Weeks 34-35-some of 36

Whoops, got a little behind!  The last couple weeks have been full of us getting the house ready for our little biscuit's arrival, lots and lots of growing belly, tons of hiccups, and guessing games of what limb is what!

Kevin has been reading to her most nights, and she just loves his voice!  She's starts this funny little shimmy when he talks.  When he puts his hand on my belly, though, she just goes still.  I'm hoping this means he will be a very calming presence for her!

She had a very quiet couple of days.  She was moving around plenty, but the movements weren't as jostling!  I decided to count her movements just to be on the safe side, and she's moving just fine.  I emailed the midwives with my "Is this normal?" query, and of course, as soon as I hit send, she's been nothing but a crazy dancing baby in there!  :)  Ha!  Tricky little lady!

We had our first home visit with one of the midwives yesterday.  Can't believe that starting next week, we will be able to have her at home!  The window is 37-42 weeks for a home birth, so just a few more days til we are in the green light zone.  Though, preferably she will stay in there at least until after June 18th, because we have a Sounder OPEN CUP MATCH to go to!  Wooooohoooo!  :)  We discussed good spots to put the birth tub, showed off the nursery, and listened to the little lady's heart beat.  She seems to be a tricky girl for "baby-mapping" as they always think she is on one side when the palpate my belly, but then when they go to find her heart beat, it is inevitably on the other side!  So while my chart notes this week say she was ROA, she was really LOA, just where she has been for several weeks now, and just where I'd like her to stay!  I also had to do my Group B strep swab, which hopefully comes back negative so I don't have to take antibiotics to start her life, but if I have it (like a good proportion of the population does) then we will roll with it and get some good pro-biotics going for both us ladies!

The nursery is officially cleared of all of our stuff, and only baby and birthing related things remain!  That felt really really good to get done!  I also washed all the clothes from newborn to 3 months, along with all the wonderful blankets and swaddlers and adorable little diaper covers.  It took FOREVER!  But now she's got a dresser bursting with the cutest little outfits and all the blankies a girl could ask for!

Speaking of clothes, how in the heck does one choose baby's first outfit!?  If she is born on the 4th of July, I'm covered, but otherwise, I just don't know!  It's a pretty big decision, right?  ;)

We bought a GIANT freezer last weekend, which will be delivered next week.  I'm really excited to start filling it up with some yummy meals to get us through the first few weeks!  Plus, having some extra freezer storage is something we've needed for a looooong time, and will be so nice to be able to stock up on fruits and meats in the future!  Plus, storing breast milk for when I go back to work.

We also met with Kate last night, which was great!  Went over some hopes for the big day, but mostly just visited.  Having your sister-in-law for your doula means there is a lot of side tracking into talking about family!  The kids are all so so excited for Frammy to arrive, especially Jackson!  Before Kate left to come over, he got all excited because he thought that meant that I had had the baby, and he was just itching to come meet her!  It's pretty darned adorable for a 6 year old boy to be this excited about his cousin!  We aren't really sure how much he really understands about it, but he loves his baby step sister Scarlett like no other, so I have no doubt he will be smitten with our girl as well!

I need to have more photos taken of me.  These gym selfies are not really what I want to look back on in the future!  I feel so good and I love my pregnant shape!  I don't think I've ever felt this confident and beautiful!  It's really wonderful, and I would like to have some more photos of me in real clothes!  So if you see me, snap a picture or two!  :)

36 weeks, and getting very slow at my 3 milers!

How far along? 36 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +26...hrmmmm well we're almost done right?  :)
Maternity clothes? Yup.  
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: Not good at all. My hips hurt and I wake up at 2am almost every night and can't get back to sleep for a couple hours.  At least Fram keeps me company, Kevin just snores right through it! 
Best moment this week: Getting the nursery done!!!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything?  Not really this week.
Movement: After a brief period of not so much, she's been doing some excellent movements all week!
Food cravings:  Yup, still fried eggs!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: No denying it now!  People don't even think twice about asking me how much longer til she is born!
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. Getting down to the last 1/4 inch or so though!
Wedding rings on or off? Took them off yesterday.  Not sure if I am actually swelling or if I was just hot, but I think I might just keep them off for the duration...
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy girl!
Looking forward to: Still need to finish her blanket....but most looking forward to getting to 37 weeks and knowing we are good to go on her being born!!!

33 weeks and baby shower photos

Whew!  Another busy busy week for us!  We just can't seem to slow down, between doctors appointments, soccer games, visiting with out of town friends, birth classes, and trying ever so hard to get the nursery in order, we have barely had time to think!  Not slowing down anytime soon either!  But we figure it helps pass the time before our most fabulous package arrives in approximately 6 weeks!!!!  Hard to believe we are just a month and a half away from meeting our daughter!

As mentioned last week, we had a truly fantastic baby shower last weekend hosted by my sister-in-law Kate.  It was such a nice day, with so many loving people surrounding us in kicking off the welcome wagon for Frammy!  There were hilarious games to play, lots of thoughtful gifts, sooooo much good food to eat, and great visiting with friends old and new!

I didn't take many photos, but luckily my mama-in-law Susan did and said I could share some! :)  So here's a look into our awesome pink and green Frammy party!!!

Unwrapping gifts with Nick and Kyla 

A few of my fabulous in-laws, Erin, Mark, and Adam, who are all pretty darn excited for Fram!

Our dear friends Nate and Taylor, who came up from Vancouver!

Oh brother!

Matt and Kelly, who have been our go-to resource for many baby-related questions!

Some of the adorable decorations, complete with a diaper cake!

Me and Kevin with Heidi, who has known me since birth!

Kyla and Nicholas, the adorable soon to be husband and wife!

Think I am a little happy?

Showing off our frocks before Isabelle's First Communion!

Matt, me, Kate, and Kevin take a breather before heading to the church!

My lovely sister-in-law and mama-in-law, who both made it such a special day!

Getting a little snuggle in!

It was a smashing success all in all, and we couldn't have been more pleased with it!  Thank you again to everyone who made it and made it happen!

This weekend we had our second birth class with Kate and 3 other couples who are all expecting in June.  We are learning so much, and I am just astounded by Kate's knowledge and fun way of getting information across to us!  She is a super teacher, and we are both so glad we will have her with us the day Frammy is born!  She's lucky to have such a super auntie!  :)

My office also threw me and my 2 coworkers who are also pregnant a fantastic shower this week!  It was a whole lot of fun, and I can't believe the generosity of everyone!  We got a lot of really wonderful gifts!

As for me and the little biscuit, we are definitely running out of room in my short little torso for her!  We've been locked in a ribcage battle this week, where she shoves her foot into my rib cage, I push it out, she kicks it back in, etc!  She's also really been getting the hiccups like crazy lately.  It is a pretty odd sensation, somewhat like having a twitch in your eyelid, but in your belly instead!  She's moving extremely visibly from the outside, and I love watching her moving about!  She is shy about other people touching her though.  She will be going like crazy, and the second that someone other than me and sometimes Kevin puts their hands on my belly, she goes completely still!  I wonder if it's a pressure things, like she is used to how I touch my belly, and other people don't put the right pressure on...it's pretty funny though!

We have a midwife and a doula appointment this week, and we are hoping to nail down our birth plan a bit more.  We also have a couple of exciting birthdays to celebrate!  Jackson is turning 6 and Bella will be 8, both on Tuesday!  So we are doing a big family dinner and celebrating those two rascals growing up waaaaay too fast! :)

33 weeks!  Getting slower than molasses at the gym, but we are still doing it! :)

How far along? 33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +22.  Not bad considering the heinous way we ate this week!
Maternity clothes? Yup.  
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: Getting more and more restless at night...
Best moment this week: My work shower was a whole lot of fun!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything?  Not really this week.
Movement: Lots and lots!!
Food cravings:  Yup, still fried eggs!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: No denying it now!  People don't even think twice about asking me how much longer til she is born!
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. Getting down to the last 1/4 inch or so though!
Wedding rings on or off? On.  No swelling at all so far!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy girl!
Looking forward to: Finishing up her blanket!  Got my knitting for other pregnant friends done with this week, so now I can get back to focusing on her!

Catch up! Weeks 30, 31, and 32

Oh dear, I've gotten quite behind!  I'd meant to post a separate blog about our trip to the San Juans a few weeks ago, but we have been insanely busy!  Literally have gone entire weeks where we only have one night off together.  Far too busy, and it doesn't look like it will be easing up until June!  Yikes!

So to play a bit of catch up!  I decided to treat Kevin to a trip to the destination of his choosing for a long weekend getaway that I planned.  He has done the planning for pretty much every trip we've take in 14 years together, because I despise trip planning.  So I decided as a nice treat to him, I would do the let work this time!  He picked going to the San Juans, so I found us a sweet little cottage near Friday Harbor, picked a good weekend, and off we went!  He made it easy on me by not having to take a plane anywhere! :)

We had a wonderful time, relaxing, eating lots and lots of good food, taking hikes around the island, enjoying sunshine, and then loving the excuse to stay snuggled in our cottage when the rain came!  We needed the chance to just get away from everything and decompress! I'll post more pictures this week!  Promise!  :)

Checking out the dock at English Camp

Mother of Dragons!

Jackson's Beach, you can see out cabin behind me

Waiting for the ferry home

Me and my love!

Since we got home, we've mostly just been busy little bees with soccer, tutoring, appointments, visits with friends, getting little projects done here and there!  It's amazing how it all just adds up to not having much time for each other.  But we've also had a whole lot of fun, and certainly enjoyed the sunshine last week here in Seattle!  It was HOT!  Which also made me very thankful that my little lady is coming in early summer, because I was definitely overheated much of the week!  Now we are back to cool and rainy...not ideal either, but much more comfortable!

Walking along Alki on one of the 80 degree days!

This weekend was lots of great fun!  We had our baby shower!!!  My sister-in-law Kate and my brother Matthew hosted, and my mama-in-law Susan and other sister-in-law brought all kinds of yummy food, and it just was so much fun to have a house full of people so excited for the arrival of Framboise!  There were fun games, including Pin the Sperm on the Uterus, which ended with me being blindfolded and pinning my egg to a sperm to determine the winner; a bottle chugging contest (which I guess I won. but as the guest of honor passed along the glory to an actual guest!) plus hilarity when reading everything K and I said while opening presents back to us as if it was the night of conception.  Read: "Oh my god, it's so cute!" and "Oooooh nipple cream"!  As you can imagine, there was a whole lot of laughter!

I'm ever so thankful to have such a loving and supportive family surrounding us, and so many stellar friends!  It was such a great day! I don't have any pictures, so I am hoping someone who did take some will pass them along to me!

We followed that up with our niece Isabelle's First Communion.  She looked so beautiful and grownup, and while Kevin and I are not cut from the same religious cloth, we were so glad to be part of her special day and support this lovely young lady!  I'm constantly amazed that somehow she isn't blood related to me, because she is seriously my mini-me in so many ways!

Today we had our first birth class with Kate!  It was fun and informative, and gave us a whole lot of information we didn't know.  I'm feeling really good about our decision to have a home birth, and looking forward to seeing what I do in labor to get through it all!  Kate will also be my doula, so this is also a really great time for Kevin and I to see her in her professional setting, and I am really glad we made the choice to have her with us!

We had a midwife appointment on Thursday which went swimmingly!  We are measuring 32 centimeters at 32 weeks, heart rate still up in the 140 area, and we got a really good listen this time!  She is also now in the LOA (left occipital anterior) position, which is JUST WHERE WE WANT HER!  :)  She is just doing perfectly well, and so am I!  I'm feeling really healthy, my back pains have mostly subsided, and while my activity levels have decreased a bit in the last couple weeks, that's more to blame on finding time to get to the gym than anything else!

She is super active, especially a bit after I've eaten, right when I lay down to go to bed, and she is now my 5 am alarm clock!  Seriously, I don't think I would need to set an alarm, she is so regular!  It's pretty remarkable.  Kevin and I have been enjoying (and feeling somewhat weirded out) watching my belly do weird bulging and wiggling.  We will hit 50 days til due date tomorrow, and 33 weeks on Tuesday, so things are starting to really fly now and feel real!  Lots more work to do ahead of us, but we are feeling ready in so many ways!

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +21.  Looks like I won't be keeping it under 25 pounds, but I'm okay with it.  We are both doing well, that is all that really matters!
Maternity clothes? Yup.  Got a bunch of clothes at a swap the other week that weren't technically maternity but sure work for it!
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: So much better now that I have a body pillow!
Best moment this week: Our lovely shower!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything?  Not really this week.
Movement: Lots and lots!!
Food cravings:  Yup, still fried eggs!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: No denying it now!  People don't even think twice about asking me how much longer til she is born!
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. Getting down to the last 1/4 inch or so though!
Wedding rings on or off? On.  No swelling at all so far!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy girl!
Looking forward to: Getting the nursery organized.  Gotta find places for all the fantastic loot our girl got!  :)

Week 29, and breathe!

After my tumultuous emotions last week after failing my one hour glucose test, it sure was a big big big big relief to get the all clear this week!  Holy smokes, I sure got myself worked about it! :)

I went in for the 3 hour glucose draw on Wednesday, after spending the previous 4 days paying the most attention to what I ate than I ever have in my entire life!  I was looking at every carb ingested and trying to balance it out with enough calories from other sources, and I have to admit, flying blind it was not easy!  But Tuesday night, I had a great big beef and broccoli stir fry (with a pretty teensy amount of brown rice) and then a piece of toast smothered in peanut butter, and off to bed I went to fast until noon the next day!

My test began at 9am, and I was not feeling too bad, hungry but nothing horrible.  I'd gone into work for a couple hours in the morning, sipped water, and just tried to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about it! :)  The first 2 draws were pretty painless, and I watched a couple episodes of Parenthood to keep myself distracted.  By the 3rd draw at 11am, I was definitely hungry!  But still didn't have that awful feeling you often get when you go to long without eating.  I think my nerves were playing a big role in keeping me going!  After the last draw at noon, I was pretty pumped to get the heck out of there and get some food in me!  I immediately shoved a string cheese and banana down, and then started walking back to work.  I got about 2 blocks before I got super woozy.  Hmmm, best take a bus the rest of the way!  I got on the bus, and broke out into the worst sweat and shakes I've ever experienced!  I originally had thought I might just head home, but I didn't think I actually would make it the hour ride.  So to work I went, much to my boss's surprise!  Once I got some more food in me, after about an hour I started feeling better and ended up working for a couple hours.  Headed home a little early, but nothing egregious! :)

Then it was the waiting game!  I knew my results wouldn't come in until Thursday morning at the earliest, so I basically was compulsively checking my email from the second I woke up!  Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long, got the email from my midwife at 10am saying, "All is well, you passed!"  And then I danced a jig around my office, called Kevin and burst into my patented emotional tears, and felt an immense weight lift off my shoulders!  Phew!!!!!!  I couldn't be happier!

Lessons learned:  Don't eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich the day of the one hour draw, and if you do happen to fail it, DON'T PANIC, remember the numbers are in your favor!  Hindsight is 20/20, right?  :)

The rest of the week was pretty fantastic!  We went out for ice cream that night to celebrate, a rare indulgence for us, and then Friday, Kevin and I headed to the ballpark for our first Mariner's game of the season!  It was King Felix night, so we got free t-shirts, a fantastic crowd, and the W!  Woohoo!

Finally an XL t-shirt I can actually wear!  :)  We also snagged a couple mediums for after I am no long sharing my body!

Nothing better than baseball with this boy!  He was pretty cute looking at all the little ones there with their daddies and getting excited to take his little lady to a game soon!

This weekend, we've been busy with various projects, Kevin has been diligently working away on getting the dresser for the nursery painted, I did a bunch of yard work yesterday (my back is protesting much today!) and I did some shopping for birthing supplies.

Framboise has been a pretty busy little lady, too, squirming around, and her latest trick is pushing with an incredible amount of force with an elbow or a knee against my belly.  It is a truly bizarre sensation, and Kevin and I had fun laying together feeling her rolling around together!

After babysitting my 4 little munchkins, we all went out for pho, and Jackson and Carlee couldn't stop trying to feel Fram!  Jackson actually got kicked in the head when he was hugging me, but he didn't notice :)

We are coming to the home stretch!  We will be 30 weeks on Tuesday!  Holy smokes, where is the time going?!  I need to get some paperwork in order in the next couple weeks, like our birth plan, insurance stuff, finding a pediatrician, etc.  I'm looking forward to this week, no tests to pass!  ;)  I'll be attending my first midwife appointment solo this week, which will be different!  We knew it would happen at some point, but I'm a little sad Kevin won't get to hear her this week.  But, we are now on visits every 2 weeks, so at least he doesn't have to wait too long to hear her again!

29 weeks

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +16 (lost a couple pounds from stress at the beginning of the week, gained them back promptly though, so no net gain)
Maternity clothes? Got told I looked "ADORABLE" at Fred Meyer today, so that was nice!
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: Oh how I miss sleeping on my tummy!
Best moment this week: NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES!!!  The Fram-Biscuit and I can process our sugars!  Woo!!!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything?  See tummy comment above...
Movement: Lots and lots!!
Food cravings:  Yup, still fried eggs!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: No denying it now!
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. 
Wedding rings on or off? On.  No swelling at all so far!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy happy girl!
Looking forward to: Our weekend getaway to San Juan Island this weekend!  It's my birthday present to Kevin, and I am so looking forward to a few days away with him in a new place!

Weeks 27-28

Where to begin...this week has been a little tough for me.  I had my 1 hour gestational diabetes blood test on Thursday, and unfortunately, my numbers came back high.  What does this mean?  I have to go in for a 3 hour test this week, including fasting for at least 8 hours beforehand, drinking a sugar drink, then getting my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours.  If I have high numbers after at least 2 of those tests, I will likely have gestational diabetes.  I'm hoping against hope that it was just a fluke reading last week, which happen a lot of the time, but I am also trying to prepare myself for the idea that I might have to change a lot of things in the last 11 weeks of this pregnancy.

I am really struggling with this.  I'm disappointed because I have worked so hard to get my weight to a good place over the last few years, and especially the last year before we got pregnant.  I'd been going to the gym 3-4 times a week, and mostly eating a healthy diet.  I know I eat a lot healthier than most people I know.  Sure, I eat way too much cheese, but we rarely eat out, I don't eat fast food, almost nothing in our house comes in a package, we eat almost exclusively organic, with tons of fresh produce and lean meats.  I've gained pretty minimally with this pregnancy, only 16 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, which I feel really really good about.  I feel pretty deflated right now.  I am still crossing my fingers, but I do have several factors working against me in this regard.  I have a close family member with Diabetes, I am still overweight, and I am over 30 years old.

Of course, it is a completely manageable thing.  I know that in my heart.  It just really sucks to have done pretty much everything right, but still maybe have my body not do this job properly.  It is bringing up all kinds of body issues for me that I have struggled with for most of my life, and had really thought I had put mostly behind me after I got myself down to within 5 pounds of a normal weight for my height.

So what have I been doing?  Of course obsessing about what to eat, regardless of how things go this week!  I've been on all kinds of gestational diabetes website and forums, trying to see how others have managed this.  It's overwhelming in some ways, but most of the dietary restrictions are things I already follow.  I'll need to cut my carbs, but I'm not a huge bread/pasta person anyway.  And I don't generally have a sweet tooth.  There were a couple weeks where I was definitely craving sweets big time, but that seems to have passed.  Hopefully, if I do have GD, I will be able to manage it with diet and exercise and not go on medication.

So I'm looking even more closely at what I eat, going to measure my portions more carefully, and try to get even more low starch veggies into my diet.  And up my exercise.  I've been going to the gym pretty consistently 2 times a week, and Kevin and I have started doing yoga together (he does it 3 times a week) plus we usually go for a good long walk at least once a week.  I think I need to throw in some walks during my work day (which also will likely help ease my back pain...)

Coupled with the back issues I have been dealing with for the last 2 weeks, I'm a little bit glum.  Kevin pointed out that I can't do everything perfectly with this pregnancy, which I know, of course, but I was really enjoying have a pretty picture perfect pregnancy!! :)  I am getting a sit/stand station at work, hopefully this week, and I have been really conscious of my body mechanics to try to ease the aches.  My midwife suggested I see a physical therapist as well, since the back pain is likely to just get worse as this goes along and I could get some good tips.  We'll see if I can squeeze that In somewhere! :)

On the positive:  Frammy is growing at a perfect rate, and has moved from tranverse lie position.  Her head is down. and Kevin and I actually got to feel it at our appointment this week!  She's still not quite where we would like her, but I am glad she's moved about a bit, and think all the pelvic tilts I've been doing for my back pain have helped her out! :)

My uterus measured 29 centimeters this week, so it grew 2 centimeters in the last 3 weeks.  Her heart rate was 140, and she is my little wiggle worm!  I love every single kick and punch and roll she dishes out, even at 3 in the morning!  We are both getting more and more antsy for the big day to arrive and have our little daughter in our arms!

27 weeks, that there is a baby bump!

24 weeks vs 27 weeks.  Brutal Sounders game...but they made up for it this weekend with a WILD Cascadia match against the Timbers!

Week 6 versus Week 28.  Finally got another shirt to work out in, though I think I should have gone up a size!

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +16
Maternity clothes? Did a little more shopping this week, and am feeling mostly set!
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: Not super, but not terrible!  Back aches are predominating my sleep...
Best moment this week: Incredible date night with Kevin to my fav restaurant and The Lion King at the Paramount!!!!  It was amazing!!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything? Still with the fried eggs...
Movement: Lots and lots!!
Food cravings:  See above, fried eggs...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: No denying it now!
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. 
Wedding rings on or off? On.  No swelling at all so far!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Definitely a mixed bag this week, but overall I'm happy!
Looking forward to: Going to the Mariners game to see King Felix pitch!  And getting the blood test over and done with.

2nd Trimester Ends!!!

There you have it!  We are really on the home stretch now!  Today marks the end of the 2nd trimester, and we launch ourselves into the third.  In a lot of ways, I can't believer this is here and my girl could be here in just 13 weeks (or less if she makes an early entrance!) but at the same time, the end of September last year seems like it was an ETERNITY ago!!!

Nothing too terribly exciting on the Frammy-front.  Still moving and shaking a fair amount, and seems to have taken up residence directly atop my bladder this week!  I spent more time going to and from the restroom at work this week than I did at my desk, it seemed!  Other than that, we had a pretty normal week with no big changes.  My belly is growing at an ever-more-rapid rate, which Kevin just loooooves, and I mostly love, aside from the slower moving and the pretty near constant back ache I have now!

For me this week, I definitely had a lot more emotions running through me than I have had in the past few months.  I was rather blue at the beginning of the week for no real reason and found myself weeping a few times un-provoked.  I think it's important to mention this, as it isn't always rainbows and lollipops around here for me!  :)  Sometimes it's hard to let yourself just have a good cry session, but I think I really needed it!  I feel much better now, and I am glad that I let myself have a couple down nights, and that Kevin was also really supportive and just let me work through it as he is so so good at doing.  The man sure knows how to let my emotions run their course after nearly 14 years together!

I did a little more clothing shopping this week, as I was down to only one pair of pants that were comfy.  Note to future preggos:  The half panel pants are great in the first and part of the second trimester, but after that full panel is the only way to go, at least for this belly!  Thanks mama for encouraging me to go!

Got myself a pretty new dress, too!

I made some good progress on Framboise's baby blanket, looking forward to being done with it so I can make some other cute things finally!  I got stuck in a rut with some tangled yarn so I put it aside for a bit, but now I am back on it and determined to be done with it in the next couple weeks.  I mean, the girl is on her way!!!

Kevin and I have had an excellent weekend.  We slept in yesterday, went out to an awesome and ridiculously large breakfast, took a nap, then hit up Babies 'R Us for our first go at our registry.  I think it went well, and it was a great start.  Luckily we inherited so much gear we don't have to think about a lot of things, so it was more picking out fun things like bedding!  :)  Then today we went on an amazing urban hike!  We parked the car at Central Market, and took Boeing Creek trail down to Hidden Lake.  It was tough going in places with washouts, but was so worth it.  Then we stumbled upon Shoreview Park when we discovered the beach access trail we'd planned on taking was private access only.  It was a beautiful day and felt so so good to get a little hike in!

Kevin conquers one of the stream crossings and embankment scrambles!
It was much steeper than this looks! :)

View from the overlook at Shoreview Park, what a perfect morning!

Belly shot!

How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +13
Maternity clothes? Yup, thanks mama!
Stretch marks? Just the ones I already had!
Sleep: Somewhat better this week.  I think I was so worn out from stress and emotions I had to sleep better!
Best moment this week: Going for an epic walk with Kevin!
Have you told family and friends: Yup
Miss Anything? Back to missing fried eggs like nobody's business.  I swear the instant she is out of me, Kevin will be frying a couple eggs for me!
Movement: A lot quieter most of this week, but I think it's because she moved positions.
Food cravings:  See above, fried eggs...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: I had a lady at the grocery quite concerned about me carrying a couple empty apple boxes, so I think definitively yes...
Gender prediction: It's a GIRL!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Innie. 
Wedding rings on or off? On.  No swelling at all so far!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy with the weekend. Little blue earlier.
Looking forward to: Date night on Thursday!  K and I have decided we need an afternoon/evening out in the city for dates every week from here on out!