Week 33 - Tea Party Baby Shower!

Baby is the size of a Pineapple!

This week your baby may be anywhere between 16 and 17 or more inches in length and could grow up to another full inch this week — especially if she has been on the shorter side. She weighs more than four-and-a-quarter pounds and is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week — weight gain can range from a third more to a full doubling before the big debut). With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic fluid level has maxed out at 33 weeks pregnant, making it likely you have more baby than fluid now. That's one reason why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days.

Baby Differentiates Day From Night. If your uterus had eyes, here's what you'd see: your fetus acting more and more like a baby, with his eyes closing during sleep and opening while awake. And because those uterine walls are becoming thinner, more light penetrates the womb, helping your baby differentiate between day and night (now if only baby can remember that difference on the outside!).

Fetal Immune System Is Developing. Good news! Your baby has reached an important milestone about now: She's got her own immune system. Antibodies are being passed from you to your little one as she continues to develop her fetal immune system, which will come in handy once she's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.

This past Saturday was love bug's baby shower and it was wonderful! I was so overwhelmed with the love showered on us from friends who worked hard to help host the shower, to the people who took time out of a HOT Saturday afternoon to celebrate with us. One of the Grandma's to be, Thor's mom, flew into Spokane the Day before to attend the shower and it was very special to have her there!

The shower had a "English Tea Party" theme and I really wanted to keep it feeling a little more grown up. We held the shower in my back yard and with the tables, tea sets and decor all laid out it looked really wonderful! Guests were encouraged to wear a hat or fascinator for the event and most took to the idea enthusiastically! I also requested that in lieu of cards or gifts, guests bring a favorite childhood book for baby girl. I LOVE that I made this decision as her book collection is already quite impressive and I loved seeing who selected each book. Ill admit that since the shower I have been reading a lot of children books during quiet moments and I am getting really very excited to curl up in a chair with love bug and read. Many guests ignored the "in lieu of" part of the request and also brought gifts for baby girl- it seems most people LOVE shopping for baby girl clothes-and who can blame them!!! hehe. Grandma Anderson has joked that I never have to do laundry!

The menu for the baby shower was all vegan and included: Cheeze and Cucumber Sandwiches, Chick Pea Salad Sandwiches, Black Currant and Cream Cheeze Sandwiches, Kale Salad, Pasta Salad, Fruit Salad, Salt & Vinegar Crisps, and a teapot cake and cupcakes! Beverages included hot English Tea (which despite the heat was still very popular), Iced Tea, lemonade and strawberry lemonade and Blush wine (very popular item...). It was a beautiful spread lovingly prepared by team-work of the hosts and well received by guests.

The shower also featured a headband making station where guests could design and create headbands for Baby Girl to wear throughout her first year. It was fun to watch the creative juices flow and I love now having such a special collection of head bands ready to go! Some guests REALLY enjoyed this station and created 6+ headbands! Hostess Emma lovingly took the reigns on making the headband station and I am so grateful for the beautiful job she did with it!

One of the guest favorite activities was the photo booth. Hostess Melissa put so much love, attention to detail and thought into this project, I can only hope that she was proud of the outcome and knows that baby girl and I will enjoy looking at the photo booth pictures for years to come. Hostess Stacey had the camera and tripod set up covered and it turned from something that I had no idea how to make happen, into a great guest feature!

I wanted to include a sweet little party favor for guests and found the idea for these candles on Pinterest. I attached some tea to go along with the theme of the shower and I love how they turned out!

Before I get to just sharing all of the photos, I would like to thank my fellow hostesses - Adrienne, Emma, Melissa, Stacey and Ally. They made sure the shower was beautiful and attempted to keep this mama-to-be relaxed throughout the process. These ladies hold a very special place in my heart and I know they will in Baby A's also. 

Weeks 31 & 32

Baby is the size of winter squash

What's up with your baby? She's starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at three-and-a-half to four pounds and topping out at 15 to 17 inches. In these past few weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as she hones the skills she'll need to thrive outside the womb — from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. In anticipation of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, your baby's digestive system is all set and ready to go. And though you're weeks away from D-day, your baby's looking more and more like a newborn: As fat accumulates under her skin, it's no longer transparent and is now opaque.

Childbirth classes, Infant first aid, summer concerts, maternity photos and baby shower preparation... I think that sums up the last two weeks! I do need to keep todays post rather short due to the fact that the baby shower will begin at my house in about 7 hours! I will share pictures and stories on the 33 weeks post - I am SO EXCITED!!

Thor and I did attend our first of two childbirth classes. The take-away- its going to really, really, really hurt but don't tense up or it will hurt more. Right- no problem! In all seriousness, for some unknown reason, I do not have a lot of fear or anxiety about labour at this point- I figure that it can't last forever and I have no choice that the process has to happen at some point, so why worry about it... I'm sure Ill change my tune in about 7 weeks and all bravery will be out the window! 

It was fun to watch Thor soak in all the information from not only the childbirth class but also the infant first aid and CPR class we took. He always has such insightful comments and questions after each class and after 10 years I still love to see how is brain works and processes. I am so excited to see him interact with our daughter in less than two months - he is going to be such a caring, thoughtful and attentive dad!

I did have a doc appointment during week 31. Everything was measuring well including my belly size, weight (up 21lbs!), blood pressure and so forth. The only slight concern is that baby girl is still breach (head up) in her womb room. While there is still time for her to go head down, I just have this feeling in my gut (pun not intended), that she is pretty darn cozy and not planning on flipping around any time soon. They scheduled a growth ultrasound for 34 weeks to check on her measurements, position and if it looks like she might consider turning for us. To be honest, I have a lot more anxiety about a possible c-section than I do a natural labor- even though I know it is incredibly safe and performed routinely. A C is just not what I had envisioned and if we go that route I will definitely need some mental readjustments! Thor has been a great support and I know that in the end, our family story will be my favorite story.

Thor and I were so excited that Rosalie Black, our awesome wedding photographer, offered to do some maternity photos for us. I am not sure that I would have scheduled them otherwise, we have had a lot of photos take in the past 18 months, but I am really glad we did. We have just received some sneak peak shots from Rosalie and they are amazing- I am looking forward to seeing the rest!

Time to shower and start the baby celebration day! Get your hats and fascinators on ladies!

Week 30

Baby is the size of a cabbage!

Your baby's length is about 16 inches—about as long as a laptop computer—and she measures almost 11 inches from crown to rump. She weighs approximately 2 1/2 to 3 pounds.

From now until delivery, every baby will gain weight at a more individual rate. Your baby has doubled in height over the past six weeks, and from now until delivery, she'll gain only a few more inches in length. Don't worry if she's in a strange position (what your care provider might call a "transverse lie"). There's still plenty of time for her to get settled into the head-down (cephalic) position for birth.

She's floating in about 1 1/2 pints of amniotic fluid and has some room to move. Your baby's most important organ, her brain, continues to develop at a rapid pace. Her eyes are able to track light, and some researchers have theorized that exposing your belly to light may stimulate development. Try moving the beam of a flashlight slowly over your belly in a dim room, and see if she reacts.

This week baby girl and I tried tennis. Tried being the operative word. Thor is fairly excited though - he thinks that tennis scholarships could be in Sweet Pea's future. Of course, he has said the same of soccer and gymnastics. We can take a pretty good guess that she will be compact and strong but hopefully she doesn't take too many clumsy genes from me or it could be a uphill battle :).

My pregnancy hardship this week came in the form of the "Glucose Challenge Test". For those unfamiliar, the glucose challenge test is a screening for gestational diabetes. The mother has to consume a beverage containing 50

g of glucose and have her blood drawn and tested for glucose levels after one hour. Anything under 140 (don't ask me what that number represents) passes the screening and anything above needs a 2nd  3-hour screening to diagnose gestational diabetes. 

The glucose drink was disgusting. Imagine drinking jello liquid concentrate and you will have a fairly good idea. I was worried I wasn't going to keep the drink down but I got past that and ended up feeling OK, I drove to the lab to get my blood drawn. I have never been one who enjoyed having my blood drawn. In most cases I wind up feeling like the walls are closing in on me and everything gets dark. I have to lie down for 5-10 minutes and then can usually regain normal human function. Unfortunately, this screening was not the exception. I did make it out of the lab before I starting to feel faint, but then had to lie down on some chairs in the middle of the medical building. Im sure an 8 month pregnant lady lying across three chairs in a hallway was a sight to see. After lying for about 10 - 15 minutes I realized I might vomit soon. Now I was in a predicament, if I stood and tried to walk to find the bathrooms I would get more dizzy and potentially pass out. If I stayed on the bench I might start vomiting in the middle of a hallway. I chose to take my chances with walking and was able to hobble my way (walking while trying to keep head at heart level) to a bathroom that was mercifully close. I was sick but am happy to say that I felt much better afterwards and was even able to then drive home! Apparently my body just needed to get that glucose drink out of it! There it is folks, the glamour and sexiness of pregnancy! I felt fatigued and drained for the rest of the day and the following day, and was quite anxious that it might mean I had failed the glucose challenge. My friend who is a nurse (friends in high places folks) was able to look up my results in the hospital system and let me know early that I had passed with a 100! Woo hoo! Hopefully no more blood tests till D-day!

In less disgusting news, the Baby Shower count-down is on and I am so excited about the plans being made. It is shaping up to be a beautiful celebration of a young lady who is already so very very loved!!

Playing tennis while carrying two babies should be a new Olympics game.