33 Week Survey

How far along? 33 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: +1.5 lbs. 32.5 lbs. total
How big is baby? Supposed to be about 4 lbs, and 17 inches long.
Maternity clothes? Mostly. They are SO much more comfy.
Sleep: Pretty good, but my hips hurt and wake up to use the bathroom a couple times, you know, the usual. Still waking up on my back a lot...
Best moment this week: Having my shower with my side of the family. Still have to do a post about that, I am REALLY behind right now.
Movement: All the time. Still thinking he is head down since I feel his hiccups by my pelvis. Stay that way pleassssssse baby! :)
Food cravings: Juice, fresh fruit, especially grapes, ice cream. Nothing too new here!
Gender: Little man
Labor Signs: Not sure, possibly having some braxton hicks, but not sure.
Belly Button in or out? Getting less flat...
Stretchmarks? Just like a tiny one on my boob. None at all my stomach! I am using Organic Palmer's Cocoa Butter cream in the morning and this "Beautiful Belly Balm" at night that I got at our local health food store.
How are you feeling? Excited for the next couple of weekends.
What I am looking forward to: Jesse and Marideth's wedding!
What I miss: Not being able to sleep on my back and stomach. Not being swollen, and my hand feeling normal.
Weekly Wisdom: Drink tons of water!
Milestones: I think I might have had some braxton hicks.

Yes I know, I look obnoxiously tan. I had just had a spray tan for the wedding!


Notice how my belly is noticeably whiter....I didn't let her spray my stomach.

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

I won!!!

I can't believe it but I finally won a giveaway! I have been entering them like crazy lately hoping to win a free cloth diaper. I ended up being chosen over at Jessica's Blog--The Southern Belle Baby. The cloth diaper is by Real Nappies, which is a New Zealand based company. I cannot wait to try it out!!

32 Week Survey

How far along? 32 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: +0.5 lbs. 31 lbs. total
How big is baby? Supposed to be about 3.75 lbs, and 16.7 inches long.
Maternity clothes? Mostly. They are SO much more comfy.
Sleep: It is Ok I guess! I wake up a lot, to readjust and use the bathroom at least once or twice.
Best moment this week: Having my shower with the Ostrander side on Saturday!
Movement: All the time. Still thinking he is head down since I feel his hiccups by my pelvis. Stay that way pleassssssse baby! :)
Food cravings: Juice, fresh fruit, especially grapes, ice cream. Nothing too new here!
Gender: Little man
Labor Signs: Haven't felt a single contraction. I get some random "period-like" cramps here and there but I just drink a lot of water and they go away pretty much immediately.
Belly Button in or out? flat
Stretchmarks? Just like a tiny one on my boob. None at all my stomach! I am using Organic Palmer's Cocoa Butter cream in the morning and this "Beautiful Belly Balm" at night that I got at our local health food store.
How are you feeling? Sore here and there and tired. Excited. Nervous.
What I am looking forward to: My shower tomorrow back home!! Can't wait to see everyone.
What I miss: Not being able to sleep on my back and stomach. Not being swollen, and my hand feeling normal.
Weekly Wisdom: Drink tons of water!
Milestones: My feet are officially swelling and here is the proof. It started about two or three days ago and now it won't go away...especially the left foot. It hates me, haha.


My feet look really funny too from the tan lines from my Reefs. Love it. We had an appt. last night with our Doula Andrea, and she rubbed them for me for a long time, it was AWESOME and totally helped the swelling go down too. Chris was like yeah....she rubs them way better than I can, haha. We had a great meeting. We got to know each other some more, and went over our Birth Wish, and talked about some things that may or may not happen in the hospital. We meet again in a month to finish getting ready for the delivery!

Another thing that has happened is something is up with my right arm/hand....basically it keeps getting all tingly and going numb. I wake up in the middle of the night with a bad cramp in my hand where I can barely move it, and it takes until like 10 am for it to go away. Last night I really focused on making sure my hand lay flat the entire night, every time I woke up. It seemed to help A LOT and I never got any cramping, but it was still numb. From what I have read and talked to my chiropractor about, it sounds like I either have pregnancy carpel tunnel (very common) or the baby is sitting on a nerve somewhere and that is just how it is affecting me. Very interesting I think! Looking forward to it going away though, because it feels weird, and it hurts.

And here I am with Niles, who has to jump into the picture every time I swear!! He is funny, and don't mind the silly face. Not sure what was going on there....oh well!


Holy baby belly batman.....

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Ostrander Shower

Saturday morning I had my shower with Chris's dad's side of the family. It was very nice! The food was wraps and salad from the Traverse City Pie Co. (YUMMM!) and then little cheesecakes and cake for dessert, with punch.







We played two different games. One was where the ladies had to rip off toilet paper and guess how big around I was. For the other game, there were several items in a bag (that I got to keep, woo hoo!) and people had to guess how much money each item cost, and whoever was closest to the overall total won the prize. It sort of reminded us all of a "Price is Right" game!

Erica showing everyone some hangers


Erica's son Camden-he was born in February and is getting SO big!


I got some really great gifts and here are just a couple pictures from opening presents...I was pretty excited about the Bumbo and the BumGenius diapers!






Also, I do not have a picture because I just got it in the mail yesterday, but Chris's sister was VERY generous and bought me my Medela pump for my present. I was sooo happy and very shocked!!! That was going to be a huge expense, so we are very grateful and thankful.

31 Week Survey

How far along? 31 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: 1.5 lbs. 30.5 lbs. total
How big is baby? Supposed to be around the size of a squash: about 3.3 lbs, and 16 inches long.
When I had my appt. on Monday my fundal height was measuring one week ahead. Doesn't surprise me, everyone keeps telling me I look huge.
Maternity clothes? Mostly. They are SO much more comfy.
Sleep: Haven't slept much this week. Even though I am exhausted I don't fall asleep until late.
Best moment this week: Getting a lot of things accomplished and having a plan for the nursery. The windows will be replaced in about 3 weeks.
Movement: All the time. I guess he is head down so most of what I am feeling is his feet moving around up by my ribs.
Food cravings: Juice, fresh fruit, especially grapes, ice cream.
Gender: Little man
Labor Signs: Haven't felt a single contraction. I get some random "period-like" cramps here and there but I just drink a lot of water and they go away pretty much immediately.
Belly Button in or out? flat
Stretchmarks? Just like a tiny one on my boob. None at all my stomach! I am using Organic Palmer's Cocoa Butter cream in the morning and this "Beautiful Belly Balm" at night that I got at our local health food store.
How are you feeling? Sore here and there, tired. Overall good though. I have been getting more emotional lately, but it doesn't help that I have been stressed out.
What I am looking forward to: I have a shower tomorrow morning with Chris's dad's side of the family!
What I miss: Not being able to sleep on my back and stomach.
Weekly Wisdom: Just go to bed earlier.....
Milestones: Well I had my first big meltdown two nights ago regarding going back to work, daycare, and how we cannot really afford it, etc. I hate it. And pretty much cannot think about things just yet. Hopefully something works out.
Also I guess I am making colostrum now, but nothing leaking yet! There are moments throughout the day where I am like WOW when did I wake up with these.....!?

31 Weeks!! I feel like I look "tired."


All up front....

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

And just for fun, a cute picture of the doggies. They wanted their picture taken too!

30 Week Survey

How far along? 30 Weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: 0.5 lbs. 29 lbs. total
How big is baby? Supposed to be around the size of a head of cabbage: about 3 lbs, and 15.7 inches long.
Maternity clothes? Mostly. They are SO much more comfy.
Sleep: It actually hasn't been too bad this week, and I typically only wake up once to use the bathroom, but that is only if I make sure that I get up one last time before I actually fall asleep. Still waking up on my back occasionally.
Best moment this week: Nataleigh's party this past weekend, getting to see everyone, and finally getting my hair done last night!
Movement: All the time. He has really been kicking me in the bladder on and off and man does it ever hurt!!
Food cravings: I have been enjoying chocolate this week more than usual...
Gender: Little man
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? I would say it is pretty flat at this point, but not poking out yet.
Stretchmarks? Just like a tiny one on my boob. None at all my stomach! I am using Organic Palmer's Cocoa Butter cream in the morning and this "Beautiful Belly Balm" at night that I got at our local health food store.
How are you feeling? I have felt pretty tired lately, all throughout the day.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing family tonight. Getting some stuff done this weekend.
What I miss: Not being able to sleep on my back and stomach.
Weekly Wisdom: Stay active.
Milestones: Reaching the 3/4 point in this pregnancy. OH. my. goodness. And the fact that he could really be here in like 6 weeks (hopefully not but you never know) is pretty crazy. I just do not even feel remotely ready yet!!

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

I feel like there was a definite growth spurt since last week.


And now for a fun comparison:

10 weeks


20 Weeks


30 Weeks


I am also thankful for everyone's comments to me lately. I have been getting a lot of "awww you look great", and "you are ALL belly". I'm like woo hooo, let's keep it that way!! :)
10 more weeks to go!!!

Work Baby Shower

My blog has seriously been on the back burner lately! I can only imagine it will get way worse once the babe comes. But between work and projects at home....well...I seriously forgot all about this post!

These pictures are from my baby shower at work last week that I also had with my good friend Kerri, who is 6 weeks ahead of me.

Kerri and I getting some food! We had it potluck style, which I love because there is such a variety of food to choose from. It's fun to try a little of everything.


All of the presents...our coworkers are SO generous. Some bought there own presents and everyone else went in on big group gifts for us, which was awesome.


Time to eat! The decorations were really cute too.


I LOVE this little lion outfit. It is actually the 2nd one we have received, but it was a different size so I was excited about that. The other onesie says "This is what handsome looks like." and then the pants have a lion on the butt, they are sooo cute!


Also got Chris's bag from another coworker. It is a Columbia bag, I like it a lot!


The big group gift consisted of some smaller items which included a lot of our "car stuff" like the window shades and this cool mirror thing that goes in the back.


And then this was the BIG item. I was soooo happy to receive our travel system. I started crying a little when I opened it. Like I said...SO generous!


And one last pic of Kerri and I. Me-29 weeks and Kerri-35 weeks. Such a fun shower, we could not ask for a nicer group of people to work with! We are so lucky and blessed.