33 Week Update

Edit: photos added! At the bottom!

Ooops! I wrote this on my phone (excuse any typos!) and then... forgot to hit "Publish". So we're a couple of days late. All of my photos are on my phone, too, so I'll have to add some of those in later. From my phone. Anyway...... here we go! :)

How far along: 33 weeks 6 days (6 weeks to go as of tomorrow-- 1.5 months!!! OMFG)

Size of baby:  Average = >4.2-5.8 lbs, 17-19" long, or the size of a... Durian?! Wtf is a durian? Or a pineapple. Our 20 week ultrasound had placed him/her in the 97th percentile for size (!!!!) buuuut our 32 week ultrasound's guesstimate was in the 65-75th percentile range. Yes please!

Physical symptoms: Dizzy spells up the wazoo- they happen when I get hot and there's no AC or fans at the cottage aside from the one we brought from home and had in our bedroom... So, there ya go. The worst was in the car with E and his dad, I spent a couple of hours laying down in bed with the fan once we made it back to the cottage.  Ribs still feel like they're going to break from the pressure inside (like they're being pushed out). Back pain, especially while standing for more than 30 seconds. Anxiety levels are still elevated and I'm back to the minor panic attacks pretty often. At one point I had one in a supermarket and we were right next to the blood pressure machine... My BP was like 102/60-something I think but my pulse was 134. Yikes-a-Roni. I'm peeing a tiny bit less often but larger quantities, tmi. Oh and I had a yeast infection, which was adorbs. And the tops of my arms get a little numb sometimes. And restless legs are back, every night. FML. Hot water was limited at the cottage so I couldn't really do my hot shower trick so I'm hoping that'll help again this week at home.... Also, driving home from Canada, if I was sitting for more than like 20-40 minutes at a time my ribs on my right side started KILLING and my muscles would spasm and it was awesome. If I stood up at a rest stop it'd be fine, but 20-40 minutes after getting back in the car it'd start up again. Kid is trying to break my ribs.

Weight gain/loss: There was a lot of junk food going on over vacation... Canada has crazy potato chip flavors. And we'd brought cookies with us. So... I gained 6lbs in 2 weeks. AHHH. I think it'll be ok once I'm eating normally again though.

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, two denim maternity skirts (one was a hand me down and is getting kinda snug), elastic waist skirts still fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. I got some cheapie maternity/nursing bras and like sort of sports bra type things before we got to the lake bc my normal bras were juuuust a little too tight and therefore murdering me. I'll probably need to get some better quality ones once I'm actually nursing but these are a million times better than my normal ones. I can actually breathe... Sometimes.

Stretch marks: None yet!

Sleep: Frick- same as last week: Restless legs are back with a vengeance. Hot water supplies are limited here at the lake cottage, so I've been limited to the hot water bottle method, which hasn't been great. I fall asleep eventually, but like, it's kinda embarrassing showing up downstairs at noon. Did I mention we're here with my in-laws? Yeah. Hopefully they don't think of me as their lazy ass daughter in law...

Best moment since last week: Vacation!!! I'm definitelyyyyy ready to go home but there were some really beautiful days up at the cottage and I got a ton of reading done on the rainy days which was super relaxing. I actually finished two books- a Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay (she also wrote Sarah's Key which was disturbing but great) and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby- I'd read half of it years ago and remembered it recently and started over from the beginning. It's depressing but funny and thoughtful and wonderful. There's a movie version coming out soon too, with Pierce Brosnan and Aaron Paul and Toni Colette. Woot! 

Other good things were the farmers market we went to, and a campfire, chilling by/in the lake, E's sister flew in from Chicago for a few days and his brother was able to come up to the weekend too, and a bunch of extended family came up from Toronto on Saturday to spend the day with all of us. 

On Sunday we started the journey home and got lunch with friends in Toronto (she's due a week before me!) and then stopped by Niagara Falls and spent that night in Syracuse before heading the rest of the way home on Monday. 

Movement: S/he has been going nuts. Lotssss of movement, lots of kicking, lots of hiccups, lots of visible-from-the-outside punches and kicks. I sneezed the other night and s/he kicked me so hard right afterwards. S/he's partial to hanging out on my right side.

Cravings/aversions: Parmesan (haven't had in weeks), root beer, Shirley temples, and, briefly, soft serve (no way to get that at the cottage). But! I've been eating meat! Chicken still grosses me out, but I've had grilled steak, sausage, burgers, hot dogs and turkey.... and generally enjoyed it! Craving mustard, which I normally hate, BIG TIME. We got a spicy horseradish mustard and it was amazing on all of that meat. Pickles, a little bit. Our next doctor appointment is on Friday, uh oh... 

Gender: Confirmed!! But we're keeping it a secret...

Labor signs: Nope

Belly button:  Innie, but the top is kiiiinda starting to poke out a little after I eat.

What I miss: I'd still love love love like an extra 2 feet worth of internal body space.

And sushi.

And alcoholic beverages.

What I am looking forward to: Getting this kid out of me. No but really.

Here's some photos! 

At Niagara Falls:

Up at the cottage:

With one of my BFFs who's due 1 week before us:

32 Week Update

How far along: 32 weeks 6 days (7 weeks to go as of tomorrow OMFG)

Size of baby:  Average = 2.5-3.8 lbs, 15.2"-16.7" long, or the size of squash. Our 20 week ultrasound had placed him/her in the 97th percentile for size (!!!!) buuuut our 32 week ultrasound's guesstimate was in the 65-75th percentile range. I'll take it!!

Physical symptoms: I'm either constipated or have diarrhea at any given time. Pretty stellar. I hadn't had any of those really awesome dizzy spells all week until Sunday, but I was sitting on the dock in the sun so it was kinda expected since it seems to happen when  I get really hot. Ribs still feel like they're going to break from the pressure inside (like they're being pushed out). Back pain, especially while standing for more than 30 seconds. Anxiety levels are still elevated but I haven't had any more full blown panic attacks... Been able to fight them off. 

Weight gain/loss: Haven't actually checked since last Tuesday (we're on vacation in Canada!) but that day I was still only up 20lbs. And I was 3 lbs less than I'd been the month before according to the doctor (bc the month before I ate a big breakfast Before the appointment AND was constipated) which he seemed a bit nervous about but the baby's growing juuuust fine so then he chillaxed. 

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, two denim maternity skirts (one was a hand me down and is getting kinda snug), elastic waist skirts and normal nylons still somehow fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. I got some cheapie maternity/nursing bras and like sort of sports bra type things before we got to the lake bc my normal bras were juuuust a little too tight and therefore murdering me. I'll probably need to get some better quality ones once I'm actually nursing but these are a million times better than my normal ones. I can actually breathe... Sometimes.

Stretch marks: I don't think so. 

Sleep: Frick. Restless legs are back with a vengeance. Hot water supplies are limited here at the lake cottage, so I've been limited to the hot water bottle method, which hasn't been great. I fall asleep eventually, but like, it's kinda embarrassing showing up downstairs at noon. Did I mention we're here with my in-laws? Yeah. Hopefully they don't think of me as their lazy ass daughter in law...

Best moment since last week: Vacation!!! Actually getting to see E for days straight! The trip up here wasn't horrendous... We usually do it in one day but it's a 12+ hour drove so I knew I wouldn't make that happen. We slept in a hotel in upstate NY and did the rest of the drive the next morning. Much more leisurely than usual. Here's the view from our bedroom (this has been E's family's lake cottage since the 1960's): 

Oh and this was from our drive up:

Movement: S/he has been going nuts. Lotssss of movement, lots of turning (eek, s/he was head down on Tuesday at the doctor's but now I'm not so sure), lots of hiccups, lots of visible-from-the-outside punches and kicks. 

Cravings/aversions: Really wish we'd brought some kosher Parmesan with us. But! I've been eating meat! Chicken still grosses me out, but I've had grilled steak, kielbasa and turkey and enjoyed it! Craving mustard, which I normally hate. Pickles a little bit. We finally made Shirley Temples on Shabbos. I've been doing a LOT of noshing, really gotta cut back bc our next doctor appointment is 3 days after we get home from this vacation lol. 

Gender: Confirmed!! But we're keeping it a secret...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie, but the top is kiiiid a starting to poke out a little. 

What I miss: I'd still love love love like an extra 2 feet worth of internal body space.

And sushi.

And alcoholic beverages. 

What I am looking forward to: The rest of our vacation, the relief of having a house sitter, E's sister and brother coming up to the cottage on Thursday, hopefully seeing friends in Toronto on Sunday, mayyyyybe hitting up Niagara Falls on the way home?? Busy, fun week!

31 Week Update

How far along: 31 weeks 6 days (8 weeks to go as of tomorrow OMFG)

Size of baby:  Average = 2.5-3.8 lbs, 15.2"-16.7" long, or the size of a PINEAPPLE or the weight of a coconut. Buuut the paperwork from our 20 week anatomy scan said he or she was in the >97% size percentile, soooooo....!?! We have another ultrasound on Wednesday, so maybe that'll be a moment of truth as to whether this kid is actually enormous or not. Orrr we'll just find out the hard way in 8 weeks. Eeek.

Physical symptoms: Constipation's #1!!! I'm still having those really awesome dizzy spells. It's still usually if I get hot. And I have to fully lay down on my left side (it's been happening even when I'm already sitting). So that's still cute and fun and TERRIFYING every time it happens (every few days). Ribs still feel like they're going to break from the pressure inside (like they're being pushed out). Back pain, especially while standing for more than 30 seconds, haha- that's a new one. Oh, and anxiety- definitely had a panic attack or two this week and fought off a couple more. Not major ones, but random and, well, never fun.

Weight gain/loss: According to my home scale I'm still up 20-22lbs. I'm sure the doctor's scale will say I've gained 15lbs since our last appointment but, I'm sticking with my scale!

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, two denim maternity skirts, while elastic waist skirts and normal nylons still somehow fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. I stillll need to get some maternity/nursing bras but I'm still gonna push that off for a bit maybe. A few friends recommended the Bravado brand... any other suggestions out there?

Stretch marks: I don't think so. There still might be some thinking about happening on my hips but I haven't really checked.

Sleep: Best in months. Thank Gd. For like 4 days straight now I haven't had to do my restless legs trick. I've had quick little RLS twinges, but I shift positions a couple of times and, I'm not really sure what happens but I wake up hours later. I'm definitely waking up throughout the night to switch positions more than ever before, but it's like a half-conscious thing. So I'm still exhausted, but the frustration and annoyance of RLS and insomnia isn't there, so I will 100% take it. Please let it stay like this!!!!

Best moment since last week: We went away for Shabbos to some friends in MA. They've been some of my very closest friends for almost 10 years and have run a Cha.bad house for the past 6-ish, and just moved into a new house/center this summer and it's amazing. There were also a bunch of other old friends staying there this weekend so it was really nice to see everyone. It was otherwise a pretty chill week (the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av was this week so that kind of threw everything off).

Movement: Still getting uterine spasms occasionally, but not as much as last week. Maybe a few Braxton Hicks but I'm not sure. The baby gets the hiccups a lot, and he or she is a big time mover and shaker- but only when it's quiet. When there's people around s/he gets shy or something and doesn't move. :) And when E puts his hand on my belly s/he also usually stops for a couple of seconds. It's pretty cute. Oh at one point this weekend, my friends' daughter was sitting on my lap and the baby kicked and she kind of looked at me funny and I told her that she'd just felt the baby kick and she got SO EXCITED and told her mom later, haha.

Cravings/aversions: I still really just want ice water All. The. Time. Otherwise there have just been momentary things- I really wanted Oreos this morning (there's a kosher brand called Trios) and a coffee milkshake yesterday. Oh and I usually can go for a "breakfast special" from a certain bagel shop in our neighborhood... my "usual" for years has been a cinnamon raisin bagel, toasted, with eggs and extra american cheese in the middle (a sandwich). I've craved those for years though, it's not much worse now than ever before, but I think I didn't want it so much in the earlier weeks... or maybe I did?

Plain Chicken still grosses me out. And most beef (this Shabbos I really wanted a piece of steak and then when I got it tasted weird, like what happened with coffee. And fish too.

Gender: Confirmed!! But we're keeping it a secret...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie!

What I miss: I'd still love love love like an extra 2 feet worth of internal body space. My ribs feel like they're going to crack from the internal pressure. There's just no room. 

And sushi.

What I am looking forward to: Going to Canada this week, and relieved that we found someone to house-sit. E's entire family owns a lake cottage up there and E has visited it every summer of his life. :) And Excited for our doctor appointment on Wednesday, we're supposed to get an ultrasound, so it'll be awesome to see this kid.

I might not be able to post my update next week but I'll definitely try to at least remember to write it. Eeek.

30 Week Update (!!!)

How far along: 30 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Average = 2.5-3.8 lbs, 15.2"-16.7" long, or the size of a cucumber, but the paperwork from our 20 week anatomy scan said he or she was in the >97% size percentile, soooooo....!?!

Physical symptoms: A bunch of aches and pains. Constipation. Headaches. Restless legs are occasionally beating my hot water trick and keeping me up. And I'm having these really awesome dizzy spells. Usually if I get hot. So our A/C has to be cranked up constantly, which is going to be an awesome bill. ;) But yeah, I get dizzy and nauseous and either really hot or really cold and have to sit/lay down like right as it comes on or else I start seeing black spots. Super cute. If you Google those symptoms, it's either preeclampsia (yikes) or a vasovagal reaction. I was super concerned but E is in the medical field and has taken my BP and it's always pretty ideal (thank you, thank you), and he spoke to some doctors in his hospital and they all said it's probably just from the baby shifting and kind of pushing on a specific nerve, causing, BINGO, a vasovagal reaction. Soooo yeah that's super fun and not at all terrifying.

Weight gain/loss: According to my home scale I'm still up 20-22lbs.

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, two denim maternity skirts while elastic waist skirts and normal nylons still somehow fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. Sleeping in tank tops with "shelf bras". I stillll need to get some maternity/nursing bras but I'm still gonna push that off for a bit maybe. A few friends recommended the Bravado brand... any other suggestions out there?

Stretch marks: I don't think so. There still might be some thinking about happening on my hips but it's hard to tell.

Sleep: Pretty much able to sleep better than I have in months. The past couple of nights I had minor restless leg issues, and had to switch sides frequently throughout the night because one side would get sore, but I'd generally fall right back asleep. Thank Gd. I've still even woken up when E's alarm went off, had a mini conversation or even gone to pee, and fallen right back asleep. Amazing. And thanks to that shower trick I'm generally able to vaguely fall asleep when I want to, so, things are great right now. Still exhausted though.

Best moment since last week: Went on a double date with some friends out in Long Island on Wednesday night. That was fun! And Friday night we had "picnic shabbos" at home, just the two of us (some other plans fell through last minute and E had worked 4 nights this week anyway, so we welcomed the low-key, early night). And Saturday night we vegged and ate some junk food, so that was definitely enjoyable. :) Oh and I taught E how to use eBay this week and he got really into it and "won" us a brand new, organic Ergobaby carrier for like half the price of one in a store. Very cute!

Movement: Holy crap this kid is moooooving. I can feel elbows or something sliding along, there are BIG kicks or punches, he or she is really going crazy in there. I think I might be having some kind of uterine spasms every once in awhile, too... is that a thing??

Cravings/aversions: I still really like lemonade if it's in front of me but I don't really crave it. Same with root beer. I still really just want ice water All. The. Time. Otherwise there have just been momentary things- I really, really wanted whitefish salad for Shabbos. I really wanted those drumstick ice cream cones last week. I wanted pickles a few nights in a row. And Saturday night I wanted Goldfish crackers, chocolate covered doughnuts (Entenmann's style), a vanilla milkshake and fig newtons. And chocolate covered pretzels. Idk what the deal was that night but all I got was the doughnuts. Actually E also tried to get me a vanilla milkshake but it slipped out of his hand literally as he walked through our front door and spilled everywhere, so.... #epicfail

Plain Chicken still grosses me out. And most beef. And fish.

Gender: Confirmed!! But it seems like we're keeping it a secret...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie!

What I miss: I'd still love love love like an extra 3 feet worth of internal body space. My ribs feel like they're going to crack from the internal pressure. There's just no room. 

And cocktails. I definitely miss cocktails. And sushi.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully going to Canada for a bit sometime in the next month. E's entire family owns a lake cottage up there and E has visited it every summer of his life. :) And going to visit some friends for Shabbos in a couple of weeks too. And E's only working 3 nights this week so I'm looking forward to actually seeing him this week, haha. 

Here's a 30-week bump shot- I actually feel 10x this large:

And Idk if I posted this in the last post but here's a really crappy iPhone pic of how much I've narrowed the nursery paint color options down to!! #winning

Living On the (Paint) Edge(-ing)

Holy crap, you guys, I finally finished painting the hallway trim after like 2.5+ years. There's still a little bit of white trim above the door that I'd somehow managed to miss when I was doing the white trim, but I think all of the blue edging is actually, finally, officially donezo! Gone are the days of our initial paint color mistakes peeking through- a too-light gray, a too-green blue, then a too-dark blue. It was like goldilocks and the four bears. Actually, there might've been a pretty terrible greenish-tan thrown in there somewhere too.... So, five bears? That final blue is Benjamin Moore's Bird's Egg (2051-60), if you're wondering. 

Needless to say, E is still traumatized by hardware store paint sections.... And dreading the baby's room paint-picking process. I'm not involving him until I have it narrowed down to two or three DEFINITE choices this time. 

Anyway! Here are a couple of before and afters (don't mind the iPhone quality- I still can't find the cord that connects my camera to the computer!): 

Ps- we're officially 30 weeks as of today... Holy moly!! Let the 10-week countdown begin!

29 Week Update

How far along: 29 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Average = 2.5-3.8 lbs, 15"-16.7" long, or the size of an acorn squash, but last week when we saw the paperwork from our 20 week anatomy scan, he or she was in the >97% size percentile, soooooo....!?!

Physical symptoms: Just a bunch of aches and pains. Every morning I wake up with a slightly stiff neck. And headaches like whoa. And back to the constipation. Oh and this is TMI but my nipples have been realllllly dry (and therefore super sore) on and off (for months) so I've been using lanolin cream and that really works wonders. And!!!!!! Good news!!!!!! I FINALLY FOUND RELIEF FROM THE RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME!!!! It's not an end-all-be-all solution but it's the only thing that's even vaguely worked. I take a shower, then I turn the water on as hot as I can handle and stick my lower legs in it. Sometimes skip the full shower if I already showered that day and I just stretch while the waters runs on my legs. Then I have to get into bed right away (like within 10 mins) and I'm usually able to fall asleep. I got really nervous for Shabbos this week because I wouldn't be able to use the hot water and it was going to be the first night all week that I couldn't do my "trick" until E and I realized we could use our Shabbos hot water urn to fill up a hot water bottle and I ended up going to bed with it between my calves (wrapped in a towel) and while it wasn't as magical as the shower, it got me to sleep!!! So thank Gd for that. I was seriously losing my mind.

Weight gain/loss: According to my home scale I'm still up 22lbs as of yesterday morning and 20lbs on Friday morning. I'm still gonna use the "I'm constipated!" excuse but it's really somewhere around that.

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, I now have two denim maternity skirts that I've been living in, but other elastic waist skirts and normal nylons still somehow fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. And I bought a few tank tops with "shelf bras" to sleep in and they're kind of life savers. I need to get some maternity/nursing bras but I'm still gonna push that off for a bit maybe. A few friends recommended the Bravado brand... any other suggestions out there?

Stretch marks: I don't think so. There still might be some thinking about happening on my hips but it's hard to tell.

Sleep: I've been able to stay asleep much better than last week- it must've been the away-from-home factor throwing that off last week. I've even woken up when E's alarm went off, had a mini conversation or even gone to pee, and fallen right back asleep. Amazing. And thanks to that shower trick I'm actually able to vaguely fall asleep when I want to, so, things are great right now. Still exhausted though.

Best moment since last week: Hmmmm. Got breakfast with some friends that were in town from Seattle- that was really nice. And Shabbos was really fun. We got ice cream on Saturday night... We had a pretty chill week; honestly didn't do much at all. I guess I was nesting though, I did about a million loads of laundry and reorganized our dresser. Fun stuff! ;) 

edit! Oh! And my glucose test came back A-OK!!!!! No gestational diabetes for me!! I seriously can't explain how excited and relieved I am!

Movement: He/she has been really active on my left side- sometimes big kicks, sometimes it felt like the baby was sliding a limb along, which was kind of creepy because it felt like worms under my skin or something. Super weird.. E finally witnesses one of the huge kicks and couldn't believe it. Like he was uncharacteristically surprised at what he saw, lol. Today the movement shifted higher, which is interesting. There hadn't previously been much action up there. At a couple of points it felt like the kid was stretching a limb out straight and then just left it stuck out like that for a few seconds. Because we had such a chill week, E spent a lot of time with his hand on my belly and got to feel the baby a lot more that ever before, which was really nice. He sang her/him songs and talked to him/her a lot, which was crazzzzy cute. Oh and the kid seems to get the hiccups a LOT. Last night he/she seemed to have them for like 15 minutes straight and would kick me HARD every few minutes. She/he was clearly not a happy camper, lol.

Cravings/aversions: Bagels with eggs and cheese is still #1. Shirley Temples (but I haven't had any! E got all of the ingredients Saturday night except that the store didn't have grenadine and we were feeling too lazy to make our own- which we actually usually do). I still really like lemonade if it's in front of me but I don't really crave it. I still really just want ice water All. The. Time. And coffee. I really crave coffee, but haven't been drinking it too much (only like 2-3x this week!) because when I get it, it doesn't taste as amazing as I wanted it to and I'm just as tired 20 minutes later as I was before.

Plain Chicken still grosses me out. And most beef. And fish. 

I still really want a root beer. 

Gender: Confirmed!! But Idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie!

What I miss: I'd still love love love like an extra 3 feet worth of internal body space. By 4:30/5pm every day my ribs feel like they're going to crack from the internal pressure. There's just no room. 

And cocktails. I definitely miss cocktails.

What I am looking forward to: Hitting the 30 week mark tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!! Going to Canada for a bit sometime in the next month. E's entire family owns a lake cottage up there and E has visited it every summer of his life. :) And we're getting dinner with some friends on Wednesday. And going to visit some friends for Shabbos in a couple of weeks too. Yeehaw!

27 & 28 Week Update (whoops!)

Idk what happened! I missed week 27! 

Today we had our 28 week Dr appt and the kid is doing well, thank Gd. :) I was all over the place this week- you'll read about some of those adventures in my answers. I'm really exhausted and used a lot of hashtags in this post. Sorryyyy. 

How far along: 28 weeks 6 days

Size of baby:  Average = large eggplant or cucumber... But we just saw the paperwork from our 20 week anatomy scan and back then he or she was in the >97% size percentile, soooooo....!?!

Physical symptoms: I honestly can't really remember what happened last week, but week 28 was full of insomnia- I'd get exhausted around 8, try to sleep, fail, and then try again after 1am and eventually succeed... Only to wake up between 5:30am and 7am. #awesomesauce I also vomited twice on Friday morning out of nowhere. On Saturday, E and I walked ~5 miles and then I danced a LOT at my cousin's wedding Saturday night (after Shabbos) and on Sunday morning I could barely walk so... That's cool. Oh and I couldn't fall asleep Saturday night bc my legs hurt so much (from walking, not restless legs!). My arm and neck muscles have also killllllllled all week from driving from Brooklyn to MA to NH to upstate NY to Brooklyn this week. I'm basically 90 years old and no amount of stretching is helping all the aches. 

Weight gain/loss: Oh Gosh. So... My in-laws threw us a baby shower yesterday and went all out in the food direction, so my weight check-in at our doctor appointment today was a little sad. Oh and I'm constipated. So. According to my home scale I was up 22lbs this morning, but the doctor says "almost 30" so... Yikes and whoops.

Maternity clothes: Same- mostly maternity shirts, I now have two denim maternity skirts that I've been living in, but other elastic waist skirts and normal nylons still somehow fit. Maternity dresses or old non-maternity empire waist maxi dresses. And I bought a few tank tops with "shelf bras" to sleep in and they're kind of life savers. I need to get some maternity/nursing bras but I'm gonna push that off for a bit maybe. 

Stretch marks: I think I caught some by my hips in the mirror this morning but was rushing to get to my Dr appt and didn't take the time to investigate...

Sleep: Hahahahaha.... no. Falling asleep is still next to impossible, still thanks to the restless legs. For one or two nights during week 27 it seemed like eating a banana before bed was solving the problem but that hasn't worked since then. The dr took blood to check my iron levels today but didn't seem too impressed with the iron-deficiency-causes-restless-legs theory. And E's aunt who's a midwife-nurse practitioner said that in her experience, even women who take a small dose of ambien or whatever while pregnant say that it doesn't help their restless legs, so... Seems like we're just gonna have to wait this one out. #11moreweeks. 

Also, until this week, once I was finally asleep I was out cold for a good chunk of time... But this week's new trick is that I wake up like 5 hours later, tops, regardless of what time I fall asleep. It's wonderful. #notttt

Best moment since last week: Again, I can't really remember much from week 27, but this week I drove to MA to visit my family. E had to work so I picked him up at the bus station on Friday and we went to NH Friday-Sunday morning for my cousin's wedding Saturday night. 

(This was after my 5 mile walk and dancing all night. A little exhausted! But then we went to the after-party, haha)

Then Sunday morning we headed to upstate NY to E's parents' house for a baby shower!!! His mom is one of 8 kids so a bunch of her sisters and a brother and their kids all made the trip- some from Michigan or NC. My sister-in-law flew in from Chicago and pretty much planned the whole thing and did an amazing job. We got some awesome gifts, including a lamb baby swing, a rock 'n' roll exersaucer, a million onesies an swaddling blankets, the Baby Bullet, some books... Etc. It was awesome. My SIL had games set up- she froze tiny plastic babies in ice cubes and whoever's ice melted first had to yell "my water broke!!" (I had to add "pretend" in there, but only came in second place haha). And there was a matching game for celebrities and baby names. And people decorated disposable diapers with advice or funny sayings or pictures. It was superrrrr cute. I'd post pictures but it gives away the gender... Hmmm. 

It was a really family love-y week. 

Movement: Homeboy or Homegirl is apparently very shy (like me, not E!) bc she or he barely moved this whole week except for when I'd be laying down or occasionally while I was driving. My mom only got to feel the baby kick once and E's family missed it entirely! Today the dr said my placenta is at the top or something, and guessed that I mostly feel the kicks lowwww down below my belly button and he's right. I'll occasionally feel it above my belly button if I'm sitting down but it's rare. This evening, though, back at home, the kid was right back at it, training for the World Cup with some maaaajor kicks. Baby's just shy I guess. 

Cravings/aversions: Bagel with lox and cream cheese, or bagel with eggs and cheese, or sesame chicken with mashed potatoes (except that I ate it tonight for the first time in like 2 weeks and it was weird so that might be over now), and Shirley temples. And kind of chocolate covered raisins. I really like lemonade if it's in front of me but I don't really crave it. I really just want ice water All. The. Time. Oh and there was this tabouli (sp??) at the baby shower that I loved. And E and I both got really into this tortilla chip/green olive/slice of cheese combo yesterday too. That was weird.

Plain Chicken still grosses me out. And most beef. E grilled some chicken at the baby shower yesterday and I ate a few bites bc his parents had bought it for us, but it was hard. 

I really want a root beer. 

Gender: Confirmed!! But Idk if we're going to tell...

Labor signs: Hopefully not anyyytime soon.

Belly button:  Innie but the skin around it is starting to get tight, EXTREMELY tight post-eating, so...

What I miss: Sleep definitely wins #1. I'd love love love like an extra 3 feet worth of internal body space. By 4:30/5pm every day my ribs feel like they're going to crack from the internal pressure. There's just no room. 

What I am looking forward to: Seeing a few friends that are in town this week. Going to Canada for a bit sometime in te next month or two- E's entire family owns a lake cottage up there and E has visited it every summer of his life. :)