27 Weeks- Hello Third Trimester!

Well, we are in the final three months of pregnancy! I can NOT believe how fast it has actually gone by. Things are only going to move faster now though. The holidays tend to do that. We have our childbirth classes coming up this Saturday and I'm just amazed at how fast that date came up on us. I'm really excited to see the new labor and delivery ward and ask all kinds of questions. I'm also a little anxious [read: scared] since I know the time for Roxas to get his cute butt out here is fast approaching too. The Christmas decorations are all up and I can't stop thinking "it's Christmas time already?!" It seems like somebody hit fast forward and we are just a month away from 2012, then just a month away from the due date...and a month away from being responsible for a tiny human being. Cue the feelings of fear, excitement and anxiety.

In other news things are going pretty good with us. Roxas is somewhere around 2lbs. and 14 1/2 inches long from his head to his heel. His eyes are opening and closing, he is still practicing his breathing and he is still putting on that baby fat that I'm sure I will enjoy kissing, pinching and cuddling. He kicks and moves a lot. The nurse at our appointment yesterday was having a bit of difficulty getting a read on his heartbeat just because he kept moving around so much when she tried to listen- feisty little munchkin! His favorite time to move around is about 10pm every night. We have a lot of fun just feeling all his little moves and kicks. Although he has managed to find my lower ribs and I swear he is sticking his little foot right in between them sometimes! The kicks right to the ribs/bladder are none too pleasant but I still enjoy them since I know these moments are numbered.

Now that we are at 27 weeks things are changing a little. I have to count his kicks and movements for an hour each night. I also got to do the ever fun glucose tolerance test today. They give you this "super kool-aid" stuff, which tastes like flat orange soda that might have gone bad, to drink in about 2 minutes and then after an hour they draw your blood. I have blood sugar issues anyways so I am really hoping the test comes back as normal and I don't have to go back for the three hour test. I have to admit though, that drink wasn't as bad as the barium shakes they make you drink for CT scans-YUCK!

Symptoms are popping up out of nowhere all of a sudden. Thanks to some swelling in my feet and hands my wedding ring is most likely coming off tonight to be replaced with my promise ring because so help me, if they say they have to cut my wedding ring off I might [will] hurt somebody. My "baby brain" has gotten awfully bad lately. I can't remember anything, stumble over my words and do the dumbest things. I also have terrible balance and coordination. I feel a lot like a klutzy hippo sometimes, and I'm not even that big yet! My belly is starting to get in my way a bit though, which can be incredibly frustrating. I realize I took a lot of simple things for granted, like putting my own socks on or tying my own shoes. Just doing the dishes or laundry can be a physical challenge in it's own right.

It can be a pain, sometimes literally, but this pregnancy really has been going so well. I can only hope and pray the delivery goes as well. I complain a lot sometimes but really there isn't much that I have had to put up with and I'm so very thankful for this experience. I can't wait for it to be over though so we can meet our little boy and get to know him. I know that time will come quick enough though, so for now I'm enjoying the ride and loving every second.

26 Weeks- Last week in the 2nd Trimester!

26 weeks today, and wow have a lot of things happened! We are now in double digits! Meaning there are only 98 days left until the due date! Can you believe it? I can't. We only have this last week left in the 2nd trimester and I have to say I get why everybody says the second is the best. I'm starting to become uncomfortable and some symptoms are starting to really bug me. The weirdest one I have is the leg cramps, although I know they are normal I was pretty sure one I had the other night was going to do me in. There's a whole host of interesting things going on with me these days but I will spare you the lovely details.

Roxas is getting bigger, and much stronger. He is kicking with serious force and apparently my liver, spleen and bladder make great punching bags. Sometimes those kicks actually hurt. He weighs about 2lbs. and is roughly 14 inches from head to heel. Trust me, those heels are getting their use already. Something cool that is happening with his development is his eyes are starting to open! The eyelids, which have been fused until now, are starting to un-glue themselves. His senses are even sharper now, so he reacts a bit more to things like lights and music. Which may be why he kicks his daddy in the head every time he talks to him, I find this very amusing.

Other things, besides human growing, have been going on too. I found out that I did not get accepted into our nursing program. Part of me was very relieved since I did not want to lose any time with Roxas after he is born (classes go from January to May) but then there was a tiny part of me that was disappointed in myself for not getting in. What's funny is looking back at the series of events now. I can see the way in which this was all planned out and I just laugh. They won't tell you why you were denied, but I have my suspicions it was because I am still in the middle of one of my classes. Now, I would have already had this class done if it weren't for a goof up at the college, but thanks to this goof up I am doing this class a semester later than I wanted. I think God knew what was coming and rearranged everything so that it will work out better in the end. You know what they say...Wanna hear God laugh? Tell Him your plans! I've never been happier with our lives and I've never been more excited about the future and all the amazing things it holds. I know I will get my RN eventually, even if it takes a year longer than I thought, I will get there. I know I will always be taken care of, even though I'm a pretty big mess of a human, God always takes care of me.

In other news I did a little goofing around with the camera today and had some fun being a "model" for a bit. Enjoy the silly-ness below.

25 Weeks- Grow Baby, Grow!

25 weeks today and I have to say things haven't changed too much. Roxas is still kicking up a storm and is getting bigger and bigger. He is now the length of Kenny's shoe from head to heel (13 inches) or the size of an eggplant. He weighs somewhere around a pound and a half. His lungs are continuing to develop and although they aren't ready to make their debut in the real world they are maturing fast. His nervous system is maturing more too. His baby fat is coming in, quite well according to my bathroom scale. If he has hair we could now see what color it is now, my money is on jet black. His house is now the size of a soccer ball...which is kind of what it looks like I'm smuggling under my shirt. I'm starting to feel some of the less pleasant side effects of the fast approaching third trimester. The fatigue has come back, and my emotions have been all over the place so I apologize in advance if you encounter any of my "pregnancy alter egos". My body is starting to reflect the stress as well, I have a bad back to start with so needless to say the back pain is here for the long haul. There are only 2 weeks left in the second trimester, I can't believe how close things are getting. We have our childbirth class on the 3rd, which was always kind of a milestone in my head because I knew when we did that class we would be close. We do have a date for our baby shower: January 15th at 3:30pm. Invitations will be going out mid to late December. I'm surprised a lot of people have been asking what we would like as well, so I will put the links to our registries on the blog too. We are registered at Babies'R'Us and Walmart. I'd also like to put it out there that we don't mind gently used items either, we aren't picky! He has a lot of "themes" including Winnie the Pooh/Disney, Puppy dogs, and guitars.
Well that is all for now, we will see you next week for the last of the second tri!

24 Weeks! Happy V-Day!

No, I'm not delusional...I know it is not Valentine's day (although that would mean we would only be weeks away from meeting our little man!) What I'm talking about is what some pregnant women refer to as their "viability day" meaning after 24 weeks a fetus is considered viable and there is a possibility for survival outside the womb. Of course survival would require serious medical intervention and there are many, many possible complications but some tiny chance is better than no chance at all. At 24 weeks a fetus has a survival chance of 40-70%, although Roxas will hopefully stay put until February, at least he has a chance. It is amazing how many things I can find to worry about, apparently it's one of those "mom things" that you develop...still waiting for those second pair of eyes and the spit that can out-clean Mr. Clean himself though. It is nice to worry a little, teeny bit less now.

So, what's up with my little nudger? Well he is growing...a lot. He has gained about 4 ounces since last week, well on his way to 2lbs. He is about as long as an ear of corn (or an over inflated football for the guys). His brain is growing again as well as his taste buds and lungs. The bronchi and bronchioles (tree like parts of the lungs) are forming now and cells are gearing up to produce surfactant, which helps lubricate the alveoli (air sacs) for when they inflate after he is born. His skin is still pretty see through but as he gains more and more baby fat that will change. I'm not sure what vendetta he has against my ribs but he tries awfully hard to kick them. He's not quite there yet but it will only be a few more weeks. His kicks are getting hard to ignore too, I jump a lot because of them. Sometimes I get very distracted by him, I've spent a decent amount of time just watching my belly jump and enjoying his kicking and punching. I had a fun game going on where I would put my cell phone on my belly and see how long it took him to kick it off. I have a feeling it will get a lot worse when he is born, I'll probably do nothing but look at him all day.

Since it is our "V-Day" it seems appropriate to talk about something I've been thinking about for the past few days: Love.
It is amazing how much you can love. It seems we, as humans, have an infinite ability to love if we want to. Love is an amazing emotion when you really think about it. Love can make you do crazy things, and love can make you feel better than you have ever felt. I love my husband more than anything on Earth, and I never thought any other love could rival that...until I had his hand on my belly while our son playfully kicked at us. In that special moment I realized my capacity to love just increased by an immeasurable amount. My love for my husband didn't diminish but rather my capacity to love just increased.

Like I said I have been thinking about love a lot lately, maybe it's the hormones...who knows. Anyways I was watching a new music video for a song called "A thousand Years" by Christina Perri and in between all the squealing at the Twilight clips it had (stay with me here) I listened to the music. It describes just the way I feel about my family, it feels as if I've loved them for a thousand years. There is no beginning or end to my love for those people in my life. I've loved them for a thousand years and I will love them for thousands more.

There is nothing I wouldn't do for those I love. The amazing thing about love, and the way it differs from any other emotion, is how love can make sacrifice completely painless. Sure we will do things out of other emotions but the sacrifice still always stings a little. If we do something out of pure love, it's actually rewarding. I think this point is one that God has been trying to hammer into my head for awhile. I think about the love I feel for just my family and then I can't even imagine the love God feels for us. Something about having a child of our own has really put this idea in center focus and I don't think I even really got how much love God has for us until now. We think about the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and it was done out of pure love. That sacrifice is the most pure demonstration of love I can think of, and one that I'm not very worthy of in the first place. When I think about how I say there is nothing I wouldn't do for my son God reminds me that is exactly how he feels about us. There is nothing He wouldn't do for us, and it's all because of love.

So love is an amazing thing and I'm only just beginning to learn about the power it can hold. The most amazing thing though is I am being taught all of this by a tiny human who knows nothing about this world yet. I think the only thing he does know is that he is loved, very much and both of his parents would do anything for him. I really thought I knew what love was but I'm discovering it is so much deeper than I ever thought.

I don't think my belly has changed too much in the past week, still loving my little basketball.

23 Weeks- BOO! Halloween Fun

We are officially entering the 6th month now! When this month is up I will be in my third trimester...which is just insane to think about. There are only 119 days left until my due date and I'm amazed at how short of a time that seems. With the holidays coming up I know the time will just fly by and I'm starting to get small moments where it really hits me that I will have a baby in my arms before my next birthday. We watch a lot of "A Baby Story" and sometimes I finally realize...holy crow that's going to be me in just 17 weeks. Roxas is getting bigger and bigger every day. This coming month he will double in weight! He isn't measured week by week anymore but he is roughly the size of a papaya or for the guys, an over inflated football. His blood vessels are hard at work in the lungs to prepare them to exchange oxygen and of course enable those first cries. He has been getting more and more active lately which of course makes me very happy.

Apparently the power of Halloween somehow manages to make every child unbelievably hyper, including unborn babies! Every kid in my Sunday school class appeared to have eaten a bucket of sugar for breakfast and Roxas was no exception, and I promise I did not eat a bucket of sugar for breakfast! He was bouncing around and punching, kicking...possibly hiccuping all day. Thanks to his hyper-activity I caught a good little kick on video finally and Kenny got to feel lots of good little kicks. There is nothing more special than having your husbands hand on your belly and seeing the look on his face when the baby kicks, it never gets old.

We didn't do anything fancy for Halloween but of course I just HAD to do something awesome with the belly, so I painted my belly to look like Mike Wazowski from the Diney-Pixar film Monsters' Inc. I think it turned out quite well considering I was painting it in a mirror so everything was backwards.

So here are the latest pictures and the video of my belly jumping as Roxas kicks, look for the big kick around 30 seconds in.