We are officially, by my personal calculations of course, 7 months pregnant! Holy crap – that is very near the end. Just 11 weeks and 6 days left. Some might say 12 weeks, but 11 weeks sounds so much better to me. We are so very close to meeting our little girl, and excitement, nerves, and emotions are heating up. The curiosity of what this child will look like is almost unbearable. Of course, I can imagine her, but I have no way of knowing if that is correct or not. And for a good 19 weeks I imagined her as a boy, so I am really unqualified to imagine anything.
Leah and I are coming fresh off of our weekend of presents galore! I was warned I’d get a lot, but I had no idea. And that paired with the fact that I finally have permission from Kyle to buy things that I still need/want made for a weekend filled with new stuff! My shower was more than I could have imagined. The theme was undeniably lady bug, which comes from the latin… Leah Bug. There wasn’t a detail that wasn’t in some way related to a lady bug, and it was all so adorable. There was great food, great punch, and great friends. Even though everything I got was beyond adorable, my wonderful friend Kelsey got the gift of the day, a bib that read, “Star of Mommy’s Blog.” So fitting! Sunday my sister and I got most of the finishing touches for her room and wardrobe. Most importantly, Kyle and I got her rocker! I ruined her daddy’s day by making him pause the Masters to go pick it up with me, and THEN put it together. I am very appreciative of all of his hard work though, and the fact that he puts up with my insisting everything gets done how and when I want it… he’s really pretty great. I should blog about him someday. Now that there is a chair in there, though, it’s very hard to leave. It was hard to leave before, but I would get tired of standing so that forced me out. Now I have a comfy chair to sit in, and I could sit there alllll day and think about her. I’m ready to start washing everything of hers now. I have this compulsive need to just get things done, even though we have lots of time left. The only thing stopping me from having everything washed is the fact that I know it still has 2 or so months to collect dust. Ugh, I guess I’ll wait…
It was a perfect weekend topped off by a visit from Bama (Zoey’s word for Grandma), and Aunt Lauren, Uncle Joel, and Leah’s perfect Asian cousins. I think I should probably have a weekend like that every weekend. But now, on to the star of mommy’s blog…
Some things have changed since just a week ago. For instance, Leah’s movements are more coordinated now. She used to just kick and punch and be sporadic, however, now I notice more solid, longer lasting movements. I can watch entire limbs move across my belly in a fluid motion. It’s pretty freakin’ awesome. I swear one night last week she gave me a high five. I had my hand on my belly, and I felt her arm (yes, I’m absolutely positive it was an arm) roll across and then I got a tap right under my hand. Definitely a high five. I can feel her hard little (big) body all over the place now. I really didn’t feel it much during the second trimester, but I guess now that she’s stretching me to the brim and growing big and strong she doesn’t have many hiding places in there. I’ve really done well not poking her though. Sometimes I just can’t help it, but for the most part I can feel her just by putting my hand on my belly. I love the fact that she seems to come and find it when I do. It’s almost like a little puppy coming up to get petted. Either that or she’s learned if she comes to find me I won’t poke her…
My doctor has never really said anything about kick counting… thank God. It would make me a nervous wreck. However, I was reading online about it and something said that they should kick or move 10 times in an hour. Knowing I’m carrying an above average child, I decided to test it out once when she was going nuts. Well folks, Leah kicked and/or moved 10 times in 48 seconds. She’s a champ. It’s a wonder I get anything done. I still can’t get enough of watching or feeling her. You’d think I would get used to it, but I just don’t. I laugh, smile, and stop whatever I’m doing to watch her every.single.time. I’m so going to miss that when she’s born.
We had a wonderful night with her again last night. Started off with a trip to dad’s softball game, to which she kicked the entire time. I have two theories: 1) She was either excited to watch him, and was listening to the guy behind us compliment all of his big hits and throws, and kicking in agreement. Haha. Completely unbiased, Leah and I agree he is the best player on the team. Or 2) She was mad that I was squishing her sitting with my legs up on the bleachers. It’s getting pretty uncomfortable for both of us, I must say. No more lady like sitting for me, my new belly just doesn’t fit with my legs closed together. Sorry etiquette, deal with it. It was when we got home that the real fun started. I absolutely love, love, love when the three of us lay in bed (watching either sportscenter or baseball) and Leah shows off for her dad. Last night she was pulling out all the stops. There wasn’t a corner of my belly that didn’t get pushed up and out for all to see. She kicked, and rolled, and swam, and stretched, and ended with a very long case of the hiccups! She gets them more and more, however, these lasted the longest they ever have. At least 5 minutes. I was cracking up, but started to worry about her at the same time. I know how annoying they are! Finally though, finally, they stopped and she settled down enough to at least let her mom get some sleep!
So what’s she up to this week? Drum roll please… Leah can DREAM! I don’t know why, but this makes me so happy. Her neurons are numbering in the billions and her brain waves are working harder every day and she now sleeps in REM sleep, meaning she is dreaming!! God knows about what, but I love thinking about it. I hope they are good dreams and she wakes up smiling. She also has eyelashes and eyebrows and is blinking on a regular basis. Yay for complete eyes! She is 3% body fat, I sure wish I was. Her enzyme system and endocrinological process are now developed. Unfortunately, I don’t know what either of those things are, but I am very happy she has them! Her lungs are coming along very nicely, and are very close to being fully mature! If she were born today her chance of survival would be 90%. I like that number, but I still want her to stay in there for 10 more weeks! After that, mama will be trying all the tricks to get her out!
What’s new with her mom? Not a lot. I just sit, and eat. I’m just so dang hungry! Maybe this is what happens at the end, or maybe this is my body’s way of playing catch up for not gaining at all in the beginning, but I’m not a fan. Last week was a rough one mentally. I’m getting very near that 20lb mark, and it’s very nerve wrecking for me. And I can’t diet. So I just eat, and watch the scale go up and up and up. Kyle has a lot of comforting and “you’re not fat” talking to do these days. I’m doing my best to eat healthy though. I know that Leah does not need cookies and candy, so I try my best to give her fruits and vegetables, chicken and cheese. The Easter candy is in full bloom, but so far I have avoided it. And I will continue to avoid it. No Easter baskets for me this year. And because we will be by ourselves this year for Easter, I plan on keeping our meal and goodies to a minimum. But I really still can’t complain. Still no stretch marks, no dark line, my tattoo is in good shape, and my belly button, although it looks very stressed out, has not popped yet.
I’ve been having some intense dreams as well! All about Leah and either labor or bringing her home from the hospital! She looks the same in every dream; I can’t wait to see if that’s what she will actually look like. The dream when we bring her home is my favorite. We load her into her car seat in the hospital, then somehow we’re magically in our living room. We walk her all around the house and show her every room. We walk her upstairs and show her all around her room, and then lay her down in her crib. Just the three of us. And that is 100% how I want our 1st day home from the hospital to be.
And I have had a huge craving for cereal the past week! It’s getting pretty serious. I could eat it morning, noon, and night. I’m making Kyle a real dinner for tonight, but I’m already so excited for my bowl of cereal!
So that’s how we will begin our 7th month. Leah will be dreaming and I will be eating and dreaming of bringing her home.
See you at 29 weeks!
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