30 years and 3rd trimester woes.

Monday is my birthday. The big one. Three-oh. It's not really that big of a deal to me. I hated the beginning of my 20's. I felt so lost. I was confused by hypocrisy in my church, hurt by the lack of support from my family and just didn't know what to do. I met Aaron when I was 23 and things started to turn around. I left the church and I was looking for anything to grasp onto besides religion. I lucked out and fell into the arms of someone who was open minded and didn't judge me. He became my best friend, my room mate, my husband and the father of our unborn child. I don't know how it's possible to have enough love for more than one person, but I'm sure my heart will figure it out.
These pregnancy hormones are getting the best of me. I've been very reflective lately. Measuring what I need to hold onto and what I can let go of, emotionally. I've started nesting literally and figuratively. I've scrubbed the kitchen floor on hands and knees, then sat in the glider, held my belly and wept over my lost childhood and lack of a mother. I don't feel like I want a mother now, but I always wonder what it would have been like to be best friends with her. I don't want Luke to ever wonder if I love him.
Now on to the moans & groans and aches & pains that affect ones body during pregnancy. Sleeping is not fun. I always wake up achy. I had to buy breathe right nose strips because I'm snoring so loud it's waking Aaron up. I take the pups for 2 walks every day. The morning walk is taking longer and the afternoon park walk is getting harder. It's uneven terrain so the baby is jostled a bit and it hurts. I start out ok, but get a lot slower towards the end. The pups stay right by me, so I don't ever have to chase after anyone. I might be done with the park walks soon. Prenatal yoga is going well and we will finish up our birth classes on Monday. One thing our class midwife told us was to "deal with your shit". She said to let go of things and move on before labor starts, because they can stall your labor. It all makes sense to me. Here's the latest belly shot. It was taken yesterday. I'm 28 1/2 weeks.

New Year, new hair, new classes

Happy New Year! I cut 8 inches of my hair off today. Aaron said I could cut it as short as I wanted to as long as I dyed it RED. Deal. I love it, he seems ok with it. Luke won't be able to pull it. That's all that matters. We start child birth classes on Monday. It will be interesting to see how that goes. I'm also starting a pre natal yoga class on Monday morning. Once a week for 8 weeks. Hopefully I'll meet some mom friends. Luke is now the size of an eggplant. He is kicking all the time. It's fun to watch my stomach move. We are 1 week away from the 3rd trimester. I can't believe how quickly it has gone. Here's a new bump picture with the new haircut, too.

Now THAT'S a BUMP!

Luke is growing, so is my belly. We've put on 11 pounds and someone has decided to push my stomach out of his way. I've been dealing with heartburn and indigestion. I stop eating around 4 or 5 so I don't have to sleep sitting up. Aaron finally felt some kicks. It's tricky, baby Luke might be practicing karate and as soon as I tell Aaron to put his hand on my belly, he stops. I have a 23 week check up next Monday. I'm not having any different cravings. I did eat a whole pack of starbursts yesterday...but they were soooo good. Here are 2 belly pics, one is from 9 weeks ago (13 weeks 3 days) and the one on the right was taken today (22 weeks 3 days).

Where's the cute pregnant lady?

Yesterday was a doozy! Roo had a swollen lip so I took her to the vet. She decided to jump in the car before the hatch was open all the way and gouged her head. The vet said she probably ate a spider and it bit her on the lip in an effort to get away, as for the gouge, no stitches were required. Later we went to the park and on the way back, Roo barfed in the car. It was a winner of a dog day. I was wearing warm clothes because it was cold, when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I felt extra large and in charge. I couldn't wait to be pregnant and have a cute baby bump. I see cute pregnant women all the time. I am not one of them. I think I've popped a bit in the last few weeks.

flutters, kicks and a disapearing belly button

I felt the first kick on 11/11. It felt like someone thumping a melon, or in this case, my uterus. They are few and far between, but I know that's going to change. I was at the store yesterday and felt 3 strong kicks against my hand, so he's getting bigger. My stomach is tender to the touch and my belly button is getting shallow. Sleeping has been a bit of a challenge. I'm most comfortable on my left side, but not for 8 hours. I know this is only the half way point and I'm going to wish for the way I feel right now in 10 more weeks, but it's all relative. I have an appointment with the birth center on Monday. The last time I saw my midwife, she said my fundal height was high..."could it be twins?" I told her, "NO WAY! there's only 1 baby in there". She followed up with, "ultrasounds miss twins all the time." We had an ultrasound scheduled for a few days later, there's definitely only 1 baby in there. I heard that you can hear the baby's heart beat with a stethoscope around 20 weeks. I'm going to try to find a quality one before family visits next week. I think it will be fun.

Star Wha?

We're having a boy. His name is Luke Tiberius Meyers. He enjoys orange juice, apple cider and long walks with the pups. We are going for a Star Wars/Star Trek thing with his name. Aaron doesn't appreciate Skywalker as a middle name as much as I do. We hope to raise a geek, but will probably end up with a jock. We'll check back in 10 years.
The pregnancy as a whole is going great. The charlie horses and round ligament pain in the middle of the night aren't so pleasant, but I'm not complaining. I've been doing prenatal yoga videos and feel really good afterward. I can't tell for sure if I've felt him move, but I'm sure that will change in a couple of weeks. Cravings have stayed the same. I've had grapefruit for dinner more than once this week. I'm definitely getting my drv of Vitamin C. I am not going to get any flu shots this year. This is controversial to some, but the right choice for me. I've been taking vitamin D as suggested by my midwife. It raises your immune system, keeps you happy in the dark, cloudy months and helps baby have more bone density. There are other benefits as well. Here's a small article I found on the subject.

We're having a...

BABY! I'll post it on facebook after 3pm pst. My intuition was correct. Aaron had a dream 2 months before I was pregnant about following our child around and what it was. He was correct as well. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but it's still fun to think about. I'm being vague to keep it a secret from my FIL. It's a little more real every day. TTFN.