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)