Yolande

Only one more week left in my twenties and then I'm off to the big dog thirties. Where has the time gone? My little teeny blueberry has now morphed into a giant 3 pound squash, which I've decided is an odd choice for the last stretch. Therefore, I'm going to call it a 'medium sized pumpkin' instead. I don't know about you, but the fact that we only have TWO MORE fruits left on this journey is totally mind blowing. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here, and behold the squash/pumpkin in my belly:

And I do apologize for the delay in this whole post (did anyone even notice it was not on my usual Monday morning?) and the fact that my belly pics are not the same as my usual ones. In fact these were taken in a completely different state! With a different wall color! And different lighting! Yes, it bugs the heck out of me but for now it will do. Maybe it's the Missouri lighting but holy hell, I'm like REALLY pregnant all of a sudden, no?

This week was extra special because we made our first trip back to mid-Missouri since July, when we announced our little blueberry's presence. I remember that trip, when I was only 6 weeks pregnant and fatigued beyond belief. This time around in my oh-so-mature state of pregnancy I didn't require multiple daily naps and didn't house constant 'oh-my-god-i-hope-i-stay-pregnant' thoughts at all hours of the day. Yes, first trimester versus third trimester symptoms are vastly different in many ways. But apparently, some girls complain of indigestion and praying to the porcelain gods in the first tri (I was incredibly lucky to just have fatigue and neurotic thoughts, I know). Well guess what? This week brought upon my first experience of true heart burn and indigestion and boy did it suck. After successfully stuffing my crowded stomach with enormous portions of yummy Christmas dinner, I plopped myself into a recliner and proceeded to take a nap. Immediately I felt a giant ball of discomfort lodged under my right ribs, as if a burning hot wad of turkey and potatoes had taken up residence in my lung. I tried sitting up, rolling over, and pushing on the pulsating mound of food but nothing eased my pain. Ah, so THIS is what dreaded heartburn feels like. Great!

Another fun experience? My first time barfing during this pregnancy...just a little late in the game to be typical morning sickness. The morning after my fun heartburn episode, I brewed a cup of decaff coffee and began to sip away in ignorant bliss. I took my prenatal vitamins and chatted up a storm with my family when all of a sudden I got really hot. "Hmmm, that's weird"--so I took off my hoodie and set down my coffee. "Could it be...no way...I'm not going to puke, am I" were the thoughts running through my head as I jumped up from my chair and bolted to the nearest bathroom. Sure enough, it wasn't just in my head because I really did hurl for no good reason. I felt totally fine before and after, other than the realization that coffee on the way back up incredibly disgusting. I have no idea what caused this little dramatic scene other than coffee on an empty stomach combined with vitamins? I dunno. But I hope that was my first and last time upchucking for many years.

So yeah, the third trimester is pretty interesting thus far. My 28 week appointment was fine and the glucose screen wasn't bad at all. They said they'd call if anything showed up abnormal and I haven't heard from them all week so I think that's a good sign. And remember how my belly has grown with incredible speed in the past 4 weeks? Yeah. The scale reflected that growth spurt with another 7 el beezies tallied up on my total. That brings me up to 25 big ones, in case you've lost track, which means I'm going to be awfully close to that final 40 pound goal made my by OB. She just LOVES spending a majority of our appointments reassuring me that my weight gain is absolutely fine and I will lose it after baby comes, and to continue doing what I'm doing to keep my baby healthy. Although I certainly feel pudgy at times, I really don't get where these 25 pounds are other than my belly and boobs. And therefore, I'm not going to allow weight-related freak outs at this point. No really. I'm not. I swear. Okay, maybe a little bit. But I really am repeating this mantra at all times: "My baby needs me to gain weight, I was thin before and as God is my witness I will be thin again!" I'm inches away from signing up for a half marathon next fall just to give myself a fitness goal to ensure that I get back to my old self as quickly as possible.

Oh yeah, speaking of running....you know how I'm all proud of myself for running 3 miles 3 days per week on a treadmill despite my bulbous 29 week baby belly? Yeah, my doc was all about it too until I told her about my 'tightening' uterus during some runs. She no likey. Basically that is not a Braxton Hicks contraction like I thought but it's a sign that my ute isn't getting enough oxygen = epic fail. Instead of going all Nazi on me and pulling the running plug all together my very cool OB said I just need to walk when that happens, but I can continue to run as my body allows. So that's both cool and creepy, I guess, and since then I've definitely been walking more often during my jogs but whatever. I'm still going to embrace the role of being a pregnant runner but just be a little more cautious in the process.

Baby boy is still growing up a storm while kicking my organs like a champ. I've started to see slow movements scrape across my belly like the entire thing is shifting from one side to the other. I can almost make out knees versus head versus butt at times, too but when I start poking around on him too much he gets rather annoyed with me and moves away (go figure!). Also, week 29 apparently brings on the peak of curiosity from friends and family about our chosen name. I am not kidding, people are quizzing us and asking for hints and letters and origins. So what did we do? We are now calling him Carlos to avoid any slip-ups on our parts and to keep our inquisitors at bay. Yes, baby Carlos is doing just fine and this place-holder name seems just perfect for now.

My last week in the twenties equates heartburn, indigestion, nausea, and insane amounts of weight gain all with a tightening uterus. I have a feeling this last stretch is going to be a doozie!

{Christmas posts, trip review and a billion pictures to follow later this week. I'm still trying to settle into our everyday life after this extended trip....so be patient:) }