32 weeks, 3 days

Shower the People You Love with Love


Last weekend I was surrounded with my nearest and dearest for Muppet's shower.  Given that the nursery is centered around some bird artwork, the theme of the shower took on the same tone.

There were bird directions everywhere, from the bird house centerpieces to the crazy balloony birds.

 And of course that theme continued on to the food!

 The muffins were all topped with toasted coconut to resemble nests for the little birds to sit on.

This one is a little sick, right?  Or ironic?  Or is it fitting that the bird is sitting on an egg?

And it wouldn't be a party without cake, right?

 

 As much as  I love opening presents, I really hate everyone watching me open presents.  I get nervous being the center of attention.  So I filled up every silent space with me talking.  Which means basically every picture has me telling a story.

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 And Muppet certainly reaped the benefits of having such wonderful and generous friends. (Look it's your first view of Muppet's nursery!)

 

Now it's time to unpack all the goodies and get some thank you cards out!


Total weight gain/loss: +15
Next Appointment: Friday, August 26
Maternity clothes? All my bottoms are officially maternity.  Still okay in some shirts and dresses.
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I didn't sleep at all last weekend because of RLP, but Sunday I slept SO well and felt great on Monday.  Maybe that's the secret of sleeping well?  Pure exhaustion.
Best moment this week:  Being surrounded by friends and family at the shower.
Movement: Still all the time.  J felt Muppet going crazy while we were trying to go to sleep one night and finally understood why I get awoken.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  The general consensus has determined that it probably isn't going to pop - just stretch out.
What I miss: A really really hot bath!
What I am looking forward to:  Shopping for the nursery this weekend.  Retail therapy!
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- The Shower

Baby Names:  Let's go with literary names!
Boy: Huckleberry
Girl: Buttercup



And our 32 week progression!
 

29 weeks, 2 days

 I like to move it, move it


This week I thought I'd talk a little about moving and grooving.  Both me and Muppet.  In terms of my movement I haven't slowed down this pregnancy.  Okay, let me rephrase that.  I've been able to keep up my pre-pregnancy fitness routine, but the routine itself has actually slowed down.


During first trimester I didn't get the typical fatigue or nausea, so I was able to keep up with my running. In fact, I was training for a half marathon.  Which meant I was running 5 miles, 3 times a week and 7-8 miles during the weekend.  When the half marathon sold out before I could sign up, I decided to give my body a bit of a break by shortening my runs, and just doing them more often.  I cut down to 3 miles, 5 days a week and a 4-5 miler on the weekend.  But I was getting slower and it was taking me longer and longer to run those 3 miles.  Currently I'm running 2 miles a day during the week and 3-4 miles on the weekend.

Last week I ran my first race since finding out I was pregnant.  I'd actually run a half marathon the week before I got my BFP and based on how I felt during the race I was pretty sure I was pregnant by the time I crossed the finished.  Technically that was the first race I ran pregnant.  But this is the first one I've run since then! 

Given how I'd slowed down, I wasn't expecting much from myself for the race.  Especially as I was running and kept falling behind.  By the time I finished there were only 5 people behind me.  So you can imagine my surprise at seeing my finish time - only 9 minutes slower than my typical 5k time!  And 7 minutes faster than I was hoping to run.  And 17 minutes faster than I was expecting to run!

When I'm running, it's typically Muppet's quite time.  And frankly, that seems to be Muppet's only quite time.  For the rest of the day and into the night Muppet is moving like crazy in there.  Sometimes it wakes me up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes when I get up in the middle of the night I can feel Muppet twirling away down there.  Last month, at my appointment I asked my Nurse Practitioner about a new movement Muppet had picked up that kind of felt like a giant drill. 

 

I was assured that there is no movement indicating distress and any movement that I felt was "good movement."  Muppet must have taken that as a sign to kick it into high gear.  Now we have drilling, kicking, pushing, and even digging.  I fear this kid is trying to find a way out through any means possible.  The nurse at the latest appointment told me that's probably not entirely accurate, and that there is no such thing as too much movement.

I read this week, and had it confirmed at my appointment, that the baby's movement doesn't necessarily correlate with sleep/wake patterns.  Babies move even when they're sleeping.  And Muppet must be a very restless sleeper.  As soon as I stopped running the race, Muppet was up and at 'em again, kicking and pushing letting me know that just because I stopped moving, doesn't mean baby had to. 

We started doing kick counts this week.  Basically I have to count 10 movements in an hour.  The past 3 days I completed these kick counts in under 10 minutes. Yeah.  We've got an active baby.  And today for the first time I got to see it!  It was another "new" movement feeling - as though there was some crazy dancing going on in there.  In reality I'm sure it's because Muppet's getting bigger and doesn't have as much room to flip, spin, and twirl, but I looked down and my stomach was jumping up, down, to the right, to the left.  Shaking, rocking, and rolling.  I texted J and asked him if he thought it was possible for Muppet to have invited some friends to a party inside me.  Thank goodness we registered for a swing and bouncer because I don't think this child is happy unless moving around.


Total weight gain/loss: +15
Next Appointment: Wednesday, August 10
Maternity clothes? Still on and off, but I think I'm really going to need to pick up a pair of maternity work pants.  I seriously contemplated pulling off my pants and sitting in my underwear at work the other day, but figured that could end up being a bad thing.
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: Not as bad this week - even though I'm currently hitting up the restroom about every half hour during the day, I seem to be doing okay with one bathroom trip a night.
Best moment this week:  Seeing the time when I crossed the finish at my 5k.
Movement: I think this post pretty much covered it, but this child never stops moving.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  The general consensus has determined that it probably isn't going to pop - just stretch out.
What I miss: This week I've missed a nice after run shower beer.  Something so nice about a cold beer in hot water.
What I am looking forward to:  We've started planning our babymoon, so I'm really looking forward to that!
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Seeing movement instead of just feeling it.
Baby Names:
Boy:  Mungo
Girl: Morag

28 weeks, 1 day

The Name Game


J and I are being double-y difficult when it comes to sharing information about Muppet.  I already wrote about how we’re team green, so no one knows whether Muppet is a boy or a girl.  To be fair, we don’t know either, so it’s not like we’re hiding the ball on that one.  But we’re also not sharing information we do know – Muppet’s future name.  


We have it all picked out – 2 for a girl and 2 for a boy.  Mostly because of my best friends is due in July and not sharing her names either.  I wanted to have a backup just in case.  For some people it’s no big deal to have your kid have the same name as a friend’s kid.  But personally, I don’t love it, and there are so many other names out there I’d prefer to choose something different. 


We’re VERY picky with names too.  It’s not just friends’ childrens’ names that are off-limits, we’ve also vetoed names of friends, and names of family members.  As someone with two cousins that share a first name, I get annoyed having to qualify whether I mean Sam X or Sam Y when talking to family members.


So why aren’t we sharing Muppet’s name?  One reason – we don’t really want opinions.  No “Well have you thought of this name instead?” or “How come you don’t want to use your great-aunt Murgatroyd’s name?” or “Really?  You want to name your baby THAT?”  And it happens.  Naming is one of those fun perks of being a parent.  Or a pet owner.  Or having a doll.  And everyone wants a piece.  And everyone has an opinion that is quite obviously better than yours. But once it’s done, it’s done.  And no one wants to tell you that Fergus is an awful name once you introduce the adorable pink bundle with blinky eyes and wee little yawn.
 

So instead, we spend our time coming up with REALLY awful names to share with people when pressed.  And I’ll start including some of our picks of the week in my weekly update.  


I know people judge baby names, because I’m as guilty of judging as the next person.  I have friends who have fabulous baby names.  Some of my faves.  And I have other friends who have named their children names that raise eyebrows when I talk about them behind their backs.  And yes, I do talk about them behind their backs (how could they name their child that? Don’t they want their children to be successful? Do they want their children to be beat up on the playground? –although, to be fair, my favorite boy names are the really nerdy sounding ones that make me picture little boys in glasses getting wedgies during recess.)  

For instance, recently at work I was reading the records of a man (I’ll let you guess his name to protect his identity).  He has two sons.  One is named James, and the other is named Jaymes.  (and you thought I was picky about having cousins with the same name!) You’ll never guess what I brought up at the dinner table that night.  That’s my point.  People talk.  People you know, and people you don’t know. (Please see above where I wrote that everyone has an opinion that is quite obviously better than yours) I’ll introduce you to some of the things that we thought about when choosing Muppet’s name.  



Initials – I’ll never forget being in elementary school when my best friend’s older brother decided to change his name.  According to him, he went from his middle name to his first name – although no one believed him.  We all thought he went from his first name to his middle name, because we’d never heard of anyone originally being called by his middle name.  My best friend (who probably knew) told me we were being ridiculous.  If we were correct, his parents would have given his brother the initials A-S-S, and no parents would be that cruel to a child.  While not quite as drastic, J and I made sure to rule out any initials that would give our son or daughter any difficulty.  Unfortunately, that ruled out an entire letter for first names, but it’s a sacrifice we think our future children will thank us for.


Rhyming – Our last name is two syllables and ends with an –er.  I have a tendency to love two syllable first names ending with an –er. Except, put the two together and it sounds like a nursery rhyme.  Or like tripping up stairs. 


Alliteration – Similarly, we ruled out another letter for first names, the letter that begins our last name.  Because to me, having a first and last name starting with the same letter makes you sound like a cartoon character (see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny) or a comic book character (see Peter Parker, Lois Lane).


Made up Names – These are some of my FAVORITES because I always picture the parents sitting around saying “Hmmmmmm there are millions of names out there, but I don’t like a single one of them!  I’m going to make up my own to show how smart and creative I am.”  Problem is, it rarely makes you look smart or creative.  Usually it has the opposite effect.  The two most common ways to make up a name are to take a name that exists and change the first letter (I’m looking at you Zaiden) or to combine two names by smooshing them together in an almost inhumane way (Charmony).  


Made up Spellings – I love these almost as much as made up names.  This is where you take a perfectly good name and decide to butcher the spelling to make it more “unique” or “creative.”  Again, like the made up names, it rarely has the effect of making you look smart or creative. (See Jaymes above)  I have a friend who named her daughter Alice.  Which is a fabulous name.  She had to seriously battle with her husband who wanted to spell it Alyss.  But that was back during the time of the “y” when those things were stuck in any which way into any name – whether it needed a y or not.  I’ve noticed the trend has moved to “x” and you’ll start seeing more names like Jaxon floating around.  Usually (but not always) you’ll see these misspelling associated with really common names – as though the parents are trying to say “See, I knew there would be 70 Olivias in her class, so I wanted to set her apart by naming her Oilyveah.”  But when you’re screaming across the playground for little Oilyveah to stop kicking little Xristoffer in the head, the other 69 Olivias and their parents aren’t going to realize your precious pumpkin has a different spelling (all sound same).  Likewise, what lesson are you teaching your child?  That conventional spelling doesn’t apply?  If you don’t like the way something is spelled, change it!  I see that going over REALLY well during the elementary school days of spelling tests and spelling bees.

Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Monday July 18
Maternity clothes? Usually I tend to wear maternity clothes more on the weekend, but this weekend we were packing and so I was barely wearing clothes at all - just the Target long and lean tanks (non-maternity).  I don't think I've worn any maternity clothes this week, but I'm noticing I might be getting too big for my fabulous bella band.
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I've pretty much decided that I'll never sleep through the night again.  Whether it's getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, waking up in the middle of the night from being too hot, or waking up in the middle of the night because I'm getting kicked.  And I don't anticipate that changing any time in the future.
Best moment this week:  I don't think anything really stands out!
Movement: Constantly.  And Muppet has found my ribs which is pretty freaking uncomfortable.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  The general consensus has determined that it probably isn't going to pop - just stretch out.
What I miss: The hot tub!  When I'm at the gym sometimes I'll just stare at it like Homer Simpson stares at a jelly doughnut.
What I am looking forward to:  Being able to sit comfortably.
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Hair Hair Everywhere!  Muppet has eyebrows, eyelashes, and is starting to grow head hair! 
Baby Names:
Boy:  Elmo Bradley
Girl: Elmo Bradley (please someone help me convince my husband that Bradley is not an appropriate middle name for a girl)

 And it's time again for the photo college.  It's crazy to think my stomach used to curve more inward than outward!

 

27 weeks, 4 days

 The Belly


I feel like my stomach has taken on a life of its own.  The size is only part of it.  Although, that's pretty weird too.  It's strange to me that when I lie down, my stomach doesn't sink like normal.  That there's an actual hill I can't see over. 

And though we still haven't gotten to the point where we can see little arms and feet poking out, it's weird that I can feel body parts by touching my stomach.  J first got to experience it tonight - "I think that's a heel!"  And of course, there's the fact that my stomach is ALWAYS off center.  You can physically see which side the baby is on.

View from above

I'm not sure either Muppet or I are enjoying this current residence.  For me, the weight of Muppet makes it difficult to get comfortable.  I always need to wedge a pillow under my stomach to help support it.  And Muppet?  Well, have you seen the famous "birth scene" in Alien?  I'm fairly certain Muppet is attempting to recreate that scene from the inside.  The constant pushing, banging, and digging makes it feel as though someone is searching for a way out.

We spent the long weekend up in Lake Tahoe.  We spent the first day hiking, the second day on and in the water, and the third day up atop a mountain playing in snow. 

We joked that everything was "Muppet's first."  As in "Muppet's first snow!"  "Muppet's first waterfall!"  "Muppet's first fireworks!"  I feel kind of bad for Muppet that our poor baby didn't actually get to see any of these things, but there'll be plenty of time for that in the future.



Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Monday July 18
Maternity clothes? Still a mix.  I picked up some stuff for our trip - maternity shorts, a non-maternity shirt, non-maternity bathing suit.... At work I'm still in non maternity bottoms and some of my longer shirts, or shirts layered over a maternity cami.
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I've decided that the waking up in the middle of the night is actual caused by Muppet moving around.  I know, I'm such a princess. But seriously, last night it was like having an angry neighbor banging on the wall for an hour.  If that angry neighbor lived inside you.  And the wall was actually your uterus.
Best moment this week:  Actually getting recognition for being pregnant, and not just pity looks for being fat.
Movement: Nonstop, all the time.  Muppet doesn't sleep and doesn't want me to either.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in.  The general consensus has determined that it probably isn't going to pop - just stretch out.
What I miss: I miss being able to sample local beers and wines when we travel. 
What I am looking forward to:  Honestly, I'm SO excited about getting an outside baby.  I've been thinking about it a lot.
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Muppet's eyes are now opening and Muppet is practicing breathing in there!
- Third Trimester!

25 weeks, 1 day

Let's talk about weight gain


Like most women, I definitely suffer from disordered eating.  A lot of it ties into my anxiety disorder.  This means, when I am most stressed, I take it out on my body in very unhealthy ways.  Usually this involves restrictive eating and over-exercising.  Things like fasting all day before dinner.  Or spending 3-4 hours in the gym a day.

I've gotten better at realizing my limitations and working within them.  For instance, I don't keep a scale in the house so I don't get obsessive about numbers.  I force myself to take a break from the gym when I'm sick (this was a HUGE accomplishment for me a couple years back.)  I make myself have a morning snack of fruit.

Pregnancy is obviously a brand new stressor, with brand new worries and anxieties.  I've been really struggling to make sure I don't slip in to disordered behavior, for the good of the baby.  But this becomes pretty hard when you're getting weighed every time you see the doctor.

This has been especially true over the past month.  I managed to gain only 2 lbs during the first 17 weeks, but then jumped up to 9 lbs.  7 lbs in one month?  Talk to anyone with a ED background and they'll agree the mere thought brings about cold sweats.  My doctor agreed that it wasn't ideal, but tried to console me that the baby had probably just experienced a growth spurt, coupled with the increase in blood volume.  J tried to convince me that the weight gain was probably do to the heightened sodium and fat intake we had eaten the previous day at the food truck festival.

But I spent the last 4 weeks cranking it into gear on the fitness front.  I mean, there wasn't much I could do on the eating front since I already don't eat a lot of crap.  I'm not having any cravings for cheeseburgers or ice cream sundaes or anything.  So I increased my mileage on my daily runs, added in 40 minutes of gym time, and started making sure to do my pilates video on a daily basis.

I was doubly concerned for my appointment this week.  First, because I didn't want another month of a large gain, but also because I had my test for Gestational Diabetes this week.  I was worried that the 7lbs was due to GD.  And even though this is NOT what it means, the disordered part of myself can't help but correlate GD with "fat."  It's not true and not healthy, but really that's what this entire post is about right?  In fact, yesterday morning I had to fight off the unhealthy urge to get in one more run before the appointment.  I convinced myself that with the fasting required for the test and the test itself, it would be a bad idea, but at the same time it was a real struggle.

Yesterday's appointment was both comforting and enabling.  I haven't gained a single pound since last month.  Which makes me feel better, but also reinforces the need to continue with my exercise regime.  Kind of a double edged sword there, right?  I also passed the Gestational Diabetes test, based on the fact that I haven't heard otherwise and I was told that I'd hear within 24 hours if I failed.  And I feel pretty confident in that given that I "cheated" on the test accidentally.  I was only supposed to fast for 2 hours, but since the test was first thing in the morning I had actually fasted for closer to 12 hours.  According to the phlebotomist this means that the results would be clear whether I had GD or not without having to resort to the second 3 hour test.


Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Monday July 18
Maternity clothes? I had to pick up some new tops this week because a lot of my pre-pregnancy tops are starting to get to short.  However, the Target "long and lean" tanks are just perfect because of their length.  I would have grabbed some more of them, but GAP's maternity tanks were cheaper so I went with them instead.  Still wearing pre-pregnancy bottoms though.  And J thinks that the maternity jeans I am in are starting to look a little big for me... 
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: Awful.  I've been getting up with the sun and having a hard time getting back to sleep.
Best moment this week:  Good doctor's appointment AND J feeling the baby for the first time.
Movement: Nonstop, all the time.  Does this kid ever sleep?  And now J can feel it too.
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in but I'm not sure for how much longer. 
What I miss: This week not so much.
What I am looking forward to: Moving next month and being able to start working on the nursery.
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Passed the GD test
- J feeling movement.  Oh, did I mention this already?  Seriously I am so happy about this!

24 weeks, 2 days

Houston, we have viability!  There's something so comforting about hitting 24 weeks.  Mostly because we're officially at the point where Muppet could theoretically survive as an outside baby.  Now don't get me wrong, we're expecting Muppet to stay inside for a good 16 more weeks, there's still a lot of growing to do.  And if Muppet came now, there'd be a rough road ahead of all of us.  But still, knowing that Muppet could be born tomorrow and have a fighting chance takes a weight off my shoulders.

Registering

So we finally registered.  And I was warned that it was going to be an exhausting process.  It was - but only because we did it after J's huge all day event.  Meaning we got to the stores around 6pm.  Other than that it was pretty quick and painless.  Probably because I am queen of the researchers.  So I had everything narrowed down before we got in the store.  And then we just had to check out those items in person to do some yays, nays, and "mmmmm I like this one better."

And so, without further ado - the plans for Muppet's bedroom!

  

The actual reason we registered was because I had to pick up a gift for one of my best friends and figured we could kill two birds with one stone.  H's baby shower was last weekend.  She's about 9 weeks ahead of me.  She didn't tell me until she was in second tri, so by that time we already knew about our expectations.  And I was so excited to have someone to share this journey with.

Even better, because she's ahead of me, I use her as my guinea pig - or vision into the future to see "what's going to happen next."

And since we're at 24 weeks, it's time for the monthly photo brigade!!!

Total weight gain/loss: +9 
Next Appointment: Tuesday, June 21 
Maternity clothes? Still about the same.  Although I bought a new dress to wear to H's shower.  Which is awesome because then we looked like super twinsies. I plan on living in jersey maternity dresses this summer. 
Stretch marks: nada. 
Sleep: I think I've actually been sleeping better this week!  J got up in the middle of the night on Wednesday night, took the dog outside and filled the entire living room with balloons and I didn't even notice! 
Best moment this week:  I'm starting to get excited about "nesting" and the nursery, and I'm loving hitting 24 weeks.
Movement: Yup.  Sometimes REALLY hard which causes me to jump out of my seat.  
Food cravings: Nothing 
Food aversions: Nothing 
Gender: Tell you in October! 
Belly Button in or out: in but I'm not sure for how much longer. 
What I miss: I went to pick up beer for a party and realized I really miss it! 
What I am looking forward to: I really want J to be able to feel the kicks.  
Contractions: Nope. 
Milestones:
- Registering
- Viability!

22 weeks, 1 day

Baby Beluga

The nice thing about long weekends, is the ability to travel.  And we’re taking advantage of that as much as possible while I’m still able!  Before Muppet arrives and we have to start hauling twice as much stuff.  When we’ll actually have to deal with checked luggage (gasp!).

We spent the long weekend in Vancouver.  The weather was perfect and accommodating.  Warmer than we were expecting (which I was thankful for because of the great sweatshirt/jacket debacle I wrote about last week).  We got to eat fabulous food, and J got to indulge in the local brews.  We also did a LOT of walking.  Which my feet were beginning to resent. I totally pulled the pregnant card Saturday night, opting to call it an early night at 10pm instead of going out to a bar.  I know, I’m such a stick in the mud.

We went into some baby stores to scope out equipment.  Just for kicks.  I overheard J telling his parents last night that he actually really enjoyed the experience more than he thought he was going to.  And he’s been on my case about going and picking out stuff for the past week.

We also got to go to the aquarium and see the belugas.  Now, J and I have been to Seaworld and seen our very own local belugas, but this was Muppet’s first experience.  And Muppet?  LOVES Belugas.  I can’t think of another time this little guy was so active.  I like to pretend to interpret Muppet’s kicks.  Like “Hey mom, quit coughing, some of us are trying to sleep in here.” Or “Mind sitting back in your chair, because when you crunch over it smooshes my nose.”  At the aquarium I was getting a definite “Lemme out – I wanna see” feel.  I told J who decided Muppet can probably hear the whales since they use sonar.  I tried to explain that there was plenty of layer between me and Muppet, muffling the sound, but boys will believe what they want to believe.  And speaking of layers between me and Muppet – at the Beluga show the trainers told us that the amount of blubber on a beluga is equal to the space between your pinky and your thumb.  Which coincidently, is just a little bit bigger than my bump.  J took great delight in this as he pointed out that I must be a beluga too!  It’s times like these it’s good to have your mother around.  I don’t think it’s domestic violence when SHE hits your husband.

Total weight gain/loss: +9

Next Appointment: Tuesday, June 21
Maternity clothes? Bits and pieces are working their way into my wardrobe.  Still have a majority of non-maternity clothing I’m wearing, especially since I stocked up on extra-long tank tops in the first trimester. I find I mostly wear maternity wear on the weekend, and stick to my typical work clothes during the week.  Mostly because it's so difficult to find some good looking maternity business wear!  I do have a pair of maternity work pants I’ve been eyeing and I have to pull the trigger and order those before the price shoots up.
Stretch marks: nada.
Sleep: I think I had one night this week I slept all through the night.
Best moment this week: This weekend we started with the really consistent kicking.  Guess Muppet had a growth spurt, or is just tired of being a sleepy baby.
Movement: See above.  Getting kicks throughout the day. 
Food cravings: Nothing

Food aversions: Nothing
Gender: Tell you in October!
Belly Button in or out: in
What I miss: Being away made me really miss being able to drink wine!  Brought a couple of bottles home from Vancouver to enjoy sometime next year!

What I am looking forward to: I really want J to be able to feel the kicks. 

Contractions: Nope.
Milestones:
- Consistent kicking/movement