30 Weeks

30 Weeks is a long time. It seems even longer when you're counting in weeks! I mean could you imagine casually telling someone that your child is 112 weeks old? Or that you've been married for 240 weeks?!
It's all about perspective, I suppose. I mean in the last 30 weeks Warren has gone from non-existant to a 3 pound wiggly, hiccupy, temperature regulating baby. I am always relieved with each passing week and read an article this morning that linked pre-term babies to poor vision which gave me the little pep-talk necessary to be excited to keep him in there for the next 9ish weeks! Let me tell you though, that motivation was necessary after last night. I guess Warren wanted to ring in the 30 week milestone by waking me up at 2am with insane heartburn and keeping me up for the next two hours. By the third time I got out of bed for more water and another tums I decided to just hang out on the recliner in the living room until I felt better because poor Matt woke up every time I got out of bed and asked if I was ok. But when I finally fell asleep out there, our crazy 11month of lab decided to start barking at shadows which made him wake up again but this time he got up to go find me. Sorry, sweetheart!
I hope for his sake that we don't go through that very often- I'd like at least one of us to be well rested when the baby finally gets here!
Other than the heartburn from hell last night, the first 3 weeks of the third trimester have been a breeze. Every pregnancy is different and we all have different opinions/experiences but I'm confident that things have been so easy because I was healthy and active before pregnancy and continue to be healthy and active now (although I do consume more sweets than before- whoops). Now my goal is to keep up with my activity and get in at least one run a week until this little guy makes his debut! Older studies all cautioned against running while pregnant because of a lack of research but I've read a handful of new studies that were done on VERY active women (I'm talking ran 3-5 miles, 4-5 times a week in addition to other workouts all the way up until delivery) and the results have been very positive. The key is to stick to what feels comfortable for your body- and not to try running or any other strenuous activity unless you did it before you were pregnant!
Lets see if I can keep up the motivation on these cold days... It shouldn't be too difficult since my lovely sister in law gave me two pairs of running pants that don't squeeze the jeebus out of my belly, and I found some great tops that are long enough to cover my bump!
Seriously for every lady that is pregnant, or just likes longer tops- H&M is where it's at. They had long, loose, light weight racerback tanktops in 6-7 different colors for $5 each! And then after getting discouraged about the lack of running pullovers/jackets available I discovered that Costco had some that are perfect! For those that don't know- All of the wonderful athletic brands (Nike, Adidas, Puma etc) have ZERO maternity clothes. W. T. F. They have huge women's selections but somehow up at the executive level they seem to have forgotten that the majority of women will at some point in their life, become pregnant and have children. I'm thinking about writing letters to them- you know, the kind we all had to write in middle school that suggested improvements to company VPs to practice professional writing (but really we all did it in hopes of getting some free swag from the company). Anyways, now that I've discovered running clothes in the least likely of places, I don't have to wear Matt's tops any more. Not that I dislike wearing his tops, but when he's 6'3 and I'm 5'5 his shirts still don't fit very well even with a 30 week baby belly!

How far along? 30 weeks.  

Total weight gain/loss: As of this morning I have gained 14.2 pounds.

Maternity clothes?  Found a good pair of maternity skinny jeans! I also managed to get them on Sale and with a coupon. The only thing nicer than finding a nice pair of jeans that fits well is them being $20 less than you expect when you're checking out!
 

Stretch marks? Not yet. I have been faithfully applying my whipped coconut oil body lotion daily and I've gotten to the point where I take 2-3 baths a week and when I do I also use a sugar scrub that I made (mentioned it a few posts ago) and between those two things my skin has felt soft and supple without any itching or dryness. Hopefully they continue to keep my skin hydrated enough!
 

Sleep: Last night I had a dream that Matt and I were at the pet store buying chew-proof dog beds (Winny has eaten both of our dog beds because she's a crackhead puppy). After we checked out Matt was super mad because he told them that he would donate $5 to ASPCA but when he checked his recipt they charged him for a $200 donation instead.
I couldn't even begin to tell you why I dream about these things... On top of that it appears that my body has decided that I no longer need to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time. For the past handful of days I have been waking up between 2-4, which is nothing new but now when I wake up I'm wide awake and cannot seem to fall back asleep. Which is super inconvenient when you are still working full time and there isn't a baby to nurse and take care of while you're awake. Hopefully this either mellows out, or comes in handy when Warren is here.
 

Best moment this week: Hmm this week we did a tour of Labor and Delivery which was nice to get out of the way. The good thing about seeing the L&D beforehand is expectation management (at least when you're delivering in an older hospital). My best moment though, would have to be last weekend when we had out baby shower! It was so great to see everyone, and I really enjoyed playing the games and seeing all of the super cute ideas that people had for decorating onsies!

 

Miss Anything? I'm starting to miss the ability to breathe normally. Warren is definitely cramped in there now and with him being as active as he is, I am finding it harder and harder to breathe. He also likes to do this fun new thing (that's not cute or fun at all) where he throws a temper tantrum every time he has the hiccups. So I'll feel his hiccups on one side (that last forever- poor boy gets that from me) and then non-stop kicking on the other side until the hiccups finally go away.
 

Movement: Oh yes. When he had the hiccups this morning I got out my kick counter just to jot down how active he was and he was averaging 10 kicks every 15 seconds.. FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES! At least I know that there is definitely a strong, active little boy in there.

Food cravings: Hearty, home cooked meals. Thankfully Matt and I both enjoy cooking!

Anything making you queasy or sick? I get queasy when Warren is super active right after I've eaten.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes. My belly will be nice and round for our maternity photos! Hopefully that will be the only thing that gains any weight between now and then.

Labor Signs: I can't tell if I'm just fortunate enough to not have any braxton hicks contractions or if Warren just moves around so much that I don't notice the difference! Either way, he's moving around and I'm mostly pain free!

Belly Button in or out? I thought for sure that my belly button would be an outie by now but it has been hanging on like a champ.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on, comfortably.  
 

Looking forward to: Christmas! I love this time of year; our house smells delightful from the tree and baking, the decorations look wonderful and I can't wait to start my time off and spend some quality time with the kiddos!

Mood: Festive. I love getting into the season and enjoying everything it has to offer.

Milestones: 30 Weeks sounds like a milestone all on its own! Now when you see people, you don't just look pregnant, you look, "When are you due? Soon?" pregnant. Warren is over 3 pounds and from now until he's born he's going to gain about a half pound each week! On top of chunking up, he's learning to control his own body temperature and studies suggest that the longer he's in there now, the better his vision will become. Enjoy your stay little guy, because come 38/39 weeks I'm sure I'm going to be begging you to get out already!

Upcoming Appointments/Events: Even though my actual appointments are only scheduled every 4 weeks still, I have an abundance of classes, tours etc coming up in the next 3-4 weeks. Most of them are mandatory, but maybe I'll pick up a tip or two along the way.

Weekly Wisdom: Have fun when you can and relax when you can! I love taking a hot bath and reading to unwind, especially when I've been busy getting things like the changing table and bassinet put together!