week 33

cravings:  all of the fruit (I ate like five bananas and 2 pounds of grapes this weekend)

aversions:  smelly meat

symptoms: lots of rib pain, lots of waddling (it feels like I'm holding a bowling ball between my legs), lots of contractions, but the acid reflux is now medicated and much better so I'm sleeping much better (yay!).

movement:  lots of movement, but in more regular intervals. When she's asleep it is hard to wake her. She pushed her hand out at us the other day with so much force that we could clearly make it out with our fingers. It was magical.

fears:  I fear that she's never going to turn! She's been trying so hard and I've been doing some pretty silly looking inversions to try to spin this girl, but nothing seems to be working.

general mood:  I'm a little bit over feeling like a whale. I get a little testy when I'm in pain, and I'm at least uncomfortable most of the time now. But it helps to think of her and how she's worth every bit of this.

sleep:  Much better! I mean I still have to pee every few hours, but the acid reflux is immensely better.

surprised by:  How responsive she is to us. She can be coaxed around into different positions with our voices (just unfortunately not all the way around), and we get to experience her personality when we "play"with her.

looking forward to:  seeing her at our sonogram in a week! We should be able to tell whether she's going to be early or huge, and it's always so neat to see her in there.

best / worst moments:  So many good moments this week... I was given a beautiful baby shower by my friends here in Houston, which was such a wonderful reminder of how this city has become a home for us over the past two years. We love our Houston family and are so grateful to have them by our sides during such a pivotal time in our lives. And we went to the beach and it wasn't awful! Sure, it wasn't pretty white sand, but the smells, sounds, and breeze was perfect. Not-so-good moments have been when she gets her head up over my ribs. Super uncomfortable.

bobby is:   waiting for me to finish this post so he can take me to dinner :) But he's smitten as always. When I whine about how she's jabbing me, he defends her every time.

nursery progress:  Her furniture is put together and in her room, hooray! Other preparations we've finished: hooking up her car set, window shades, and stroller in the car, and building her baby swing and bassinet in the house. We are almost ready for you Violet!

week 32

cravings:  not much of an appetite, so no cravings this week

aversions:  everything. It's like I'm back in my first month.

symptoms: some pretty serious acid reflux, accompanied with mouth sores and a new prescription. The morning sickness is still hanging around which makes this girl so tired and pretty weak. I love being pregnant, I truly honestly do, but the ceaseless nausea is really a downer. At least the contractions have a purpose as they prepare my body for labor.

movement:  the cutest thing was Bobby giving my belly raspberries like this video and watching her react. she wasn't as dramatic as the babe in the video, but she sure was rolling around in there! Some days she moves so much it makes me a little sore (in the best possible way), and others she curls up into a bowling ball and puts so much pressure on my pelvis that I swear she'll fall out.

fears:  My mom is leaving the country in just a few hours, and it's not so much that I fear I'll go into labor with her gone, but I would hate for her to miss out if it happened.

general mood:  My mood is constantly up and down. I'm tired always and get overwhelmed easily if I let myself, but cheesy jokes on TV leave me in tears and silly things make me so angry that my heart races.

sleep:  Ha. My doctor asked me how I was sleeping yesterday and I laughed so hard I nearly peed myself. I've added nap-time to my schedule to try and catch up during the day, but between wild dreams (sometimes where mosasauruses eat my siblings), acid reflux, restless legs, and jabs to my ribs and bladder, I think I may actually get more solid sleep with a newborn than I have in the past week.

surprised by:  How much I love my ever-changing body. Really. I honestly look in the mirror as I oil up my belly and smile, because I feel more confident with an extra fifteen pounds around my waist, a smattering of dimples on my buns and thighs, a line down the middle of my extruding belly button and the fattest hands and feet I could imagine than I've ever felt in my whole life. Its just so amazing what my body is capable of, and I hope I can carry this confidence into my fourth trimester.

looking forward to:  Finding a pediatrician and registering at the hospital, both on today's to-do list. Then, if she comes we are all set to drive into town, have the car valeted (fo free, our hospital rocks), and go settle into our room!

best / worst moments:  Giving Bobby his very first father's day present was so wonderful. Check it out here. I don't think he was expecting anything, which made it all the sweeter. My worst moment was having a DIY project fail me. I was practicing a rub I was going to use to antique the crib and dresser and it just didn't turn out how I wanted. It was discouraging, and devastating to these hormones. But I just got new supplies for plan B and I'm ready to try again!

bobby is:   nesting, and it's pretty cute. Once he got back to town he signed us up for a security system, when crazy tending to our lawn, took boxes to the attic, and created a to-do list longer than my own for the week. Hopefully between both of us and our drive to get things done, we will accomplish all of the necessities good and early.

nursery progress:  Furniture is painted, and absolutely must be put together by the weekend. I'm dead set on having thee basic floor plan set up next time I blog. Really.

week 31

I'm so sorry to all of you who rely on this blog to keep up to date on my progress! This bumpdate was written last week, but my camera cord took a trip to South Texas with Bobby and I had no way of getting pictures from my camera to my computer. Forgive me!

cravings:  garlic and citrus, maybe I'm fighting a cold? Nothing that can't be fixed by some good spicy Zuppa Toscana and a ton of pineapple.

aversions:  anything but simple carbs before 10 AM (will the morning sickness ever end??)

symptoms: the rib pain continues, and she's heads up again which doesn't help. The contractions actually got a little too regular for comfort at one point this week, luckily stopping on their own before any calls were made.

movement:  She's all over the place and so big that each movement is felt and seen. She wiggles like crazy when Bobby reads to her.

fears:  I felt such relief when her Moses Basket came in and she had a place to sleep if she came early. But it doesn't fit the stand so I'm back to square one. Sigh.

general mood:  A bit lonely. Bobby had to leave town for work, so it's just me, the Bear, and the baby. But it has been a super productive time which feels so good.

sleep:  When I'm out, I'm really in a deep sleep. It's interrupted with lots of bathroom breaks and rolling over to readjust my mile-wide hips, but I wake feeling rested which is what matters.

surprised by:  How big and round my belly is now! My linea nigra is starting to peak through, too.

looking forward to:  Our hospital tour this week and getting all those questions and curiosities answered. And Bobby getting home, I miss that guy.

best / worst moments:  The best moment was starting our birthing classes. We are doing a Hypnobabies home-study, and I'm already feeling so much more at ease about the whole labor and delivery situation. The worst moment was being home by myself last night, in a tropical storm and flash flood warning, having steady contractions with Bobby three hours away. It wasn't anything too unusual for my body, but not having him there was a little scary.

bobby is:   a little overwhelmed. He's got several big things going on at work until the end of the month and he feels as unprepared for V to get here as I do. Hopefully his mind will ease a bit by the insane amount of unpacking I've managed while he's been away!

nursery progress:  Mostly painted, and super organized. There's still lots to do in there, but each step makes me more comfortable with bringing her home.

week 30

cravings:  I've had a super sweet tooth this week, satisfied only by root beer milkshakes from Whataburger.

aversions:  meat again. Not that burgers suddenly sound gross or anything, they just don't hang around long.

symptoms:  the worst rib pain from where she got her head caught last week. I don't know if I strained a muscle or have inflamed ribs, but it blows. I was also rudely awakened around 2am the other night, losing my dinner. So I'm having morning sickness and contractions simultaneously now. They say the worse the pregnancy, the better the baby. Whoever "they" are, they better be right.

movement:  different. Now that she's head down I get either intense jabs or little wiggles instead of the kicks and rolls I'd been feeling.

fears:  I fear that I'll still be puking in the delivery room lol.

general mood:  tired, but so happy and content with every little movement.

sleep:  I'm sleeping better now that I'm back in my own bed, but interrupted with nausea and heartburn.

surprised by:  how close we are to baby, 75% cooked!

looking forward to:  Seeing that face. I just know she'll be the most adorable sight.

best / worst moments:  The best moment was being loved on my so many at our shower this weekend. We were embraced with support, encouragement, and hope for her future while simultaneously being showered with more baby clothes that I could ever imagine.

bobby is:   brought to tears by little onesies! He's so ready to fill them with chunky baby legs!

nursery progress:  We've collected most of the necessities, so his week we will be painting furniture and setting up the big stuff. So far I've painted the rocker from my dad's nursery, and its so emotional to sit in it, daydreaming of rocking her in just a couple of months.

week 29

cravings:  caffeine (no sleep and vacation mode will do that to anyone)

aversions:  being anywhere near red wine is almost as bad as being near eggs, a blessing maybe?

symptoms:  sleeplessness, the hugest cankles in all of existence, some anxiety from having so much left to do before she arrives, still more contractions

movement:  her sleep schedule is so unfortunate for me. She does most of her sleeping in the day and then has dance parties at 3am. She is still heads up, and actually got her noggin stuck up under my ribs on the drive to FL. Not fun. But the girl loves to be rubbed on, which had built such a bond. 

fears:  there's always a little part of me that's scared she'll make her grand entrance in Louisiana. Yikes. 

general mood:  I've been so tired that I feel  whiney and cranky towards the evening. But I've been told I only feel that way and hide it well ;)

sleep:  I get a good two hours at a time if I'm real lucky. Boo. 

surprised by:  how huge my belly has gotten. And my ankles. 

looking forward to:  our first baby shower on Saturday! I'm so excited especially for Bobby's grandma to meet her for the first time and to make a slide show of my amazing maternity photos to show off. 

best / worst moments:  we've had so many amazing moments this week, seeing old friends for the first time in a long time and spending unrushed time with family. It's so wonderful to think about this as our last trip home before everything changes in marvelous ways. The worst moments have been the few intense contractions I've had, struggling to get on sandals that should be two sizes too big, and saying goodbye to besties without knowing when we'd see them again (always so hard).  

bobby is:   Ready to cuddle her, but also the biggest promoter of her staying put as long as possible for her health. I think it's hilarious how he wants everyone we see to get right up in there and hum on my belly so that they can feel her kick their face. Bobs, not everyone is as baby-smitten as you!

maternity clothes:  I was going to buy one nice dress to wear for my photos and showers. I bought three instead because Ross is cheap and my belly is ginormous. 

My favorite pics from my incredible maternity shoot will be up later this week, so keep an eye out!