Twenty-nine Weeks

Third trimester and still going strong!  Despite the basketball under my shirt, I have been feeling really good.  I still have the energy to pull normal work hours and attend my normal yoga class with only slight variations (I tried the prenatal class, but it was so laid back I didn't even breathe hard- not really what I'd call exercise).  Also, thankfully, I'm also having very few, mild pregnancy symptoms (and none of the horrible ones you read about in the books).    I'm having regular Braxton Hicks contractions,  some mild food cravings, and a little more difficulty getting up and down off the floor- but I'd expected worse.   Best of all, my chocolate aversion from first trimester is gone!  Case and point- Aaron's co-workers threw him a mini-shower and let him bring me home the extra cake, which I managed to eat over a single weekend (Aaron gleefully calculated that this now makes Baby 1/6 cake on a weight basis).   Cake notwithstanding, baby seems to overall like our normal diet of primarily vegetarian protein, leafy greens, and lots of fruit.  

The doctors have been pleased with all of my bloodwork (no anemia, diabetes, or other bad things that can happen to you when pregnant), blood pressure readings (still nice and normal) and weight gain at this point (for those who are curious, the scale is up a total of 20 pounds).    We get to do an ultrasound in 2 weeks to measure Baby's growth, and at that time she herself should be close to a whopping 3 pounds!

Baby is now very active and getting stronger by the day- she hit me in the diaphragm last night with enough force to make me wince.  I didn't think she could even reach that far yet- one of many surprises I'm sure she has in store for us.  Over the last month we had developed a nightly ritual at 10PM where I try to sleep, and she starts to party.  If I lay back, we can watch the undulations of my abdomen as she thrashes around- kind of creepy in an Alien way, but also pretty cool.  (The resulting sleep depravation is why this post reads like a slightly crazy person, though.)  Day by day we are starting to realize that we are actually having a baby.   As such, Aaron and I spent Memorial Day finishing the last of the big items in Baby's room.  There are still plenty of little things to purchase and set up, but the room now looks like a nursery!  I hope everyone enjoys the photos.