it was a good time full of family, laughs, football and food!!!

mmm lefse

 ruby tried on baby ole's hat for us & looked too cute,

so the hat is hers until he's ready for it.

 her first giraffe ride :)

How big is baby: size of an eggplant

Weight gain/loss: 15-ish pounds

Stretch marks: none, although my belly button is starting to stretch out

Sleep: sleeping ok. flip flopping a lot, some uncomfortable times, wake up multiple times.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: nothing really, still loving my apple a day

Movement: feeling movement daily

What I'm loving: pumpkin pie :)

Symptoms: loads of heartburn (or could be reflux i guess too). wednesday i had it all day, even to the point of i woke up and must have slept with my mouth closed because my throat felt like it had chemical burns in it. still not bad heartburn, just really annoying. and still haven't found a cause or solution.

What I'm looking forward to: al has a 5 day weekend the end of next week into the weekend!

Best moment of the week:  lefse day and thanksgiving

How I'm feeling: hips are beginning to bother me again, sick of the heartburn, but happy because thanksgiving week always makes one aware of everything there is to be thankful for!

baby ole :: week 27

3rd trimester. 3 months left. crazy! :)

saturday i went up to the cities and mom and i ran to bellies to babies, a consignment shop, where i got 2 pair of maternity jeans for $12 each. much better than the $35 pairs i had tried on and not liked at old navy. i also got a massage from malia. then saturday night was the beaver liquor end of the year softball party at matt & kunde's. it was so good to see and hang out with friends again. it was a wonderful time! and i stayed up til midnight; which was impressive until i didn't get all the sleep i'm used to on the weekends. :)

sunday i headed home early since al was off. we got some things done around the house, watched football, napped, i started some crafts. it was a good day.

i'm so ready for a short, thanksgiving week. 3 days of work, 1 day of school. then only 2 full weeks of school left!

oh and i passed the gestational diabetes test with flying colors!

i also had my first dream with baby ole in it. not much happened, just held him and attempted to breastfeed. oh and i couldn't remember labor/delivery or even being in the hospital; it was great :)

in other firsts, i had my first, um, leakage this week (a small spot on my pj shirt when i woke) and had my first huge cramp. i've not gotten much for cramps, other than of the feminine kind, prior to being pregnant so this calf cramp nearly killed me. :) it was at 2 am and as i cried out loudly in pain (while my very attentive husband continued sawing logs :]) i tried to remember what i'd heard others say to rid the cramp. i massaged it, tried to move my foot/leg, but it wasn't helping. so finally i threw back the covers, swung my legs off the bed and pushed my foot flat on the floor; instant relief. my calf was sore for half a day after that. and good to know that if i go into labor and am crying out in pain my husband will sleep right thru it...

we have his changing table and dresser just about finished. here's a before and after of both although i forgot to get a before of the dresser with the drawers in it. they are now gray although with the lighting in the basement, the changing table kind of looks blue in the picture. al carried the dresser into his room and we figured out where we want to put the crib and such. i loved getting to put stuff in his dresser; i love organizing! :)

 

How big is baby: size of a rutabaga (although the last 2 weeks were cauliflower & lettuce, and i think a rutabaga is smaller than both those??)

Weight gain/loss: 12-15 pounds (midwife told me they wouldn't worry if i didn't gain anymore weight...)

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: sleeping ok. flip flopping a lot, some uncomfortable times, wake up multiple times.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  nothing much. trying to decrease the amount of sugar intake.

Movement: feeling movement daily; but feeling less then i was.

What I'm loving: tuesdays at home when al's off.

Symptoms: feeling like i'm going to throw up when i bend over, mostly at night especially when getting into bed. and still heartburn just about daily at odd times; and i have yet to find any relief for it, tums don't even work. it's not bad heartburn more just annoying.

What I'm looking forward to: lefse day and thanksgiving week!

Best moment of the week:  saturday night with friends!!

How I'm feeling: feeling a little more control in life, like there is less uncertainities, so that's good! ready for the holidays and school to be done for the semester.

baby ole :: week 26

last week of the 2nd trimester; crazy! and down to double digits in # of days left...

this weekend mom came down on saturday (thank goodness for her, especially this weekend as al worked 12 hours friday, saturday and sunday. and there's so much darkness.) we went to a craft sale at an elementary school (mom bought a scarf and found 2 new styles of scarfs to crochet). then went to joann to stock up a lil more on their 25% off everything. :) picked up some eats at panera and the grocery store, and went back to bloomer. we painted the final coat on the baby's dresser and the 1st coat of paint on the changing table (what a pain in the butt to paint a changing table). we also had a nap and some rearranging of the office/closet/guest (mom's) room. it was both a productive and relaxing day. and my hips didn't hurt!

one month til school is over!! and 2 weeks til thanksgiving & a short week!

had my gestational diabetes test this week; the juice stuff wasn't bad (i'd heard horror stories) but did give me heartburn. sounds like it's likely sugar causing some of my heartburn. met another one of the midwives i hadn't met yet and she was so sweet and charismatic! and much more of a talker :) when i laid on the table she said "boy you've got a lot of room to stretch out in huh? how tall are you?" needless to say, she was short. yes, this long torso is nice for baby, lots of room in there. but sometimes i'd like to look as pregnant as i feel.

on wednesday when i was in a meeting at work, i folded my arms on top of my belly and each time i did, the baby kicked right there. then i'd move my arms and he'd stop. :) perhaps he can feel me.

 a little side by side of weeks 15, 20 and 25. guess he has popped out a bit :)

How far along: 26 weeks

How big is baby: size of a head of lettuce

Weight gain/loss: 12-15 pounds

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: still sleeping pretty well; flip flop from side to side often.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  nothing really, wanting donuts often, not a craving per say but just always want a donut. maybe this guy is gonna be a cop like his daddy :)

Movement: feeling movement daily; this is one active little boy...

What I'm loving: tuesdays when al is off, no school for me so i get to come home at noon and then it's almost like we get a whole day at home together. got lots done this tuesday.

Symptoms: just the heartburn, mostly at night. and feeling like i'm going to throw up when i bend over, especially when getting into bed at night. and a bit of hip pain later in the week.
 

What I'm looking forward to:  the softball party this weekend, a photo shoot with manda's girls, football sunday with al, and thanksgiving (both the food and family time and the time off work and school)

Best moment of the week:  the weekend was great! productivity and relaxtion!

How I'm feeling: missing crossfit! one of my coworkers started it and she tells me all about her workout and how insane it is and it gets me all pumped up! man, i love crossfit and lifting! need to stretch and do small crossfit workouts at home more often!

baby ole :: week 25

 this weekend i went up to the cities (finally! hadn't been there in a while, but it was good to stay home too). al had to work 12 hour shifts all weekend, so i went to hang out with mom and manda. mom and i shopped a little bit (she's a bad influence for that, but i guess we do need to get a crib). :) i think we decided on a crib; so many cribs are big and baulky and gawdy. then went to joann to find fabric for little man's dinosaur room. hoping to get sheets and maybe curtains made, plus a quilt/blanket for him.

then mom and i went through all our old kids books and put the little kid books upstairs. it was fun to go through them and remember the books i loved. :) mom worked me too hard cuz my hips were hurtin'. then after dinner i went to manda's and got to finally chat with her and see her cute girls. smiley is just about walking and big e is still so stinkin cute and smart and sweet! it was a great saturday.

sunday was football and lounging with tator. i forgot how much i dislike when it gets dark so early, especially with daylight savings this weekend. it's harder to be out here by myself; but i did it all last winter, i can do it again.

hopefully there are some big changes coming with al's work that, with any luck, will bring him more money and better shifts/rotation! fingers crossed!

i had another test this week on wednesday and it was rumored to be a hard one. it wasn't so bad and i was pretty proud of myself for keeping my anxiety and stress about it at bay.

How far along: 25 weeks

How big is baby: size of cauliflower

Weight gain/loss: 10-13 pounds

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: still sleeping pretty well; flip flop from side to side often.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: nothing, still really loving fresh fruit & veggies, especially apples.

Movement: feeling movement daily; this is one active little boy...

What I'm loving: having al home during the week, especially on tuesdays; it's nice to see him. :)

Symptoms: lots of frontal ligament/muscle pain/stretching, especially when going from sitting to standing. pants that are tight-ish in the front are not helping either. and still the back hip pain.

What I'm looking forward to:  lefse day, thanksgiving in wausau, school to be over

Best moment of the week:  the first snow :) but mostly because it didn't affect driving and was gone after a couple of hours of daylight.

How I'm feeling: broke. :) and large and chunky. gotta squat, stretch and yoga more often!