Week 31

I've officially run out of cute, clever blog titles. Having the same fruit for the entire month kind of makes it difficult. But.. anyway...

Here we are. Another week, another squash. I simply cannot believe that we only have 9ish weeks to go. Baby Lily should be about 16.25 inches this week, which is about the size of 4 navel oranges and weight about 3.3 lbs. I remember getting excited when I could say she was in the 1/2 lbs range instead of just oz's. And now she's multiple pounds. I'm a little concerned that I seem to have only gained about 12 lbs over all and haven't noticed any weight gain in the last couple of weeks. I'm going to talk with my midwife about it next week. I just take comfort in the fact that my body will give Lily what she needs first and leave me with the rest. Most likely it's just because I was over weight to start with and my body is burning some of the excess fat. Plus I haven't had much of an appetite lately, but I'll get to that in a little bit.

How's Ms. Lily doing in there?

"This week your baby is gaining more and more weight as baby fat is filling in underneath the skin.  Your baby's color is also becoming less red and more pink in color.  By now, your baby's irises can dilate and respond to changes in light."

It is just amazing to think that a real live baby is growing in my tummy! Well... amazing and kind of freaky weird! Her movement is continuing to change. It's gone from punches and pokes to now it feels more like movement. Like I feel her arm brush against my tummy... or maybe that's a leg.

How's Momma doing?

I'm hanging in there. The holiday season is proving to be a challenge for me. There is more to do, less time to rest, and the pressure of knowing she'll be here in a couple short months is getting crazy! I'm holding off until after Christmas and possibly after the New Year to really start on her nursery, but I'm really starting to feel the pressure. Plus this is the first holiday season that I've been unmedicated in probably 6-7 years. I'll admit, it's a challenge. Trying to coordinate family, plan meals, clean houses, buy and wrap presents has been a little more than I can handle. I'm sad to say that I am woefully behind and some of my presents don't even have ribbon on them (GASP!). I know!! It's unheard of in the Stafford household. Sometimes I feel like a failure, like I'm weak and have let this pregnancy get to me. I have friends on line and in real life who are still making all their normal holiday goodies, and don't seem to be missing a beat. I try to remind myself that I face a special challenge and my focus has got to be staying calm and giving Lily the best gestational period I can. I truly believe that being unmedicated is the best thing for her right now and if that means my presents don't look like they have in years past, or we have shepherds pie for Christmas Eve dinner instead of the full spread of turkey and dressing, etc. then that's ok.

This past weekend we went to the mountains to see my cousin and her handsome new son! It was so much fun and I so enjoyed getting to practice a little, although he's quite advanced for a 2 month old. He was baby Jesus in the Christmas play at their church that we went to and did such a great job. Grandma feel in love with little Dallas, and now has baby fever and is counting down the days until Lily gets here. I on the other hand was a little overwhelmed. But it's ok. I know when it's my turn I'll be ready. I'm just still good with her cooking a little while longer. And I think that might be my last out-of-town trip until Lily gets here. I was so glad we went and so glad we got to see my cousin and Dallas, but it was really tiring and with Christmas being this week there won't be a whole lot of time to rest up. Oh well. I'll catch up eventually.

The indigestion/acid reflux is getting a little crazy too! All I have to do is look at food and my tummy gets upset. Right now I'm living on TUMS, peppermints (which work remarkably well), and ice water most of the day. I find myself avoiding food, which I need to stop doing. But at least I'm learning to eat less at each sitting. Unfortunately, I'm not adding much in between meals. The thought of food usually sends me reaching for my peppermints. I'm just hoping my teeth survive since most of the mints that really work are the sugar filled kind. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to make the best choices you can.

How's Daddy doing?

He's great as usual, really enjoying feeling her moving around in there. Not much else to report on that front.

Unfortunately, I am again late on getting this update finished and posted and once again I did not get a weekly bump picture taken. :-( Nothing to do about it now, so we'll just pick up from here and see what we can do this weekend. It is pretty amazing how differently you feel from the end of the 2nd trimester to the 3rd. We are on the home stretch now, though. Hopefully, I'll do better with this weeks update and I'm going to do everything I can to get a bump picture this weekend.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend and even though it's late... here's our 2010 Holiday Card. Happy Holidays everyone!!