Baby H: Week 29

Our 28-week doctors appointment was this past Thursday and while it took forever (hello crowded afternoon office) the visit was a huge success. My belly is measuring right on track and she had nothing to say about my weight gain which I can only assume is good news. After the worry that came from my 20-week anatomy ultrasound related to little man measuring in the 96th percentile I'm happy to report that he is checking out much more on schedule now. Our extra growth ultrasound was perfect (all be it, very short) and our baby boy is now in the 69th percentile which is fantastic! My pelvis thanked him. He is definitely still a "he" and apparently likes to show off the goods, weighs about 3.0lbs which is so crazy to think about and is already head down like a good boy! And the best part, my glucose test came back normal again! Wahoo. I am so thankful to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far and every doctors visit that confirms our son is growing as he should just makes my heart swell. On a related note, how are we already to 2-week appointments?!

This week J and I attended our first baby class. It was so much fun and made me so excited for September. We took an all day childbirth class that was chock full of every aspect of prelabor, labor, delivery, postpartum, newborn decisions, pain management, etc etc etc and we both feel so much more knowledgable. It was great taking the class with J because I was able to see his reactions to things, we were able to chat over lunch about what we both need from each other during labor and we've been working as a team since then making decisions about how we want things to go. In the next few days I hope to get a rough draft started on a bullet-point version of a birth plan for me and an outline for the care we want for the babe while we're in the hospital. I'm also starting a list of hospital bag items (for me, J and baby) so if you have any suggestions you think I can't live without or there was something you wish you had but didn't, please fill this momma in!

I have been feeling great the majority of this week except for the day of/after my doctors appointment. I got my tdap shot and it was a doozy for sure. For the rest of the day and into the next I felt like I got hit by a truck, exhausted with absolutely no energy and just completely run down. And then there was the intense pain in my shoulder at the injection site. I anticipated a bit of soreness from the shot itself but literally couldn't move my arm 100% until two days later. Otherwise my energy has been good, I haven't been too achy recently and my dizziness is officially gone I hope. I think I experienced my first few Braxton Hicks contractions as my entire belly was solid as a rock and even though it wasn't painful it was definitely uncomfortable. I am still stretch mark free (thank heavens) and have yet to experience any significant swelling which is a miracle given that I'm pregnant in the heat of summer. I have noticed a few times that my rings are a little extra snug if I'm especially warm but not for longer than an hour and not to the point of them being stuck.

I did my first load of laundry with all things baby, mostly clothes and bedding, and it was so fun. I'm sure that's one of the few times I'll actually say the extra laundry is fun but I'm enjoying it now and can't wait to get all his clothes put away. I had a pregnancy hormone related cry yesterday when J showed me an article about a dog's last day on earth and I found myself crying big, fat tears in the car outside Barnes & Noble and J said "oh yeah, I forgot I can't show you these types of things anymore". Oops! My shower is in one week and I keep hearing little details about it from my mom that make me so excited. Build-you-own taco salads, favored lemonades, balloons, a candy buffet and cupcakes and lots of sweet ladies including my sweetest friend from San Diego who's flying out to attend!

The weeks are just flying by and while I do have my moments of anxiety and there's-too-much-to-do freak outs I just can't wait to meet our little boy. I can't wait to hold him on my chest the moment he's born. I can't wait to see J wrap him up for the first time. I can't wait for Ollie to cover him in kisses when they meet. I can't wait to share his name and introduce our son to the family and friends who love him already. I just can't wait to be his momma.