Weeks 28 & 29

My heart already overflows with love, yet I've only gotten to hold you in my womb. Im torn between wanting to keep you cocooned and protected from the world forever and anticipation of your arrival, cuddles and discovery of life.

Baby is the size of a Butternut Squash

At 29 weeks pregnant, your baby weighs two-and-a-half to three pounds now and measures 15-and-a-half to 16 inches long. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. As more fat is deposited under the skin surface, her wrinkled skin is smoothing out. This white fat, as it's called, is different from the earlier brown fat your developing fetus accumulated. Brown fat is necessary for body temperature regulation, while white fat (the same kind you have, Mom) actually serves as an energy source.

Everything is running smoothly here at baby central. I feel so lucky and fortunate to be having such a "easy" pregnancy. While the first trimester was a little rough at times with fatigue, nausea and food aversions, the second has been a joy. And baby, are we packing in some fun things here or what!

Week 28 started with a very special visitor, my friend Kelsey came to visit for the weekend! Kelsey and I met on the bus stop the first day of 7th grade and were pretty much inseparable for the rest of junior high and high school. We did go to different colleges and now live about 5 hours apart, but every time we get together is like reuniting with family. I wanted to make sure that Kelsey enjoyed her time here in north Idaho in order to increase my chances of getting her to make the drive over more often; so I packed our weekend with some of my favorite activities! Hiking Canfield Mountain, dinner at Syringa, paddle boarding on Hayden Lake, a summer concert at arbor crest winery, and lazy mornings drinking coffee on lounge chairs in the back yard. While I can't speak for Kelsey, I had a terrific weekend!

The following weekend, Thor and I took a quick trip to Seattle to celebrate his friends 40th birthday. Thor recently transitioned to a different advisory firm and has been working really long hours to make his transition complete and successful. It was such a necessary treat to get him out of town for just a day and see him laughing and relaxing with friends from childhood. Even though car travel is not very comfortable for me right now, trips with Thor are one of my ultimate favorite things to do. The two of us can spend hours in the car having the most wonderful conversations that otherwise might not get the chance to happen. I sure hope baby girl enjoys road trips!

Other that those two fun events, I have nothing too special to report. I continue to try and shop for items for baby girl and am currently in the process of planning and preparing for the baby shower. 

Baby Movement: I am FINALLY starting to feel her all throughout the day and I LOVE her wiggles. I try to make a very conscious effort to stop whatever else Im doing and just be in the moment with her an her movements.

Food: Not much change here, still loving salads, fruits, sandwiches, potato chips and sweet treats.... 

Sleep: Getting slightly less consistent but really not too bad. I am very very lucky to have the ability to take naps on days when I did not sleep well the night before. 

Exercise: Starting to feel that baby weight a bit but I am still teaching Zumba and RIP, hiking 7+ miles, gardening, and paddle boarding. 

Mood: Generally complete bliss with moments of anxiety and worry. My biggest concern has been the actual delivery process. I know that a lot of it will be out of my control and I need to just trust that and trust in the experience and knowledge of the hospital staff.

Baby Daddy: Loves feeling the belly and talking to baby girl. Was trying to loudly kiss my belly the other night so that baby girl would be able to hear the kisses!