30 Weeks

How far along? 30 weeks, 1 day  **All hail the power of three! Third trimester, less than three months to go and now in weeks that start with three!**

How big is baby? About the size of a cucumber. (Really?!? Do they mean some type of genetically-modified giant cucumber?)

Total weight gain: 18 pounds, which the doctor proclaimed “great” yesterday.

Maternity clothes? My poor hubby. Let’s not even discuss what I’ve been wearing to bed. I  really need to go out and purchase a pair of maternity pajamas.

The best was when room service arrived at the hotel on Monday morning. I opened the door and it took about 5 seconds before the light bulb came on and I yanked my shirt down as far as I could get it. (Thank goodness I at least had a bra on!) I apologized profusely for my ill-fitting jammies, but the gentleman just laughed, said he had three young kids of his own and completely understood.

Stretch marks? No, but my torso is channeling Rand McNalley. My skin is so fair that all my bright blue veins are really obvious. I’m pretty sure you could draw a map from Atlanta to Albuquerque on my chest.

Exercise? I navigated two airports this week, so that counts in my book.

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well, which I am very thankful for. I’m getting to the point where I have to pick a position and stick with it…turning over is now a three-step process that can best be described as “Heave ho…let’s go!”

Movement: Somebody decided that he really didn’t feel like moving around much this week, which completely and totally wigged me out. I emailed my doctor on Wednesday about it and the nurse responded with a copy-and-paste paragraph about fetal kick counts. (Thank you very much for that completely unhelpful response that I could  have looked up on the Internet…sarcasm intended.)

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment and met with the only doctor in the practice I hadn’t yet met. God bless that sweet man. He did not dismiss me as “crazy first-time mommy” and had me explain exactly what was happening before determining his recommendation. I felt so much better afterwards! He basically said that due to the baby’s movement Thurs-Fri, he considered earlier in the week to be “water under the bridge.” He gave me specific instructions for monitoring his movement (he needs to do something 10x per day – swish, kick, wiggle, roll) and what to do if I don’t feel him 10 times.

The doctor said his heartbeat was good – 140 beats/minute – and he was moving around a lot yesterday, so I’m feeling much more reassured now. Still a bit anxious, but at least the doomsday scenarios are now less vivid. (My husband says I don’t need to be concerned about labor because I’m going to worry this baby out first.)

Food Oddities: I’ve reached a wall with water. It literally makes me gag. I’m sure it didn’t help that the water at Amelia Island last weekend (including bottled) was disgusting. I don’t know what it is about coastal water, but yuck. I got a new flavor of juice and some more Gatorade to flavor-enhance my water, so let’s hope that helps…especially because the doctor told me I needed to up my fluid intake by 20 oz. per day. That’s going to be tough. Anyway, in terms of “food oddities” my newest thing is blue Gatorade, which I’ve never liked before.

Gender: It’s a BOY!!

Labor Signs: Nope. I have been having quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions though.

Symptoms: Exhaustion has made a return visit. I am tired all. the. time. I am also starting to get more uncomfortable, though I have to say that symptom is a whole lot more tolerable (at this point anyway) than some of the other symptoms I’ve had.

I’ve also had some lightheadedness this week, mostly in the early afternoon, which I’m fairly certain has to do with my C+ grade in “Fluids 101.”

What people are saying: Still the same general comments/questions about when he is due, how I’m feeling, gender and if we have a name picked out.

Sweet Moments: While we were in Amelia Island I commented to Mike that baby boy wasn’t moving as much and he replied, “That’s because he’s on vacation too.”

Make room for baby: A good friend of mine gifted us a Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play sleeper, which thrilled me to no end! It was at the top of my “wish list” of things I hope to receive. I can’t wait until baby boy is sleeping in it next to our bed…won’t be long now!

Miss Anything? I miss eating a meal – any meal – without dropping food either on or down my shirt.

Looking forward to: Date night tonight! Mike and I are going to order pizza (yum!) and watch the Georgia game together.

Worst/most embarrassing moment this week: None so far this week!

Best moment this week: The extra rest and relaxation we got at Amelia Island…it was like a mini Babymoon Part 2 for us.