27 Weeks

How far along? 27 weeks, 1 day **Less than 100 days to go!**

How big is baby? About the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is…)

Total weight gain: I’ll find out on Monday, but I’m guessing 17 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Fully into maternity clothes. I’m down to one pair of pajamas that fit (though I still often wear my too-small t-shirts, prompting “Look at my redneck pregnant wife!” comments from my husband).

I’ve actually found some work-appropriate clothes that fit, so good news there. This week I actually felt good about what I was wearing to work. I can’t stand going into the office feeling like I look less than professional, even though we have a fairly casual business environment.

Also, I’d like to retract all the times I complained about wearing a uniform in middle school. Not only are my uniform pics far more attractive than those where I’m sporting mid-90s fashion, it made life so much easier! Personally, pregnant or not, I think we should all just wear a corporate uniform.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Exercise? I didn’t do very well this past week due to a crazy schedule, but I was out-and-about quite a bit last weekend.

Sleep: Still comes and goes.

Movement: He continues to play cat-and-mouse, which of course freaks out this first time mommy-to-be. He will be very active for a couple of days, then quiet for a day or two, repeat.

In general, though, he continues to become more active. I think he is still laying sideways because I tend to get softer, drumroll-like jabs on my left side and firmer, more pronounced jabs on my right side. Although, he must have shifted some because he doesn’t protest as much as before if I lay on my left side.

I had another Oreo yogurt parfait from Chick-fil-A Friday night, curious if it would have the same effect on him as the last time. Yep, baby boy loves them! Mike and I were watching a movie and he was just as active as could be. It was hilarious and awesome all at the same time.

Food Oddities: I wasn’t feeling well on Friday and all I wanted was a Chick-fil-A breakfast biscuit. Completely random. Needless to say, we had Chick-fil-A for dinner. You know you’re pregnant when you go to Chick-fil-A and they have to put your order in a large plastic bag with handles…

Gender: It’s a BOY!!

Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: Another good week in terms of the lightheadness. Yay!

Overall, I have been doing better, though I still tire very easily and quickly. Standing continues to be an issue, though my support hose definitely help with that.

Constipation has returned…it is such a miserable feeling and resolving it is no picnic either (I know…tmi…you’re welcome). My husband, bless him, typically responds to these episodes by offering well-intentioned-but-not-helpful comments such as, “I’m sorry you’re dealing with that sweetie. I mixed two kinds of fiber cereal this morning and pooped three times today!” Good for you dear…

I’ve been battling some kind of “ick” this weekend, which I think it probably a combination of exhaustion from long client meetings this week and my stomach reacting to being completely off my normal food schedule due to said client meetings.

What people are saying: I got lots of questions and comments this week due to client meetings – mostly garden variety about due date, how I’m feeling, boy/girl and if we have a name picked out.

A couple interesting comments I have gotten:

• A guy from accounting always says, “Almost time for bed rest!” anytime we pass in the hall. I don’t think he realizes that bed rest is not something any mom-to-be wants to be relegated to!
• An extremely nice but very shy guy from our multimedia department was in my office yesterday and he asked me if I was scared about the upcoming delivery and prospect of caring for a newborn. I thought it was an interesting question and not one I’ve gotten yet. I said no and he replied, “Well that’s good. I think you’ll do great.”
• Another co-worker asked me if she could ask me a personal question. I said sure, and she asked me if the baby can pee and poop in there. Before I had a chance to answer, our creative director (who is terrified of small children) loudly announced, “Eww! I’m eating my lunch!!”

Sweet Moments: Mike commented this week that he’s looking forward to next spring because he can sit on the couch with the baby and they can watch baseball together while I go shopping. I’m all for that plan! Plus, the thought of Mike sitting on the couch with baby boy teaching him sports – even as an infant – is such a sweet mental picture and one I’ve envisioned for a long time.

Make room for baby: His changing table arrived and it coordinates really well with the crib! We set it up the other night and it’s exciting to have another little bit of his room ready.

The last “big” thing we need for his room is a rocker and I still haven’t figured out what I want to do about that. We also still need to decorate the nursery. I was planning to have my mom make something, but I did see a ready-made set that I thought was really cute – so we’ll see.

Miss Anything? Since I’m exhausted right now…we’ll go back to the old favorite “a good night’s sleep.”

Looking forward to: My doctor’s appointment on Monday. Praying for another good progress report!

Worst/most embarrassing moment this week: Friday night. Holy goodness. I woke up at 12:30 with a volcano erupting in my esophagus and stumbled half-asleep to the bathroom trying to figure out what the heck was going on. A few sips of water simmered it down a bit. Then I went to the bathroom and couldn’t pee fast enough as the volcano morphed into a horrid-tasting flaming cactus at the back of my throat. Heartburn. I grabbed the bottle of Tums, which thankfully subdued the horrid taste, but only slightly quelled the flaming cactus. All I could think was, “thank goodness it’s not a work night because it’s going to be a long night.” And it definitely was…I had to sleep propped up, which meant I woke up about a half dozen times. Uggh…Saturday morning was rough and I’ve felt pretty terrible most of the day.

Best moment this week: Interacting with baby! One evening I was sitting on the couch and noticed that the right side of my stomach was really hard in one spot. “Hmm” I thought. So I poked it a bit…and promptly got a swift kick. Cool! I poked, he kicked. I stopped poking, he stopped kicking. We went back and forth doing this for about 5 minutes and it was just about the neatest thing ever. He was definitely responding to my touch!