30... 31... 32 Weeks - Packed up and ready to go!

Our adventure begins!

Little Andrew in my big belly!

We're camping out in an empty house. It's actually pretty fun! We kept all the essentials we need to be comfortable, so it's not so bad. We'll spend a few nights in a hotel as we vacate our house, and we'll be off to California!

While James and his dad are road tripping with our two cars, and Zoie and I are flying to meet them in Phoenix. I'm relieved we decided to fly most of the way - this belly is growing large rather quickly. It's hard to get comfortable sometimes, and long-distance driving sounds difficult for both of us. We'll take a couple relaxed days driving from Phoenix to Monterey, that will be easy.

James is from Flagstaff and has family in Phoenix, so we're really looking forward to visiting friends and family next week. We'll celebrate the 4th of July in Flagstaff, and we're even spending a day at the Grand Canyon.

Two weeks ago we went to James' cousin's wedding in Las Vegas! Our trip was packed with wedding events, great restaurants, cruising around The Strip, and watching the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. Zoie did amazingly well for such a busy weekend - she slept through the night all 3 nights! She had a whole queen bed all to herself in the hotel. Such a relief to know she'll sleep okay during our travels to California - we're going to be staying in hotels for almost 2 weeks before arriving at our new house.

It's hard to know exactly how much Zoie understands about moving. We've spent some time explaining what's happening, and at least she's okay with our stuff being "all gone". She'll point around at the emptiness, make the sign for "where", and then she'll say "new house!".

Yesterday while Zoie was going potty, a moth suddenly flew right by her face! She was pretty scared and startled. Luckily, it quickly disappeared outside the door. I reassured Zoie that the scary moth was "all gone", and she said "new house?" - I couldn't stop laughing.... bless her heart!

How far along are you? 32 weeks today. Two months left! It feels like forever.
 
How big is Baby? Baby Andrew weighs about 3.75 pounds, and measures around 16.7 inches from head to heel. At this point, he'll be gaining weight quickly and packing his skinny body with baby fat!

Weight Gain? Our scale is packed up, but I think I'm about 146. That's about 20 pounds - and I feel every pound weighing me down. I can't wait to shed this weight!

Gender? Baby boy!

Maternity Clothes? Yep! I have a pretty good wardrobe of maternity items now.

Sleep? Sleep is still going pretty well! I keep a pillow between my knees, otherwise my hips get sore. Zoie is still sleeping well, which is great for us! My sweet husband has been taking over nighttime duties if she does wake up though, which has been wonderful. Everything is more difficult for me with this huge belly!

Movement? Yep! Lots of movement throughout the day, but our little boy has lengthy stretches of rest. He might be a slightly calmer baby than Zoie was, and maybe sleep won't be such a struggle. Oh, and hiccups! I finally started feeling them about 2 weeks ago. Little Andrew gets hiccups all the time now.

Food Cravings? Not much right now. Our diets have been very random since we've been in moving mode.

Labor Signs? Still nothing, luckily.

Symptoms? Is feeling huge a symptom? I feel huge. Being pregnant is frustrating sometimes. Of course you get a baby in the end, and it's completely worth it, but it feels like a long time to sacrifice your body to make a person.

What I miss? I used to really look forward to evenings/nighttime, but that's the time of day when I'm most uncomfortable. My body gets fatigued, feels swollen, and my motivation to get things done just disappears... I miss life before third trimester.

Best moment(s) of the week? Realizing how many words Zoie knows! Her language is exploding. The other day, I put her into the bathtub without the rubber bath mat (it was packed up), and she exclaims "slippery!" as she happily slid her bottom around on the porcelain. I had no idea she even knew that word!

What I am looking forward to? Vacating our house and beginning our adventure! Our trip is planned, hotels booked, and we have a house waiting for us in Monterey. Woohooo!!

Cheers,

Martha

28... 29 Weeks - Getting ready for our next adventure!

We only have about 3 weeks left in Kansas!

Imagine a butternut squash inside!

It seemed so far away for so long, and now we only have a few weeks left! We finally have our move and travel plans scheduled and confirmed, so there's really not much to worry about. The only uncertainty is where we'll live - but I'm sure we'll find a house in the next two weeks.

I don't think Zoie really understands that we're moving, but she has traveled so much that it might just seem like another trip. She might be confused when our house is packed into boxes, but hopefully she'll enjoy the empty space to play for a few days!

Zoie is getting excited about being a big sister, that's for sure. I keep explaining that soon the baby in my belly is going to be a real baby we can hold and snuggle! And this girl seriously loves her babies. Her favorite activity is wrapping her Bitty Baby in a blanket, and rocking her to sleep while singing a lullaby. However, she doesn't discriminate. She'll take any object and rock it to sleep with anything resembling a blanket. She even wrapped my phone with a wet paper towel and sang it to sleep! Yesterday at Dick's Sporting Goods, she opened a box of soccer cleats and was delighted to find the shoes swaddled in tissue and tucked into their box bed. She pulled them out, rocked them back to sleep with a lullaby, and returned the cleats snuggly to their box. Dawww...

Less than 11 weeks until our due date! It's coming up quick, and we can't wait to meet baby Andrew! It's going to be fun moving to a new house and re-designing a nursery/toddler room. I'll post photos when we're finished. We don't need much baby gear, but we've been slowly stocking up on baby boy clothes - and they are much different purchases this second time around! Comfort, ease of diaper changes, and ease of laundering are the priorities. That pretty much means bodysuits with cozy pants, or pajamas! What outfit would I want to snuggle with...? That is the question :)

I have one more prenatal checkup before we move - and then it's time to meet my new doctor in California! Might sound weird, but I've never had a male doctor before. The local female OBs in Monterey didn't have very good reviews, so I'm going with a highly recommended male doctor.

My last appointment was interesting. I passed my glucose tolerance test (to check for gestational diabetes), but my doctor was a little alarmed at how low my blood sugar was an hour after ingesting such a concentrated amount of sugar. I'm the opposite of diabetic! Which is cool - it means my body can handle carbohydrates more easily than some people. Also means I'm less likely to become obese - yay!

How far along are you? 29 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Our little boy is about the size of a butternut squash! He's about 2.5lb, and somewhere over 15 inches from head to heel.

Weight Gain? Currently about 144, so that puts me up around 18 pounds.

Gender? It's a BOY!

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes. The bump is growing quite large. I just got some new maternity shorts and t-shirts from Target, it's HOT in Kansas right now!

Sleep? The last two weeks have been... AWESOME! Zoie is a completely different sleeper since her last molars finally came in. We are done with teething! She's been sleeping through the night regularly (like 8:30pm - 7:30am), with almost zero wake-ups! Even when she does wake up, we'll give her a drink of water and snuggle with her for a few minutes and she'll fall back asleep. It's so nice to finally have truly relaxing nights!

Movement? Lots of strong movement! Sometimes it gets uncomfortable as little Andrew sticks his limbs in my ribs and kicks hard against my belly. He's a pretty wild sometimes, but also has decent periods of sleep.

Food Cravings? Still just coffee (mostly decaf). I just bought a new coffee press called an AeroPress, I like it better than my french press! It makes a delicious brew.

Labor Signs? Nope! Nothing I'm noticing.

Symptoms? My ab muscles are getting weaker and weaker as my belly gets bigger. I'm getting less and less coordinated as I move and bend throughout the day. Looking forward to having my body back!

What I miss? Not much I miss lately, other than my old body. I miss being agile.

Best moment(s) of the week? It's been so fun watching Zoie lately. She's becoming more and more of a little person with so many distinct personality traits. There have been a dozen instances over the last week where we just marvel at the funny things she does or says.

What I am looking forward to? We're spending next weekend in VEGAS for a wedding! Looking forward to a fun time with family!

Cheers,

Martha