month eight

I started getting the urge to spring clean out all the nooks and crannies of our home, purge all the unnecessary storage, and make some room for our baby gear. I've found a couple of drawers in the hall cabinet for Zoe's little adorable wardrobe and linens and have organized it with a drawer map, even. I'm designing and sewing a little plushie doll for Zoe as my creative outlet during breaks from studying for exams on the weekends.

I noticed my first stretchmarks this week and with it, some serious internal stretching pain. It feels like my abdominal walls are tearing apart and that the baby picks the weakest spot on the wall to kick... hard. I felt her knee this week. I think she's so big that I can feel her swirling even when she is sleeping. She moves almost constantly now. I started listening to my birth relaxation CDs and find that I sleep really well when I do. I also sleep more than I am awake now. I'm tired. The pregnancy hormones still make me a morning person and my exam study is going well thanks to that extra few hours of high productivity in the morning that I am trading for the low productivity evenings of falling asleep early.

I'm carb loading - potatoes sound lovely. Especially when mixed with something fatty like bacon and cheese. And there are so many wonderful ways to cook potatoes with bacon and cheese. Still eating a lot of fruit and taking walks daily. But, I've added cookies and second breakfast to the routine.

Eva has set a date for the Utah baby shower tentatively for the day before Thanksgiving. I should have some kind of registry set up soon for those who have been wondering out loud what we still need. I have finalized our travel arrangements to be there, so everyone in UT can look forward to snuggling that brand-spanking new nubbin.

month seven

Third trimester, here I come.

I'm having the most textbook pregnancy ever. This month was filled with a lot of running around making fun so I really tested my boundaries. I can still walk a lot, carry a lot, and generally do most everything I ever did. No, I'm not jumping on a skateboard or going to a wine testing, so you can relax. But, I continue to be pretty active and am taking my long walks at lunch and evening.

I put on more weight in my face, arms, hips, etc. In other words, that basketball I hoped to hide under my shirt is now an ephemeral hoop dream. I blame yogurtland. It's Pomegranete-raspberry tart wonderfulness is the final evil upon the world and will cause all humans to destroy one another eventually.

The little girl is now too large to do flips in my uterus and is getting so much stronger. You can see my tummy bounce when she is active. She likes to stick some appendage up under my ribcage and into my lungs from time to time. I can tell if she is sideways or up-and-down and am getting to know her daily rhythms. When she stretches while she rolls, it feels gives me a internal flesh-crawling sensation and you can totally see her butt jutting out in the asymmetry of my bump. She should be about 2.3 pounds and 15 inches long by now. I still crave more fresh veggies and fruits than anything else.

We are starting to make concrete arrangements to welcome this little life: staging all the things we will need, cleaning, gathering, sorting, washing and folding clothes and little finger sized socks. I started the registry, but had no idea how difficult it would be to figure out what to put on it. We have been gifted so much that only the things you need tons of or don't know you need until you need them are left: medicines, wipes, etc. It's hardly the sexy type of thing that people want to get for you. And I doubt anyone will give us round trip airfare to Denmark. But, that would be cool, wouldn't it? (They don't have it at the store I'm registering at, so I guess we'll have to think of something else.)

This whole thing still feels so unreal. It's just a really big step and is hard to process. I see a little baby in a stroller and either get all goofy-happy inside or start to hyperventilate. I think that when you have an awesome relationship with your spouse, it's hard to transition to being "three" without some concern about what you are giving up. I know that Mark and I approach everything with really realistic expectations, and that is the most crucial ingredient for satisfaction with outcomes. So, logically, I know. Everything. Will. Be. Okay.

I can't hear that enough. That and that my husband will still love me when I am a deflated lactating balloon with a wailing detachable Dictator.

month five

We made it to the half-way point and we're hanging in there.

I am now sleeping only on my left side, and hobbling in the popular Christensen fashion. I have really enjoyed me some (eg: my body weight in) potato salad & greek salad. I'm past the "craving" point where I-know-what-I-want-and-I-want-it-now and into the I-don't-know-what-I-want-but-I-want-it-now point.

I have read my 1 billionth baby/pregnancy book. I have freaked out on people. I have cried at nearly everything sweet. I have gotten really nuts about random things - like pet dander (don't you think we should shampoo the carpets RIGHT NOW at two in the morning?) and skin changes (see this red patch on my knee that looks like a rug rash? do you think it's cancer that can be passed to the baby?) And I hung up a sign at my desk to remind myself to breathe, because it is all so much to take in that I really need to periodically re-evaluate, take a nice long breath, and relax.

I have gained 16 pounds so far, which puts me on track to gain about 35. I am eating a lot of healthy smaller meals and walking a good distance two or three times a day. I haven't cancelled my gym membership, but I think it might be a good time to. I don't see myself really hitting the gym for another 10 months at this rate of exhaustion. I get winded after the first quarter mile of walking (okay, waddling -- slowly.) I can tell that some of that weight gain is definitely going to the baby, based on the strength of the kicks. They sort of feel more like kicks now and less like flutters. I have also reintroduced a single cup of coffee to my mornings. It hasn't hurt my bedtime, which is now 8:30 pm.

The straight-on face shot in an ultrasound looks like an alien monster. Somehow, we will love this klingon skeleton.

More ultrasounds confirm we are now 100% sure we are having a GIRL! Today we had the ultrasound where the doctor went through to check every detail & vital part of the baby's body. He pointed out the various parts of the brain, the four chambers of the heart, the aeorta, mitrochondrial valve, kidneys, belly button where the umbilical cord comes out, etc. It was really something. We thought it would be 3-D & show the blood flow, but it didn't. It was very reassuring, though. The doctor ruled out spina bifida, cleft palate, and a few other things. He thought that there was plenty of fluid around the baby. The placenta was placed well (in front of the baby) and my cervix was long & closed. I know this part must be important because he repeated it three times.