Crunch Time. 30 weeks 4 days

I'm really bad at updating this blog thing. Not much has been going on lately I guess, at least nothing too exciting. Jimmy and I have completed five weeks of Bradley childbirth classes so we're almost halfway done and we've already learned so much. Going to the classes and practicing the relaxation methods and doing the daily exercises has significantly boosted my confidence about going into labor. However I still get pretty nervous if I start to think about actually pushing a baby out of my body. Even though I feel like I will be very prepared to go into labor and I'm reading and learning a lot, there are still a lot of unknowns. How will contractions really feel? How will I react to the pain? Will I be able to have a sense of humor about it and try to enjoy labor and delivery (this is what I'm aiming for but L&D can make a bitch crazy!). What if something goes wrong? Will I have the focus and patience to weigh all the options if I have to make a quick decision during all the pain? Of course Jimmy will be with me the whole time as my "coach" and he's learning all the same things I am so we can both make educated decisions throughout the process. I'm not spending too much time worrying about all this, but it does pop into my mind a few times a week. This labor thing will be no walk in the park, but I'm going to try to make the most of it with a positive, relaxed attitude.

I'm now in that stage of pregnancy where I have to go to the doctor every two weeks. Two weeks ago, on my birthday, I had an appointment which included an ultrasound. My doctor wanted to check out what she called "veinous lakes" on the placenta - I guess sometimes there can be too many of these, and my previous ultrasound had indicated this might be the case. Well it turns out everything looked fine, and we got to see Zoey for a few minutes after the ultrasound tech checked out the placenta. We got some really good pictures of her profile and face. She was again being modest, keeping her little legs crossed, so the tech couldn't confirm that she is in fact a girl. She said she could kind of see the three lines that indicate "female" so that was good enough for us. Zoey weighed about 2 pounds 11 ounces at 28 weeks, which my doctor said put her in the 32nd percentile for her size. If she stays on this pace then she'll be on the small side at birth, which is good news for me. I also had to do the glucose test to find out if I had developed gestational diabetes. This only affects about 4% of pregnant women so I wasn't too worried about it. They make you drink this very sweet, syrupy orange bevearge, then you have to wait an hour and have blood drawn. I chugged the stuff like a champ and then felt like I was going to fall asleep or pass out or hurl for the next hour. I thought for sure this was a bad sign. Turns out everything is fine! No diabetes for me. And thank goodness, I don't think I could give up cookies for the next 9 weeks.

I finally look undisputably pregnant. Well, at least I think so. Any time someone asks me how far along I am I get really baffled looks. I say "30 weeks," and then they stare off for a minute while they do the math (yes, that is seven and a half months, technically), then they stare at my belly for an uncomfortably long amount of time, and then I feel awkward because people are staring at me, and then they say, "Wow! Where is the baby?" This is good and bad. Good: I am not a big fat pregnant whale. Bad: I must just look fat to most people, and, considering I don't suck in or wear clothes that would hide my belly, those people must think I just like to let it all hang out. I mean they're just people, who obviously don't know me well, but I still don't like the stares.

My energy has been really good lately. I've been going on a lot of walks after work since the weather has been amazing. I still get tired early in the evening but other than that I've been feeling really well and as "normal" as can be expected. I haven't had any swelling, no jowls yet, just a belly that grows a little rounder every day!

What else has been going on..... did I mention I'm having a baby in or around nine weeks from now? So much to do, so little time.

• How far along?: 30 weeks
  
• Weight gain: 10 pounds (net)
  
• Maternity clothes: All the way. My regular shirts are too short to cover my belly, for the most part. Even some of my maternity pants that have the partial stretch band are getting to be uncomfortable, and I'm only going to get bigger!
  
• Sleep: My hips hurt throughout the night and for a good part of the morning. I've started wedging pillows around me to cushion my sides and belly, which makes turning over tricky. I get up once or twice a night to go to the bathroom now.
  
• Stretch marks: Nope! Thank you Burt's Bees Belly Balm. Woohoo!
  
• Movement: Zoey is doing acrobatics in there all the time. I think I felt her hiccuping the other day.
  
• Gender: Girl!!!
  
• Best moment of this week: The whole week has been pretty good - I've had a productive week at work and the weather has been lovely!
  
• Food cravings: Cookies, milk, anything sweet, and carbs (I can eat pasta every day). I'm back to hating chicken again.
  
• Belly button in or out: Still in! Told you so, Jimmy :)
  
• What I miss most: Booze. I could really go for a nice wheat beer on the patio after work.
  
• What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower next weekend!
  
• Milestones: Zoey's brain is getting wrinkly and is growing rapidly.