32 Weeks!

32 weeks! Can you believe it?

Sometimes I think this pregnancy is going by really quick and other times I realize that I've been pregnant most of this year and still have months to go. Most of the time it feels "just right". 

 Here are the highlights (and other lights) of the last few weeks:

• Nice long walks have become my favorite form of exercise. I've been enjoying walking around our pretty campus, especially in the morning and at sunset. I've been trying to get out for one everyday, because sitting at a desk at work is just no bueno and my back feels so much better when I can get moving.
•  The baby's hiccups! It almost feels like a pulse, but stronger and a little bit irregular. One time they lasted for a good 15 minutes!
• Capturing some good rolls and kicks on video, and having sister-in-laws and nieces feel him show off. I feel his moves all day everyday, but it's usually this little secret going on inside of me. I love the chance to share it and have other people join in the experience of this happy moving baby. Yesterday I described the movements to Paul as a pinball game with a giant ball going on in my stomach.
• One day I had swollen feet and ankles and felt so sad that that symptom had finally hit, but then it went away and hasn't come back! Crossing my non-swollen, wedding-ring-wearing fingers for that luck to continue.
• My one and only pregnancy "craving" (or I guess you could call it an addiction): Orange Dream Machine smoothies from Jamba Juice.
• I actually like getting dressed more now than I did a month or two ago. Even though the belly is bigger, I feel like it's easier to flatter than when it was smallish/in between.
• Last Friday I only woke up ONE TIME the whole 8 hours of sleep. It was a miracle.
• I've been having really itchy ankles, especially at night. (NOT a highlight). Has anyone else had this in pregnancy?
• My parents bought plane tickets for the little dude's arrival! I am so happy they will be able to meet him and help us out in those first few weeks. Having a baby due around the holidays is tricky so I'm grateful they were willing to make it work!
• I got my flu and tDap shots - I think vaccines are a miracle so I thought I'd mention them here. :)
• I turned 27 years old!
• This was my favorite (and maybe the only?) stranger conversation of the past few weeks. There is this lady, typically very ornery, who makes the Italian cream soda I get once in a while at the student center. I guess she just loves the pregnant ladies because her mood changed quickly when she saw my belly sticking out. Word for word:
• “Oh! You pregnant?!”
  “Yeah! I am!”
  “How many months?”
  “Seven”
  “You SMALL for seven!!!”

• Getting a few nice pictures of this maternity stage with the "real" camera. First, I had Abby (sister-in-law and photographer extraordinaire) take a few when they were visiting on birthday weekend. We just laughed the whole time about how awkward maternity pictures are - I am just the worst model and can't be serious in pictures. We didn't have great lighting but Abby made it work! I also took some 1-year-old pictures of my friend Kristin's baby girl this past weekend and when the lightening was nice I handed over the camera to Kristin and had her snap a few shots for me.. Even though it feels pretty awkward, I think it's a neat and important stage of life to document - especially with those pretty fall colors to back me up!

(Weeks 0-12, 16, 20, 24, 28)

Goodbye Beautiful Bonn!

One more post about our amazing summer in Germany - this time featuring the city we loved and spent the most time in (because we lived there!), BONN!

The last few days we were there I tried to really soak up all the best things that we had enjoyed, and one day I brought my camera along to document some of my favorites.

This was a pretty typical morning for me: an hour or so at the botanical gardens, a bike ride down Poppelsdorf, under the train tracks and past the crepe stand, the bike route to the museum (passing our 610 bus and my favorite red and yellow house), and then the museum where I'd meet Paul for the outdoor lunch barbeque.

We are so grateful we had this amazing opportunity to work and live abroad for a little while. Just today Paul texted me from a conference he's at and said, "Traveling really makes it easier to relate with people". Paul and I grew so close through the experience and we met some great people and experienced so many new and exciting things.

We miss you Bonn!

28 Weeks (Hello 3rd Trimester!)

Wow! A lot has happened in the past four weeks. Here is my monthly recap of what is going on with me and the baby:

• I have a real belly! By about 25 weeks I felt like I had officially popped. During the time we were in Utah I feel like my bump got upgraded from a "small" to a "medium". 

• Our time in the Utah and Idaho was so perfect. Something that has been important to me is that I keep finding how capable a pregnant body is. At 26 weeks pregnant I did an 8 mile hike with my family to Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon and waterskiied at Pineview (very gently and cautiously) even without cutting I didn’t stop smiling the entire time!

• We found out my sister Celeste is pregnant! I am so happy our little dude will have at least two cousins close in age (with my sister-in-law Demi being pregnant with a little boy as well!).

• My sisters and mom threw me the cutest “around the world” themed shower on September 13th. It was an open house at my parent's house in Sandy and we had such great support from our families and friends. I loved seeing all these people come together from different parts of my life to celebrate our little boy. We got some really cute little outfits, books, and blankets. It made me feel so much more prepared and excited for him to come soon. My sweet sister-in-law Kimberly took and posted some pictures of the fun day here.

• While we were in Idaho, Donna and I got started on a cute little baby quilt. It was fun to scout out designs, pick out fabrics, and start to see it come together. I can't wait for the finished product!

• I got my first “You look like you’re expecting” comment from a stranger (a sweet older lady in Paul's home ward) and on our flight back home we were de-boarding and a flight attendant said, "Have a nice night, and good luck!"

• Having the baby boy move so often (and so noticeably!) makes me feel like he's really "there" and part of our family. One time Paul put his hand on my stomach and gave the baby a few name choices. He kicked once, REALLY hard right, when Paul mentioned my currently favorite name. :) Many times when I'm lying on my side he seems to "jump on the bed", pushing down where my stomach touches the mattress which makes his head hit the opposite of my belly. I don't know if that's really what's going on in there but it sure feels funny. I also love watching my belly dance around - sometimes he really goes nuts!

• I had my monthly appointment yesterday and everything seems to be going well. I had the glucose screening, but other than that they just checked the babe's heartbeat (154!), my weight, and blood pressure, and that's about all. My doctor calls these the "dog days" of pregnancy. From now on I will have bi-weekly appointments, which is kind of exciting.

• There are definitely some harder parts of pregnancy (acid reflux, back pain, cramps in my calves that wake me up, trouble sleeping and subsequent fatigue, and currently - a nasty head cold) but overall I really enjoy being pregnant and feel really grateful and joyful to have this chance to be and become a mom. I read this quote that has really been sticking with me lately:

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ”

― John Ruskin

I am really trying to embrace that ideology and recognize the benefits of the many different stages in life that we go through. I can't wait to meet this little boy, but I also know I will miss the time that I have now with just Paul and I, and the real joy of being pregnant. We are approaching a lot of crossroads and changes in the next few months and I am sure every change will be awesome and great, but I am trying to really embrace the "here and now" while I have it, because it is SO GOOD and I am sure some day I will look back on it and really miss it.

(Weeks 0-12, 16, 20, 24)