Week 30 & part of 31

Size of the baby:  Size of a Pineapple and around 3 lbs

Getting bigger.  Here are two not so good pics to see the progress.  As you can see depending on the outfit and angle the belly looks bigger.  Sorry for the blurred images.

 

Most Exciting Things The Past Week: We got a snow day this week!  Since November, I had been saying the weather felt like it did in 2008 when we had a big snow storm  before Christmas.  I was kind of bummed because we didn't receive any snow in December and January, but this week it hit!  Nike closed campus early on Thursday, and all day on Friday.  A snow day was much needed, especially in getting prepared for Charlotte.  The drive home on Thursday took me 3 1/2 hours to get home.  The highways were white out due to high winds and snow.  3 1/2 hours being pregnant is no bueno!  This bladder was about to pop.  It almost became an emergency....I attempted to pee in a cup.  There was no graceful way to do this though, so I just cranked the music and sang out loud.  I stopped at the grocery store and the check out guy saw my face in shear panic.  He yelled the bathroom lock code to me..."12345!".  "Thank  you, thank you!!"  I made it! 

On Thursday I had begun having Braxton Hick contractions and slight cramping.  The contractions were coming about every hour.  I was starting to get a little concerned.  I haven't had any cramping. On Friday, I called the Dr.  just to make sure all was good.  She said I could be dehydrated and told me to just lay and drink for the day.  It was a good thing we had a true snow day on Friday.  That is what I did, drank a ton of water, lived in the bathroom, and watched some of the Olympic snowboarding.  I did slow cook some pork shoulder in our new stock pot we got for Christmas.  Tristan had picked up the pork shoulder on his way home from work on Thursday.  Pulled pork sandwiches for the weekend! Mmmm.  After the rest day and drinking a ton of water, I felt much better!  I think the Dr. was right.  I was a dehydrated. My goal each day is to drink 5 of my designated water bottle.  It takes some effort.  I've also started to eat avocados again.  They didn't sound good at the beginning of pregnancy, but in our childbirth class we learned the oils can help soften the skin, and YES I want soft skin for Charlotte's arrival. My two favorite meals are a kale, pineapple, and avocado smoothie, or scrambled eggs on an english muffin with avocado as the spread, with green Tabasco sauce on top (and cheese).  Mmmm.  It's one of Tristan's favorites too.  

On Saturday, I had a little cabin fever due to not really leaving the couch on Friday.  Tristan and I went for a walk in the snow.  It was still snowing pretty hard.  We walked to get coffee and then up to West Elm.  We had been eyeing a glider in there for the last several months and decided to take one last look.  I realized we had a $150 credit to the store and Grammy and Papa had given us money to put toward a glider when we first found out we were pregnant (thank you!!).  We finally pulled the trigger and got a great savings as they were having a sale, and didn't have to pay shipping!  Tristan and I were both SO excited and proud of our smart purchase (or we felt it was a smart purchase)!  Some gliders out there are incredibly expensive and not quite what you want.  This one is tall enough for both of us to lie our heads back and has a great glide. Also it can work in Charlotte's room or the living room. We literally did a happy dance all the way home.  Here it is! The Graham Glider from West Elm.  Arrives in 3-4 weeks!  Whoo hoo!! It does have a gliding ottoman, but we decided that was a nice to have, not a need to have.

Here's a photo Tristan snapped on our walk back home.  The snow was beautiful! 

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing, I purchased some of our remaining baby registry items with gift cards we received, and Tristan did quite a bit of reading.  I still had an aching back so I stuck in a prenatal yoga video and did an hour of yoga.  It was awesome!  Tristan just read on the couch while I did yoga breathes loudly and let my pregnant belly hang free.  He's a good man!  It felt amazing.  This will be a new nightly routine.  We decided to get out one more time for the night, what better reason than for some hot chocolate.  Tristan had a Starbucks reward that needed to be used by today so of course we needed a hot chocolate.  On our way out there was a couple in the lobby waiting on a cab.  Tristan had gone to pull his truck around and I asked where they were going.  They were headed to a wedding reception just a couple of blocks up the street.  They had just had a baby in April, so we begun to chat quite a bit.  I told them we could give them a ride.  I had forgotten we had a crib box in the back of Tristan's truck...oops!  They were fine with it, she was in a dress and crawled on top of the box and so did her husband.  We dropped them at the reception and then hit up the Starbucks one block away, success!  We then came home, made some dinner, and I made a little poppy seed bread (yum!), and snuggled in to watch the Olympics. Love snow days!!

Charlotte's most active time is in the evenings around 6:30pm through bedtime.  I can now distinguish what body parts are popping out of my belly.  It's a little uncomfortable, but I love it.  I can feel her elbows, rump, little heal (which likes to drag all the way across my body), head, and little hands wiggling (feels kind of ticklish).  She seems to sit in a diagonal position...head lower left and feet upper right.  Let's hope there is room for her to turn straight down come birthing time.  This weekend both Tristan and I have felt very ready to hold her and finally meet her.  10 weeks to go...!! I began filling out the first few pages of her baby book.  I came across this beautiful quote which resonated so perfectly right now.

How am I Feeling: I feel good, although I do get tired easily after standing for longer periods and by evening I'm definitely ready to sit.  My back gets pretty sore, and sleeping has become hit and miss.  I can feel her a lot more throughout the night.  She seems to wake with Tristan at 3:40am every morning.  Bathroom stops have become very frequent, especially when I get a straight kick OR punch to the bladder.  

Cravings: Okay, so I've cut out the ice cream.  It was a good every night treat for a little over a week.  It was great while it lasted.  Pineapple and fish are still on the craving list.           

What do I Miss: Normal clothes.  After a while, you don't feel so pretty in maternity clothes which are beginning to fit awkwardly tight.