Busy Few Days

We've had a busy few days, but very very productive and fun:



Thursday - Cloth Diapering Workshop: I couldn't believe it when I stumbled upon a small store in our county that actually carries cloth diapers, and as luck would have it, they were having a cloth diapering workshop! I've done a lot of research online but hadn't had a chance to put my hands on them. I think we've found the ones we're going to get, they can be used from 7lbs up to 35lbs, the FuzziBunz One Size Diaper. Also met a few other Moms and Moms-to-be that have invited me to play groups! Yay!!! New Mommy friends.


Friday - Nursery Work: Mom and I got an early start to the day and got started on some of the nursery decorations. She made some awesome hot air balloons and we worked on making them into a mobile-like decoration that will be in one of the corners of the room. I'll post pictures when we're done. Chip and I also went over to my friend Becky's since she was in town and had a great time catching up.



Saturday - 4th of July!!: YAY! One of my favorite holidays! Chip ran in the road race before our local parade. Going to the parade has been a tradition for me since I was a kid. We sat with my Grandma and Aunts & Uncle and some of the cousins. Chip and I left a bit early to get ready for the BBQs we were headed to. Parades, BBQs, friends, family and fireworks - it's what it's all about!!
He's by far the happiest runner out there!!


Today - Working that To-Do list: I didn't post a to-do list this week, but trust me, there was one. Chip spent all day on the patio and it's almost done!!! Just in time for the shower next weekend! I worked more on the nursery, cleaning some of the baby bedding, running errands and cleaning the house. We're getting there. I can't wait to finish up the nursery and post some more pictures for you all to see, it's really coming together.


This will be a busy week, but we're really making progress!!!! Work will not be fun, but at least home activities will be exciting.

Pics of Chip's Family Shower

As promised, pictures of our shower from a couple weekends ago. The afternoon was perfect, minus the weather. There was a pool at the clubhouse and the nieces and nephews would have really enjoyed it, but it was a blah late spring day, as was most of June in the Northeast.

This is Baby's Great Aunt Eileen, Grandpa George, Great GrandDad and Great Gramma.

Here's Chip and I opening some gifts, in honor of the 4th of July coming up this week, I've posted one of us opening up a very patriotic Red, White and Blue long-sleeved onesie. Can't wait to put baby into it!!!!

Above is Baby's Great Uncle Doug. He manned the grill bravely in the rain all afternoon. Everything was DELISH!!!!

One of my roomies from college, Baby's Auntie Allyssa and I. Allyssa's baby is due just 12 days before ours, we're so excited for our August babies to be born so closely together!

Baby's Auntie Michelle, Grandma Lil, Aunt Maureen and MOMMY!!!

The photographer behind all the pictures above was the Hostess with the Mostest, Baby's Grandma Chris. So this picture is from the next day after we did some stroller shopping on Father's (to-be) day. Grandma Chris, DADDY & MOMMY :-)

Thanks again Chris, for a wonderful shower and visit!!!

To-Do Update

1. Return air conditioner for our room and get one that doesn't need to be screwed into our new windows! Turns out we just needed to get a support bracket. - DONE
2. Finish painting shelves for baby's closet. DONE
3. Work on patio - goal, get halfway done. Chip's more then halfway done - looks AMAZING!
4. Put away shower gifts from last weekend. Started, will finish this week.
5. Visit couple a couple daycares. DONE, see below post for details.
6. Trim reamining hedges. Started, will finish this task next weekend.
7. Finish painting outside doors. Did not start, will likely do this week.
8. Arrange furniture in nursery - rearrange office as needed. Started, will finish this week.
9. Finish cleaning sunroom. Started, will finish this week.
10. Finish mulching. Did not start, will likely do this this weekend.
11. Pack hospital bag. Started, will finish this week.
12. See a movie or something else fun! DONE - we saw "The Hangover" super funny!! Also, we had a great dinner with Jess & Tony and Lenny & Kelly. L&K just got back from their honeymoon, so we got to hear some great stories from their trip :-)

we got a lot of other things done, so I'd call last weekend a "GREAT SUCCESS" (quick, name that movie!)

8 Weeks left (32 WEEKS!!)

I just realized I haven't posted any shower pics from two weekends ago. I will get on that in another post later this week. I also need to reveal how many checkmarks we got off our weekend to-do, I will do so tomorrow for accountability of course :-)

How far along? 32 weeks!! Or should I say, T-minus 8 weeks, or only 56 days or only 36 working days left :::squeeeeeeee!!!!::::
Total weight gain/loss: Total net + 14, no weight gained last week.
Stretch marks? I'm really not sure, like I said last week, I can only see 2/3 of my belly, so who knows if there are any from the underside.
Sleep: Terrible last night, but we installed the A/C in our bedroom tonight, can't wait, I've never had A/C before :-) I live in New England, afterall!
Best moment this week: Finishing up our Childbirth Class - seems like a good milestone, though I'm still terrified of what the delivery will be like.
Movement: See the video in my previous post.
Food cravings: Still nothing too specific.
Gender: I'm officially back to thinking girl! Chip still thinks baby is a girl.
Labor Signs: Mostly just practice Braxton-Hicks, but I think I did have a "real" contraction on Sunday afternoon, just sitting on the couch eating lunch. OOOH man, this labor thing is going to be rough.
Belly Button in or out? The bottom of it is hanging on for dear life!
What I miss: Not getting head-butted in the ribs.
What I am looking forward to: Baby moving from being breech to head-down in position.
Weekly Wisdom: For those of you who are at your due date or very close, save this link, a friend of mine knows the owner of this restaurant and lots of overdue women eat their not-so-secret eggplant parm: http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm Even if you're not pregnant, it has a cute article too.
Milestones: The average baby at 32 weeks is about 3.75lbs and is almost 17 inches long. One of my weekly emails says that baby is gaining roughly a half lb a week!! That means that s/he will gain about half of her/his birth weight during the next 8 weeks getting ready for the big reveal!!!
Shout outs to new followers: Hello to fellow Mommy to be blogger Stephanie!!
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Just super clumsy - I drop EVERYTHING!
Weekly Belly Pic: Forgive the mess I am, we had just finished installing the A/C.

Squirming Baby S!

I have been trying for almost a week now to capture our squirming baby S on video for friends and family that are far away. I was sitting outside researching which stroller to add or our registry and Chip was hard at work on the patio (finally - a day without rain!) and I was able to video Baby S.

Without further ado - your feature presentation - what you're seeing move from the right to the left and back again is the baby's head:

Honestly, the baby moves like this most of the day, no wonder I have no more motivation at work, I'm too distracted by our little wiggler! Knock on wood, I've been pretty lucky that baby knows that when it's Mommy's bed time, no more wiggling is allowed :-)

31 week appt and DayCare!

I got a lot done today, including a visit to two daycare centers, both with nice infant rooms and very friendly staff members. Chip had a half day and was able to visit the second one with me, he was impressed with that one also. They're a bit pricier but they allow for part-time care, which is what we're thinking we'll need when I go back to work after maternity leave, at least for a few months at first. So anyway, that's a huge weight off our shoulders... if we had to make a decision this moment, I'd be very happy with the second place!! :-)

We had a healthy, uneventful appointment this afternoon. Baby's hearbeat and my BP were good and according to my last appt, only up 2 lbs in the past 3 weeks. Whoo hoo!! Half of that is probably baby's weight! My uterus was measuring between 30 and 31 centimeters, so that's right on for 31 weeks.

The only news that wasn't so great to hear is that baby is breech right now. I've been able to feel a hard bump that is typically up near my belly button and it's consistently been the head - now that I know it's not the bum-bum. He didn't seem concerned and thinks we have another month before we need to take steps to get baby to flip.

Good news about my car - insurance is covering $800 of the $1300 to replace my clutch after the floods last week. THANK GOODNESS, $500 is still a lot, but it's much more bearable then the $1300!

We're off to go see "The Hangover." Heard it's pretty funny!

This weekend's To-Do

We're in town this weekend, time to post our weekend To-Do for accountability!

1. Return air conditioner for our room and get one that doesn't need to be screwed into our new windows!
2. Finish painting shelves for baby's closet.
3. Work on patio - goal, get halfway done.
4. Put away shower gifts from last weekend.
5. Visit couple a couple daycares.
6. Trim reamining hedges.
7. Finish painting outside doors.
8. Arrange furniture in nursery - rearrange office as needed.
9. Finish cleaning sunroom.
10. Finish mulching.
11. Pack hospital bag.
12. See a movie or something else fun!

In all honesty, it will be successful if we only get number 3 done.

31 weeks - single digit weeks remaining...

We had a wonderful shower this past weekend with Chip's family... I don't have any pictures right now, need to wait for the Grandmas to send them along. Everyone was so generous and it was great to visit with everyone!! I'll post pics as soon as I get them.

In the mean time, quick weekly update:

How far along? 31 weeks!!

Total weight gain/loss: Total net + 14

Stretch marks? I believe they're going to keep slowly popping up, though I can only see 2/3 of my belly, so who knows if there are any from the underside.

Sleep: Not great... some nights are better than others.

Best moment this week: Seeing family and Allyssa at our shower Saturday. Also seeing my cousin Helen and her family tonight while they're in town from Tennessee.

Movement: I think today I felt my first kick on my right ribs... I would rather stretch out further in front then have the baby wedged under/behind my ribs.

Food cravings: Nothing too specific.

Gender: Since last week, I've been back to thinking girl! Chip still thinks baby is a girl. We are so anxious to know if we'll be living a life with pink dresses or little blue overalls!!!

Labor Signs: Still just practice Braxton-Hicks.

Belly Button in or out? Half and Half... depends on the baby's position.

What I miss: My skin around my back not feeling like it's going to tear. The only thing I can compare it to is when you're sunburned, but it doesn't hurt as much, thank goodness.

What I am looking forward to: Getting gifts put away and organize baby's closet. Also, our last childbirth class this week. We're having a practice labor and have to bring the supplies that we're going to bring to the hospital, birthing ball, pressure/massage tools, etc. I'm nervous, but excited to see what others bring.

Weekly Wisdom: We had to drive almost 5 hours to Chip's hometown to visit the family for the shower... my advice, if you can schedule long trips for earlier in the pregnancy - do it... it's exhausting, takes an hour longer because of pee-breaks and it's just uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, it was well worth it... but that's what I would recommend to others.

Milestones: The average baby at 31 weeks is about 16 inches long and weighs just under 3.5 lbs.

Shout outs to new followers: Hello to fellow Mommy to be blogger "Mrs. Pink"

Baby Brain Moment of the Week: I was in a funk last week, so I'll just say the whole week was a bummer until the weekend came... I guess losing keys and ruining the transmission in my car and all... this... rain... is bound to reflect my mood. BUT I'm feeling much better now.

Weekly Belly Pic: I'm hoping that next week's pic you'll find me in an organized nursery. I feel MUCH larger then this picture portrays! Holy cow- look at those chipmunk jowls!!

Found...

I
LOOOOVEE
CHIP!!!!

Simply put, he is my H-E-R-O

He found items one and two on the lost list - both sets of my keys! Guess where they were - in my laptop bag that I take to work Every...single...day! I looked there, but obviously not into the nooks and crannies like he did.

My hero - now that the work week is over and I have some keys (to a car that won't shift into gear- oh well)... let the weekend begin! :-)

Lost it...

... and by "it" I mean the following:
- My main set of keys which includes my car key and house keys (a week to 10 days ago)
- My extra car key (Monday)
- My sanity
- My feet (can't see them standing up...)
- My sense of humor
- My motivation at work
- The ability to sleep
- My ability to not drop everything that I'm holding onto
- Obviously, my brain.

If found, please return to me please... I would say you'll be rewarded handsomely, but... my car won't go into gear, so we'll have to pay for whatever needs to be fixed there. How'd I start my car without a key, you ask, well lucky for me, I haven't lost my valet key... yet. How the hell does one LOSE BOTH MY REAL KEYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps my car is just upset that Chip's new car is getting all the attention.

Maybe my keys are with the sun.... WHEN IS THE RAIN GOING TO STOP?!!?

Can you tell I've had a rough week? :-( One more day of work this week, let's see if I can make it through without tears (a new development to this pregnancy) or without going off on co-workers who bag my meetings!!!!!!

Looking at the positives, Baby and I are healthy and even though I've lost control of me, my husband hasn't and made me feel a lot better when he got home from work today. I love him.

30 weeks! WOW!

I skipped last week, so I promised myself I'd be prompt with today's weekly update.

How far along? 30 weeks, 3/4 of the way there!! Only 10 more weeks to go!
Total weight gain/loss: Total net + 13
Stretch marks? Mark the calendar - I believe I can see two (which probably means there are more...) One right above my belly button where my old piercing was and the other is in the oddest spot, on the upper right of my belly where it's not really even being stretched.
Sleep: Last week was pretty consistent with one potty trip in between tossing and turning, though surprisingly sleeping well. But last night was awful... I just couldn't get my mind to stop thinking of all the things we need to get done.
Best moment this week: Today, we had just picked up the new car! yay!... and I felt a kick way over to the right side, so I rested my hand on it, which is almost instinct now, and think I felt the whole leg. Then baby decides to do a series of kicks which felt like me being tickled from the inside - I literally giggled out loud and couldn't stop, it was a nice moment :-)
Movement: All the time , see above :-)
Food cravings: Still avocados, but I also had a craving for cheese doritos on Saturday... that's come and gone though.
Gender: Last night was the first night I was back to thinking girl in a long time!!! Chip still thinks baby is a girl.
Labor Signs: Just practice Braxton-Hicks.
Belly Button in or out? The top of it is trying to pop.
What I miss: I'm a little embarrassed and feel quite vain saying it, but I'm looking forward to having my body be my own again... does that make me a bad Mom?
What I am looking forward to: Our shower with Chip's family this coming weekend!! I haven't seen most of the family since the holidays so I'm really looking forward to it.
Weekly Wisdom: I may have said this one before, but to women who are getting up multiple times a night, it's worth mentioning again - After dinner, keep drinking your fluids, but have milk instead of water or juice. I don't have to go during the night if I drink milk in the evening.
Milestones: 30 weeks!! wow... 75% done!!
Shout outs to new followers: no one new
Random belly rubs: Just from friends and family.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: I'm an engineer and should be good at math... I could not do simple multiplication/division to figure out the square footage of the patio and as a result, took 1 hour at Home Depot to figure out how many pavers we would need... I still got it wrong.
Weekly Belly Pic: Please don't judge... I got poured on twice today! We actually had such crazy rain that water was leaking from the roofs AND coming up from the floors at work, I've worked there 6 years and have never seen water flowing down the halls like I did today! As a result of all this water, I had to walk through knee deep water to just leave work today - no, I'm not kidding, pregnant woman, in a rain jacket that no longer zips, with a backpack on my back, took my socks and sneaks off, rolled up my work pants and waded through the freezing water just to leave work! I'm sure THAT was a site.




Here's a picture of what I see when I look down... notice there are no toes peeking out from underneath there. Also, it's surprisingly symmetric, normally the right side sticks out further then the left, which I believe is baby's bum... poor thing is going to have a ghetto booty like Mommy.

Some time this week I'm going to try to video tape some of baby's rolls so you can see how I'm entertained for hours on end just watching this baby, imagining what he or she will look like - will he/she be a he or a she, will he/she have dark hair like Daddy or red hair like Mommy... Will she/he be as active outside the womb as s/he is inside? Will baby sleep at night like s/he is doing now?? Let's only hope :-D

Well, if you looked at our to-do list, we didn't get 8 out of those 10 items done, but had a very productive weekend, that I would call successful. An update to our to-do's:

1. Test drive a few more SUVs and decide which one we want to purchase. - DONE - We decided, got a great deal and purchased a 2009 Toyota Highlander - picking it up tomorrow!!!
2. Work on the patio - Saturday I trimmed the hedges while Chip was working so we'd be able to get to all the patio area, they were quite overgrown. When he got home we finished more of the yard. Then today, we got a call from Tilley and Scott offering to drive 2 hours each way to help us out getting the patio started. Many HUGE thanks to them, such a god-send, we couldn't have gotten started without them.
3. Purchase an air conditioner for our bedroom - DONE
4. Rearrange the furniture in our bedroom (so I am closer to the door for midnight bathroom trips - We will do this tomorrow night.
5. Mow lawn - DONE
6. Clean up sunroom - Started
7. Call a few daycares - Started Friday, we're on a waiting list and have plans to visit a few day care centers later this week.
8. Finish the last coat of paint on the exterior doors that we replaced earlier this year - I will work on this tomorrow while Chip's at his fly fishing class.
9. Morning/afternoon kayaking excursion. - We had to cut this, even though the weather was perfect for it, we'll have make sure to get this in soon.
10. Meet Tilley to borrow their tile saw. - It came with them today when they came up to help with the patio.

So... there it is, we also started to paint the baby's closet and mulched half the back yard flowers, so we're getting there. Top outdoor priority will be the patio until it's done.

Found this other survey that's more of a one time deal, thought maybe some of you were getting as bored as I was with the weekly one.

About My Pregnancy
Is this your first pregnancy?:Yes
When did you find out you were pregnant?:12/17/08 a Wednesday!
Was it planned?: Yes
What was your first reaction?: Completely surprised!
Who was with you when you found out?: I was in the bathroom getting ready to shower for work... Chip was in bed still, but knew I was taking the test.
Who was the first person you told?: Obviously Chip.
How did your parents react?: Everyone was very surprised and excited.
How far along are you?: 29 weeks 4 days
What was your first symptom?: Sweating at night, in Dec a week before we got a positive, I knew then.
What is your due date?:8/24
Do you know the sex of the baby?: No - last big surprise in life!!
Have you picked out names?: We have a girl's name, but no boy's.
If so, what are they?: We're going to surprise everyone when baby arrives.
Have you heard the heartbeat?: yes, at all appointments

About the birth
Home or hospital birth?: Hospital
Natural or medicated birth?: I'd like to do it naturally, but I'm learning about the different meds too.
Who will be in the delivery room with you?: Chip and ONLY Chip.
Will you breastfeed?: I'm really hoping to.
Do you think you'll need a c-section?: I hope not!!
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time?: Probably :-)
What's the first thing you might say to him/her?: How can you even plan something like that?!?!
Would you let someone videotape the birth?: Never! Perhaps baby's first hours after, but no way... I think I'd only like to experience that once.

To-Do

At our childbirth class last night, we learned that one of the couples, at 35 weeks, was home having contractions and wouldn't be attending the class! Another couple, at 32 weeks, has had two weeks worth of early labor scares. She tested positive for pre-term labor and was given a steroid shot to speed up the development of the baby's lungs in case she delivers early.

Since I'm between 2.5 and 5.5 weeks from these two women, it prompted me to revisit the to-do list. Here's what I'd like us to get done tomorrow on my day off and this weekend:
1. Test drive a few more SUVs and decide which one we want to purchase.
2. Work on the patio - maybe even finish it.
3. Purchase an air conditioner for our bedroom.
4. Rearrange the furniture in our bedroom (so I am closer to the door for midnight bathroom trips.
5. Mow lawn
6. Clean up sunroom
7. Call a few daycares (this is a morning priority that I must do tomorrow!!!)
8. Finish the last coat of paint on the exterior doors that we replaced earlier this year.
9. Morning/afternoon kayaking excursion. (have to have a little fun!!!)
10. Meet Tilley to borrow their tile saw. (in the coming weekends you'll see "tile back entry" as an item on the to-do list)

I figured if I post this to the blog it'll make us more accountable. Minus weather changing our plans, we'll call success getting 8 out of 10 items done!

Flying Colors

Just a quick note - I got a call back from my Dr office saying that I had passed my glucose test and my iron levels look good! We've been so lucky this pregnancy (knock on wood)! I'm thrilled that both tests were negative... no need to cut out the sweets and goodies... whew!!! :-) That would have been tough!

Glucose Test

For those of you who don't know, women around 28 weeks have to have a test for Gestational Diabetes. As I mentioned last week, I had mine on Thursday. If I don't hear back tomorrow, or Tuesday at the latest, I am in the clear.

The orange drink was what I expected... it wasn't terrible, but have no desire to ever drink it again! I had to drink it in about 1o minutes time (did it in about 4 to get it overwith) and then go to the lab and have blood drawn an hour after finishing finishing the liquid orange sugar. The lab techs had a hard time finding a vein, I told them I had a wedding to go to this weekend and would really appreciate not being bruised, they joked with me, but of course by the time I left my appt that followed, I was bruised, and still am. Thanks kids!

Our 28 week appt went smoothly. The doc measured the belly and it was right on at 28 cm's, so even though I appear to be carrying on the small side, at least I can be reassured that my uterus growth is right on track, which is a strong indicator of baby being on track too. The doc seemed a bit surprised that I was having Braxton- Hicks already, but from what I've read, it's not uncommon. I feel confident that I've learned enough from him and our childbirth classes so we'll know what to recognize if they change from B-H to regular old labor progressing contractions. Baby's heart beat was strong. My BP was right on target. Things are looking good still, Chip and I couldn't be more grateful that we've been very blessed with a healthy pregnancy to date. Back for our next appt in 3 weeks, it's hard for me to believe that we're starting to go more frequently now!!

Great Weekend

We had another wonderful wedding weekend celebrating our friends Lenny and Kelly's big day in Saratoga. They couldn't have had a more perfect day, the weather was amazing, the ceremony was beautiful and of course the reception was a great time. Baby was enjoying doing some dancing with Daddy and friends, but I started to get some Braxton-Hicks while I was trying to dance with everyone. Once I sat down they settled and there were no patterns to them so I wasn't worried.

Below is a pic of my handsome groom and I before the reception started. Notice the beautiful grounds.

I also want to note that I was a trooper and went out on the town until late in the evening... Look at that, the pregnant lady made it out later then most of the wedding party. I surprised even myself and was able to make up for it with a nice nap this afternoon when we got back into town. Great time had by all!

I almost forgot...

Which ones of you selected week 28 as the week the belly button would pop?

Well you may be winners - two days ago, no poppage - but last night I noticed there was a major change in appearance... slight poppage!!! So, if it pops before Monday morning - you're all winners and we can call that poll closed.

Happy Birthday Grandma Lil!

Happy Birthday to my Mom, Grandma Lil... can you believe that you're going to be a Grandmother at 29? ;-) Unfortunately we couldn't treat Mom to dinner today because of our childbirth class, so we're going to go tomorrow.

Sorry for the delay... here's the week 28 picture.

You can tell that the baby's room is just storage right now. Need to organize it a bit.

So... the young idiot at our class tonight had a real REAL dumb question.. We were talking about what steps the Doc will take if you've started to dialate, have contractions and/or got into pre-term labor. She explained a few of the shots and IV treatments they'll give and send you on your way once contractions have stopped. So the young idiot raises his hand and says "what if you WANT the baby to come?" Dear Tony, you are an idiot, you really need a book to read so you can learn that 32 weeks is about 8 weeks early, or approximately 2 months early!! Do you NOT know that you do not want to deliver a baby that is 2 months early if at all possible!!! I guess we feel sorry for him that he's so ignorant to the whole process - but clearly, he was not listening!

Side note: I was asked if I took my cranky pill today by one of my Managers... without hesitation I responded, YES!

We went for a nice tour of the Mother-Baby unit - saw the labor/birthing rooms and the recovery rooms you're in while recovering in the day(s) following. We also took a quick pass by the nursery where there were 3 babies trying to wiggle their way out of the tight swaddles they were in. Each one of them had a head full of hair... I wonder if any of them were born today on your birthday, Mom!?

Finally, a few things I'm getting a little anxious about:
1. Gestational Diabetes test tomorrow afternoon - please keep your fingers crossed for me.
2. Daycare... I'm nervous we've procrastinated a bit too long on this, I plan to call around in between sips of the orange sugar drink tomorrow. We won't need daycare until around Thanksgiving, so about 5.5 - 6 months away, but hopefully there are spots available for infants.
3. Names - Baby is still officially nameless (with the exception of a few loving nicknames: Heinz, Karate Kid, etc.!!!!) Suggestions welcome - we're going for an Irish/Celtic name.

T Minus 12 Weeks

What a great weekend... I felt so spoiled to spend it with old friends. Molly's wedding on Saturday. It was a beautiful celebration, lots of dancing and learned a couple fun French wedding traditions. Sunday we went to Lindsay's engagement party. Her sister threw her and her fiance, Mikey, an engagement party since they were home from Colorado. I hadn't thought of it in a while, but Linds and I were reminiscing about the "good ole days" and how we met in gym class our freshman year - the activity was speed walking. Which by the way, who takes speed walking as an activity in gym class?!?!

After the engagement party we stopped by my Aunt's house. My cousins Shane and Jen were in town for a visit with their families. The kids are getting so big and baby Brody is getting so big. He's such a little man!

It was so nice to see everyone who was in town.

The best news possible in a while.... our crazy neighbor sold his house and it's official, the closing was Friday. He's G-O-N-E, gone gone gone! There was a sold sign at the house on Friday, but I just didn't believe it until this morning when I wasn't woken up at 430 am. It was heavenly to sleep through the night on a Monday morning. I didn't realize how much it really made my week get off on the wrong foot in prior weeks until today - I had a GREAT day and was in a good mood alllll day long - which hasn't happened in weeks. Thank you, crazy man, for moving out.

In baby news... Baby S had multiple bouts with hiccups today while I was at work. I also think that s/he might be transverse right now. For those of you who don't know, that means that the baby is sideways instead of "in position" head down or breech. S/he is moving around so much I'm sure all positions are achieved throughout the day. I'm not worried, we have a few weeks before Baby runs out of room.

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Total net + 11
Stretch marks? Not yet.
Sleep: Well Friday night was awful, I couldn't sleep at all. I got up to go to the bathroom and must have been so restless and woke Chip up too, so he started telling me a story. Well as soon as I got comfy back in bed, Chip finishes his story and the baby goes crazy. S/he LOVES when Daddy talks. We did a little test. He'd talk to the baby and when he'd stop, the baby would go crazy. Baby loves Daddy.
Best moment this week: Good times with friends and family!!!!Movement: All the time , see above :-)
Food cravings: Still avocados
Gender: Still thinking boy, though I did call it a she the other day. Chip still thinks baby is a girl.
Labor Signs: Just practice Braxton-Hicks.
Belly Button in or out? Still in, it's so ugly!
What I miss: My neighbor... haha! Um no!
What I am looking forward to: Our second wedding of the season next weekend in Saratoga - Lenny & Kelly's
Weekly Wisdom: Ordered a couple things on sale online at Old Navy - I don't know why I did this again. Only the maternity hoodie (yes, it's a glorious purchase) and a black cotton skirt fit! Moral of the story, don't buy things online.
Milestones: Baby is a little more than 2 lbs and almost 15'' long head to toe!! 3rd trimester last week.
Shout outs to new followers: Jodi and Lisa!! So glad you're following
Random belly rubs: Last week I mentioned baby's fear of strangers... again this happened. S/he refuses to move for anyone but Chip or I.
Baby Brain Moment of the Week: This week I'll mention an embarrassing movement. I'm trying to be more conscious of my belly b/c I've been hitting everything with it. Since I'm shorter I seem to brush against desks, etc. with it. So today, while being very aware of how far my bell is sticking out, I tried to scoot between some furniture in a conference room (with about 5 or 6 colleagues) and instead of hitting something with my belly, I knocked my water bottle off the table with my behind. Classy!
Weekly Belly Pic: No pic today, Chip was at his fly fishing class so I had no one to take a pic before it was time to get into comfy clothes. I'll post one tomorrow, I promise!

I will tell you that I can't see my feet anymore if I look straight down.