Week 33: baby shower and cali trip

A little delayed on posting. Marco and I left Thursday night for California and have been go go go since then. We're having such a great time seeing everyone and catching up. We wish we had more time.

Since Thursday my feet and ankles have been swollen, like the Pillsberry Dough Boy. haha Marco has been so great icing them at nice, rubbing lotion on and massaging them. In the mornings they are definitely better but throughout the day they swell again. Besides that I've been getting more and more uncomfortable. The baby's growth spurt is obvious throughout the last several days and there's been a lot of discomfort, achyness and soreness. She's still moving around a ton, some more painful than others but I'm still so grateful for the experience and trying to make the best of it. With only 6-7 more weeks left time is flying by and we're getting more and more excited to finally meet her and hold her in our arms. :)

The baby shower was so great. We feel so blessed to have so  much love and support in our lives and it's aparant that everyone is just as excited for us and can't wait to meet her too. Below are some pics of the day. We have plenty more coming from professional cameras (hopefully I can put those up next week).

"Up!" Theme

Broncos jersey for Zoe (courtesy of her Mamma) and my Grandma in the back. She's so adorable.

My "Up!" diaper cake which I LOVED (courtesy of one of the hostesses and best friend Tara). Thanks Hunter for the photo bomb. haha

My aunt Ginger, the bump and I. She did all the appetizers for the shower. Thank you so much! They were delicious!

Tara (aka Tay Tay), the bump and I. She did a lot of the organizing and announcing. I appreciate everything you did Tay! :)

My with Tara and Ginger. <3

Today we look forward to our Maternity Photo Shoot with Kelsey Steindler Photography (check her out she's awesome!), tomorrow is dinner with Matt, Megan and Tricia and Friday we'll be at the OC Fair!! :)

How far along: 33 weeks 4 day (Pineapple 19-22 inches, 4.9lbs)

Symptoms: Edema (swelling of feet and ankles). As long as the swelling is even and not in my face then I'm okay. I'm just trying to keep my feet elevated and not on them too much/off them too much. Getting back to being overly tired again. Not sleeping through the night anymore.

Dr says: At 32 week appointment everything was on track and looking good/healthy. Heart beat is 140-150's, nice and strong. Next appointment is at 34 weeks where we discuss our birth plans :)

Aversions: none

Cravings: none really. Still enjoy Milk! 

Wedding Rings: off

Belly button: I think it's as "out" as it's going to get. It's more flush with my stomach than anything but still no longer an inny.

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: Not sleeping well anymore. I wake up throughout the night to readjust or go to the restroom. My aunt Jen did just give me her body pillow which helps with comfort tremendously. I'm very grateful for that!

Excited for: Our baby classes coming up, setting up the nursery with all the amazing gifts we received. And of course, meeting the little one :)

Fears: still the labor and delivery scares me as well as the recovery process. Praying that everything goes naturally and smoothly.
 

Mood: anxious. Being tired makes me a little cranky or short but still feeling happy.
 

Missing: my pre pregger feet, ankles and legs. This swelling is out of control. haha

Movement: constant still. They are becoming more obvious from the outside. Marco will notice movement from the corner of his eye, not even trying to look at my stomach. She is very active all day. I hope she's getting enough sleep haha

Exercise: Walking a lot. I'm hoping I can get down to the pool one of these nights after work for some laps.

 

 

Week 31: hot and itchy with 8 weeks to go!

This week has been pretty mellow. It's our last of nothing before we head off on our road trip to CA and once we get back baby classes, dr appointments and preparing for Zoe's arrival really begins. Here are some pics of random things I captured this week as well as a bump pic!

31 weeks 6 days! <3 



Our silly and entertaining dogs. Zero just decided to put his nose in Luna's eye and Luna found it funny too I guess.

How far along: 31 weeks 6 day (Head of Lettuce 19in 3.9lbs)

Symptoms: After all that walking and sight seeing we did my feet were swollen and began to itch like crazy. It looked like broken blood vessels on the tops and sides of my feet with some little raised bumps. After chatting with some friends that have been through pregnancy before they stated it was normal when hot and walking a lot. Wednesday morning it subsided and while they still itch a little they look way better and aren't nearly as bad as they were Sunday-Tuesday. Besides that I'm really hot and still uncomfortable when laying down and getting up. I'm also hungry about every two hours and try to snack on dried fruit, smoothies and apple sauce (with the occasional chocolate brownie). I'm also easily out of breath. I was at work the other day and found myslef out of breath talking on the phone. I think Zoe pushes against my lungs every now and then because the smallest movement will make me winded.

Aversions: none

Cravings: anything cold. Still milk but we had a mishap with the milk this week. Bought 3 gallons from Albertsons, drank 1 no problem, opened the second one to find that it was obviously expired (even though it had a future date on it) and opened the third one to find that after one day it was going bad (even though it had a future date on it). Drinking bad milk makes you not crave it so much. haha

Wedding Rings: off

Belly button: 3 quarters out. doesn't feel good having it rub against clothing (very sensitive). Zoe will move under my belly button sometimes and it changes shape. Very weird but cool to watch.

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: Still on my sides but because it's so hot I will wake up on my back spread out. Have to reposition to the side again for proper blood and air flow.

Excited for: The baby shower and Cali trip. I can't believe it's already next week! We're very excited and can't wait to see everyone.

Fears: labor - just the whole thing. haha

Mood: calm and content

Missing: anything you can do with your body that involves moving, bending, laying, walking etc is quite a challenge these days. While I will miss feeling her move, I'm looking forward to being able to move around normally again. I also can't wait until I don't have to go to a doctor's appointment except once a year again (for myself at least).

Movement: She's still moving all over the place quite often. Can physically see her movements most of the time and some have even been uncomfortable for me (i.e. kicking my rib or moving on/against an organ).

Exercise: Because of my swollen/itchy feet I took this week off. We will be back to go go go next week when we arrive in Cali.

We got our propane tank so we made some amazing hamburgers this week. Marco added bacon to the patties and we includes avocado and sauteed onions on Kings Hawaiian buns. Delicious

We kept with the BBQ summer theme and made bacon wrapped hot dogs with sauteed onions in a Kings Hawaiian bun. Definitely not healthy but so good!

Made some healthy turkey tacos with avocado (cheaper here than in Cali if you can believe it). I love food with color!

Week 30: Zoe was very excited for our visitor!

What a great week it has been! A short work week, dr. appointment, 4th of July and Tricia Mae came into town! Some restructuring at work is going on but my boss has assured me he is doing everything he can to keep me on perminently. He hopes to have something concrete for me in the next week or two.

The 30 week check up went well. My glucose level is very low so I'm not at risk for Gestational Diabetes and my anemia levels were on the low side of normal. Dr recommended I begin eating more protein or add an iron supplement to my diet. Either way she isn't too concerned since it's still in the normal range but want to do what we can to keep energy levels up during and after pregnancy. I've gained 11lbs in the last 12 weeks which is right on schedule and Dr is happy with that, everything is measuring on track including the baby's heart beat (140's to 150's), nice and strong. I have 3 more appointments every 2 weeks (32wk, 34wk, 36wk) until it switched to 1 per week and they begin measuring me for dilation and effacement. :)

Tricia Mae arrived on Thursday the 4th. Most fireworks were cancelled/banned due to fires, dry weather and water shortage so we found an easy trail in Boulder and walked with the dogs about 1.4 miles each way. Once we got home Marco made us a Costa Rican dish called Gallo Pinto and we watched fireworks on TV. The rest of our holiday weekend included sightseeing in Downtown Boulder, breakfast in Greenwood Village, seeing Despicable 2, taking the light rail to the Denver Zoo and more sightseeing in Downtown Denver. We had a blast exploring with Tricia Mae and showing her around our new home. Zoe was moving a ton and making her presence known throughout the weekend, at least to me. Anyone who stared at my stomach long enough would see her rolling and moving.

Hiking in Boulder on 4th of July

Taking the light rail to the Denver Zoo/Downtown Denver

So excited over this bearded monkey who obviously knowns how to rock the mustache

A baby (sort of) elephant that was just recently made apart of the zoo. Elephants are my favorite!!

Our group selfie at Downtown Denver. I loved the lights and flags - so patriotic :)

How far along: 31 weeks 1 day (Head of Lettuce 19in 3.9lbs)

Symptoms: Besides the normal I've been getting up regularly in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, my feet and hands have been swollen due to all the walking and hot weather, there has been pain in my upper left thigh area due to the added blood flow and pressure (feels like I pulled a muscle). Dr said this is normal and will go away after birth, no problems caused to baby or pregnancy but unfortunately it's just annoying and painful.

Aversions: none

Cravings: milk and ice cream still

Wedding Rings: off

Belly button: half way out. If wearing a tighter shirt you can see it poking out.

Stretch marks: none

Sleep: Still on my right side. Zoe has been moving whenever I get up to use the bathroom so it's harder to fall back asleep for about 20 minutes.

Excited for: Our road trip to Cali in 2 weeks and our baby shower! I can't wait to see everyone.

Fears: Giving birth too early, labor and recovery. The unplanned and/or unknown is always scary for me. I like to be in control and prepared so giving up all that is very difficult for me.

Mood: happy but tired

Missing: getting dressed without it being painful or me getting out of breath, wearing any shoes I want, laying any position I want to, wearing whatever outfit I want (even my pregnancy tops aren't fitting now).

Movement: a ton. I read that her movements would become less and less because she's cramped for space now but that has not been the case yet. I feel her on both sides of my stomach poking, jabbing, rolling, flipping, kicking etc. I love it and will miss it when she's no longer inside.

 

Exercise: We did a TON of walking this weekend; my legs are definitely sore. 

View from the guest bedroom! We love the clouds here :)

We redid the guest room to look/feel more like a beachy/sea side feel. We used pallets to make a day bed type frame and repainted the room from a green to this light brown color.