30 Weeks Today ~

The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

I read in one of my baby magazines that there was no need for me to buy special baby laundry soap if we already use one that is free of dye and frangrances. We already use ALL Free, so I took back the Baby ALL. No need to buy extra if I don't have to.

Jared's step-dad Al came over last weekend spent 6 hours each day helping Jared put in our new sliding glass door. It looks really nice. All Jared has to do is add a little more insullation, some drywall and moulding. Then I get to go pick out new curtains.

I took my 3 hour glucose test this week and didn't pass. My numbers were a little higher than the doctor would like to see them, so I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day and follow a diet given by a Diabetic nutritionist. My numbers have been good. We kind of anticipated this could happen with my mom being diabetic, but we are confident we will get through this with diet and it will go away after the baby is born. Jared has been very supportive (he always has been) and helpfull. I couldn't have asked for a better husband.

29 Weeks Today ~

If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Let's see..this week we painted the living room and moved the furniture back in. It looks really nice. Now we just need to hang the drapes. We also registered, I thought Toys 'R Us would do it, but it didn't. We had to go to Target too. I had to keep telling myself that Toys 'R Us is nothing like Babies 'R Us. That ended up being an all day process. We got his crib delivered on Monday. There were two pieces that were damaged, so I called the manufacturer and they are sending two new pieces no questions asked.

I started teaching JA (Junior Achievement) again this semester. This time I have 3rd graders, they are totally different than 1st and 2nd graders. They seem to listen a lot less, or maybe it's just the class. This is the first time I have taught 3rd grade.

28 Weeks Today ~

This is it -- the home stretch! You've now officially entered the third and final trimester. But here's the biggie development news this week: After being sealed shut for many months, your baby's eyes will begin to open and close this week. Even if you could peek at the color of his peepers now though, they might not stay that color, as baby's eyes can change up until he's 6 months to a year old (especially if your little guy is born with baby blues).
He's also probably banging around like mad in there -- except when he's sleeping. Yep, your baby is snoozing on a regular schedule, but in very short spurts (only about 20 to 30 minutes at a time). Right now he weighs roughly 2.5 pounds and measures a little over 15 inches from head to toe.

He has been very active today. Tonight should be interesting. He has been pretty laid back the past couple of days. He's like that when I am busy.

We also cleared out his room this week. There are just a few big items left, but after that we should be ready to pick a paint color. Our spare bedroom has become the staging area for all of his things. We just keep adding to it. I did buy some baby detergent the other day, I have gotten the urge to start washing some of his things now so I'm not so overwhelmed later. I was very excited to find that ALL makes a baby detergent (that's what we use, so I wanted to try and stay in the same detergent family). I finally found it at our Hy-Vee.

27 Weeks Today ~

Your not-so-tiny-anymore brilliant baby(about 2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out.” Obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but when you start to feel an unfamiliar pressure on your cervix, you’ll know you’ve got a fully flipped baby locked and loaded for the countdown to their birthday! He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what he's thinking?

I have been feeling good. I am still loving being pregnant. Aunt Julie is still helping once a week with adjustments to help my hips.

Last weekend Jared and I made a trip to Kansas City to visit our friends Bill & Mindy & little Ryan & little Ashley. We had a great time. We had dinner at the T-Rex Restaurant. It is made by the same people that did Rain Forest Cafe, but with Dinosaurs. Ryan loved it. We had a dinosaur by our table and when it roared he would roar back. We also saw my family that lives down there, my grandma and grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins. Thank you to them for the size one diapers. They had leftovers from the triplets, so they shared them with us. The trip went a little longer than previous trips since I needed to stop a couple of times.

Time is really ticking away. We could have as little as 9 weeks left or as many as 15. Depending on when our little guy decides to show up. Football season has started, so our weekends are becoming limited. I am getting all of my lists ready for us to go register. Wow, amazing how much this little guy needs.

Dr. Appointment Update~

Everything was good at the doctor today. His heartbeat was 150 bpm and I am measuring just right. We got to meet the other doctor in the practice. I think we will start seeing him every other time just in case I go into labor in the middle of the night and he is the one on call.