2nd baby shower and 31 weeks (5.21.12)

The week I got back from Virginia, I went to dinner with a friend one night (Mexican...mmmm) and subbed my last day for this school year. To close out the week, I also had my second baby shower!! It was a lot of fun, and Millie scored some sweet gifts :) Here are a few photos from the shower:

 

 The wonderful hostesses. Thanks, yall!!

And the 31-week bump:

30 week bump! 5.14.12

Catching up... 29 weeks (week of 5.7.12)

Well, it's been a few weeks! After getting back from Virginia, I tried working on a post, but the desktop is torturously slow, and the laptop hasn't been working since December...turns out it has a bad drive. School's out though, and the dorm is deserted, so I'm currently typing on the computer in the common area.

My trip to Virginia was great! The drive wasn't even as bad as I anticipated. Bolthouse Farm smoothies, heated seats, and good music is all it takes I guess :)  The beginning and end of my week in Virginia were the most fun, starting with lunch with friends, a fantastic baby shower, and a trip to my sister Katiebug's new apartment in Charlotte to get her things moved in, and ending in Katie's college graduation! Throughout the rest of the week, I still got to see my mom, sisters, nephews and brother-in-law plenty, eat lots of good food (I was on a chips and salsa/Mexican kick that week), and see baby Mills on ultrasound. I also did some sewing, making some diaper cloth inserts for some of the sweet, little gDiapers Mills got from my mom and sister, Boo. I slept terribly, though, while I was in Virginia, so I looked forward to getting back to Greg, Bailey, and my own bed in Tennessee.

I never got an official 29 week photo, but my mom took countless pictures throughout the week. Here are some of them (with and without my belly)!

Belly button entertainment!

 Fam at the baby shower (Boo, Henry, Luke, Mom, Lilly, me, Katie, and Ashley)

 Some friends at the baby shower

 Luke and Lilly

 Me at 29w5d

 

Millie at 29w5d (We could see her chest rise and fall as she practiced breathing! She also did some sneaky ninja moves, kicked her foot up by her face, and sucked at her fingers and lips...so cute!)

 

Katie, the college grad!

28 weeks- diabetes appointment!

The morning of my glucose test, I had eggs for breakfast, trying to avoid sugars/carbs that could possibly mess with my test results. I got to my appointment, had my blood pressure (still good and low) and weight (up another 8 lbs for a grand total of 23 thus far!) checked, then drank the sugary drink. A nice little surprise (ha) was that I could choose between orange or fruit punch! I opted for fruit punch and drank it down pretty quickly (not that it was super tasty; I was just thirsty), then headed in to my little room so the midwife could measure my belly and listen to Mills' heartbeat. The night before, Greg had put his head on my belly and heard Millie's heart beating to the right of my belly button, in the exact same spot the midwife found it at my appointment. I guess the girl has her favorite snuggle spot :)

During my hour-long wait, I got extreeeeemely sleepy and was yawning non-stop. Finally, they called me back to take my blood, and I sat in the chair. I always request to lie down in case I feel woozy, but, for a minute, I considered giving sitting a chance. The other times I've had to had blood drawn (which I think is only twice ever), I was lying down and everything turned out fine, so I thought maybe I could just handle sitting up.Being so tired though, I was resting my head against the wall, and the nurse asked if I was alright and if I wanted to lie down. Good thing I took her up on it because I started feeling sick while she took my blood, and after she'd finished, I got really dizzy and the color drained from my sweat-beaded face. After approximately five miserable minutes and a juice box, the dizziness passed, but I still felt off the rest of the day.

The midwife thought that rather than my levels shooting through the roof, they bottomed out after the test, but I figured my body reacted the way it did just because I really hate needles, veins and blood.Who knows. I did call and get my results today, and I passed! Yay. The nurse told me the acceptable range was 65 to 135, and my score was 65. I guess being on the very low end may have contributed to my dizzy spell after all.

Before heading back to the Buckle, I ran some errands in Nashville including stopping at Babies R Us and ordering a few gDiapers (with money I got from re-selling-- and profiting-- on some cloth diapers I had purchased when I was just 6 weeks pregnant!) and getting a cute, comfy maternity dress from Target.

I'll be Virginia-bound on Friday! So, my next photo will include a change of scenery, but here is this week's photo, taken today at 28 weeks and 1 day:

12 more weeks to go!

Third trimester! The countdown begins...

I can't believe we're already two-thirds the way through Mills' incubation!...until I feel her moving around. Sheesh, this girl is getting bulky and hulky! She likes to stretch out across my stomach, head banging on one side and thrashing her legs on the other, all the while managing to punch me in the belly button. Really, she has made it pop out from moving before! It doesn't take much these days though, and usually, it sticks out a bit on its own. Soon, it'll be a full-fledged outtie without me having to do any work to pull it out (which I actually used to be able to do anyway-- belly buttons are weird).

Here is the 26 week photo taken April 16:

 And the week 27 photo that I just took:

~13 weeks to go!

In addition to next week's photo, I'm hoping to be able to say I passed my glucose test and haven't gained another 15 lbs just yet... :)

On another note, I had a great birthday! We celebrated by going to Chattanooga Saturday for lunch and an aquarium visit, not to mention a visit with Greg's mom! Then yesterday, I got to attend a baby shower for a friend at Webb who is having a little girl in June. So fun to see all the cute baby stuff! I'm looking forward to heading to Virginia late next week for a baby shower there with a few friends and family members! And I get to stay the whole week since my little sister will be graduating from college the following weekend (woopwoop!). Should be fun!

Pop! goes the belly

Here is the photo I took yesterday at 25 weeks:

It's hard to say whether I'm using the same ab control from week to week, but this week's bump looks much more defined than last week's. I guess from here on out, as Mills grows more quickly (she should already be about two pounds right now!!), so will my belly. After such slow visible progress during the first few months, this is incredible to experience!

I've been dying to start decorating a nursery, but we aren't sure that we will still be in our apartment come July, so even painting could be a waste of time. It's really frustrating because I want to go ahead and get the rest of the furniture and decorate, but I know I shouldn't, not only for the reason just explained, but also because we have no space to store furniture right now. If we do end up still in our current location, we will have to do some purging of items or at least a major reorganization and put things in storage somewhere. As of now, we have no space for a baby! This alone is enough to make me anxious...

I've tried to distract myself from the furniture and decoration issue, but it's pretty tough. I find myself scouring craigslist for cute or fixer-up dressers almost daily! However, I've also spent time sorting through and (I hope) finishing up the baby registries, baking, doing art projects to hang on Mills' walls, continuing making cloth baby wipes, and making homemade, liquid laundry detergent! I'll have to post photos of some of these activities/creations in the near future :)

A real bump!

Well, Millie, you're definitely growing, and there's no denying you're in there. I've been able to feel you and even see you move for several weeks now, but I think you've recently taken up dancing and kickboxing as hobbies. It makes me smile and laugh to watch my belly move when you do. Your daddy's commented how I always have my shirt pulled up so I can see you wiggling in there, and he thinks I'll miss having a pregnant belly when you're born. He likes to see you move, too, and sometimes he'll tell you, "Hey, cut it out in there!" He doesn't want you getting too wild ;).

 We held some classical music to my belly so you could hear yesterday, and you kicked it! We weren't sure if you were trying to kick it away or if you really liked it, so we kept playing it, and you kept kicking (or maybe you were head banging to Beethoven- who knows). Regardless, you heard it and responded, and eventually you did settle down a bit.You also like to kick when my meals make it down to you and you get a little taste of life on the outside! I think you like fruit and ice cream the best, but macaroni salad and cereal are high on your list, too. I hope you end up liking the same foods I do because your daddy doesn't, so he's not always a lot of fun to cook for. You'll be my baking buddy, though; I know it :)


Here is what you looked like from the outside last week (23 weeks, 3 days):

 And today (24 weeks):

This finally looks like a baby bump to me!