bump watch: week 33...almost 34

It's been a while since I've done a bump update.  A lot has changed in the last 4-5 weeks. We are officially in week 33 now and looking every bit of it....plus more. Remember that other shoe I mentioned? It has officially dropped. I can no longer stay in any one position for long periods of time, which has complicated working and sleeping. Have I mentioned how grateful I am to work from home? I can't imagine spending 8+ hours/day stuck in an office chair at a desk. My saving grace is that I can switch from desk to bed to couch to exercise ball every hour or so.

Sleeping has also become pretty interesting. I don't usually have trouble falling asleep, but I'm waking up at 4:00 a.m. almost every night. Sometimes I can go back to sleep quickly, but more times, it goes something like this:

4:00 a.m. - Wake up. Try to ignore that I am awake.
4:05 a.m. - Begin to come to terms with the fact that I'm awake. Attempt to roll over to relieve the rib pain which probably work me up in the first place.
4:07 a.m. - After successfully rolling over, debate whether or not it's worth it to get out of bad to use the ladies' room.
4:10 a.m. - Resign myself to the fact that I have no choice.
4:11 a.m. - Make the long 10 ft trek to the bathroom.
4:15 a.m. - Try to fall back asleep.
4:16 a.m. - Punch and/or kick Jon for 1 of 3 infractions: 1) snoring, 2) encroachment on my side of the bed, 3) or the more serious encroachment + illegal use of the hands by trying to "share" one of my pillows, which has been strategically placed to alleviate some kind of pregnancy-related discomfort.
4:20 a.m. - Skippy starts gymnastics or karate class.
4:21 a.m. - Realize I may not sleep again...ever. Begin dreading the alarm.
5:30-6:00 a.m. - Finally drift back to sleep.

But other than these normal and relatively mild aches, pains and sleeping troubles, everything else is A-OK. I'm grateful for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby. All indications are that Skippy is perfectly happy as an inside baby. His heartbeat is strong and his punches and kicks are even stronger. We had a quick ultrasound earlier this week at my midwife appointment to check Skippy's position. He is doing just what he is supposed to do - hanging out head down in a classic fetal position. Of course, he is still measuring about 1-2 weeks ahead, but what else is new? I'm starting to resign myself to the fact that he might just be a big baby, but I'll take that any day as long as he arrives happy and healthy.

We are really starting to prepare for his arrival. I think since we recognize there isn't much we can do to prepare for bringing him home - everyone keeps telling us you're never ready for that - so we've concentrated all of our efforts on something we can prepare for: labor and delivery. We started birth class a couple of weeks ago with our doula Cara. We decided to do private classes for ease of scheduling, and it's worked out really well. Not only do we get to spend more time with our doula, but each class is geared toward our birth preferences and the practices at the hospital where I will deliver. We aren't wasting any time on things that won't apply to us and we get to spend a lot of time discussing and practicing techniques that appeal to us and our personalities.

Skippy you have been busy lately. I was a little cross with you the other day for causing lots of discomfort at once, but I think we've officially smoothed things over. You will learn someday that just because I'm unhappy with you, it doesn't mean I don't love you.

We've also had two showers this month. I'll tell you more about those in another post. You may remember that Dad explained a shower is a party in your honor, not an actual shower with water and soap. It's been so fun to celebrate with all of your family and friends. Everyone is so excited for your arrival. You are one lucky little guy to be so loved by so many people already.

In other news, your mom and dad have been married for 7 years. We celebrated our anniversary on Sunday, but the official celebration is dinner out tonight. We've loved being just husband and wife, but we are excited to become mom and dad soon. It will be fun (and I'm sure challenging) to see how life changes once we became a family of three.

Your nursery is *almost* done. We really just have the last finishing touches to take care of - mostly hanging some shelves and your other set of curtains. I'll let Dad take care of those jobs. Now we just need to tackle everything else on our to-do list. I'm starting to feel the crunch yet I don't have the energy to do much besides work and sleep. I'm hoping the nesting instinct/energy surge will hit me soon.

Still loving: prenatal yoga, the chiropractor, and heating pad.

Still craving: grilled cheese, bananas, and anything in the comfort food category.

bumpmoon

I can't believe it's been over a month since we got back from Hawaii. Time flies when you are busy growing a tiny human.

I'm pretty sure we've already talked about how fun the flight was for this momma, but I would do it again today if the end destination was somewhere as amazing as Hawaii. I know it sounds like a cliche destination, but it's such a wonderful place. I'm not sure it could ever disappoint any traveler. I was there for all of 5 minutes before I was glad we chose an island getaway over a city. Someday, I will get to Paris, but now was not the time.

Jon had never been to Hawaii, and it had been years since I had been. We flew into Honolulu and spent 2 nights there. It was a good way to get over any jet lag and ease into our vacation - Honolulu is also home to some of the best restaurants on the island so we took full advantage of that. Our only must-do was Pearl Harbor, where we spent almost an entire day.

After our brief stint in Honolulu, we moved on to the main event: Kauai. I'm not going to do a day by day recap because I'm pretty sure that would be beyond annoying. I'll hit some photos highlights, but you can just assume everything else was a wonderful mix of beach bumming, pool relaxing, spa lounging, sunset gazing and general vacation bliss.

the view from our hotel balcony in honolulu

surprisingly put together after 8+ hours on a plane.

submarine tour at Pearl Harbor. it was really hot that day. i spent a good portion of the day sitting in the shade with all the elderly tourists. #noshame

this jeep was courtesy the baby bump. there was a little bit of a wait at the car rental place for midsize SUVs, which is what we had reserved. the guy took one look at me and gave us this Jeep which was ready to go....and it was a good thing because we needed it on more than one bumpy beach access road. 

baby bump waiting for the sunset.

the helicopter tour was the highlight of the trip. i got a little nervous when a guy coming off the tour before us was holding his air sickness bag, but baby and I took it like champs. much of the island isn't accessible by car so unless you want to hike for days (we didn't), this is the best way to see everything. it did not disappoint. 

this baby looks huge. focus on the pretty canyon beyond us. 

i took one step on this swinging bridge before deciding it wasn't meant for me. jon liked it, though. :)

fact: i don't love the beach. i usually make it about 20 minutes before i need to find shade.

peeking out the lighthouse.

And here are some really pretty scenery photos. Like I said, I don't think this place could disappoint any traveler.

And some food porn:

this lady makes amazing malasada (Portuguese fried dough) from a tiny cart outside a kmart. best. find. ever.

coconut shaved iced with coconut cream topping. be still my heart. i had this twice even though it was 30 minutes from our resort.

tropical hot dog - also had this twice on both sides of the island. :)

traditional hawaiian plate lunch. best pulled pork of my life.

a fine dining version of cotton candy. also know as a cloud of yumminess. 

bump watch: week 29

bumpie time...our good luck packers shirt!

Big news, Skippy, the Packers are 3-0!!!!! Ok, that wasn't really my big news (but I think you might be good luck. Or at least the maternity Packers shirt I have thanks to you is good luck)....

I *think* we have a name picked out for you! We've been trying it on for size, and while we still slip up and call you Skippy from time to time, there have been no other adverse reactions to your chosen name. The jury is still out on who/what/where/when/why others may get to be in on the secret, but we're leaning toward keeping it close to the vest. Telling people your name might just open a whole can of worms we don't want to deal with - we get enough opinions about you as it is. :) Besides, isn't it more fun for people to be surprised?!

I spend a good amount of time  these days debating the best way to tell people how far along I am - almost 30 weeks, due in December, just over 2 months to go! No matter what I say, I know people will immediately look at my belly and judge my progress. For example, I was getting along swimmingly with the nice young man installing the blinds in your nursery until he asked how far along I was. When I told him when you were due, he told me he thought I was farther along than that. Wrong answer, blinds guy, wrong answer.

You were measuring right on schedule at my last midwife appointment, but the chiropractor told me yesterday that you are long baby. Speaking of the chiropractor, he is mom's favorite person these days. You don't seem to mind him too much either. I know my comfort is your top priority...as evidenced by your constant beat down of my right rib cage. You are laying on my left side head down with arms and legs free to use the rest of me a punching bag. I imagine you as a boxing puppet, but cuter and more cuddly.

Our other favorite thing to do these days is prenatal yoga. We started a 6-week class last week. It's fun to be with all the other moms-to-be and little humans. The classes focus on getting us ready for labor and delivery. We are learning lots of great laboring positions and stretches to help strengthen and relieve those achy muscles.

Tomorrow, we are headed to Wichita for a little grandmother's shower. It will be your first trip to Schmeema's house (and your last plane trip from the inside). All of Schmeema's friends are excited for your arrival too! It's very sweet of them to want to shower you just because they know and love your Schmeema. There is a bit of a hurricane issue threatening our travel plans, but I'm hoping a little rain won't stop us.