32 Weeks

Y'all.

There's less than two months left of this shenanigans. Ridiculous. I still can't decide whether to be grateful and excited that we're almost done. Or intensely freaked out and stressed because we have done essentially nothing to get ready for this child. If I'm honest, I definitely lean more toward just being done with this crazy summer pregnancy. If I had a dollar for every time in the last month or so that I've said (or thought) something to the effect of, "I will never ever be pregnant in the summer again," I'd be rich enough to vacation for the rest of the summer in Canada.

I wish I could tell you that's all the complaining for this post. But I'd be lying. And the least I can do for whining and complaining to you is to at least be up front and honest about it.

So, anyway...

How Far Along: 32 weeks, 8 months, 56 days left. 

Size of Baby:  The weight of a jicama.
 
Gender: Little Girly-Girl. I'm starting to warm up a little more to the idea of having a girl. And if I'm honest, the clothes are starting to kill me...in the best possible way. I got a load of adorable, little girl clothes from a friend and they weren't all PINK! Score! (Seriously...I feel like we'd be totally set for the first couple months with just this one pile, but that's not even all that's coming. What a major blessing!) And if you know me, you know I'm not huge on giant bows and ridiculous tutus. I definitely enjoy a sweet little matching bow and the occasional tame tutu, but nothing that's gonna take away from the natural beauty of my child. But I've kind of fallen in love with the little outfit below. She may already be too big for it once it's Christmas time, but I think it's just too cute and is definitely getting my girly gears going.

Movement: So much moving. All the time. Little hiccups way down in my pelvis and a booty or something almost always sticking out of the top of my belly. She's to the point where she's kind of distracting in situations where I'm supposed to be listening, like church.

Maternity Clothes: My mom did the sweetest thing and took me shopping last week for some new clothes to help me through these last two months...and most of it should even work beyond that too! We got several new dresses and tops that are mostly appropriate to wear in public. Can't even say how much it helps my outlook to not be so stressed about getting dressed.

Sleep: Well...whatever. I'm learning that ya just can't have it all. We've been traveling quite a bit lately and will continue to travel the rest of the month and into August. And I can either be cool or comfortable. But never both at the same time. Bummer.

Cravings: Ice cream and ice top the list. But with all this traveling, what I'm really craving is a good, cold smoothie or salad full of veggies.

What I'm Missing: Not sweating. Constantly. Even if my upper half is cooled off, my lower half refuses to ever not be sweaty. This may borderline on TMI, but let's just say...there are certain items of clothing that get changed several times in a day. Never felt so perpetually gross in my life.

Symptoms: I've had some pretty bad lower back pain this last week that has made it really difficult to get around.  And I'll try to do all the normal stretches I usually do when I have back problems, but a giant belly seems to get in the way. I've also been so thirsty that I simply cannot drink enough water to stay quenched. I'm gonna really have to watch that the further along I get. Not that you want to know, but I've never had chafing this intense before in my entire life. Or heat rash in places you'd rather not hear about.

Best Moment This Week: My wonderful extended family in Dallas threw me a baby shower this last weekend. It was so great to see everyone, even if for a brief time, and watch as they loved and honored my little girl and our family. Matt's family also had a small, sweet celebration for Lydia too when we were out in the Hill Country a couple weeks ago. They all chipped in to get her crib! Yay! Can't wait to get it all set up.

Looking Forward To: Getting to spend some quality time with my besties later this week. We're headed to Austin for a quick overnight trip just to be together, just us girls. We've been wanting to do something like this for a few years now, but one of us was either having a baby or moving across the world or getting married, etc. Two of the three of us are very pregnant this time around, but it seemed like a good time to finally just do it. Kayla is bringing her little girl this year, and next year, we'll all three have daughters with us. I hope it becomes a summer tradition...A Mother- Daughter Retreat.

Daddy's Involvement: Matt has been the champion of The Great Financial Debacle of this pregnancy. Without going into all the dirty details, we had some pretty crazy, stressful financial issues when I was getting ready to deliver Josiah and there was a situation the last couple weeks threatening to cause all the same stresses and chaos. But my awesome husband kicked into "oh no, you didn't" mode and took care of it all. It totally wasn't easy and definitely caused a few sleepless nights and I'm so, so, so grateful he chose to fight for me and for our family to have the best delivery experience possible. Thank you, Love! You're the best!

Big Brother's Involvement: I randomly saw this book (in the picture below) at Ross when I was trying to find something to give to Josiah to keep him occupied while I shopped. I had really had no intention of actually buying it, because I had no time to read it to him first, but then I saw that it was only $3. And it turns out it's his new favorite book (of the week, anyway). It's actually even sparked some great questions from him and some good conversations to help us all get ready. The premise of the book is that a little boy gets a new baby and has to wait for what seems like forever until he can play with the baby. So, in the meantime, he learns how he can still be a helpful big brother while waiting. Josiah has been asking what big brothers do and how can he help with Lydia and so on. It makes me grateful for the age gap of 3.5 years. It's not quite how we would have planned it, but the Lord knows what He's doing, right?

He thought Lydia might like to hear some lullabies so he put this bunny in my lap.

30 weeks: The Downward Slope

There is no real "milestone" that comes with the turn of the 30 week mark, but there's still something about that big 3-0. It's this magic little number that makes it all feel so close, yet still so far away. I mean, you say, "Only 10 weeks left!" And it sounds like nothing. But then you convert that to months and it becomes two and half months away still...way too much time left.

How Far Along: 30 weeks...and growing

Size of Baby:  How much does a head of cabbage weigh anyway? These food comparisons are getting weird.
 
Gender: My feisty little female friend

Movement: That girl doesn't even try hide the fact that she likes to kick things off my belly. If I have a pillow in my lap or am resting my phone on my belly. She even just just tried to kick the computer off my lap. And when Josiah tries to cuddle in my lap, it never fails to get her riled up and she starts kicking. (I tell him she's trying to play with him.) I keep trying to get a video of all her alien-like movements, but she's just too sneaky for all that.

Maternity Clothes: Let's just not talk about it.


Sleep: I remember that rite of passage of having to get up 2 or 3 times a night to pee. Well, I don't really have that this time around. But instead, I'm woken up 2 or 3 times a night in a pool of my own sweat. Or maybe it's pee and I really have needed to get up. Gross. Anyway, sleep is not horrible, but getting progressively more difficult. 

Cravings: Ice Cream has been a major one this week. I just wanna eat ice cream for every meal. Oooh, and you know what else sounds so good right now? A steak! With some yummy sauteed mushrooms! I mean...a salad. Yeah. Like a really green salad with tons of veggies. (Am I convincing you?)

What I'm Missing: Getting up quickly. Bending over without needing to barf. Eating anything without wicked heart burn getting the better of me. Clothes that fit appropriately. The beauty of an afternoon cup of coffee. The list goes on, but I don't wanna be one to complain.

Symptoms: Besides all the other stuff already mentioned above...major hot-flashes and some crazy hip/lower back pain and ridiculous leg cramps in the middle of the night.


Best Moment This Week: Getting to tour the hospital was a major highlight. Since we're switching hospitals and this new one is vastly different from the one we delivered Josiah in, we chose to go check out the new one. I cannot say enough about how relieved and excited and confident I am about our upcoming hospital stay! Their whole birthing philosophy more closely matches and accommodates our hopes for this birth experience. I left feeling on top of the world. We even attended a little half-hour seminar on breastfeeding right after the tour, which is the closest thing to a birthing class we've ever been to. Again, we both left feeling so much more prepared and confident for this little addition to come. 

Looking Forward To: Hanging out at the river in the Hill Country for the next few days. I'm not so excited about the drive out there or the prospect of having to squeeze myself into a non-maternity, one-piece swimsuit (I'm already exhausted just at the thought). But it'll be good to just relax and unplug. 

Daddy's Involvement: Coming with me to the hospital tour and keeping a straight face through the "breast class" (as he accidentally referred to it). He even listened attentively while I went through all my anxieties and over analyzing about all the unknowns of labor and delivery. I've thought through all the various potential scenarios and have expressed all my hopes and ideals and even tried to plead my case on some of the non-negotiables.

Big Brother's Involvement:Poor guy's cuddling space is getting limited and he just seems to keep getting more and more clingy. I love, love love when he wants to cuddle (usually after naps) but it is getting not only difficult, but kind of painful also. He loves to check in on his little sister and ask how she's doing today. And he she gets daily kisses from him. If he forgets...we have to stop whatever we're doing so he can give her one right away.