A trial run

Always trust your instincts.  If I learned anything over the last weekend, it's to trust your instincts!  While I knew something was wrong, it took a phone call to my mom (a nurse) and then a call to my OB's after hours emergency line before I was convinced that I wasn't just being a weenie and that something was really wrong.

After my OB appointment last week, I started having pretty bad back pain on my right side.  I've obviously been plagued by back and hip pain throughout this pregnancy but this was different.  It woke me from a dead sleep.  I walked it off, googled some symptoms (not something I usually do and not something I'll ever do again) and went to work.  The pain got better.  But then I had another incident 2 days later and thought it was weird.  I sort of suspected a kidney infection.  But I didn't want to be a hypocondriac, first time prego lady so I brushed it off.

Until the symptoms came back on Saturday morning.  It was like a switch was flipped.  The pain went from 0 to 10 in about an hour.  I was in severe pain by the time I called my mom in tears.  She told me to call the doctor's after hours line.  My doctor knows I'm not exactly a wimp when it comes to pain but I think she could hear it in my voice that this was different.  She told me it was time to make a trial run to the hospital.

I am more thankful than I have EVER been to have had The Pilot home that day.  He got me to the hospital and kept calm as I winced over every bump in the road.  I also made a comment that we might need to find a different route to get to the hospital because I just knew that if I was in labor, I would NOT have the tolerance for that particular road!

We went up to the labor and delivery floor where they put me a triage room.  Right away they realized my blood pressure was elevated but the baby was doing just fine.  Again, maybe it was instinct but I really wasn't too worried about the baby.  He was moving around the entire time I was in pain and that was reassuring to me that while I was miserable, he was doing just fine.  When they monitored him at the hospital, they just confirmed that all was ok with him.  Then the real fun started.
First they started this:

And gave me some pain medication (orally).  It was slow to work but it did finally start to help while we waited for them to find an ultrasound technician to do an ultrasound of my kidneys.  It was late on a Saturday afternoon so I figured this might take awhile.  I did not however think it would take so long that the pain meds would wear off, leaving me to sit in agony for an hour and a half while The Pilot tried to comfort me.   The nurse was nice and mentioned that he was trying to find a doctor to give the ok to give IV pain meds.  Once that happened, it was a longer wait for the pharmacy to send up the drugs.  At that point, I was ready to walk to the pharmacy myself and hook up my own IV.  I kept trying to think of times I've been in pain before.  Certainly I had been in that much pain before, right?  I channeled how I felt during the Goofy Challenge.  Not even close.  Burst ear drum?  Nope.  Second degree burn on my foot (that's a long story).  That seemed like a splinter compared to the pain I was in. Getting a tattoo?  That was like stubbing my toe compared to this pain.  It felt like ALL of those painful events combined.  Once the drugs finally came though, I got relief.  Not in the sense that I couldn't still feel the pain but  more that I just didn't care.  I was pretty loopy.  I was also getting IV fluids.  While I was slightly incapacitated, I was still able to tell The Pilot to start documenting for blog purposes. ;)  In reality, it was  just really boring once the pain meds kicked in.

I'm going to skip some of the overnight details because they were mostly boring and to preserve some of the modesty I have.  It was bad enough that my backside was hanging out of my hospital gown most of the time I was there.  (Seriously, there has GOT to be something better than those gowns!)

By morning I was able to go for a fairly long stretch without pain meds.  So while the physical pain was subsiding, the waiting around was awful.  To make things worse, I was quickly going on 24 hours without any food.  I'm a cranky B without food on a normal day.  While pregnant?  That's dangerous.  I basically complained to anyone who would listen.  And nearly choked a nurse who told me that the baby was a little "sleepy" during the last time the monitored him.  Of course he's sleepy, he hasn't eaten in a day!  Mama bear instincts kicked in and told me that baby boy was fine for now but if they didn't feed me soon, there was going to be some drama coming from my room.  Luckily my OB stopped by and ordered they feed me.  An hour and a half later (I wish I was kidding), I got a big plate of...

Fish.  Seriously?  I don't even eat fish.  I was too emotionally and physically exhausted at this point to ask for anything else.  The green beans, potatoes and apple were enough to wake baby boy up during the next time they monitored him.  Then The Pilot made me a happy woman by bringing me a cookie from the cafeteria. 

Blah blah blah...more waiting.  Some crying (I was THAT hungry).  A residence urologist came to see me (about 22 hours after arriving with symptoms) who treated me like a talking exam...just running down a list of questions but then didn't really listen to my answers.  I wanted to punch him in the face.  I held back.

Blah blah blah, more waiting.  More crying...the other person in my semi-private room was Susie Sunshine.  While I give her credit for being optimistic despite her situation (bed rest at 24 weeks prego), she was grating on the last nerve I had.  The nerve I was trying to save so I would be cordial to not only The Pilot but also the nurses.

Finally, with no additional information from any of the doctors, a nurse came in with discharge papers.  They were letting me go.  While I asked about the doctor and the additional tests they ran (the nurse didn't really know), I wasn't about to question the discharge.  I felt better and wanted to get home.  Other than some "evidence" that I won't get into and a hunch from my OB, we are pretty such it was in fact a kidney stone and not just the baby pushing down on all my parts (while that certainly wasn't helping matters).  And I suspect that I passed that kidney stone while sitting in the triage area before they even did the ultrasound.

The Pilot and I tend to find humor in just about everything.  Even if its not a funny situation, humor is a defense mechanism for both of us.  There was basically one funny moment of the entire situation.  It came in the last 30 minutes when the nurse was listening to the baby's heat beat one last time before discharging me.  She was using a dopler and rather than just picking up the heartbeat, we could also hear a radio station.  I'm not kidding, it sounded like she was picking up a radio station through my belly.  The Pilot and I couldn't stop laughing.  I'm fairly certain the nurse wasn't able to get an accurate heartbeat on the baby that last time but she must have gotten something good enough because she laughed and moved on.

So that was my weekend adventure.  I will add one last thought.  I certainly hope that the couple women who shared with me that kidney stones are more painful than childbirth are right.  That pain was no joke.  I told The Pilot that if that was anything like childbirth, then I wanted the epidural right then.  A difference with childbirth I suppose are that there are short breaks in the pain.  This pain was non-stop for hours on end.  We'll see what happens!

Week 30

Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks
Maternity clothes? I had purchased a maternity swim suit a couple weeks ago and was all set to wear it over the weekend.  Only to find that my belly had already outgrown it. :(  I may or may not have cried.  But I sucked it up, returned the suit and got a different one.  But by then I was too tired to actually get into the pool. Oh well.  I'll try again.
Have you started to show? The Pilot superimposed this week's photo on top of one from a couple weeks ago to show me how much I've changed (like I'm not feeling every little change, hehe).  And it became pretty obvious why I get so short of breath so easily.  My belly is sitting much higher these days than it was.
Symptoms:  We went to my 30 week appointment on Monday which included an ultrasound.  My blood pressure was a little higher (still within the normal range but slightly high for me) so she's going to keep an eye on that.  I'll be seeing her every other week for the next month and then will go weekly until the baby makes his arrival. 

She said the tightness and uncomfortableness was all normal.  Again, it was basically suck it up, buttercup.  Sigh.  It might be a long couple weeks!

We did have a funny moment at the doctor's office.  Normally The Pilot is pretty quiet during the appointments but right before she started the ultrasound, he stood up and asked her if he could take a picture.  I was stunned.  One, I had no idea what he would have wanted to take a picture of in that moment and two, the fact that he jumped up pretty quickly.  She started to laugh while I laid there, clueless.  This was what was humorous and photo-worthy to The Pilot:

A prego belly covered in an ultrasound goo smiley face.  Not sure if I should be amused the my doctor has a sense of humor...or annoyed that the "joke" was on me since I couldn't actually see my belly from the angle I was laying at.  :)
Activity:  The Pilot and I walked around our neighborhood for a couple hours on Saturday (garage sales!).  It was a beautiful morning and it was nice to get some exercise.  But boy did I pay the price.  I hardly slept Saturday night and could barely get out of bed on Sunday morning because my hips were so angry.  Then I got frustrating news from the doctor on Monday.  While I sort of suspected what she told me, it was still upsetting for me to hear.  It really seems like the hip pain is just made worse by walking any measurable distance (I'm talking miles here).  There isn't anything I can magically do to make it better other than avoid anything that makes the pain worse...like walking.  Sigh.  The doctor suggested I try swimming more to keep active if I wanted.  I do have access to a pool (and now have a swim suit that fits) but it's just not the same.  I'm trying to tell myself that I can still get a great workout by running and walking in water (the pool I have access to, at my parents' house, isn't really conducive to swimming laps) and that it will feel great to feel weightless...especially in these last weeks as my weight slowly (or not so slowly) increases.  I keep reminding myself to be thankful that baby boy is doing well and I really am having a pretty uneventful and healthy pregnancy.  But the part of me that is still trying to hang onto at least a little bit of my pre-baby life is frustrated.
Best moment this week:  Baby boy got hugs from his cousins last weekend.  My 9-year-old niece always hugs me when I see her but she now hugs the belly too.  She gives "me" a hug first (sort of from the side) but then moves around in front of me and hugs my belly.  It's so cute. She rubs my belly too.  While she doesn't talk to him yet, I swear it's like she communicating with him somehow by how deliberate her belly rubs seem. My 5-year-old nephew also "hugged" the baby.  More like ran at me while I braced myself for impact and then he kind of bounced off my belly.  We're working on toning down the "violence" of his hugs. :)
Miss anything?  Triathlon season.  The tri that I did last summer was over the weekend.  It made me a little sad that I'm sitting this tri season out.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back at it.  Even though I've always considered race walking and running/shuffling distance races my "A" sport, I really have enjoyed the triathlons I've done.  I miss mixing things up.
Movement:  The doctor wants me to start counting his movements twice a day (to make sure I count 10 movements within one hour).  I'm sure this won't be a problem.  Even though he's getting bigger, he's still really wiggly in there.  The movements certainly aren't flutters anymore.  He's rearranging my internal organs some days.
Food cravings: One carton of strawberries put away...and no fewer than 6 nectarines. 
Gender:  A monster boy apparently. According to the ultrasound he's measuring in the 86th percentile.  The doctor estimated that he'll be well over 8 pounds at birth.  Say what??  So much for having a tiny baby like I was at birth (just under 6 pounds).
Looking forward to:  Slowing down.  While June is still pretty busy, I have done my best to keep July mostly free of commitments.  I knew that I probably wouldn't be up for too much by then and I'm looking forward to spending even more time with The Pilot as a family of two before our world changes completely.
Not looking forward to:  At this point I'm kind of looking forward to everything.  Being done.  Meeting our baby.  More baby showers.  Stuff like that.  I'm trying desperately to focus on those things because I'm growing more uncomfortable by the day.   I'm trying not to think about just how uncomfortable I'm most likely going to be towards the end.
Milestones:  The 30-week growth scan...to tell us he's a monster baby.  :)

No Dumping

We recently finished up the nursery so The Pilot documented the final product.  Now all we need is a baby!

I knew I didn't want a "cutesy" baby nursery.  I also didn't want to wait to start on the nursery until we found out the gender so we opted for a neutral gray and yellow theme that we could accessorize once we found out the gender.  When we bought the house, my brother and sister-in-law gave us an extra twin bed they had.  I found an inexpesive sheet set at Target that was yellow and gray.  Once we found out we were having a baby, we decided to leave the twin bed in the room and run with the yellow and gray color scheme.

The Pilot painted the room, and helped my Dad install a ceiling fan.  I bought an extra set of the same sheets, determined to make my first sewing project...7-foot long blackout curtains.  (The sewing machine was a gift from The Pilot for Christmas.  I had to promise to learn to sew and actually use it!).  Not sure what I was thinking when I decided to make such large curtains for not just one, but two windows with my minimal sewing experience.  Go big or go home?  There were calls and emails to both my mom and my mother-in-law, some cursing and a whole lot of tangled thread but the curtains are on the wall and are actually functional!

Again, knowing we wanted something unique that didn't scream nursery, we decided to hit up  an antique store to look for some things to decorate the nursery. The antique store proved to be the mother load.  We came across some Volkswagon hub caps first and thought they were cool.  And then we found the road signs.  The Pilot spotted the directional signs and I liked that they were yellow.  If I wasn't going to get my nature themed nursery, anything we did decide to go with had to match the curtains that I spent DAYS making.

We made the decision if we were going to get the signs then we had to go with the whole car theme completely.  When we saw the No Dumping sign, we both laughed at it..... then seriously considered it.  It would be pretty darn funny.  Plus, it was pretty inexpensive "art" for the size (about 4' x 2.5').   We wandered around the store for a while thinking about it.  I think it may have been finding the small Herbie car that made me realize that it would be a pretty cool room for a boy.  One that would grow with him.  We commented that he could take the No Dumping sign to college to decorate his dorm room.  Now, can't you picture that??

As much as I love Disney, I didn't want a Disney themed nursery.  But having a small tribute was the perfect touch!  Herbie rides again!

We also found a yellow European license plate and a street crossing sign....which found a home right above the light switches.  There's also a cat photo bombing the picture above.  Little did he know that he was about to get kicked out of the room.  We've been letting the cats sleep on the twin bed but it's time to make the nursery a cat-free room.  So sad.  They love sleeping on the twin bed, but I certainly don't want to find a cat sleeping in the crib.  Maybe when the kiddo is bigger (and not allergic to cats like both his parents), we can let the cats sleep in there if they want.

Once we found the Herbie car, we decided we needed at least one more Volkswagon model to tie the room together.  The Pilot found this little guy on eBay. 

I had some fabric leftover from the curtain so  I decided to make a skirt for the crib.  When the mattress is in the highest (infant) position, you could see into the storage drawer under the mattress.  I knew it wouldn't be seen for long (until we lower the mattress once the baby gets bigger) but since I had the fabric, I figured I'd give it a try.  All went well until I started to hot glue the velcro to the mattress frame.  I figured it would hold the velcro long enough but would be easy to peel off once we didn't need to skirt anymore.  Sounds easy enough until I somehow managed to burn my finger.  Badly.  Being slightly crafty, I'm not stranger to hot glue burns.  But usually you just rub the glue off, it stings a little but then it's no big deal.  But for some reason this was a bad burn.  Requiring lots of cold water, and eventually the first aid kit for some burn cream because I couldn't seem to get the heat out!  The things I'm going through already for this child! ;)

At my shower last weekend, my sister-in-law's mom gave us a GENIUS gift!  Long story short, she ended up with a Lion King crib mobile on her hands.  Then she found out we were pregnant and hung onto it.  Then she heard about the nursery theme and she got crafty!  She printed some funny road signs and made little pillows out of them with some ribbon.  She gave me both the little pillows and the Lion King mobile, knowing we'd get crafty ourselves and make a custom mobile that matched the nursery.   So The Pilot took the existing fabric and little baby Simbas off the original mobile and added the little road signs.  Not only was it extremely thoughtful but The Pilot and I both love the final product.  There is a 4th pillow that isn't pictured....it has a plane on it as a warning to watch for low flying aircraft. :)

That one in front cracks me up...watch for falling cows??

So that's the room!  The closet still needs a little work as we slowly start accumulating more and more baby gear.

A Lost Disney Marathon Post

So The Pilot reminded me of a post I intended to write...in January.  Ooops.  While spectating at the Disney Marathon this year (for my amazing support crew who did the Goofy Challenge), The Pilot and I noticed another moment of Disney magic. 

The full marathon goes through Disney's Hollywood Studios in the later miles (somewhere in the 23-24 range).  Routing that many extra people through a theme park, especially once it is open to guests requires some creativity so guests can still get around the park (can you imagine showing up for a vacation only to find masses of marathoners running and walking around??).  The Pilot and I were spectating and waiting for our friends Lisa and Mary to come through.  I wondered how we were going to get across the course to where we wanted to be when we saw there was a cross walk.  I assumed a Disney cast member would wave us through when there was an opening between runners.  But leave it to Disney to get a little more elaborate than that...

Watch the video and see if you can figure out what's happening...



Genius!  They would let the park guests congregate, the cast would wait for an opening and then briefly re-route the course and let the park guests go on with their magical day.  Not only did the park guests not have to dart out in front of the athletes (which is SO annoying when you are in the race!) but the athletes probably didn't really notice what was happening.  I was fascinated by this and made The Pilot record some of it.  Notice me in the yellow shirt ringing my cow bell....clearly amused.  And this is just one of the many reasons why I love Disney World and the Disney races!  They do their best to put a lot of thought into everything they do.

Week 29

 Week 29

How far along? 29 weeks
Maternity clothes?  Shoot...yes.  And I feel like I'm pushing a few of those pieces to their limit.  Some things are getting a little snug. 
Have you started to show?  I might stop answering this one each week because it's obvious.  I've had a few people tell me I look small.  And then a few have said I look big and they don't think I'll even make it to August before baby boy makes his debut.  We shall see!
Symptoms:  Hip pain that will not ease up.  That's probably the most annoying.  I'm also having Braxton-Hicks contractions which aren't painful but aren't comfortable either.  I keep reminding myself that they are just my body "practicing" for what's to come.  I also think baby boy is stretching out and/or getting a little big for his current surroundings.  I've noticed A LOT of tightness across the top of my belly.  I think he might be sitting high and sideways.  Which may also be the reason I get winded really easily. 
Activity:  I got in the 3-mile walk over the weekend.  I've also been doing yoga stretches before I go to bed with hopes that it will ease this hip pain. 
Best moment this week:  Baby shower!  Putting the finishing touches on the nursery...pictures soon!
Miss anything?  I never in a million years thought I'd say this but I do miss running.  I've run a few steps here and there but for the most part, it's uncomfortable.  Not really because of anything painful but more because I can't run more than a couple steps without having to pee!  I'm glad I'm still able to enjoy some walking, though I had hoped to be getting in longer workouts still at this point.  That's ok though.  Some is better than none!
Movement: I think this past Monday was his most active day to date.  He was kicking and rolling for what felt like all day.  Now he seems to be back to just rolling and punching me around meal times and when I lay down at night.  I still can't get over it!  I saw and felt him move the other night...and then there was a little bump in my belly.  I think it was either his back, head or maybe backside.  It was definitely a baby part sticking out!
Food cravings:  My in-laws were in town over the weekend and my father-in-law brought some strawberries from his garden.  

It took me longer to clean and slice them than it did to eat them...all of them.  I really hope The Pilot didn't want any.  If he did, it's his fault for leaving on a 4-day trip while these were still in the fridge. :) My nectarine and popsicle consumption increased 2-fold this week also.
Gender:  Everyone has told me that boys are much more active than girls.  They are always jumping, climbing, skipping, rolling, etc.  And I think this baby boy has already mastered all of those activities.  At least that's what it FEELS like. 
Looking forward to:  More baby showers to see my great friends and family!    And while it is a challenge to schedule all these doctor appointments around work, I start my every other week OB appointments next week.  That's a sure sign that things are moving right along!  It's not that I really enjoy the doctor's office (or waiting!), but hearing his heartbeat and getting some extra reassurance from the doctor that everything is going ok always makes me feel good!

And this one might seem a little strange (and premature) but I just got an email from the local library system about their summer reading program for kids.  I remember participating when I was a kid and I loved it!  I've always loved to read and hope that my offspring enjoys it also.  And so I just had a flash forward moment of taking him to the library to sign up for the summer reading program.  I'm a nerd. 
Not looking forward to: Growing more uncomfortable!  But I know it won't be much longer until he's here so it's all temporary!
Milestones:  I had my first baby shower over the weekend!  It was so much fun!  Best parts?  My grandma was there for a little bit.  Her health has been declining so to have her there meant the world to me!  Also, 3 of my bestest friends were there as well.  Two of whom live out of town.  And even though my other bestie that couldn't make it (something about living 6 hours away and having a 2 year old and 2 month old...), she shipped a gift to my parents' house.  Part of the gift was this gem.  Pearl Jam songs turned into lullabies?  GENIUS!

The Pilot also experienced a parenting rite of passage over the weekend...putting together a stroller. 

I'm sure this will embarrass him to no end but I think he looks pretty hot behind that stroller.  Looks like a natural to me! :)

 

Still waddling

I got in a swampy 3-miler on Saturday.  It was nice to get out and get a decent workout in but it was hot and humid.  I've never liked either but now that I've got a built in furnace, also known as a baby, I overheat in a hurry.  I had to back off the pace for not just the heat but the baby is also taking up more space...and putting the squeeze on my lungs.  I've noticed I get winded a lot easier now too.  But, I'm still waddling along!  And 3 miles is better than none at all!

Between the 3-miler and my first baby shower on Saturday, I was pretty much useless on Sunday.  I was exhausted.  I managed to get the laundry done and we went to the grocery and picked up a Craigslist purchase but there was a lot of sitting around in between.  I was in bed by 8:30.  I've struggled with sleep more than ever over the last several nights because my hips and other joints are crazy achy.  I went to bed early with hopes that between the multiple times I knew I'd wake up, I'd collectively get a decent amount of sleep.  Not so much.  I even tried some yoga stretches and still no relief.

So today, between the horrible sleep, unrelenting hip pain, and a crazy tight abdomen, I had to take a sick day.  Sigh.  I can't sit in one position for more than a couple minutes so I knew sitting at my desk at work all day was not realistic.  I did call the doctor's office just to make sure there wasn't anything else I could do...and to make sure everything sounded ok.  While the nurse was super sweet, the scoop is....suck it up buttercup and welcome to the third trimester! :P  One reassuring sign was that baby boy is doing jumping jacks and as long as he's still bouncing around in there (and there aren't any other symptoms), all is well. 

Week 28

Week 28

I look like I can barely keep my eyes open...maybe because that's the truth.

How far along? 28 weeks
Maternity Clothes?  I'm in about 99% maternity clothes but there are a few laying pieces (think open hoodies and cardigans) that I'm still wearing.  We usually snap the weekly pictures on the weekend so they all look pretty casual.  Maybe I should snap a few when I'm still in my work clothes.  For prosperity?  Or so I can look back in 20 years and laugh at how bad the clothes are.  Trouble is about 2.5 seconds after I get home from work, I am in my pajamas.  Clothing in general just seems uncomfortable lately.  With the exception of a dirt cheap obese man's t-shirt I picked up at a Kohl's clearance.  I'm taking less than $5 for the biggest, softest t-shirt I've ever seen. I'm not even sure how many Xs are in front of the L.  It's so ugly.  And so comfortable that I just don't care. 
Have you started to show?  I just told you my secret about the ugly t-shirt.  I think that says it all.  I will NOT be posting a photo of that.
Symptoms: Tying my shoes sideways?  As in, it's too hard to bend over so I cross my leg over my knee and tie my shoes that way.  Which results in a bow that is at the inside of my foot instead of the center.  There's also some minor swelling in my hands and feet.  And why it is an Olympic feat to roll over or sit up in bed is beyond me.  Have my ab muscles disappeared somewhere in there?  I fear there will be a day The Pilot is away and my co-workers will be trying to call, wondering where I am.  I will be stuck in bed like a turtle on it's back. 
Activity:  Weed pulling and laundry?  Standing for 2+ hours at a concert?  Those things all happened...and all zapped my energy more than expected.  Sigh.
Best moment this week:  The Pilot attempting to read to the baby...until I got a major case of the giggles.  Baby boy was jumping around and I STILL laugh every time I SEE and FEEL him move at the same time.  So there I am, laughing, with my belly shaking like Santa.  Which then caused The Pilot to start laughing.  So there we are, both laughing for no real reason at all.  This poor kid.  I sure hope he has a sense of humor because he'll have to in order to tolerate his parents.
Miss anything?  Caffeine.  As sleep becomes increasingly more disrupted, I wake up exhausted.  And there are mornings when I would give anything for a Coke.  But I cut out caffeine when I found out we were expecting.  Not that it was that difficult.  I usually only had one Coke a WEEK and that was about it in terms of caffeine.  I didn't really notice when I switched that weekly Coke with a water or sometimes orange juice until the last 2 weeks or so.  I find myself craving a full strength Coke!  I've had a few random caffeine-free colas but there are mornings lately where I could really use an extra jolt!  But I don't.  I figure my kid will be twitchy enough without the added stimulant.
Movement:  I don't think I will ever get used to this!  It still blows my mind each time I feel him kick, squirm, grab my internal organs, etc.  It's so bizarre.  There are times when it's comforting because I know he's still doing well in there.  But there are also times where he does something weird that makes me stop dead in my tracks.  Either he's punched my bladder and I darn near pee my pants or there is the time I swear it felt like I ran into something with my belly.  But didn't.  He must have been tugging from the inside or something weird like that.  It's pretty amazing what the female body experiences during this whole crazy process!
Food cravings:  Less than a pound of strawberries this week...but I may have made up for it in nectarines which had started making an appearance at the grocery.  I'll apologize to The Pilot now because our budget is about to be slapped around as the local farmers' market opens up soon.  And I swear the nectarine farmer sprinkles crack on his fruit when he sees me coming down the sidewalk.
Gender:  It's a boy!  And after hearing my brother tell me all about my niece's first slumber party for her 9th birthday, I'm thankful.  Wow.  Lots of drama coming from 8- and 9-year old girls!  I doubt we'll experience anything like that with a boy.  But also after taking a look at my 5-year-old nephew's knees, I think we may need to start stock piling band-aids and beef up our first aid kit!  He's rough and tumble for sure!
Looking forward to:  We have another ultrasound coming up soon so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.  Hopefully he's still a he!   I also get to see some of my closest friends and family this weekend at my first baby shower!
Not looking forward to:  I'm already getting a taste of what is to come in the next 2 months.  Hot.  Uncomfortable.  Less sleep.  None of which are things I am particularly fond of. Luckily it will be temporary.
Milestones: Third trimester!  Holy smokes this is going fast.  Part of me wants time to slow down.  The other, more uncomfortable part of me, is looking forward to the end of pregnancy and the beginning of parenthood (you know, an entirely different kind of uncomfortable).