30 weeks

Just as a disclaimer, at this point in the pregnancy, the updates I have been doing may vary a lot more for each baby, as development can vary so much. But just for fun sake, I will keep doing them anyway: D

At 30 weeks, our baby is about the size of a cabbage (our very own cabbage patch kid!) weighing in at about 3 lbs and getting close to 16 inches long. His skin is becoming more smooth, but his brain is getting more wrinkly, increasing the surface area making more room for that essential brain tissue. Now that he can regulate his own body temperature, he is shedding the downy body hair called lanugo which was previously keeping him warm.

We went to the doc on Thursday, and had another ultrasound. No good pics, unfortunately- he is a bit too big to capture very much in one screen, which is a good thing! I was 29w5d at my appt., but he was measuring at 30w3d- about 3 lbs. 8-9 oz. So our little man is growing healthy and strong! His head is about as far down into my pelvic bone as he can get- I am starting to feel the results of that. They were trying to get a good look that the placenta and my cervix, and his big head was in the way most of the time! They did see that the placenta moved a bit since my 20w U/S, but not quite enough. Doc says he still considers it placenta previa, just meaning that the placenta partially covers my cervix. He recommended one more U/S at 36 weeks, since it is almost out of the way, and it if continues to be stubborn, it just means I have a scheduled c-section instead of a normal delivery. In the meantime, I am on light duty activities for the most part, but I can continue to work until 36 weeks since it's just a desk job.

My sleep schedule is constant now for the most part- I wake up about every 3 hours. I am guessing that will be Sean's schedule when he gets here, I can't see any other reason why I can't sleep more than 3 hour at a time without waking up! He kicks a lot now, to the point where my stomach looks like there is an alien trying to break out inside! I was even telling Mike that I think he has somehow bruised parts of me on the inside. He will kick, and at first it doesn't bother me, and then he will kick another spot and it feels so tender it hurts. But I am so happy and excited to think about meeting this little guy, in as little as 6 weeks, or hopefully no longer than 10 weeks!

In other news, Mike was sweet enough to cater to my needs of having Christmas decorations up soon after Thanksgiving. He hung the Christmas lights on the house on Monday night with Josh, and then we picked out a tree and put that up in the living room. I was too exhausted to do much on Monday (I actually stayed home from work that day because the exhaustion was too much to handle) but then when I went back to work on Tuesday he got the tree all decorated for me! Our living room is a little short on space now, but it's beautiful. I have been listening to a lot of Christmas music, especially instrumental (my favorite). I broke out the Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker, and have been listening to that full blast in my car. They say having your baby listen to classical music helps with brain development- I don't know if it's true or not, but it calms me down and I like it, so that alone must be good for him.

Today Mike and I are off to Lamaze- I am so glad my friend Katie (who is 35 weeks tomorrow!) and her hubby will be there with us. Mike and I went to the hospital tour and birthing basics class on Tuesday, and it was waaaay too crowded for my liking, and I could feel the tension from Mike as he tried to not look like he wanted to run away screaming. So hopefully having some friends there will help make it more comfortable. Tomorrow is the baby shower and I am so excited! But the only problem is that it is at my house, and due to my extreme exhaustion, I have not been cleaning house much- and I am embarrassed to think about having so many people here unless I clean up a bit. I am going to see how much I can get done when I get home today, like a quick vacuum and tidying of the living room, and the rest will just have to wait.

23 weeks

Well compared to last week, not a whole lot of "new" development going on, I was a little disappointed.... all of my weekly update websites say pretty much the same as last week. Baby is probably between 11-12 inches this week, and weighing in at more than a pound. The only thing different that I read this week that excites me is that now is the time that baby starts putting on the chub.... he's gonna fatten up like a good baby should! It says that between now and then end of the month, Baby will double in weight : ) I am trying to think of that as a mother, and be very happy about that, and not think about it as someone who will be giving birth, which then it scares me a little LOL.

Just because the websites don't say a whole lot doesn't mean there isn't anything going on for us though! My belly is getting big enough now that my belly button looks different. I played some music the other day, with one headphone in my ear and one up to my belly..... Dream Theater Sean was kicking around a lot for. Not as much for Jimi Hendrix. Sean kicks a lot though- it's nice to know he is there, but sometimes it makes it hard to sleep.

I think I have come to the conclusion that soda is what makes my feet swell. I tried this theory out this week- no soda since Thursday, and so far no swelling. Knock on wood. Also it has been nice and cool out, which helps. But I really don't eat that much salty food, and soda has a lot of sodium in it. So that's my theory.

Josh's mom (grandma #4) sent us some clothes the other day. Between what she sent us, and what other people have been sending, what I already know Mike's mom has in Austin, this boy is going to be stylin! And the best news is, we probably won't have to buy clothes for a long time! Bonus!

This is our favorite outfit so far- jeans from Karen, shirt from Josh's girlfriend Abby, shoes from Josh, and Mike picked out the hat : )

Also, I went to get my hair done this week- as I am getting larger, it gets harder to feel "pretty." I just feel pregnant. So I told the man at the salon to make my hair beautiful, and I think he did! I love it, and he really listened to me when I told him I am low maintenance- the only things I know how to use are a round brush and a straightening iron, neither of which I can use well, and I hate using products. It's perfect! He put some blonde highlights in just the top/front, the rest he was able to match my natural color almost perfectly!! Which is great- I was getting so sick of my 3 inch natural roots with my unnatural hair color LOL.

Mike went to Pensacola, FL this week to visit our friend Doug- he took some pics, so I figured I would post some of those as well. We are planning to make a trip back there together soon. Lucky dog, it was so beautiful there, I was jealous I had to work. Bout a 5 hour drive, and he took his motorcycle. He is trying to fit in some nice long rides while he still can. After Baby gets here, it will be a little while before he can take a long trip away from home like that.

That's about it for our updates for now. I am so excited, we are almost into the third trimester!! I've signed up for birthing and baby classes already. Craziness!

19 weeks

Only one more week to go and I am officially half way through this pregnancy- crazy how quickly it is going by, huh? And at the same time, part of me is ready to be done with being pregnant and just have this baby here. I know it is a bit early to feel that way, but being pregnant isn't all that great. I am trying to remind myself to enjoy this time before parenthood, so that's what I am trying to do.

From babycenter.com and thebump.com, baby is now the size of a mango! About 8.5 oz and about 6 inches head to rump. Baby is covered in something called vernix caseosa, mixture of lanugo (fine baby hair that covers the whole body), oil, and dead skin cells (yummy) that protects the delicate little skin from pickling in all of that amniotic fluid. Arms and legs are finally in proportion to the rest of the body, and hair may be starting to sprout on top of baby's head. Some studies have shown that at this point baby may be able to hear our voice now, so it's a good time to begin reading, talking, and singing to baby.

In mommy's development, I have officially experienced the extreme swollen ankles. We went to the Reverend Horton Heat and Motorhead concert in Houston on Friday, and I stood nonstop from 7:30 PM until about 1 AM, and when we left the concert my ankles were so swollen they were literally rings hanging over the sides of my ankle socks. It was absolutely disgusting. I spent all day yesterday with my feet propped up, hoping they would go back down so I could actually be of some use today. The good news was that in the second song of the Reverend Horton Heat's set, Mike was standing behind me with his hands on my belly, and he felt a single but wonderful kick from the baby! It's the first time anyone has felt baby on the outside, though I am pretty used to the little kicks and movements pretty constantly throughout the day now. My first thought was, our baby has good taste in music, it likes the Reverend!!

That's all I got for now- I am figuring out how to deal with the achy back and ribs, and the extreme (and I mean extreme) heartburn that I get everyday. I know it will all be more than worth it in the end : D

18 weeks

The last week or two has been a rollercoaster! It is still hard controlling my emotions. And my appetite. It has also been exciting, because I have definitely been feeling baby move around some, but not enough to have anyone else feel from the outside. Still, it's kind of a warm fuzzy feeling I get every time I feel the movements- like a reminder that our little munchkin is doing its own thing in there. Plus I went to another appointment, which went fine, and we scheduled the ultrasound for October 1st- a week before I thought he would schedule it! : ) I will be 20w5d at that point, so it will be a perfect time to see our baby in live action. That is the part I am most excited about- that and determining if it will be a boy or a girl.... I am waiting until I can call our baby by name- Sean William, or Katherine/Kathryn Marie (Kate). At least that's what we have so far. Stay tuned for updates if we change our mind.

Here is the weekly updates- again, combined info from babycenter.com and thebump.com.

Head to rump, baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 7 ounces (the size of a bell pepper, or a sweet potato!) and is moving around a lot now- flexing arms and legs, yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. Blood vessels are visible through the thin skin, and ears are in their final position. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that continues for a year after birth. If baby is a girl, the uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may be shy and hide them during an ultrasound. Baby can also hear what is going on outside the womb now, so it is a good time to break out the tunes- hint, play music that resembles your own thumping heart (about 60 bpm).

That's all I have for today. Until next week!

Guess the Songs

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 30 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Bold out the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
Step 5: If you like the game post your own! 

1. "If I could tear you from the ceiling, and guarantee a source divine"

2. "A certain shade of green, tell me is that what you need?"

3. "Sunrise, wrong side of another day, Sky high and six thousand miles away"

4.  "Well I woke up in mid afternoon 'cause that's when it all hurts the most"

5.  "I'm waiting for the moon to come and light me up inside."

6.  "The first time I saw you you were chasing down a cyclone all alone in a field"

7.  "No matter where I am bless me with all your light"

8. "Well now friends let me tell you about this cat that I once met"

9. "Hey little dreamer's eyes open and staring up at me"

10. "Well she was just seventeen, and you know what I mean"

11.  "In the darkest hole you'd be well advised not to plan my funeral before the body dies"

12. "People ask where murder city is, where murder city is"

13. "Whenever skies look gray to me and trouble begins to brew"

14. "Maria Maria, she reminds me of a west side story"

15. "Well shake it up baby (shake it up baby)"

16.  "There's no way to tell you, there's no warning bell"

17.  "We are 138, we are 138."

18. "I know she said it's alright, but you can make it up next time"

19. "Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more"

20. "In the distance she saw me comin' 'round, I was calling out, I was calling out"

21. "All I can say is that my life is pretty plain"

22. "Tony Danza cuts in line"

23. "Could you whisper in my ear the things you wanna feel"

24. "Welcome to our fortress tall, take some time to show you around"

25. "Tell me who's that writin', John the Revelator"

26. "Stop! Look and listen baby, that's my philosophy"

27. "Didn't believe when I gave you the diamond"

28. "Now the summer's come and gone, I feel September comin' on"

29. "I'm gonna dancehall dancehall everyday"

30. "Fire eye flashin' bright, come again into my dream tonight"

Other People's Lives

Oh what a fun game!!! : D

1. Put Your iTunes on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends.
6. Anyone tagged has to do the same, because fun pointlessness spreads like a virus

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
Walking After You (Foo Fighters)

How would you describe yourself?
Lightness (Death Cab for Cutie)

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Miniature Disasters (KT Tunstall)

How do you feel today?
Mothers of the Disappeared (U2)

What is your life’s purpose?
King Rocker (Generation X)

What is your motto?
MFC (Pearl Jam)

What do your friends think of you?
Cheatin' (Gin Blossoms)

What do you think of your parents?
Got you by the Balls (AC/DC- LOL that one is funny!)

What do you think about very often?
Losing a Whole Year (Third Eye Blind)

What is 2 + 2?
Hey Man, Nice Shot (Filter)

What do you think of your best friend?
Fiddle and the Drum (A Perfect Circle)

What do you think of the person you like?
Beautifully Broken (Gov't Mule)

What is your life story?
any dream will do- orlando pops orchestra

What do you want to be when you grow up?
We are the Road Crew (Motorhead)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Tourette's (Nirvana- LOL that one is funny too)

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Rufus Wainwright)

What will they play at your funeral?
Maddest Kind of Love (Big Bad VooDoo Daddy)

What is your hobby/interest?
How do you do? (Radiohead)

What is your biggest fear?
Valley of the Dolls (Generation X- that does sound a little creepy)

What is your biggest secret?
Skin O' My Teeth (Megadeth)

What do you think of your friends?
Cold Cold Heart (Nora Jones- my friends really aren't bad LOL!)

What will you post this as?
Other People's Lives (Modest Mouse)

I am tagging Mikey Reed, Jenny Holloway, Katy Peterson, Courtney Bowlden, McKenna Wadsworth, Debra Kaitschuck, Rachel Barton, Tiffany Bryden, Elyse Gisclair, Marc Bodensteiner, Morgan Durman, Annie Haefner, Dan Hagelberg