T-Minus 10 Weeks

Here's how I've been measuring time recently:

"Three weeks until the Student Council Retreat.  Five weeks until Sadie's Week.  Ten weeks until Baby."  The next ten weeks are full, people.  I mean FULL.  I have a StuCo Retreat to plan and pull off (Feb 10-12),  our school has a big Sadie's Week full of events and a huge dance (Feb 27-Mar 1), I need to get all the StuCo election stuff figured out in early March.  There are a couple of baby showers to attend, birth class to go to once a week starting next week, doctor's appointments every two weeks and then every week, a weekend get-away with Husband this coming weekend, a visit from family the week before Sadie's.  I'm supposed to have a room ready for baby to come home to, sub plans figured out for 8 weeks worth of class, and, of course, I have a job that I have to still do now.  FULL.

I sort of have started wishing we had somehow gotten through all of that and that it was time for the baby now, even though the "I'm not ready mentally or emotionally (not to mention physically)" mentality is still in full effect.  A (increasingly larger) part of me wishes the Peanut were here!

With all that said, we are about 10 weeks away from our due date!

30 Week Update

Husband was actually home this morning, so he took the picture. 

Got it pretty cute in one shot, instead of my normal 10 attempts.

Size of Baby: 15.7 inches in length, more or less.  Longer than a ruler.  Not quite a ruler and a half.  I believe it - I can feel him kicking me in different places nearly simultaneously.  Weight?  About the same as a cabbage - 3 ish pounds.  Expected to grow significantly soon!  (hopefully him, not me).

Maternity Clothes: Clearly.  I just put aside my last pair of regular jeans this weekend.  They finally were just a little too uncomfortable, even with their low waist.  The jeans I'm wearing in this picture crack me up - the built-in "belly band" thing is hilarious... but also a bit obnoxious, as I keep feeling like my pants are falling down.  I wish it were a warmer season, because I think some fun dresses would be nice, but alas, it's windy and cold and unpredictable, so not worth spending the money.  Still, I finally feel "cute-ish" most of the time.  That's nice.

Gender: Boy.  We got our first round of registering done... speaking of which, if you have strong-but-nice opinions on what are "must-have's" or "how many to have's," I'd love to know.... and it was fun to pick out some little boy things.  Some friends of ours have a baby boy who will be almost exactly a year older than our little man, so they've been passing some stuff along already.  It's true that little girl clothes are cuter, but there are some super stinking cute boy things out there, too.  I'm getting a little excited about it, especially as I've been reading some things from other first-time moms with boys.

Movement: All the time.  Get 10 kicks in 30 minutes for a fetal-movement test?  Puh-lease.  When I stretch out in the evening, I can get 30 kicks in 10 minutes.  Or less.  (Seriously, the other day I had hit my 10 in less than a minute.)  Usually really fun feeling.  Occasionally he catches me off-guard.  My new favorite?  Feeling my belly get hard in a certain spot without touching it, pushing slightly, and feeling him roll away.   I showed that to my sister the other day and she agreed.  It's cool.

Sleep:  Oh, sleep.  I miss sleeping well.  It doesn't help that I'm working my way through a cold right now and trying to keep it from getting too much into the cough stage, which I really struggle with.  But my shoulders and back hurt (I've always been a stress-carrier there) and sometimes my belly hurts and it's super hard to find a comfy place to sleep.  Still, I am sleeping some, and I'm not too exhausted.  I wake up most mornings feeling refreshed, and that's a wonderful thing.

What I Miss: Still, the belly button.  I guess it will come back.  Feeling more independent.  I'm starting to get to the point where I know I need to ask for help with some things, and I don't like that. 

Cravings: I have been hitting the Cheetos pretty hard over the last week.... but I always have liked them.  Salty, salty, salty.  Mexican.  Chinese.  That all sounds pretty good right now.  In fact, anyone want to bring me lunch?  Sounds better than my PB sandwich and yogurt.

Symptoms: Nothing new to report.  Supposedly I could be feeling Braxton-Hicks now, but I don't think I have. 

What I Wish I Knew: Right now?  Shallow things, like who should be invited to baby showers.  I hate that part of planning.  Bigger things, like if I have registered for the right amount of important things, and what I should buy myself.  I want to do this right, but simply.  I don't want too much stuff, but I want the right stuff.

Best Moment of the Week: Actually not minding talking about the baby with total strangers four times in a row on Saturday.  For once, it didn't bother me. I mean, I wasn't gushy, but I felt happy to talk to them and didn't mind their questions or unsolicited input.  That's growth, people.

Oh, and getting the nursery painted (Husband kicked butt this weekend!).  That's done, we're waiting for our new windows, and the crib my MIL ordered for us should be here any day this week.  It's pretty fun to start putting it together!  And I've been able to use my "can't sleep" times at night to think about what decor ideas I might want (simple, again).   Pictures of the progress coming soon.

Now, as I look at the clock and realize my next class is coming in 20  minutes, I guess I'd better get something "productive" done.  Just thought 30 weeks sounded like a big milestone.  

Back to getting things crossed off the to-do list so I can get to the "Baby's here!" stage faster.



Happy Monday, friends.