30 Weeks of Belly Growing

I was going to wait until like 36 weeks to do this but I decided to do it at an even 30 just to see my belly progress. I'll just add to it as I get huger!

 

Week 30

I like the fruit comparison for this next week, so our baby is the size of a pineapple.

Everything is still measuring on track based off of my doctor's appointment this week so our little monkey is about 3.5lbs and about 16 inches long. He should have the strength to grasp a finger -which I crave- and his brain is developing all those wrinkles - which makes him a genius, right? He is supposed to be growing about .5lbs a week now and that just seems so crazy but I'm already feeling that growth! The ballooning up has now begun. ~eeek!~

 

I passed my glucose screening last time, but the doctor finally diagnosed my anemia. I have felt that I've been a little anemic for quite a few years now but this is the first time it was noticed I guess because my iron was really low. He put me on a double dose of iron every day, so hopefully that will improve, and maybe I'll have a little bit more energy during these next 10 weeks since energy levels tend to decrease in the last leg of pregnancy. I'm still serving at Red Robin 20-30 hours a week, and I'm sure my hours will decrease in the next month but I plan on working up until the end of March if I can. We'll see how that goes!

 

Week 29/30 has been extra awesome because my mom has been here! I always knew my mom was a majorly crafty, talented artist, but she continues to amaze me! She can walk into a room and have a vision (or multiple visions) of what it could be. She kept asking for my opinions and ideas but I think her creative mind intimidates me, and I just like everything she comes up with. We got right to painting the first day she was here! (We also couldn't have done it without Lane's help).

I knew I wanted stripes, monkeys, and somewhat Seahawks colors, so her vision continued...

..and of course we needed a little sports added to the room...

...and she trusted me to do a monkey by myself! I think it turned out pretty cute considering I've never painted anything like that on a wall.

Enter the furniture...

...and another one of my mom's many talents: the bedding.

And we have a nursery!

And we got a little spoiled at the baby shower (which I'll post about later). Now there's just a few details left, such as: shelves, curtains, and my mom is sewing the bed skirt, a closet door, and a few other things, but we're ready for him!

I cannot express my gratitude enough for everything my mom has done to help! I couldn't have pictured a more perfect nursery for our little monkey. Now hopefully Kobe doesn't come out hating or having a fear of monkeys!

 

Week 28

I'm switchin' it up with my belly updates. This may get boring but I think that it's starting to get a little repetitive (and I was off with my fruit/veggie size and so he is presently the size of an eggplant...according to the experts on the Internet).

 

We had an appointment today which included an ultrasound to check up on our lil' monkey, my glucose screening, and a checkup on mama. So far, all good news (haven't received results for my glucose screening yet).

 

I had many women tell me how terrible the glucose screening was so I was expecting to have to attempt to gag down a mega-syrupy-sugary-flat-orange soda solution, as well as hold it down for an hour, only to get a lot of blood drawn and leave me light-headed. Well, it wasn't a pleasant taste by any means, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world, and they only drew two viles of blood. Needless to say, I survived.

 

The cyst they found on his brain is completely gone! We hadn't stressed about it so much since the last time we met with our doctor, but we are so relieved to hear the news. Thank you for every one's thoughts and prayers. Our perfect little man is measuring perfectly, has a perfect heartbeat, and is a perfect little kicker. Unfortunately the radiologist spent the time just scanning his head and didn't get any profile shots, so we don't have any new pictures of him. We got to see his little face peeking through at one point, with his precious little hands crossed up by his chin...made my heart melt.

 

This is the position he is in as of lately. I have a ligament that stretches vertically alongside my bellybutton and he likes to push his little bum against it ~not so comfy~. His feet and legs go crazy mostly on my right side, sometimes making me twitch. He must be running out of room already because he seems to stretch out a lot, gradually working his way into his jungle-gym that I call my ribs.

As far as how I'm feeling: I still have consistent acid reflux that is only tamed by Ranitidine. It doesn't matter what I have before bed (yogurt, a burger, pizza, soda, water, or nothing), or when I have it, I wake up with what feels like someone burning an acid down my throat and throughout my whole core. My sciatica has temporarily subsided for the most part (I still have my days) but my back is always uncomfortable. I am already SO uncomfortable, and I know ya'll say "Oh, just wait!" but you ask- I tell. I'm aware it will get worse, but I can still be uncomfortable. I'm officially making my way up the scale too. Doctor says my weight gain is right on track, but I am watching the fat gradually build up and it's an odd thing for me. I am losing the tone in my arms and legs and I'm not the healthiest of eaters, so I might need to do something about that. I'm good at pointing out the things I need to do, but not so good at doing them ~imagine that!~

 

Anyway, my updates probably won't all be this long, but Kobe is doing well, and so far, so is his mom. I can't believe we're into our "every 2 weeks" appointments, and I only have 12 weeks until my due date! I'm sure I'll have some moments where I don't feel ready (especially because we have nothing physically ready for him yet), but at this point, we're mentally and emotionally ready for him to be here in our arms...I'd prefer his cute little self to be the one waking me up at night rather than my not-so-cute self.

 

January Bumps

Jannica = 26 weeks with Kobe

Kim = 24 weeks with..."Bubba" no-name-yet Larson

 

Week 26: Lettuce Head

Our baby is the size of a lettuce head!

How many weeks? 26 Weeks

Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes? Still fit in my jeans but definitely wearing maternity tops. And I basically live in sweats/leggings.

Sleep: I can only sleep on my left side and sometimes on my back. I am just practicing the whole "no sleep" thing. For sure need that body pillow.

Symptoms: I am feeling my stomach grow by the second, it seems like. All those extra hormones are also starting to kick in--I get overly and irrationally angry, frustrated, and sad over stupid little things. I haven't had any explosions yet, but sorry to Lane and everyone else in advance. I'm becoming that grumpy prego lady!! Still the cramping, stretching, back aches, he decides when I pee, gagging, inability to form sentences, morphed tummy, major heartburn/acid reflux, etc. Ranitidine is seriously saving my life.

Best moment this week: Feeling and seeing Kobe move like always.

Movement: There's about 10 hours all together within a 24 hour period where he is not moving. I'm just happy he is letting me know he's alive in there! He is starting to kick up in my ribs, and he likes to kick my right oblique; which makes me twitch and is totally weird.

Food cravings: Just food. I always want spicy food, even though I get heartburn/acid reflux just thinking about it! I avoid it as much as possible.

Belly Button in or out? It's official. I have an outie.

Wedding rings on or off? On. Ironically though, they keep sliding off because I'm always cold.

Names: Kobe ___?___ Larson
Nesting/Preparations? What have you done? I set up a couple registrations but am completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out what we need! There's so much we can do without but how do I decipher? Still haven't cleaned out the nursery closet but I've organized his stuff into a corner. We looked at paint swatches. I just need my mom to be here and tell me how to paint/decorate. I know I still have 3 months but I'm starting to stress about getting everything ready. I think I'll feel better after my shower and my mom comes.

Looking forward to: Next ultrasound and my mommy coming.

 

Week 24: Egg Plant

Our baby is the size of an egg plant!

(I think at this point, people have just made up random fruits/vegetables. He is almost 2lbs and about 12inches long)

 

How many weeks? 24 Weeks

Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes? Still fit in my jeans but definitely wearing maternity tops. And I basically live in sweats and have converted to leggings; which I never thought I would do.

Sleep: Uncomfortably and congestively (yes, I made up that word). Time for a body pillow.

Symptoms: Cramping, stretching, back aches, he decides when I pee, gagging, inability to form sentences, morphed tummy, major heartburn/acid reflux, etc.

Best moment this week: Feeling and seeing Kobe move.

Movement: Oh he moves like crazy. I can totally tell where his little hands and feet are. It's such a weird thing to watch! ...but I absolutely love it.

Food cravings: Just food.

Belly Button in or out? It's almost out...odd!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Names: Pretty sure it's going to be Kobe. We have everyone calling him Kobe, and his name has been written on a few things; for example, Lane's sister got him a book and wrote "Kobe" in it. It just fits.
Nesting/Preparations? What have you done? His room is cleared out other than some junk that needs to be organized elsewhere, but we have our new glider in there, and we're starting to stock up on clothes, diapers, and wipes. I think we're going with a bright blue and green (not completely set on the tone yet), white wainscoting, brown furniture, and monkeys. That's as far as we've gotten, but my mom's coming in February to help!!

Looking forward to: We get to check up on him January 25th with another ultrasound, and then my mom comes! ...and baby shower time!

 

**We had another appointment and feel a lot better about the cyst after discussing it with the doctor. He explained that it is common to find a cyst in the Choroid Plexus and it almost always it goes away. They just had to make note of it that it was there, since they have the technology to find them. If there was a heart defect or other problem as well (which our baby does not have) then there is potential for a developmental issue or soft marker for Down Syndrome. They are still going to check on it in a month but he expressed that he is not worried about it at all. Everything is measuring perfectly- our weight and growth. I also have my glucose screening at our next appointment...totally not looking forward to that!**



 

Lil' Monkey

I've always wanted to get my babies a bear suit...they're just so stinkin' adorable! We bought one the other day, and Lane picked out this cute monkey beanie. I noticed that he is drawn to the monkey-themed clothing for our little man, so I think we will be referring to little man as "lil' monkey." Lane is going to be such a good daddy. He may not like that I am sharing this but I thought it was cute; When I came home from work the other day he started talking about how much he just wants our lil' monkey to be here and he told me, "This is how lame I am. I picked up his little bear suit thing earlier and started holding it like it was a baby ~while showing me with his arms~" I thought it was hilarious that he admitted it to me because, let's face it, we're all guilty of doing silly things like that when we're home alone...most people just keep it to themselves. I hope our son grows up to be just like his daddy, because I'm quite fond of him.