36, 37, and eep...38 weeks!

*Doing an email post...to be edited with pictures later!* :)

 

Marination Time: 38 weeks, 3 days...we officially have a full term baby.  Crazy!!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I feel like I've been about the same size for awhile now.  He's definitely dropped pretty low, which makes my hips and back complain a little bit. 

This Week's Produce Item: 

36 weeks - Honeydew

 

37 weeks - Winter Melon (whatever that is?)

 

38 weeks - Pumpkin!

 

Currently Craving: I think I've eaten pizza 5 times this week, no joke.  I can't get enough!  No real "cravings" though - just still loving to eat everything in sight because I am the ultimate fatty.

Weight: 172 last I checked, which puts me at about a 42 pound weight gain.  Wow.

Symptoms: Gettings lots of sharp pains on the lower part of my belly.  Mom thinks they're bladder spasms from our friend head butting me in the bladder.  I'm definitely slowing down some, and having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  Mom and I went for a walk yesterday and my belly was rock hard for a good five minutes of walking uphill!

Belly Button Status: Same old, same old. It's out. Also I have that lovely dark line up my belly and it's hilarious because it also makes a circle around my belly button.

Sleep Grade: I usually get up once, maybe twice now.  Rolling over in bed is a big process where I basically have to get on all fours and then switch to the other side.  Basically how  I would imagine an elephant would roll over in a lying down position.

Movement: I think he has one place on my right side (where his feet always are) that he likes to wallow his feet, it's funny.  Other than the fun bladder head-butts or maybe some mild shifting, I don't feel much else.  He's just too big for his little apartment in there,  I think. 

Appointments: I am going every week now - at 36 weeks, I was "very thin" (though the doctor didn't give me an effacement percentage) and he said he could feel the baby's head.  I had an appointment last week at 37 weeks and the doctor gave me some crap about how they would "go ahead and get me delivered at 39 weeks' and then sort of patted me on the head when I explained that I would rather chew broken glass than be induced.  I see another doctor today who tends to be a somewhat reasonable human, so maybe he won't make me get into the whole induction battle...we will see. Nervous!  Hoping this guy can just take his own course and come when he wants.  I also have another internal exam, so we'll see if we've made any progress in the last two weeks. 

Highlights of the Week: PB has started working his 24 hour shifts at the fire department, so the weenies and I have to get used to being without him every third night.  It usually involves watching a lot of things on the DVR I don't get to watch when PB is home because they drive him crazy, and sprawling out all over the king size bed.  Haven't really had many other highlights, just trying to get my head wrapped around the idea that we are going to have a baby soon.  I still haven't - it's insane!!!

---

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to public records requests pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law, resulting in monitoring and potential disclosure of this message to third parties.

In compliance with federal law, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administers all education programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability.

35 Weeks!

35 weeks (I think)....wearing my "man pants" and making frozen pizza just for me because PB was at work late.

35 weeks 2 days, before heading out to work

Marination Time: 36 weeks as of today - we are exactly one month away from our due date!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Every time I think I can't get bigger....I get bigger. Wow.  I feel weird saying it out loud, because I'm afraid to jinx it, but I can't believe I don't have stretch marks on the belly yet.  I still have a whole month to get some though!

This Week's Produce Item: 

Baby's the size of a coconut this week!

Currently Craving: I have really been wanting candy.  Boss lady gave me a bag of Twizzlers for my bday (because she knows it's my favorite...) and all I want to do is snarf all of them down.  I think I might break down and do it soon. Otherwise, still eating lots of ice cream and ice cream sandwiches.  Also, discovered I can eat Pizza Hut pan pizza and still have rockin' blood sugar, so that's my favorite treat as of late.

Weight: I think we're at 168 now.  Wow.

Symptoms: Feeling lots of pressure this week.  Sometimes if I stand up too long I feel like a baby might fall out.  I know, I know, it isn't that easy, but that's what it feels like sometimes.  Itchy belly sometimes...still a little heartburn, still doing Zantac.  Think that's about it!  Piggies might be a tad swollen this week (but nothing you'd notice if you weren't me and didn't see them daily).

Belly Button Status: Same old, same old.

Sleep Grade: I usually get up once...that's about it.  Not too terrible.  I need to stop staying up so late and being a zombie all day though!

Movement: I feel him much less frequently now, though he does get the hiccups most every day (sometimes a couple of times a day).  If I feel him, it's little teeny punches or a sliding motion when he drags his feet around.  I think he's out of room for gymnastics in there.

Appointments: Had a diabetes appointment where they checked my a1c....aaaaaand it was a 4.9! So they told me that I'm fine, to go forth and enjoy my pizza and ice cream, and I don't have to come back.  WOOHOO.  I told them that at the OB's office too, so they can cut it out with all this extra mess about the diabetes.  Case in point, we had an ultrasound to check growth at our last appointment (even though I wasn't measuring ahead).  Ultrasound estimates that he's 6lbs 9oz at this point, though third tri ultrasounds aren't very reliable.  The doctor said he'd guess high 7s or low 8s at birth if he had to guess.  I go back this Friday, and we get to start checking on all those fun things like effacement and dilation.  I know those exams have absolutely no basis in science, but I'm kind of curious to know where we stand, whether or not it matters.  So Captain Curiosity over here is agreeing to the fun awkward exams. Makes it feel very real though - like this could be happening very, very soon.

Highlights of the Week: We have had two awesome baby parties this week!!!  I am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.  

First, Jessica threw us a baby party last Friday night.  I had a pretty big list of invites, mainly because a) if you invite one person, that opens up a whole new "tier" of like 10 others that also need to be invited and b) I figured what the heck, because we only got maybe 30% turnout at my first shower.  We ended up with way more people than I thought we would and probably Jessica should have just locked the door and told me it was cancelled.  But she is awesome and threw the most fantastic party, complete with a firepit, delicious barbecue, cupcakes, and the most adorable blue and green decorations.  It rocked.  So many of our friends and work friends came, and I was out until after midnight - shocker.  I came home feeling like the queen of the world after that one!!!

And then yesterday, my coworkers threw me a surprise shower in the media center at school that just knocked me on my butt.  They told me there was a "training" after school and I of course was huffing and puffing about whatever nonsensical training we had to do.  A bunch of them disappeared during planning to go set up and told me they were going to a meeting with the principal.  I thought nothing of either of these things - I had no clue whatsoever.  They called me to the office beforehand, and had the secretary ask me a thousand questions about my maternity leave sub that I'd already answered....and still I had no suspicions.  I walked into the media center and everyone yelled "SURPRISE!" and I almost fell in the floor.  There was cake, cookies, games (complete with door prizes!) and so many awesome presents.  

(Please excuse my unwashed hair and lack of makeup....this was seriously a surprise.)

All in all, I have felt like the most loved girl in the world over the past week or two....it has been amazing.  It doesn't help that I am all hormonal and all of this makes me want to just tear up every time I think about it.  Week 35 has been awesome!

Oh, and finally, PB graduated from recruit school at the fire department!  We went to his graduation on Saturday afternoon.  We were all so proud of him!  And he looks darn cute in the outfit.....wait, there are those pregnancy hormones again.  But seriously!! :)

34 weeks (on time this time!!)

34 weeks exactly

34 weeks, 1 day on my 25th birthday!

Marination Time: 34 weeks, 3 days as of today!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: He's definitely out there - running out of places to put him.

This Week's Produce Item: 

Baby's the size of a butternut squash!

Real Life Baby Measuring Item of the Week: 

Baby's the size of a ukulele! 

Currently Craving: Eating Reese's ice cream bars, butter pecan ice cream, cherry vanilla ice cream, and any other kind of ice cream I can get my paws on that has a reasonable amount of carbs.  Also cheesecake.  YUM.

Weight: Pretty much holding steady, last I checked.  Might have even dropped to 165 briefly.  Praise the Lord, I'll take it.

Symptoms: Still got rockin' heartburn that I have to keep at bay with Zantac most days (and that doesn't work 100% of the time).  My hips and back are getting a little sore at night, but not horrible.  That's all I can really think of to halfway "complain" about! 

Belly Button Status: About the same.  Not sticking out at its greatest length like it was, but it's still out!

Sleep Grade: Pretty good, in fact I usually end up passing out on the couch about 9pm depending on what kind of day I've had and PB drags me to bed later.  

Movement: I've noticed a pretty big decrease in movement, and it's abundantly clear to me that he's head down with his feet on my right side.  I even had a few days where I barely felt him at all, but he's been slightly more active this afternoon.  I think he's running out of room to squirrel around in there.

Appointments: Have a diabetes appointment next week where they are going to check my a1c, so I am horrified by that possibility.  Hoping it hasn't gone up too awful much!  Have an ultrasound appointment next week that most people don't get because of this stupid diabetes too.  I do know that third tri ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate though, so I am going to try not to put much stock in whatever they say (and not let them worry too much about it either).  I have been measuring on time every time, so I am not too worried.

Highlights of the Week: I turned 25 on Wednesday!  I had just an okay day at work, nothing exciting, just somewhat tiring.  I got home to find out that my mom and grandmother had taken off half a day of work to come to my house and be the cleaning/nursery fairies!  They washed dishes, vacuumed, folded laundry, and....

They bought all of our nursery bedding, pre-washed it, and set it up!!!  I was so excited because I'd been dreading/worrying about that.  I absolutely adore how it all came out.  I'm also really relieved and happy to have it all set up - I think that was causing me to feel super unprepared.  

We went out to dinner at Longhorn for my birthday and they gave me my second present...a Brighton charm bracelet with Ira beads!  I just love it!  

Other than that, this was Ira's first almost-snow day, and it was a great day!  This morning, my department threw me a surprise birthday get-together, which was so sweet of them.  Ice and freezing rain got us an early dismissal from school, so I went to the store and stockpiled a ton of dinner options so we can hopefully hibernate all weekend long.  Overall, it was a great week!

31, 32, and what the heck, 33 weeks

31ish weeks (can't remember how many days)

32 weeks 5 days at my adorable Dr. Seuss themed baby shower that my family threw!!

33 weeks 1 day

Marination Time: 33 weeks, 3 days as of today

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Well, I am definitely getting bigger!  Though I might punch the next person who says "Oh you must be having twins!" or "There's no WAY you're actually due March 5!" or "Wow, I'm sure you'll have a c-section." Punch punch punch.

This Week's Produce Item(s): 

Um, excuse me? The size of a WHO?  Now they're just making things up.

Currently Craving: Everything I am not supposed to have. I wanted peach crisp at school today SO bad but I didn't go there.  And then Phillip had a milkshake, corn dog, and curly fries after Bradley class last night and I could have choked him.  Really it doesn't tear up my blood sugar to eat those things but technically it's outside the Draconian limits the diabetes people set, and I worry that big brother is going to find out I was bad when they check my a1c next time.  Urgh.

Weight: 166 this morning...yeeee haw!

Symptoms: I have to take Zantac just about every day to keep the heartburn to a dull roar.  It's hard to tie my shoes on my own because I just don't bend that way anymore.  Forget any task like painting toenails!  Seriously though, I still feel really good.  Went to the doctor today and he sympathetically asked, "How are you, you sure you're hanging in there ok?" I was like "Um, yes, I'm feeling really darn good most of the time!"  My boss initially put me on the "stay behind and babysit children with no permission slips" list for our field trip last week and I scoffed.  I do not want to be trapped in a classroom with a bunch of kids who are going to be awful all day - I will walk my tail around my Discovery Place, thankyouverymuch.

Belly Button Status: Surprisingly, it's a tad less noticeable than it was at one point because it's stretched out so much. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely still OUT, but it doesn't look like such a nub anymore.

Sleep Grade: Not bad, I usually get up once or so, and we are running out of bed real estate between my ever expanding self, the pregnancy pillow, 2 weenies and PB.  Overall not bad though.

Movement: He gets the hiccups 3 or 4 times a day some days!  He flips and kicks me in the ribs sometimes too.  My belly still does a pretty good bit of rolling around even though he's getting bigger.

Appointments: Had one today.  Thank you Lord, I was measuring on time.  When you have the diabeetus, their concern is your baby is in there resembling Wilford Brimley.  I have a growth scan on the 31st that I am actually not looking forward to, since I am just so scared they'll tell me he's too big.  Fingers crossed that everything stays normal!!

Highlights of the Week: 

Definitely my baby shower that my family threw for me last Sunday!  It was so cute - it was a Dr. Seuss theme.  All of the food was themed, like green deviled eggs for Green Eggs and Ham, Yertle the Caramel Turtles, and so many other cute ones.

Everyone brought books as well as the more traditional baby gifts and so many sweet people came to bring us something.  Definitely a great day! 

29 and 30 weeks

Wow...I just realized I haven't even taken a picture of myself since 28 weeks. Oops.  And right now the thought of putting on pants to take a picture makes my skin want to turn inside out, so we are going to have to suffice for a promise of pictures later.  Today's activities include sitting in PB's recliner since he is at his parents' house watching football, reading my Kindle, and not achieving much of anything.

Marination Time: 30 weeks, 4 days as of today.  Holy moly.

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I'll take one.  ASAP.  I swear.  Maybe tomorrow, or tonight if dinner involves me putting on pants.

This Week's Produce Item(s): 

And that applies to both week 29 and week 30...I guess if The Bump figures they don't need to update pictures weekly at this point, then neither do I.  

Real Life Baby-Measuring Item of the Week:

Baby's the size of a loaf of bread this week!  

Currently Craving: I've had a hankering for more coconut cake ever since Christmas.  I am pretty sure I could eat a whole one.

Currently Avoiding: Have I avoided anything in the last 6 months?  That's why I'm such a walrus.

Weight: See above.  Managed to lose about 5 pounds during my little bout with having the flu or something horribly similar, but put it all right back on, and am now up to 163. Woof.

Symptoms: In the past 4 days or so, I feel like I have sort of hit a wall.  I just feel SO much bigger all of a sudden and it's hard for me to move around nearly as easily.  Getting out of a chair, rolling out of bed, undecorating the Christmas tree - all nearly insurmountable obstacles at times.  I also pass out on the couch about 10pm no matter what.  My hips and lower back tend to throb at night, but the heartburn may have eased just a tad, which is a plus.  Or heck, maybe I'm just getting more used to it.  Don't get me wrong though, I still don't have many complaints and I'm still feeling like I'll miss being pregnant when it's all said and done.

Belly Button Status: It's all out, all wrong, all wonky, and you can see it through like two layers of clothes.

Sleep Grade: Has been fine, so long as I'm not sick with the plague.  Otherwise, my hips and lower back are pretty sore and don't let me lie around and sleep in on mornings off.  It definitely becomes necessary to get up and go sit on the couch or in the recliner.  

Movement: Still lots of movement, and this week I have felt him get the hiccups a few times!  Super cool.  It just feels like little, tiny rhythmic jumps in there.

Appointments:

Well, I know you were all waiting with bated breath to hear the results of the dreaded gestational diabetes test.  I like calling it the GD test, because I'm usually mentally cursing when I speak of it.

So, last we left off, the nurse told me I had to go back for the blankety-blank three hour test.  Which I did. Took a whole day off work, which turned out to be great because I was SO SICK.  I'm talking full blown flu like horribleness.  Fever, chills, coughing, aching, can't-lift-your-head-off-the-couch sick.  I pretty much slept for about 15 minutes the night before and ate basically nothing the day before.  Forget fasting, I felt too crappy to eat anyway.

I got to the doctor's office looking like a homeless person.  Leggings, long sleeved t-shirt, Ugg boots, no makeup, hair on top of my head.  Basically, I looked like I felt.

I didn't see a doctor, just the poor lady whose calling in life is to stick people with needles. The drill is, you go back to the lab room, they stick you, and you don't care because you feel so crappy anyway.  Then they pull another delicious bottle of sicky sweet orange drink out of the cooler and give you another 5 minutes to chug it like you're drinking PJ out of a trash can at a frat party.  Then it's back to the waiting room to sit there for an hour.  

I ask if there's anywhere I could lie down....I don't care where.  A maintenance closet, some empty stirrups, anywhere will work.  But no, they are too busy and all of their exam rooms are full.  So it's back to the straight chair in the waiting room, with the suggestion that I "try to take a nap." Are you kidding me? I couldn't sleep in my king sized bed the night before due to coughing, hacking, and general misery.  How do you think it's going to go in a straight backed chair in an OB waiting room?  

At this point, I became an excellent people watcher.  It astounds me the way people behave in the doctor's office.  No wonder they seem to have an air of general dislike for their patients.  First there's me, coughing like I have tuberculosis, then there's the couple who brought in a huge bag of smelly sausage biscuits for breakfast that they proceeded to eat in the middle of the waiting room, and the parents who are letting their two year old hit the tap on the water cooler, soaking the entire floor while she laughs.  Wow.

Then the lab tech comes back after an hour, takes more blood from your other arm, and sends you back to waiting room hell.  Rinse, repeat, for two more hour waiting periods and two more sticks.  The sicky orange drink makes you feel like all heck anyway, and on top of the flu, I felt I might perish in the waiting room among the random masses of people filing in and out of the office.

Of course, they called me two days later to tell me that I failed the test.  You have to have 3 of 4 readings considered "normal" to pass - I barely failed two of them.  This meant a lot of crying, emailing my Bradley instructor, eventually calling back and asking to be retested, which they refused to do, even though every piece of information about the test ever archived by Google says that blood sugar is drastically affected by illness.  I was told, "Well, remember this is for your baby's health."  I completely lost my mind on the nurse at that point, because they had also refused to give me a referral to a specialist, or any directions about how to treat myself whatsoever, for at least another week because it would "take that long" for the lady who does transfer paperwork to "get to my chart."  Imagine me sitting in the school cafeteria while my kids are at lunch, on the phone with the OB nurse, saying, "IF THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, THEN SHOULDN'T YOU BE ABLE TO FAX ME A REFERRAL?"  

The referral ended with me seeing the most overly perky dietitian I could ever imagine, who likes to use the terms "ladies" and "little ones" about 5 times a sentence.  At any rate though, my blood sugar was 78 after consuming a Bojangle's sausage biscuit and a Bo-berry biscuit about 40 minutes before my blood draw, and it only ever went up to 82.  My a1C as a 5.0, which is great even for someone who "doesn't have" diabetes.  

Really, I just feel like they have slapped me with this label and now I feel like I am going to have to fight to refuse inductions and c-sections and all that mess at the end.  I also feel like I am going to have to fight them sticking my poor kid 820320932023 times after he's born and trying to give him a bottle.  Sigh.  Though apparently pregnancy has totally eviscerated any sense of manners or dignity I once had, so I reckon I'm ready to say whatever craziness I need to say to avoid all of that.  

I know all of y'all are not nearly as interested in my GD drama as I am, but I wanted to record all that for posterity, because just for the record, it sucks.

Highlights of the Week: 

If you stuck with me through that mess, then I am going to reward you and pull out the big guns - Mom got a 3D ultrasound for us for Christmas!!!  It was so cool to be able to look in there and see his little face.  

And just for fun - who do you think he looks more like? 

Here he is with PB's baby picture:

And here he is with my baby picture:

We get to go back on Thursday, because he has a big 20 foot cord that he has in a giant wad in front of his face that he won't move.  We're hoping he's changed positions by next time so that we can get more good pictures!  I can't wait to go back!

27 and 28 Weeks

Oh heyyyyy, third trimester!  I really can't believe that I have 11 weeks and some change before this guy is due.  What in the world?  I guess this is the part of pregnancy where I am supposed to be miserable and uncomfortable and hate life.  Yes, I'm waddling.  Yes, I have heartburn like WHOA most days if I don't load up on Zantac and Tums, and yes, my back and hips are starting to get pretty uncomfortable at night.  All in all though, we're still doing ok.  I'm definitely not ready to get him out of there yet because I'm still enjoying feeling all these crazy kicks and acrobatics that he's really stepped up in the last two weeks.  We're to the point now where you can visibly see my belly jump all over the place when he moves, it is the weirdest and coolest thing I've ever seen!

27 weeks, 2 days - I seem to always remember to do pictures when I am in the skeevy work bathroom these days.  I need to work on finding better scenery.

28 weeks exactly, again in the skeevy work bathroom.

Marination Time: 28 weeks, 4 days as of today

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Other people seem to notice that I'm getting bigger more than I do.  I mean I think I can tell a little difference, but not that much?

This Week's Produce Item: 27 weeks - Rutabaga!  Um, odd - not sure I've ever even seen a rutabaga in person.

28 Weeks - Eggplant

Real Life Produce Item of the Week:

Still a lunch box through week 28.

Currently Craving: Anything sweet! Toaster strudel, school cafeteria peach crisp, birthday cake, you name it.

Currently Avoiding: Nothing? Even had my first cheeseburger of pregnancy last week!

Weight: Ugh, last time I weighed, I had hit the big 160 mark.  I've determined that it really doesn't matter what I eat, how much I exercise, or how I feel about it - every time I get on the scale, it's going up by at least a pound.  

Symptoms: Sometimes I get heartburn so bad I either feel like I'm about to throw up or have a heart attack.  I take Zantac twice a day (and now a double dose, since my doctor told me to start) and pop Tums occasionally.  My hips and back tend to hurt at night from sleeping on my sides, so I'm usually ready to get up and moving in the morning.  Still don't have any stretch marks on the belly, though my belly button is kind of sore from being so stretched - I'm just biding my time until they show up because I feel like they're coming.

Belly Button Status: Oh it's still way out.  Still don't have any stretch marks on the belly, though my belly button is kind of sore from being so stretched - I'm just biding my time until they show up because I feel like they're coming.

Sleep Grade: Not awesome lately, I tend to wake up about 4 and lightly sleep through some crazy dreams and wake up constantly until the alarm clock goes off.  I managed to sleep in until 7:45 this morning until the hips woke me up!

Movement: I think this week deserves a video - since you can actually see it!

Appointments: I had my gestational diabetes test at 28 weeks exactly.  So that involves showing up, doing all the standard blood pressure/scales of shame/pee in a cup/answer the standard questions...and then the medical assistant gives you a little bottle of sugary drink and says you have 5 minutes to drink it.  You get the choice of fruit punch or orange - I asked what the house specialty was, and she recommended the orange.  I'll second that, it kind of tastes like orange Kool-Aid or flat Fanta.

Then they make you sit in the lobby for an hour until Dorothy the lab tech comes out and takes you to the back to draw your blood.  If you're like me, you're feeling pretty good about yourself because you didn't eat anything after 10:15 and it's now 4:15 (even though they told you not to fast) and what you DID eat was a salad with grilled chicken, cheese, and a boiled egg.  You're also feeling pretty confident because the drink hasn't made you feel bad and you're thinking you've beat the system.

She takes your blood, then they say you'll probably hear something by Wednesday if it's bad news.  Then on Friday, you'll eat cake at the perfect attendance celebration AND cafeteria peach crisp thirty minutes later, because you don't HAVE the diabeetus, yo.  You feel a little sorry for all those poor suckers you know who failed and had to go back for a three hour test or have piggy little babies because they have gestational diabetes that they don't control.  Your pancreas is a beast, as far as you're concerned.

Then your phone rings an hour later.  And the too-perky nurse tells you that you failed.  Not just failed, failed with a big, fat F.  I was supposed to be at 130 or less - I was at 165.  Then you try not cuss the nurse on the phone in front of your thirty students.  

And then, this is who you become:

I have to go back Monday, take the three hour test where they make you drink MORE orange stuff and stick you four times.  I couldn't be more excited.  Realistically, there's a 65% chance that I DON'T actually have the diabeetus. But then who knows.  Maybe I do.  At any rate, Monday should just be a barrel of fun.

Highlights of the Week: 

On a more exciting note, we bought a carseat and stroller that I love!

It's also Brenda-approved.

I adore the orange!

We did what everybody on the interwebs and at the doctor's office and the president and NASA tell you not to - we bought it from Craigslist.  But as it turns out, it was from a family that is mutual friends with someone else I know and who seems quite trustworthy.  It hasn't "expired" (yes, carseats do expire, it's very weird) and they promise me it's never been in an accident.  Their kid is just too big for it now.  So, that meant scoring a basically brand new travel system and 2 car seat bases for $125 - whoop whoop!

Then, PB and I drove in the Kannapolis Christmas parade, which is sort of neat because it's a night parade.  Everybody decks out their apparatus with lights and such and it's a nice, short little parade.  PB rode on top of the firetruck and I drove one of the grand marshalls (and his wife, and his 2 miniature poodles, but that's another story).  It was Ira's first parade!

Finally, on a much sadder note, Grandma M passed away on December 3.  She had been terribly sick following surgery for a few weeks, and passed away at the Hospice House.  It was so hard for the family, but honestly the Hospice House is a wonderful place, and I think at the end, we all knew that she had to be at peace.  She got to feel Ira kick and move before she died, but I hate that he will never meet her, because she was such a smart, spunky, adorable little lady.  

Well, those are the highlights of this installment...next time, we'll know for sure if I need to start calling Liberty Medical for my diabeetus supplies.  I'll keep you updated!

Oops...24, 25, and 26 weeks?

Guys, this is just a classic example of how this pregnancy has totally been sneaking up on me.  It seemed like I had just done a post, and I thought I was only one week behind! Oops.  I seriously cannot believe how fast it is going.  I want to put the brakes on, I like this part!  I just feel like it is all going to be over in three minutes.

How about an update, shall we?

Here we are at 24 weeks, 1 day in the skeevy work bathroom.  Man, I love that maternity shirt from Old Navy.  So comfy!

24 weeks, 4 days at the Santa Scramble 5k!  The belly and I "ran" (okay, waddled) it in 31 minutes.  I sort of felt like my bladder was being trounced the whole time, which made for an interesting run, but we made it!  

It was a first 5k for both Ira and my mom!  

Here we are at 25 weeks, 1 day before going to the 5th annual Deviled Egg Cook-Off!  It was the first year I didn't enter, because we were insane that whole day with making Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family.  We hosted and provided almost all of the food since we have a family member in the ICU and we knew most of the rest of the family wouldn't feel up to cooking.  But whew, by the end of the day, I couldn't even think of making deviled eggs.  I could barely think of eating them!

But of course I did eat one of all 15 entries, and then I was whining about my back and ribs hurting because I am the ultimate fatty. PB decided to lead back stretching on the garage floor at our friends' house.  I don't know how I got up from down there, but I did!

Then I realized that I have no pictures from 26 weeks yet, so here I am looking just whipped after work today.  We are 26 weeks, 2 days today!

Marination Time: 26  weeks, 2 days

Musings on the Weekly Photo(s): I think I look a lot bigger today than in the other pictures, for some reason.  Good Lord!

This Week's Produce Item: 

Um, I'm sorry, those sizes just baffle me.  Doesn't a cantaloupe seem bigger than cauliflower and lettuce?  Odd.

Realistic baby-measuring item of the week: 

From weeks 25 to 28, The Bump says the baby is the size of a kid's lunch box:

Currently Craving: Had to finally scratch the itch for real sushi yesterday and got a calamari roll and a crab/shrimp salad roll from Wasabi Cafe for lunch with Mom yesterday.  And then I remembered just why I thought that crap from Harris Teeter is comparable to Little Friskies in a plastic tray - Wasabi sushi is SO much better.  Also been really wanting regular Coke lately, because I am a bad mother.  And I had a Diet Pepsi yesterday and a Diet Coke today.  So sue me.  I'm sorry, Ira, at least it isn't an illicit drug.  OH, and a big milestone - we went to dinner with my in-laws on Saturday night to Longhorn and I had the very first steak I have eaten since I got pregnant.  It was pretty darn good too, medium-rare with a cheese-stuffed portabello on top.

Currently Avoiding: As much as I want sushi lately, the thought of our traditional weekly fried-fish dinner that we usually do on Thursdays is making me feel green.  I'm kind of excited that we have Bradley class tonight so that I can make barbecue chicken pizza, because that's what I'm really wanting tonight!

Weight: Ugh, got the scale battery replaced, which means I was up to 151 as of November 13 (24 weeks). At November 20 (25 weeks), I was 154.  This morning, (26 weeks, 2 days), I was 156.  Holy snot rockets, that is some serious weight gain.

Symptoms: I went back to the chiropractor at the beginning of the week, and that man does wonders for my sciatic/hip pain.  It's only been barely twinging.  I've moved on to taking Zantac for the ri-fricking-diculous heartburn that I have constantly.  Pretty sure all my guts are somewhere in the vicinity of my upper rib cage, so it's logical, but jeez.  That's really about it.  

Belly Button Status: It enters the room about 15 minutes before I do, it's so far out.

Sleep Grade: Pretty great over Thanksgiving break, and I was able to sleep in until unheard of times, like 10:00.  Last night sucked though, because sometimes I just can't get to sleep after I get up to go to the bathroom at 4am.

Movement: I pretty much feel him all day long, slamming around in there.  I feel like it's a preview of what's to come when he's 16 and throwing things in his room because he's pissed off at me.  Calm down, child!

Appointments: Next appointment is December 11, which is the dreaded gestational diabetes test appointment.  I have a strong feeling I'm going to fail, and I'm hoping to goodness I don't, but I just have a feeling....gah.

Highlights of the Week: 

We started what I hope will be an awesome tradition for Ira at my parents' house!  Those are big light balls hanging from their trees.  Putting them up involves borrowing the neighbor's high powered tater gun, which is quite the sight to see.  It took a lot of dedicated neighbors a lot of time to help us put them up, but the end result is really magical in person.  

Aside from Thanksgiving, the Christmas parade and 5k, and the deviled-egg cookoff, this week marks our first week of Bradley classes!  We are going out of order since the next session ends after my due date, and tonight's class will be infant care.  I'm excited to see how it goes, I have a feeling it may make all of this feel very, very real!