love/hate

Things I disliked before I was pregnant that I now love:
Milk & Italian food

Weird, huh? After getting pregnant I started craving milk and Italian food (not together!) and it's stuck with me after having Evan.

Wrap it up

Today I drove Evan over to the school that my mom teaches at so that one of her friends could show me how to use the baby carrier wrap that I made. I tried putting Evan in it the other day and it didn't work out very well. It was actually quite traumatic! Evan slept it off and I went and ate a big bowl of ice cream to get over it. lol Anyway, my mom's friend showed me how to use it and it's really fun! I'll have to see if Matt can get a picture of us using it. I love being able to "hold" Evan without actually using my arms. As a matter of fact, Evan is in it now. I don't believe in constantly carrying babies, but I do like to keep Evan close at certain times of the day and this is a great way to spend time with him without being confined to one arm all the time.

Of course while we were at the school we had to show Evan off to all of Mom's co-workers. She was so happy to do that. :-) One of my good friends from high school works there too and she just found out she's pregnant last week. So it's exciting to have a friend who lives HERE who will have a baby around the same age as Evan. She is my first friend who lives nearby to get pregnant. I have a lot of pregnant friends, just none who live within 8 hours. Oh yeah, and she sees the same group of midwives I go to - very cool!

I've been feeling pretty good lately, but today I'm tired after our outing. A week after Evan's birth I got cold for the first time since getting pregnant! lol Our AC went from being set at 73 degrees during the day to 75. Weird how the pregnancy hormones leave so fast. I also lost a lot of weight. I hadn't even noticed how big I got all around until after I lost the weight. Suddenly my arms and legs are skinnier, and I had never even noticed that they got bigger while I was pregnant! I tried on a pair of my pre-pregnancy pants a week after the birth and they didn't fit. I haven't tried them on again. I think they probably fit at this point since I'm the same size as I was before I got pregnant, but I'm pretending that they don't. I enjoy having an excuse to wear exercise pants all the time!

The other day I went shopping and bought a couple of new t-shirts. My old shirts are definitely too small now! My chest is one part of my body that has become bigger....much bigger. More stretch marks have appeared there and I'm finding it hard to maintain a good posture. The girls are so heavy that it's seriously hard to hold them up! I think I need a better support system. ;-)

Speaking of that, breastfeeding is easier. The pain from the mastitis has almost completely faded. My mom showed me how to breastfeed without a pillow (it's so easy! why did I think it would be hard?). So now I'm practicing for nursing in public. I want to be able to do it smoothly by the time we have our anniversary trip to Charleston on October 9. It would be much easier if Evan would cooperate better, but I guess he's still getting used to it too. He doesn't like to stay latched on and I have to keep maneuvering him back into place, which is hard to do while covered up with a blanket. I really need to try the nursing cover out, so far I've been practicing with receiving blankets covering us. Any tips or words of wisdom on this subject?

Enough about me, I promise that the next post will be all about my beautiful baby and will include pictures!

sleepy time *update

I can't sleep...ugg! It's been 2 and a half hours since I woke up. I was so hungry, but I'm not supposed to eat in the middle of the night because it'll mess up my fasting blood sugar level. I finally got up and ate some string cheese. Hopefully that'll keep me filled up until I sleep again...we'll see.

I've finally figured out when I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions! Matt helped me figure it out actually. Also, they have been more intense and more often this evening/night and Evan wasn't moving as much today so I was able to tell that it wasn't him moving. Before, I would feel a tightening, but he'd be moving at the same time so I figured it was because of that. But now I know that it wasn't. Anyway, Matt had his hand on my belly on our way home from his parents' house and was continuously poking to try to get Evan to wake up. Evan hasn't moved nearly as much today and I was starting to get worried. Anyway, he noticed that occasionally my stomach would be really hard. It corresponded to the weird tight feeling I get way down low that I thought was Evan moving his head or something. So we noticed that after i got that tight feeling my stomach would get hard. I had several of the Braxton Hicks on the way home. I'm now having them a couple of minutes apart, sometimes even closer together, and they seem to be getting stronger. That's one reason I can't sleep. Plus, Evan has decided to move around a lot now that it's the middle of the night, another reason I can't sleep! He's been so good this whole time that I've been able to feel him, he almost never moves in the middle of the night, even if I get up and move around a lot. He's usually active A LOT during the day and never at night, but today it's been the opposite.

I also felt a real contraction tonight from the outside. I got a period like cramp and my lower back was hurting. I felt my stomach and it was really hard, but it lasted longer than the Braxton Hicks. Like, it felt as if my stomach stayed hard for at least a minute. Would a real contraction last that long? It was 2:30 in the morning and I wasn't really timing it though, but it felt as if it stayed hard for at least that long. After the cramping went away my stomach wasn't hard at all anymore.

I'm kind of wondering if I'm in the very early stages of labor just because the BH are a couple of minutes apart and seem to be getting more intense as time goes by and have been that way since 9:00 pm. I guess we'll see. The BH aren't painful, just a lot stronger than they've ever been before and the past couple of hours they've been stronger than they were earlier tonight. The real contraction was painful, but not too much, still a dull ache. I should stop thinking about it and try to get some sleep just in case it is, but that's easier said than done.

Oh yeah, my stomach hurts too, yet another reason I can't sleep. I think I'm going crazy over here!!!!!

Tomorrow my FIL is coming over and he and Matt are going to work on the patio. I'm really, really hoping they'll finish it up. It won't be as done as I want it to be (I would love for it to be completely finished before Winter), but at least getting the paving stones down before Evan comes will make me feel better. I want the back door that we're going to install to be put in, but it might be a good idea to wait until Spring to do that, then maybe we can afford a nicer door. I want a French door, but they are so expensive!! The front flower bed is completely finished (good job, Matt!). We just need to plant a few of the hostas and monkey grass that we saved around one of the trees. I'll have to get pictures of it after that.

Oh yeah, can I just say that I have a super sweet hubby? He paints my toe nails (now that I can't bend over to reach them myself) and then tonight he put my earrings in for me. lol That sounds funny, but it's true. I bought sterling silver hoops that are complete circles (like THESE). They are the most comfortable things for me, I'll leave them in for months because I can sleep in them since they don't have clasps or posts that poke me. I took out my old ones when I got a hair cut a few months ago and lost one of them. I just now bought more and was trying to put them in, but it's so hard to get them in and then to put the rounded post thing into the hole to form the circle. Matt decided to help and used needle nose pliers and voila! After I tried for over 20 minutes, he did it in about 10 seconds each earring.

Okay, I'm going to make myself stop blabbing and try to go back to sleep. Good night, y'all!

*UPDATE - contractions stopped and I was able to get some more sleep. Now I'm having some BH, but not as many. I just didn't want anyone thinking I was in labor over here!!

37 Week Appointment

I'm full term!!!!! This is an amazing feeling. I guess I have spent the entire pregnancy thinking that surely something would go wrong, but here I am, just about to have him. He could come out this second and be perfectly healthy.

I had an appointment with the midwife today which went great. I saw a different midwife than our regular (Tina), but I like this one a lot too. There's actually only 1 midwife I'm not crazy about, and she isn't terrible, she's just a little too mellow for my tastes. It will be my luck she'll end up being the one to deliver Evan. ;-) Anyway, I told this midwife, G, about the bloody show and the cramps and everything. On Monday I had posted on a message board about the bloody mucus and cramps wondering if anyone else had experienced it and how long after that their labor started. Well a bunch of ladies wrote back saying I should call the doctor! I guess it isn't as common as I thought. I called and talked to the midwife on call who said everything should be fine, just wait until my appt today to talk to the midwife in person about it. But G said it's perfectly normal. It turns out that the cramps are contractions!! lol I didn't know that although I have noticed that they come and go throughout the day. The midwife I talked to on Monday mentioned that they were probably were, but I wasn't really sure if that was a 100% fact. G said the contractions are making changes to my cervix, which is causing the blood.

I decided not to have an exam. There's no reason to go through the discomfort. Even if I'm dilated, it doesn't really mean anything. I know some women walk around for weeks halfway dilated. That happened to my SIL actually, she was told by her doctor that she'd probably go into labor 2 weeks before her due date. She ended up having to be induced over a week after her EDD. All based on how dilated she was. I don't think I want to know how much progress I've made because that would make me even more impatient!!

I am definitely ready to get things going though. I hate being in limbo. I want Evan to come so that I can KNOW everything. Like, I'm tired of wondering if I have enough burp clothes or if his clothes will fit or if breastfeeding will go smoothly or if my dad will be in town when he's born, etc, etc, etc. I just want him out so that I can figure it all out! lol I'm also very impatient to meet him. I'm not like some women though, I'm not eager to end pregnancy because I'm tired of it or uncomfortable or anything. I'm actually going to miss it a lot. I love being pregnant and a big part of me wants him to stay in until his due date. I'm actually not even completely ready for him (will I ever be?). The nursery is a mess right now and isn't set up just the way I want (which is why I still haven't posted pictures). I'm hoping it will be completely decorated by this weekend though.

Oh yeah, today the midwife, G, said she doesn't believe there is any way Evan is as big as the ultrasound tech said he was a few weeks ago. I could tell she doesn't think it's necessary to have an u/s next week, but she scheduled one anyways. She felt him from the outside (she really dug in there and felt his head and all over his body!) and said she estimates that he is 7.5 lbs right now. It will be interesting to see who is closest. To me, 7.5 lbs at 37 weeks is still big, but it's better than 9 pounds, so I'm not complaining.

My brother, sister, and I were all in the 6 pound range at birth. We were also all born early. My sister and I a week early and my brother 2 weeks early. My grandma also had my uncle a week early and then she was induced a couple of weeks early with my mom since she had had a c-section with my uncle (he was breech). I forgot to ask Grandma how big Mom and Uncle Ray were...I should have! So I'm kind of hoping that these traits run in the family..... ;-)

While I wait for the floors to dry...

Is this font size better for everyone? On my screen the font looks fine, but I have wondered in the past if it is the same for everyone. I remember a blogger friend saying that when she used another person's computer she realized how difficult her font was to read. It had always looked good to me though. But someone said mine was awfully small and hard to read, so I increased the size. Is it better or too big or still too small??

My life has become all about pregnancy and baby stuff. I don't like that it's all I write about now. But I realized this morning that it's seriously all I think about now. I suppose that's understandable though! But it's also a little sad. I had never wanted this blog to consist only of pregnancy and baby posts. I wanted my IF friends to remain comfortable reading it. However, I can't think of anything else to write about these days, as sad as that is. All I think about is pregnancy, labor (when, where, how!?), and then actually having a baby HERE. I feel like I'm going to have him early, so I'm spending even more time thinking about it. It's kind of silly because I could very well go past my due date, but I guess that's how obsession works.

Well our landscaping in the front is hopefully coming to a finish and then we'll be working on the patio. Then I'll have something else to think and write about! For all of you who have continued reading my blog through your IF struggles, thank you for putting up with me.

36 Week Appointment

Yesterday was our 36 week appointment and our meeting with the pediatricians. The pediatrician visit went very well! We're really impressed with their office. It has all of the typical amenities that you look for in a pediatrician office such as separate well and sick waiting rooms, cleanliness, nice receptionists, real person answering services 24/7, open hours on Saturday, and a 24/7 on call nurse and doctor, and same day appointments. There are 7 pediatricians at the office. We were able to meet 3, all of the male doctors. I was very impressed with 2 of them. The third was nice, but just a little too mellow for me. I like doctors to be outgoing and talkative. It actually puts me more at ease. I wish there was a way to meet all of them, but obviously they aren't all 7 in the office all the time.

We haven't decided who we want to go to for Evan's first appointment, but our tour guide said that they encourage us to keep switching until we find who we want to stick with. His first appointment there will be 48 hours after we are released from the hospital. They won't be able to come up to our hospital to do the in-hospital care and circumcision, but they recommended a doctor at our hospital who can take care of him and they also recommended some doctors from another office who could come by. Anyway, I'm so glad that we found such a great office and doctors that are right next door to Matt's office. It's nice to have that checked off our list!

My midwife visit also went well. It turns out that they don't do vaginal exams every week unless I want them. And I'm happy to leave everything down there a mystery! If I'm still pregnant at 39 weeks they will do another exam, but otherwise it's optional. So the midwife just measured me (right on track) and listened to Evan's heartbeat (healthy and in the 130s). He has dropped!! The midwife said so and I can tell because I've been feeling a lot more pressure down there, even more than last week. He's also occasionally pinching a nerve in my right leg. Whoa! It feels like a jolt of electricity right in the crease between my leg and torso.

**TMI alert!**

I think I already mentioned that I lost my mucus plug on Monday. Lots of mucus on Monday and Tuesday, not so much on Wednesday and Thursday, just normal amounts. This morning - a lot. And there was a little bit of blood in it. I'm not sure if this is officially "bloody show" or not. From what I read labor usually occurs within hours to a week of having bloody show. However, I'm not sure if that's only when it happens at the same time as the mucus plug coming out. Even if it isn't official bloody show, it does mean that something's going on down there, meaning that I'm dilating at least a little.

Whether or not I will go into labor within the week, this has made me want to get everything ready!!! We are going to pack the hospital bag tonight as well as clean out the car and install the car seat.

Matt's office threw us a shower today. But I'll write a whole separate post about that - with pictures - tomorrow.

36 Weeks

Evan is about 6 pounds and still roughly the size of a honeydew melon. He'll be full term in one week! He's almost completely developed, but his lungs could still use some growing time.

I lost my mucus plug 2 days ago. There was no blood at all, so I know that it may still be a few weeks before labor kicks in. Duh. lol But I am hoping that losing it so early will mean an early delivery, especially since he is so low already. We'll see! My next appointment is tomorrow afternoon and I'm eager to see if any progress has been made.

We have the nursery almost ready! I'll post pictures as soon as it's complete. We set up the bedding and most of the wall decor. Things are pretty much organized. On Friday we have a shower at Matt's office. We're waiting until after that to buy the final things for the nursery such as sheets for the Pack n Play (that Evan is going to sleep in the first few weeks since I want him to be in the room with us then), sheets for the crib, the changing pad covers, bath tub and other bath and health supplies, etc. The car seat just arrived today (we got it for 15% off!). I was disappointed that the box was completely smushed. Part of me wonders if we should send it back, but Matt is pretty sure that another box was placed on top of our box which made it sink in on one side where there is empty space inside. We still haven't opened it up because we're considering sending it back. I have a feeling we'll keep it though... Matt's right, it doesn't really look like it was beat up or anything, just that something was on top of it. And the side where the car seat is just under the surface of the box is fine. It is a good feeling to have it though! Now I just have to clean out the car!

I've been having a weird experience the past week. I'm popping! lol There are popping/snapping noises coming from my belly. It's not my joints popping, it isn't my ribs or hips or anything, it's coming from inside my belly, where Evan is. It only happens when he moves. Not every time, but several times a day. I've looked it up online and one large theory (this does happen to other women!) is that it is the baby's joints popping. No one knows for sure and a lot of doctors claim that it doesn't happen and is all in the woman's head (which is ridiculous, I've talked to several women, including my SIL, who heard it towards the ends of their pregnancies), but it that theory sounds feasible to me. Another theory is that it is the woman's ligaments stretching, but I'd think I would be able to feel that or that then it would happen when I move. I can be sitting still not moving a muscle and he'll move and I'll hear it.

I've been having cramps the past couple of days. Also, the nerves in my legs have been pinched some days. I've been so lucky this entire pregnancy to not have much back or leg pain, but it's catching up with me now. Also, my feet have finally started swelling. Not all that much, but my Rainbow flip flops are a little too tight now and my mom noticed that my feet are "fat" yesterday without me pointing it out. lol They really aren't that bad, most people would never know. My shin splints are acting up again and my feet are sore a lot, but that's to be expected as I keep getting bigger.

Monday and yesterday I was at my grandparents' house near Charleston, SC with my mom. Matt and my dad were both out of town Monday night, so we decided to go down to visit. Of course, it was during the hottest days of the year so far! We've had a very cool summer here in Charlotte, the highs most days have been in the mid-80s! However, the past couple of days, in Charlotte and Charleston, the temperature has been closer to 100. It was 100 in Charleston yesterday while we were out on a boat on the Edisto River. We're crazy! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which was beautiful, but HOT. I drank a lot of water, but didn't go to the bathroom for hours because I was sweating so much. But it was so worth it, I love going out on the boat. It's beautiful there and it's very relaxing to lean back in the seat with the wind blowing my hair back, snacking on boiled peanuts.

At one point I was a little worried when we were close to the ocean and the water got a little rough and the boat slammed up and down a couple of times. Granddaddy turned around and slowed down pretty quickly though. It woke Evan up and he started kicking and squirming. My grandma kept saying, "Stay in there, baby! Don't bounce out!" My granddad said, "I don't want to deliver a baby today!" lol Maybe it just kind of bounced him closer to delivery. ;-) Afterwards I was a little worried that maybe that was too rough, but he's been very active since then and I haven't noticed anything weird, so I think it was alright.

We had such a great trip, my grandparents are very excited about Evan coming. I hadn't realized how much my granddad loves babies. I noticed he kept grinning really big when I'd mention Evan kicking or moving around. I told my mom how glad I am that he seems excited, and she said, "oh yeah! He loves babies!!" I guess I learn something new everyday. My dad also felt Evan move for the first time over the weekend. I was so happy that he didn't even have to wait to feel anything, he put his hand on my belly and Evan kicked right away. My dad was pretty excited about that! It makes me happy to see family members being involved and eager to meet the new addition.

Tomorrow we are meeting with a group of pediatricians. They don't normally attend the hospital we're delivering at, but we're going to try to work it out with them. I hope we can, because I've heard several great recommendations for them from our midwife and from some friends of ours. I'll let y'all know how it goes and post a 36 week picture then!

35 Weeks & Birth Plan

I can't believe I'm here! Only 5 weeks to go...35 days. Amazing. :-) Evan should be around 5 1/4 pounds and 18 inches long. Most of his physical development is complete, the next few weeks he'll just be packing on the pounds. I can tell he's become a lot bigger (and stronger) this past week. He is kicking so hard that it hurts! There are so many times where it hurts so bad (and surprises me so much) that I actually yell out loud. I also double over in pain at times and when he's really active I have to hold on to my upper abs to try to contain it, it helps absorb some of the impact. I've heard that some women get broken ribs from their babies kicking so hard...let's just say I'm not surprised that happens sometimes! I actually like it that he's moving so much though. It was pretty uncomfortable for a couple of days, but yesterday he calmed down a little and I was sad not to feel him quite as much.

I have still been feeling pretty good except for really bad hemorroids (from the pressure) that my midwife is going to take a look at on Friday since they aren't going away with Prep H and Tucks pads (probably because the pressure isn't going away either). TMI, I know, but hey, it's a big part of my pregnancy right now! lol My stomach has been feeling pretty good, but sometimes at night I wake up and it's very upset, I feel like I will throw up. I always wake Matt up to get me some cold water. That just happened last night. ;-) Headaches are a little better and I'm definitely feeling better than I was a month ago when I was losing weight and feeling so weak and tired.

We've written up a birth plan and will go over it with the midwife on Friday. I'm not sure if I'll add anything to it, I'm hoping my midwife already feels the same way I do about most things, so I shouldn't have to be super specific. However, if it seems like there may still be some misunderstandings with her, one of the other midwives, or the L&D nurses, I may add to it and make it more detailed. For now here it is:

• We would like the mother and father to be together at all times.
• We would like to maintain freedom of movement during labor and request the presence of a squatting bar in our room.
• It is not necessary to offer pain medications, we will let you know if they are needed.
• We do not wish to have continuous fetal monitoring unless it is required by the condition of our son. After the initial monitoring, intermittent checks are preferred as are limited vaginal exams.
• We prefer to have as few staff members in the room during labor and delivery as possible. The father, midwife, and minimum amount of required nurses are all that are needed in the room until after the birth.
• We do not want an IV or hep-loc.
• After the birth, we prefer that all procedures and exams be done with the baby in the room at all times.
• After the cord has been cut and the baby has been wiped clean, we would like the baby to be handed to the mother for skin to skin contact at the breast, with both covered by a warm blanket.
• We prefer not to be woken up during the night for any testing that can wait until the next day.
  In case of emergency: If a c-section is required, we request that the father be present for the surgery, that the baby be handed to him after the cord is cut, for the father and baby to remain in the room with the mother at all times, and that skin to skin contact at the breast take place with the mother as soon as possible.

Yesterday's appointment at the diabetes center went really well. My dietician said that my levels are great and that there is no way the GD is affecting Evan at all with those numbers. She said he shouldn't be large from the GD at all. That makes me feel so much better, I'm even more hopeful that the u/s tech was wrong a couple of weeks ago. Hearing from her that I had a large baby, plus knowing that GD makes babies large had me worried, but I'm happy that the sugar isn't making Evan grow too much! If he is big, it's not the GD that's causing it. The dietician also said I shouldn't have any problems with my sugar levels after Evan's birth. I'll still be checking my levels every once in awhile, I'll have to come in for another appt and to have another glucose test, and then they want me to have a glucose test every year after to make sure that I don't get Type II, although the dietician said she highly doubts I will ever have a problem. I'm so glad my levels have gone down from what they were a month ago! I've discovered the key is extra protein...peanuts and cheese have become my best friends! lol

I haven't gained any weight the past couple of weeks, but that isn't unusual at this point in pregnancy. I've been feeling good, so I know I'm healthy. Back when I lost weight a few weeks ago I felt awful all the time, it was definitely unhealthy. But I feel almost like normal these days. Plus, it's obvious that Evan has gained weight, so the dietician and I aren't worried.

Make your own Moby wrap *UPDATED

A friend of my mom's sent me THIS link on how to make your own baby carrying wrap. Basically it's the same concept as this type of carrier. So you can cut out your own wrap from material and use these instructions to wrap it around yourself to carry your baby in different positions. I've heard this is the best type of carrier/sling for women with bad backs, mainly because it wraps all around yourself and over both shoulders. So I'm going to be using this for Evan as long as he likes it!

However, the thing with making your own is that you end up with 2 or 3 slings from each length of fabric that you buy. So why would I need that many wraps made of the same material? I really wish I had some pregnant friends or friends with babies in this area so that we could set up an exchange, but I don't. So anyway, just wondering if any of you do this or are interested in doing this and would like to exchange materials (like if I make 2 wraps, I'd keep one and send one to you and you do the same, so then instead of each of us having 2 of the same, we end up with 2 completely different ones). Yesterday I bought some material...5 yards for $7.50! I can't remember how wide it is...45" or 60", so I don't know if it'll make 2 or 3 wraps, but still! It's an amazing deal! The one you buy at the store is $40.

The other night I had my first dream about LABOR. It would have been much more exciting except that in the dream Matt had just died in some kind of war that was going on (yes, I'm weird and apparently morbid). After hearing the horrible news, I kept feeling this really strong pressure down there, it felt like Evan's head was about to come out! I could feel this bulge and was almost positive that he was going to come out any minute, I even had an urge to push. I ended up riding around in a car with some family members trying to find the house where the rest of my relatives were staying so that I could have the baby there. I kept thinking, "this is going to be the day I meet Evan, it's finally happening, but Matt won't be here." I was so sad, but still so in love with the baby I was about to meet. Anyway, the whole dream was bizarre, but the feeling of meeting Evan was so real. It was as if the dream was happening now because in it I kept thinking, "I had a feeling he'd come early, but not THIS early."


*UPDATE - I just created a message board group for a fabric exchange. The more people who join, the better this will work! Hopefully we'll get enough people so that we can have plenty of trading options. So even if you're reading this and I don't know you, feel free to join the group. Also, pass the word around to other people you think would be interested! http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a6691165/fabric_exchange_-_make_your_own_wrap

34 Weeks

Evan is the size of a honeydew melon, should be almost 5 pounds (unless he is over 6 like the u/s tech claims!), and is about 18 inches long. I've heard several women say that their doctors would not stop labor after 34 weeks. It's crazy to think that if I went into labor now, my midwife very well might let it go just as if I was full term! According to BabyCenter: "...you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies." Amazing!!! It's a huge relief to be at this point!

I get tired more easily than I did a couple of months ago, but that's to be expected. For being almost a month away from my due date, I'm actually feeling really good! I still forget that I'm pregnant sometimes! I think the biggest deal lately is that I feel like I have an almost constant headache. It does come and go, but it seems like it's aching more than it isn't. I think it's my neck. Last week my chiropractor adjusted it and it was so out of place. However, the next day it was back to hurting and my headache was back too. So I'm not going to go to the chiropractor every couple of days because I know it'll just come back. It's probably just one of those things that pregnancy causes, I'm being strained in new places.

It's so hard to bend over now. I thought it was rough a couple of months ago, ha!! Now if I bend I feel a lot of pressure down there, it kind of freaks me out! Plus, my stomach quickly starts hurting if I do much bending. So it's hard to do a lot of household chores. The past couple of months I've been really careful about vacuuming the baseboards and around the bottoms of the furniture, but last week I discovered that's really not a good idea for me to do at this point, even if I sit on the floor to do it instead of bending. Matt keeps offering to do it, but he's so busy too that nothing is getting done and the house is a mess. I feel so overwhelmed, I want my house CLEAN, but the cleaning process takes a lot out of me. How do other pregnant women keep their houses clean!!??

Today I think I'm going to wash Evan's clothes, blankets, burp clothes, and bibs! It's kind of scary to take the step of cutting off tags and putting stuff in the washing machine. I'm still unsure about detergents, fabric softeners, etc. I've heard you should use special baby detergent, no dryer sheets or fabric softener, etc, but I don't want Evan to get shocked with static!! I'm not using the special baby detergent... I have a dye/scent free detergent that should work fine. I'm still thinking about the whole dryer sheet thing, any advice is welcome! I hear something called wool balls are nice. I've used dryer balls in the past and they did not keep the static away, so I don't think I'll use those. I'm not going to wash all of the newborn sized clothes we have in case Evan really is big. I'm going to wash one new long sleeved sleeper and one new short sleeved onesie, plus the few NB size hand me downs that we have. I'm going to wash all of the 0-3 month size clothes though.

Today I'm also going to go to the store and buy some craft stuff! *gasp* Yep, I'M going to attempt to do something crafty for the nursery. I'm going to buy some more storage bins and baskets at Michael's (they are 50% off this week!) and I'm going to buy some wood spray paint. Then I'm going to paint some hat boxes my MIL gave me, the closet door knobs, a shelf, and a wood letter E to hang on the outside of the door. And possibly some of the baskets that I buy. I've never done this kind of stuff before, so we'll see how it goes!

I've been so busy the past couple of days. All day yesterday and the day before I was out with my mom running errands, so I haven't had as much time as I'd like to organize the nursery and all of the gifts we received the other day. Yesterday we dropped the quilt Mom made Evan off at a monogramming shop to have his name put on it. We pick it up next week, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I don't have an official 34 week photo yet, but here's 33w5d:

33 Weeks & Ultrasound!

My little Evan!!

A profile of his head. He's on his back facing the left. His face is right up against my placenta, but you can kind of make out his nose and lips and see his hand curled up on the far left.


Another profile of his head. This one is more distinct, you can see his nose, lips, and chin as well as that cute little curled up hand that he's holding up.


A side view of his foot. It's upside down facing the right. You can see his heel, the arch, the ball of his foot, and his toes.


His cutey foot. Check out that big big toe! He gets it from his daddy.


Yep, he definitely has Matt's feet!


A 3D of the lower part of his face. you can see his chin near the bottom, lips, his fingers that are curled up next to his lips, and his nose up near the top.


A 3D looking down at his face. You can see his eyes, nose, and his hand up by the left side of his face.


A 3D of his face. He's slightly turned and facing the right of the picture. So his forehead is at the top, his cheek is to the left, you can see his eyes, nose, and lips. He has one hand up by his forehead and the other in his mouth. :-)

I never wrote about my appointment on Monday, when I was 32w5d. Everything went great! We had an ultrasound first to see if my placenta moved up, which it has. The ultrasound technician was great, she not only checked the placenta and his growth, she also had some fun letting us see Evan and did a 3D ultrasound even though we didn't ask for one (or pay for one)! At first Evan wouldn't let us see the front of his face, he had it pressed against my placenta. So she couldn't do it, but after getting all of the measurements she needed she said she couldn't stand it, she just had to see if she could get the 3D of his face again. When she tried the second time he had shifted a little bit and we were able to see his face some! He had his hands up around his face at that point, but that made it even cuter!

She had us estimate how large we thought he was and I guessed 4.5 pounds (which is what the book says he should be around 32-33 weeks). The ultrasound tech said that he is measuring 6 lbs 3 oz, plus or minus a pound!! She was convinced he is around 6 pounds though, kept talking about how much meat he has on his bones, how chunky he looks, etc. I was really worried, but when we met with my midwife after the u/s she insisted that there is no way he is that big. She said there's a lot of room between him and my ribs, a normal amount of fluid, and my fundal height is normal. Obviously those measurements can be off as well, but it is true that I still look pretty small and haven't gained all that much weight.

Speaking of weight, I gained back the pounds I lost, plus a pound! I've been feeling so much better the past couple of weeks too. I can tell I'm getting enough to eat. Now I've gained about 21 pounds, right on track. My sugar levels have gone down and have evened out. I'm glad about that, but my dietician said not to be surprised if they start going crazy the next few weeks since the pregnancy growth hormones peak around 35 weeks and that can affect blood sugar levels. But at least they are okay for now.

So I've been pretty nervous the past couple of days about having a huge baby, but as Matt keeps saying, there's nothing we can do about it, so I shouldn't stress. We're having another u/s at 38 weeks to see what his measurements look like then. If he's measuring large, a c-section or induced labor at 39 weeks will be an option. The midwife said they aren't going to do anything before 39 weeks unless it's dangerous not to, but I'm hoping he'll come earlier than that on his own. I actually think it would be great if he comes before 38 weeks, then I won't even have to worry about making decisions like c-sections, inductions, etc. We'll see!!

The nurse gave me a chart to start counting movements. I'm supposed to count 10 distinct movements and time how far apart the first and tenth are. It should be in at least 2 hours. If he gets slower and slower or doesn't move 10 times in 2 hours at some point in the day (especially after dinner) I'm supposed to call the midwife. I was worried that this would be added stress, but so far it's been easy. I've picked around 10:00 - 10:30 AM to count his movements since he usually wakes up about then. So far the longest it's taken him to move 10 times is 6 minutes and that's because I missed his most active phase (I was busy and couldn't count properly or look at a clock). This morning he moved 10 times in 2 minutes, that's his record so far. He's crazy!!

this & that

Things are going better today! I actually haven't done much at all, just been laying around the house relaxing. I'll be going to the library in a little bit though. I'm trying to decide what to do about dinner...planning meals is always an effort now.

The GD situation isn't going very well. I met with a dietician this past Friday again. I have appointments every other week and the weeks I don't go in I fax my sugar levels to them. I can't describe how discouraging it was to receive a phone call from one of the dieticians last Monday going over every little thing I had eaten that made my sugar levels go up. Hearing about everything you ate in a negative way is no fun. That dietician's main conclusion - I can't eat any other carbs if I have any type of bread at a meal. That puts me at having 20 carbs max per meal (if I eat bread, buns, tortillas, etc). I'm supposed to have a minimum of 30 carbs per meal and my other dietician had told me to try to stay around the limit of 45 since I was losing weight. Great. And for those of you who say "then just don't eat any of that stuff," I'll just let you know that the diet plan recommendation I was given has some type of bread listed for every meal, it's one of the main ways to get carbs that are needed.

So last week I did pretty well the first part of the week, then the levels were back up. The dietician I met with thought that having high protein meals was helping the levels. She thinks if I up my protein intake at each meal then I can eat more than 20 carbs. She was concerned because I lost 3 pounds last week. Which now puts my total weight gain this pregnancy at 16 pounds. I need to eat more, but I can't because if I do my sugar levels go way up!! So she gave me some advice to try out, said to try to eat ice cream just before bed instead of earlier in the evening. However, the past few days have not gone well at all. My waking levels are higher than they've ever been. I was already eating protein at every meal, but now I'm trying to boost it by eating peanuts and cheese along with whatever else I'm eating. The dietician said that if my levels remain high even after following all of that advice that I may need to go on insulin. I'm really hoping to get it under control though.... It's so hard because my first instinct is not to eat as much at each meal/snack to keep my levels down, but I know I shouldn't be doing that because of the weight loss.


I haven't done any work on the nursery since last month. I'm waiting for after my shower to finish decorating, then I'll post pictures! We are going to install shelves in the closet, put up new closet doors, and we still need to put up the bedroom door as well (we took it off to paint). I also want to buy a wall decal to put over the crib. I want something with his initial or name on it. I also saw a cool mirror at Target that I'm thinking about putting over his dresser/changing table.

Our breastfeeding class was Thursday night. I'm so glad that we took it together! I already knew a lot of stuff from the class I took with my friend (5 years ago...wow, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago!), but I did learn several new things and it has definitely made me feel more confident about breastfeeding. I ordered a breast pump last week, I found a super good deal on it! The pump I wanted was $140, I got it for $82 with free shipping! I found it on THIS site already discounted, plus they were having a deal that you got even more off if you paid with PayPal.

I want the pump because I don't want to breastfeed in public (my own personal choice, I don't mind if other women do it, it's just ME) so I want to be able to have a bottle handy for when we go out. Plus, we are planning a couple of road trips the first few months after Evan is born. One to Arkansas...18 hours. So I want the option to give him a bottle for some feedings during the trip. I also think I'll be more likely to keep breastfeeding him the entire first year if I can have the option of giving him bottles at times.

Well that's it for now...remember, only encouraging comments are welcome about my situation!

31 Weeks & Maternity Center Tour

Today Evan is about 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds! Here's what else BabyCenter has to say about him: "He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy." And yep, it's true! This morning I could have slept later, but his thrashing around kept me up. :-) The past couple of days he's really taken it up a notch. He's moving more and it is much stronger. He's also taken a liking to my far right side, especially right up against or under my ribs. I have to say, sometimes I want him to stop kicking because it hurts. When I think about it though I'm really grateful that he's moving so much, I know how depressing it is when he doesn't move as often and I also know it means he's healthy. But my first instinct when he's kicking so hard is "make it stop!" Haha, there is no way to make him stop, but I've found that pressing lightly over the spot where he's kicking helps absorb the impact.

I think I may have felt Braxton Hicks contractions last night for the first time. I'm not 100% sure though. Right after I laid down to go to bed it felt like Evan was kicking my bladder or something deep inside me. But after a bit I realized it felt more like all of my insides, at least down low, were being squeezed. It wasn't really painful, just uncomfortable. It felt like if it lasted too much longer it would be painful, but just as it got to that point it would stop. It happened several times over 10-15 minutes, but I didn't start thinking it might be BH until the last 3 that happened. So I think I had about 6 over the entire time period, maybe 2 more if those "kicks" I felt at first were also BH. It'll be interesting to see if it happens again. And like I said, who knows if they were really BH or maybe Evan was just squishing things down there over and over?

The maternity center tour was great! I'm very excited about delivery now! I really liked the maternity center at our hospital better than the others I've been to before (which is a grand total of 2, one hospital where my friend delivered and then the one my SIL delivered at last year). It's a completely separate building, but it's connected to the back of the hospital by a single door. There's separate parking and the entire place has a very comfortable and homey feel. You wouldn't even know you were near a hospital once you're inside! Even the parking lot is nicer, it's removed from the hospital parking and away from all of the roads nearby. The family waiting room was very comfortable and nice. There are several kitchenettes that give away drinks and food to the families. The rooms are all private and you labor, deliver, and recover in them. They all either have patios or bay windows and they all have whirlpool tubs, refridgerators, flat screen TVs, and DVD players as well as fold out beds that come out of the wall for the hubbies to sleep in.

The hospital is very "family oriented," they want the babies to spend as little time in the nursery as possible although you can request that the nurse take them there if you need rest. As a matter of fact, the nursery was empty when we were there because the babies were all with their parents. They do everything in the room like bathing, weighing, tests, etc unless there are special medical needs that can't be provided in the room. They provide birthing balls and other than requiring you to be hooked up to a fetal monitor for 20 minutes when you first come in, you can go the rest of the time off monitors to walk around freely (unless there's a reason that you need to be continually monitored). All in all I am very pleased with it, especially the fact that it doesn't feel at all like a hospital, I was very comfortable in there. And I hate hospitals, the times I've been to visit my friend and SIL I was so uncomfortable and nervous. I figured I'd be that way when having my own baby too, but nope, I liked it there!

4th of July

Matt and I had a really fun 4th. He had Friday off and we went to the huge outlet store that is pretty far away, but fun for a day trip. We went to the Motherhood, Old Navy, and Carter's outlets and found some really good deals! I bought 2 pairs of denim capris, another maternity cami, and a maternity dress. The other day I went back to the consignment shop I love and bought a couple of shirts so now I am totally set for the next couple of months. I've been really lucky to get things VERY cheap, I have an entire maternity wardrobe for less than half of what I'd normally pay for that many new clothes. Also, all of my maternity clothes are so cute! I love them. :-) I know have a hard time finding something to wear just because I have so many options. A new conundrum for me. It will actually be kind of sad when I'm not pregnant anymore and can't wear all of my clothes. Maybe I'll get to wear them next time around.

Matt also picked out a few onesies at the Carter's outlet. So cute! 2 have dinosaurs on them and one says "Wiggle" with a picture of an inch worm underneath. Our little wiggle worm. :-) I told Matt I need a shirt that says that with an arrow pointing at my belly. Evan has been moving around so much lately.

Saturday we spent the day relaxing around the house until we went to my parents' house for a cookout. After that we went to see the fireworks in the town they live near. They put on a great show and we had a great spot to sit and watch. It was a lot of fun! The weather was great this past weekend, much cooler than it has been. So it was the perfect temperature for spending time outside.

It's good that it's been cool the past few days because our AC is broken...again! We're hoping it will be fixed tonight. Yesterday the high was 86 degrees, but it was so humid and muggy. We also have a new stove. Matt's office manager was selling his flat glass top stove for very cheap. It wasn't even that old, but his family is completely renovating their house and getting all new appliances. We installed it on Thursday night and it looks and works great! I'm so happy to have it because it will be SO much easier to clean. Plus, it's great to have burners that are even. The ones on our old stove were tilted and it was hard to cook on.

Tomorrow we tour the maternity center at the hospital we'll be delivering at! I'm so excited!

30 Weeks & 7th appointment

I can't believe that in about 10 weeks I'll be holding Evan in my arms!! He's about 2.5 - 3 pounds now and about 14.5 inches long. I've gained 19 pounds so far, so about 16 of that is something other than baby. I actually lost a pound last week because of the new diet, so now I'm under orders to eat the max amount of carbs I'm allowed at each meal and snack to keep my weight gain steady. It seems to have worked because I gained the pound back since Friday. So far I'm still right in the middle of the normal weight gain range.

Today I had another appointment with my midwife. She measured my uterus and said it's 29 cm, looking good. Evan's heartbeat was in the 140s, also good. I asked her what she thought L&D would be like now that I have GD and she said that we might induce at 39 weeks, but we'll see how things are going. It sounds like if Evan's weight gain is normal and my blood sugar levels stay steady then it won't be a problem. I was actually surprised that she is considering inducing, I figured that she would have more of a "we'll do it all natural unless something comes up and we have to do otherwise" attitude. I think she's saying the same thing now, but obviously she thinks it's more of a possibility than I was thinking. I'm feeling very laid back about it, if we induce, we induce. There's nothing to fret about. Also, I'm not even sure if my placenta has moved up so I may not even have the natural childbirth I'm planning on anyway! No need to start making firmer plans when I have no clue if it's even necessary.

Speaking of the placenta moving, we have an ultrasound scheduled for the 20th to make sure it has moved up. I'm so excited to see Evan again!!! I'm glad that it will be the day after I get back from Arkansas because that will make me feel more reassured that everything is okay after the flights, driving, etc. My midwife also recommended a group of pediatricians that are right next door to Matt's office and about 10-15 minutes from our house. I'm excited to find out more about them, I'm sure we'll end up going with someone in that practice.

I haven't been feeling so great the past few days. Very weak, tired, and even lightheaded/dizzy. The dietician says that it shouldn't be the diet, but the midwife is thinking that it is. Also, it is normal to experience some of these things the closer I get to delivery. I just think it's weird that I was fine until all of a sudden it hit. I've been working out regularly for months now and on Monday I couldn't even finish my weight lifting because my heart was pounding so hard. The midwife said to take it easy, make sure I'm not in a position where the baby is cutting off circulation of the main arteries, and if it keeps up to let her know. I sure hope it goes away, I hate the weak feeling. Being tired I can deal with, but my muscles feel like jelly, it feels hard to even sit at the computer and type or hold up a book. Very weird. Any of you experience this?

I don't have a 30 week picture yet, so you will have to make due with my 29W2D pic:

Music in Utero

THIS ARTICLE just about made me cry. I've sung to Evan a few times, but I'm going to try to do it multiple times a day now. What I really need is to get Matt to start singing to Evan! He has such a beautiful voice, I'm sure our son would rather hear him anyway. :-)

Shower

First of all I want to say CONGRATS to Crysbena!!!! She received a BFP a few days ago! Go to her blog to congratulate her and "oohh" and "aaah" over her strong HPT lines! I'm so happy for her for many reasons, one of which is because she's been trying for so long and has had a difficult road. It's one more friend I can cross off my "BFP Prayer List." I'll still pray for her, but just for a healthy and safe pregnancy. Also, she got married the same day Matt and I did and had a miscarriage the same week we did. Very weird coincidence that we found each other after that. Another friend I met on The Nest is the same way, married 10/7/06 and miscarried the last week of May. She got pregnant 4 months before I did, and now here's Crysbena pregnant about 5 months after me.

I also found out the date of my baby shower! It's July 28 at 7:00. I'm so excited!! I made up the guest list, which was harder than I thought it would be. The lady who is hosting it originally mentioned that it would be a small shower, around 15 people, mainly ladies from the church I used to go to. Which was fine! Now she's saying that I can invite whoever and however many people I want, but I think she's just saying that because she now knows I'm not having another shower for my other friends. I really appreciate her doing this for me and I don't want her to have to go out of her way any more than she already is. She's really good friends with my mom and my mom keeps saying I should invite more people, but I think my current guest list is fine. It will keep me from feeling guilty and I'll be all around comfortable. I have 18 people on there, 2 from out of state who most likely won't come. The hostess mentioned that she wanted to invite the ladies from her small group (that my mom is in too) and I said that is more than fine. As long as she doesn't mind the extra people! So I'm not sure how large the actual guest list is because I can't remember how many ladies are in that small group. And if any of you are going to be in the Charlotte area that day, you are invited too. :-)

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it and I'm actually glad that it's small. I think that some of the guys Matt works with are going to throw us a shower at the office, but it's supposed to be a surprise for me. lol Matt just couldn't help himself and told me the other night. He said he hasn't heard much about it because originally it was going to be a surprise for him too, but his co-worker needed to make sure he'd be in town, so he asked him about having it sometime in late July. So they may not even be planning it at this point or maybe they are keeping it on the down low because they still want the actual date to be a surprise from Matt as well. Either way is fine, I am just amazed that they even considered throwing us one! I'm so grateful for the people we have in our lives.

One of Matt's co-workers just gave us a gift the other day from him and his wife. They just had their first baby a couple of months ago so they gave us all the things they found to be the most useful. A very neat portable changing pad (it has mesh pockets and a plastic pocket for wet items), some sleepers, onesies, pants, and diapers (all newborn sizes!). SO nice of them. :-) I'm glad that July is going to be such a busy month for me so that the time will fly by because I'm starting to get excited about the shower and then meeting Evan! I just need to fill up my August calandar...

29 Weeks

As far as the GD goes, things are kind of sort of getting better. The other day my levels were lower and that made me feel so much better, but yesterday they were back to being up. Very discouraging! Then last night not only could we not get blood to come out (Matt helps me after dinner when he's home), we found out that the last container of test strips we were given weren't compatible with our testing machine. It was too late to go to the pharmacy to get refills (which I didn't expect to have to do until Thursday) so we used the machine Matt's co-worker gave us before we knew if our insurance would cover one. It took awhile to figure the new one out and the entire thing stressed me out so much. I know none of you "get it," I know Matt doesn't really understand why I was so upset. But the entire thing is so frustrating: the diet, the blood testing, etc.

The weirdest thing is that this new machine is giving me much lower readings. It's a nicer model, you just touch the test strip to the drop of blood and it sucks it right up and immediately starts counting up the levels instead of making me drag the strip across my blood multiple times. So I'm kind of wondering if there isn't something wrong with the machine I was given? I will have to ask the doctor about it on Friday. However, getting levels in the appropriate range is great and my lunch level was so low I was wishing I had eaten another burrito! I'm only supposed to eat one at this point because the wheat tortilla is 24 grams of carbs and there are carbs in the beans (I can have a max of 45 g at lunch). Anyway, I'm just hoping things will continue to get better.

Highlights of week 28: feeling Evan hiccup for the first time! I know I already wrote about it, but I have just a little more to add. The first time was last Wednesday night, then again on Thursday morning. I haven't felt it since then until last night. I told Matt and he put his hand on my stomach and was able to feel too! He paused the show we were watching and we just laid there on the couch and felt him hiccup and talked to him. SO CUTE!!!

Another highlight, peeing my pants a little. lol! It was the weirdest thing and came completely out of the blue. On Sunday we were over at my parents' house playing THIS game. My dad joined in, which is incredibly rare in our household. As a matter of fact, I can't even remember the last time that he played a game with us. I vaguely remember it happening once when I was in jr high... Anyway, he was hilarious and he said something that made everyone burst out laughing. Well, a little pee happened to burst out of me at the same time. I didn't have to go to the bathroom, I didn't even feel it coming! Such a weird sensation. Thankfully it wasn't much, I just kept my mouth shut about it and nobody knew. lol Believe me, I'm doing more Kegels than ever after that incident!

Let's see, what else has been going on as far as pregnancy... I'm more tired these days. As a matter of fact, I could take a nap right now. And all I've done today besides computer stuff and making lunch is vacuum the house. And I'm not even completely done with that yet! I think I have a couple of more stretch marks on my butt, but none have appeared anywhere else so far. Evan is kicking and moving around more than ever. It's uncomfortable sometimes. I find myself pressing down to absorb some of the impact of his stronger kicks and when I am laying down I tend to change positions to make it a little more comfortable. I still love feeling him kick, I still can't help but smile! I know how depressing it is when he doesn't kick as much, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt/feel very uncomfortable sometimes.

I scheduled the hospital tour and 2 classes. The tour is on July 7! I'm really looking forward to it, the hospital we're delivering at has a fairly new maternity center (built in April 2008) and I've heard from several people that it's very nice. We have a breastfeeding class on July 9 and then an infant safety & CPR class on July 22. We decided to skip the childbirth class. We're going through the Bradley Method handbook and Husband Coached Childbirth, I think that will be enough. Going through the Bradley lessons and book has helped me feel more confident about labor and delivery. I'm not nervous about it at this point, I'm more nervous about just after delivery when I have a fragile infant to take care of! My next prenatal appt is July 1 and I'm eager to talk to my midwife about her thoughts on L&D, especially since I now have GD. We'll also schedule another u/s to see if my placenta has moved up and away from my cervix.

Dreams & Hiccups

Last night I had a dream that I was at my grandparents' house and the entire family was there. In the dream I ate an entire brownie and then realized, I'm not supposed to eat high sugar foods! What was I thinking!? I was so upset that I had eaten this huge brownie without even thinking about it, especially when I have GD. I guess some of the stress of all of this is coming out in my dreams!

I've only had a few baby dreams since getting pregnant. The first few, the ones I had before I knew we were having a boy, weren't even ones about Evan. They were about babies we adopted. In one I was pregnant, but we adopted another child too and the dream concentrated on me taking care of that baby.

After finding out that we were having a boy and starting to look forward to EVAN, I had a dream that he was born and that I let my MIL and mom watch him and they lost him. I remember panicking when I realized what happened and everyone was saying I was making way too big a deal of it and that everything would be okay. My entire family (immediate and in-laws) were acting like I was really stupid for being upset that Evan was lost. In the dream I called him by name, it was definitely my baby. At the end of the dream someone brought him in and I ran over and picked him up and hugged him to me. It was an amazing feeling. :-)

The other day I had another dream specifically about Evan. I'm upset that I can't remember it now. I had meant to write it down in my journal or blog about it right away, but obviously I didn't. If I remember what it was about I'll write about it. From what I can remember it wasn't a negative dream though, not like the first one when he was lost.

The past couple of months I've also had several dreams in which I am pregnant, but they aren't specifically about pregnancy or Evan. It's all about something else, I just happen to be pregnant with my big belly.

Oh yeah, I'm almost positive I've felt Evan hiccup twice now!!! Once last night and then again this morning. It's like a very light tapping inside of me that is spaced out evenly. At first I thought it was him lightly kicking or punching, but it's not like any kicks I've felt so far and it is more consistent than any of his other movements. It's also deep inside, kind of near my pelvis bone. Which he normally doesn't kick down there.

It's actually weird, he almost always kicks on my right side or in the middle of my belly, rarely on the left. A couple of days ago I woke up and my left side was bulging a little more and was harder. Later I felt him kicking over there, but since then he's back on the right side. I will feel movements on the left side, just not as often and they aren't kicks. My stomach is slightly lopsided most of the time, it almost always bulges more on the right side than on the left. The midwife said that's okay though. Did you notice that your baby seemed to stay more on one side or the other?

28 Weeks!

I'm in the third trimester! Yay!!!! I say this every weekly post, but I can't BELIEVE how fast time has flown by! It's unreal to think that I'm almost there. And I'm glad that it looks like the next couple of months will go by just as fast. I have little things planned here and there for the rest of this month, then there's 4th of July, my trip to Arkansas, my shower, and finishing up the nursery to look forward to as well. That will help pass the time. :-)

Well, as happy as I am to reach this point, I also have bad news. I've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I'm not too thrilled with the fact, although I know it isn't nearly as bad as it could be. I am worried about Evan, it was discouraging to read that so many babies are high birth weight, at higher risk for childhood obesity, at higher risk for getting type 2 diabetes later in their lives, etc. I'm more worried about him than me. The one encouraging thing was that I almost passed the test. If my levels had been 3 digits lower the first hour mark test then I would have passed. The second hour my levels were 10-15 digits too high (how did they not have the exact number???) and then the third hour I passed. So very close. So I'm not too worried and hope that Evan won't experience any side effects since it seems that I'm very borderline. Matt is skeptical of the whole thing. He still wants me to follow the diet/exercise plan they give me, but he kind of doubts that I even have a problem, I wonder the same thing. We have a lot of questions to ask next week at my appointment at the diabetes center, that's for sure. So that appointment is on Tuesday, until then I'm just not supposed to eat any high sugar foods like cookies, candy, etc. Not that I usually eat that kind of stuff anyway.

So much has been going on... I feel very drained. On Saturday we had our AC unit moved to make way for our patio expansion. We were able to get friends of Matt's family to help out and it was very cheap to move it. However, yesterday I noticed that although the AC had been running all afternoon, it was getting steadily warmer. So last night Matt's dad, uncle, and his uncle's friend came over to fix it. I'm glad they were able to, because although it cooled down last night thanks to some rain coming in, it was still very humid and muggy.

Yesterday I had the 3 hour glucose test. Which we all know the results of... I was going to take a nap in the afternoon because I was so lightheaded, but my SIL and nephew came by for an unexpected visit (thankfully she called beforehand and was going to just drop something off, but I invited them in). They stayed for a long time and by the time she left I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. That's also the point where I started getting very hot...wonder why. lol

Then today I met with my mom and sister for lunch and to go shopping. That didn't go too well. My little sister has been very messed up lately. She has a bad attitude, is moody, even malicious. She had a bad attitude about being with us today (then why did she even come!?) and then proceeded to say some very mean things about pregnancy/babies/children. There was really no reason for her to say it, but it hurt my feelings. I just left them early and went and ran the rest of my errands by myself. We (my family) don't really know what to do about her... we even kind of wonder if it's something like manic depression. It's just weird...I can't describe it. But needless to say, it was emotional for me.

I spent the afternoon on the phone with Matt and my mom and researching diabetes after I returned home from running errands. Then I went to Matt's soccer game. One of my friends is now on the team with Matt and his best friend, R. So that's fun, now I know 3 people on the team. And R's girlfriend was here from Louisiana and came so the 2 of us sat together and chatted. She's a psychology major and told me all about it, very interesting! So here it is 9:00, and I still haven't had an official dinner, just a small salad at 5:00. I'm tired and hungry, so I'm going to end this with my 28 week picture.