27 weeks

Best moment of the week:  Yesterday, we had an end-of-the-season bowling party which turned out to be a surprise shower!  (Yes, I had been on a bowling league while pregnant.  LOL!  Luckily, the season ended several weeks ago before I got too big.)  It was so very sweet of our bowling peeps to do that for us, and Baby D got some awesome loot (see below in the gifts section).  Unfortunately, Himal missed the bowling party/shower because he was out of town helping his mom with the move, so he missed this adorable monkey cake made by Flossie.

Baby bump status:  This week, I got two different comments from people at work.  One was that I’m really starting to pop out now; the other was that I don’t look pregnant.  I’m beginning to feel like I look pregnant, and my belly is starting to get in the way when I bend forward.

Maternity clothes:  Because I only have 1 maternity swimsuit, I went shopping for another yesterday.  Oh my goodness, have you seen the fabric options for maternity swimsuits that are in stores?!?  They are just hideous.  Since we pregnant ladies have to look like whales on the beach, the least the swimsuit companies could do would be to use cute fabrics.  Ugh!  I ended up buying a plain black tankini because it was the least offensive of the fabric options.  Now, in the past, I’ve seen some pregnant ladies in some cute suits – Where did they find them??

Baby weighs as much as: The head of a cauliflower.

Total weight gain:  15.6 pounds (change from last week: +0.8)

Days until due date:  91 days

New or unusual this week:  I was supposed to have my doctor’s (ok, technically, she’s a midwife – we switched from the doctor track to the midwife track a month ago because we felt the midwives would be more supportive of a natural childbirth) appointment this coming Monday, but the office called midweek and switched my appointment to this past Friday.  This is the appointment where I had to do my glucose test; I’m hoping to receive good results tomorrow.  Baby D’s heartbeat is normal, my iron is normal, my uterus is measuring at the appropriate size, and my weight is on track, so everything looks good so far!  I got the Rhogam shot in the hip since I’m Rh- which wasn’t bad.    

Symptoms:  My back has been extra sore this week.  I don’t know if it’s still a symptom of the long drive and move last weekend or if it is because of my growing Little Man.  It’s bothering me so much that I bought a heating pad yesterday which seems to provide some short-term relief.  I’ve also had some pains in my lower abdomen, particularly on the right side.   

Baby’s movement:  Little Man continues to move around a lot.  It’s becoming more noticeable from the outside even when I have clothes on.  When I rest a book  on my belly, he's able to bounce it a little bit.

Looking forward to:  In the past, I always figured I’d just go for the epidural to numb the pain of childbirth, but surprisingly, the more I learn about childbirth options, the more strongly I feel about trying to give birth naturally.  The midwife suggested that Himal and I bring in a birth plan to my next appointment and go over the things we’d ideally like to have happen.  I’m excited to get to work on this.  My sister is amused by it all and calls me an Earth Mother/hippie, which I’m totally not in other aspects of my life.  But hey, I have to do what I think is best for me and my Little Man.

Gifts this week:  Baby D got quite a bit of good stuff this week!

First, we have the bin full of items from the bowling shower.  It was quite an assortment from an umbrella stroller to changing pad covers to a homemade blanket to a childproofing kit.  Thanks, everyone!

We also received this cute bathtub in the mail:

And our friend who has an 8-month-old gave us a box of hand-me-downs:

Thanks, Alex!

Purchases this week:  With Himal gone this weekend, I couldn’t help but shop.  The one thing that I felt we were missing that we absolutely needed for Little Man to arrive was diapers, so I bought a small pack of those along with this other stuff.  Now, we are ready whenever he is!

Himal and I also bought baby’s night stand and ordered his dresser using the gift cards and money from the Indian shower.  Now, the only other piece of furniture we need is his toy chest.

Dissertation update:  Work was crazy again this week and I was recuperating from last weekend, but I did get a few things done on my dissertation.  I created my recruitment flier, researched collinearity a bit more, and had a productive meeting with my advisor.  I also e-mailed my IRB contact person and got the go-ahead to get phone consent.