31ish weeks pregnant - 8 months and counting!

Third trimester keeps on chugging along! We are at almost 31 weeks (30 weeks 5 days today) which most people equate to 8 months pregnant. In my mind that means I should only have 4 more weeks, but this gestation game is pretty tricky. Women are technically pregnant for 10 months/40 weeks .... 36 weeks = 9 months, when baby is "full term", however those last few weeks really matter for brain development. So we have anywhere from 6-9 weeks left! 


I see a ton of posts on babycenter about girls "hoping" their May babies are April babies and I can't imagine (okay, other than sheer excitement and being over feeling like a bloated waddling cowbeast) why anyone would want to have their babies come early. Last I checked the NICU is terrifying and expensive and full of beeps and blurps and your precious baby being confined to a plastic case. Yes, of course babies are born healthy at 36 weeks and way earlier...but if your body can hold the little guy in for those few weeks, why bitch about it? Barring medical complications to mother or infant it just really rubs me the wrong way. Okay, and I will now get off my paraben-free hypoallergenic soapbox. 

8 months pregnant belly full o' fetus. Can you tell which side he hangs out on? Hint: it's the right (picture reversed)

This past week has been awesome, weather-wise and hanging out with friends-wise, and counting down til showers-wise. We celebrated Glenn's birthday by having some awesome G&M crabcakes (a Maryland classic and favorite). I may have hit a hormonal streak at dinner because something was said earlier in the day that offended me and I couldn't get over it until I shed a little tear or 2 over my side salad while the waiter awkwardly kept stopping by to refill our waters. Yes, I had to release some tears, even though I wasn't really even that upset...but 2 minutes later I felt perfectly fine. THANKS HORMONES! Always keeping things interesting, especially in public 


Saturday was Saint Patrick's Day/football - so we enjoyed being out in the crazy 74 degree weather (IN MARCH IKNOWRITE) eating cupcakes made by our pal, and imbibing on some good beverages. Well I had some St Pauly girl, but Glenn enjoyed some shots. 

somebody got a boo boo that day

melty, cakey deliciousness. Thanks, Kara!

And Tanner made some pretty noxious jello shots!

and I wore a maxi dress because that is all I ever do anymore. 

March 15th isn't just Glenn's birthday, but my pal Alexis' too  -- we spent some quality time brunching at the National Harbor and enjoyed chitty chatting about life. 

Pretty Lex

There is also a PEEPS STORE at the National Harbor that sells all things PEEPS including this $150 lil guy

This week the good weather and fortune have continued -- I caught up with one Mr. BY and noshed on pho and delicious fro yo. He was really sweet to have "come my way" which means alot when the majority of my social life involves driving to the city and having to try to find parking, and driving another 25 minutes back in rush hour traffic...while having to pee. Friends that have come over/gotten away from the city/met me in the burbs, I salute you! 

He is really, really excellent at picking out flavor combinations. One would think he had weird palate preggo cravings. 

This week also means we are SUPER CLOSE to our 1st shower in the great state of Pennsylvania! My amazing hostesses, Val, Erin, and Maria have done a stellar job of organizing this event. It will allow for alot of Glenn's family and some other great friends to help us celebrate and I'm so thankful for them for organizing a shower! I'm looking forward to catching up with them and maybe smooching their babies. Definitely smooching their babies. 

They surprised me with a visit for Lovelaceapalooza!

Celebrating Baby Easton at Val's Shower

Out to dinner, and celebrating Erin's pregnancy (super early on)

They have been great girlfriends (FAB 4 for Life! (HAAAA)) and I've loved watching all of us "grow up" together, albeit separated by miles. They've been a wealth of support for me during this pregnancy and I really just am so excited to celebrate this weekend!

And because I have already written a novel, now onto the requisite weekly update: 

How far along? Pictured above, 30 weeks 5 days -- post Jillian "Shed and Shred" which is my new favorite everything. 

Total weight gain: Drumroll please....27 lbs! Looking back at week 26 we were at around 170-173 lbs...and now at damn near 31 we are at about 177 lbs...so I would say I am holding strong in the "about a pound a week" regime. Still feeling pretty good, no real swelling to note, and I think all the rest of my parts look mostly "normal" compared to this big belly. Knock on wood this continues. I would like to not max out at 40 lbs plus if at all possible, but again I'm still doing 45 minutes of lifting and 40 plus minutes of cardio/walking 2.5 miles a few times a week ... baby is holding onto what baby needs to hold onto I suppose. 

Maternity clothes? Did you hear about these things called maxi dresses? Yeah it's all I'm into these days. They are the rage. Like muumuus for the fashion set. 

Stretch marks? Maybe? None that I can fully tell, but the area where my belly button ring was (Ew, I know....I was 16) is sorta pink and hasn't changed in color. It doesn't "look" like a stretch mark to me, but it is a different color than the linea negra next to it. Stay tuned for future updates on this gross patch of skin. 

Sleep: They say the 3rd trimester can sack you into the sleepzone like the 1st trimester, but I haven't noticed its effects quite yet. I do get tired and don't often feel as excited to work out as I did in the golden ages of the 2nd trimester...but sleep still pretty much stays the same. It is definitely harder to turn over in bed, I do get a bit of the pelvic/hip pain reminiscent of the awful SPD days but hope that it disappears soon. 

Best moment this week: Enjoying Glenn's birthday, the sunshine and good friends! All in all we are riding on a high, counting down these weeks! Also my pops sent us our "travel system" and Glenn had a great time putting it together. It smells so plasticky and new (am I the only one who loves that smell?) and imagining bringing him HOME with us just tickles me to bits. I love the color combo. 

also, people have been telling me it looks like he's "dropped"....your thoughts? 

Graco Snugrides are supposed to be one of the safest..and I really dig the gender neutralness of this whole set. 

Baby goes here:

Improvising with monkey:

THANKS DAD!!!

Miss Anything? A real beer on the first hot day of the year. St. Pauly Girl did the job though. 

Movement: Baby boy is head down and has a pretty active lifestyle these days, still most active at night. I've been drinking my Red Raspberry Leaf tea as much as possible (6 cups a week at last count) and I think he must dig those teeny uterine contractions. Also I think he likes "hip hop" music more than indie stuff...based all on what sort of reactions I get whilst cruising the greater Howard County highways on the way to work. 

Food cravings: Greens and fruits and citrus and smoothies and everyday I have something chocolate. Chocolate is a constant. Orange juice also hits the spot. I found a new smoothie place I have yet to try out and am turbo hype. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Physically, no...emotionally my hormones may make things wonky at times. Glad I'm not completely crazy and this range of emotions is normal. It's nice to seek solace in friends!

Gender: #teamtinypenisinsideme

Labor Signs: Nope, nope, nope, let's keep it that way

Symptoms: Lots of kicking, and I think my equilibrium is becoming more and more "off". It's not something I notice when working out, more like when I fail to throw the recycling in the box that is .2 feet away from me or absentmindedly bang my hand into the wall. 

Belly Button in or out? It has not fully popped but boy oh man does it look weird. I would say by the next few weeks it may be in full outtie status. 

Wedding rings on or off? on. (Someone asked about this - the question is whether or not you have had to take rings off due to swelling yet)

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! Why not be? It's springtime, the season of all things fresh and green and new, and we are just WEEKS, single digit WEEKS from meeting this sweet little baby!

Looking forward to: Pennsylvania, family, friends, fun, and smooching babies! 

Holiday Happenings

Things have been a tad slow up the old blog uptake if you haven't noticed as of late...holidays, and shopping and prep work have been owning alot of my spare time. Also I'm growing a tiny person and that can be tiring. 


We did get the tree up after a few false starts (artificial was broken, truck wasn't cleaned out when we went to look at real trees, then delayed arrival home because of post-rain traffic made us too tired one night) but alas, she is up and she is a beauty!

Can hardly wait for next year when we have a little guy to shop for! Christmas is about the kids, afterall. Speaking of shopping, I've found it hard to not purchase a few items (okay, clothes) especially when they are on sale. We spent Saturday registering at Babys R Us (which was a bit of a melee because of all the holiday shopping) for 2.5 hours. I did good and only bought some Bio Oil , which by the way is amazing for preggos and anyone who likes their skin to feel healthy and refreshed. I went to the hood mall nearby yesterday to get some random things and spent a few bucks at Burlington Coat Factory on some Carters goods. They are my favorite children's brand by far. I was a bit nauseated to see their pricing versus half of the stuff we registered for at Babys R Us. It's sickening how they monopolize in that market. A $400.00 Medela breast pump at BRU is $250.00 at Burlington. Why are the "good" pumps so damn expensive?! It's almost like they want women to force babies into formula. It's a racket I tell ya! Sidenote, it was a true joy to register for breast pads and other leaky boob oriented goods -- like hey guys I'm going to sop up some milk with these pads, thanks in advance. I am awkward like that. 


We also went to our friends annual holiday party and got snazzed up a bit! My pals Sheena and her sister Christina spoiled me and gave me a Kardashian velvet leopard print jazzy number to wear. 

they're always baking me bread and giving me presents

This little number apparently retails for a good buck 50 online, and is not something I would ever purchase for myself, but everyone loved it! It has a nice rich luxurious velveteen finish so people were stroking the leopard spots all night. That sounds sexier than it was. 

loving this snazzy man!

Quick pic with the host!

everyone thought I was 6 months preggo

It was great to see all of our friends in one big group, and since we recently shared the news Baby is a Boy, we got alot of love. It was nice to have such great feedback from friends and know how much everyone cares. We are spoiled already and he isn't even here yet!