Week 29 and updates.

Lots to talk about this week!  I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s talk about the baby first!

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Images and content courtesy of babycenter.com

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain: +23.5 total.  This is +0 from last week.  No weight gain is surprising, but my appetite has tapered off a bit since my stomach is running out of room in there, so I guess this is why.  I’m still well within the normal range.

Sleep habits: Other than the frequent bathroom breaks, sleep has been going very well.  I still end up on my back and struggle to breathe when I do, but otherwise things are great in this area.  It’s a bit harder to shift around or get up quickly since my center of gravity has changed. 

Maternity clothes: I recently found a maternity band in my drawer.  I have no idea where it came from because I didn’t wear it the last time.  I can wear it under regular shirts, and it looks like a second shirt and provides coverage for my belly.  I’ve been wearing the crap out of this garment, so it’s allowed me to bring back some of my pre-maternity shirts.  While they fit tightly, they still aren’t obscene and showing any skin.  It’s like I have a whole new wardrobe.  This is a good thing since it’s been extremely hot here lately, and most of my maternity clothes (other than shorts and tanks from my first pregnancy) are winter.  It’s not quite shorts/tank weather right now, so I’m in that awful in-between phase. 

Best moment of the week:  My best friends came to visit me (more on that later in this post).  I also had a cervical length and growth ultra-sound today, and everything was A-Ok with both.  Baby J is growing right on track (my Dr. was a bit concerned he was behind based on my measurements), and my cervix is still fully in tact (I had lots of pressure and cramping last week, and she wanted to make sure everything was still good).   

Food cravings: I’m back on a tuna fish kick again.  Of course I can only eat it in limited amounts, so this is a bad craving to have.  I think I over-indulged in king cake way too much this past week, so that craving is gone now. 

Symptoms: I’ve been having lower back cramping that comes and goes randomly.  It’s identical to menstrual cramping.  There’s also lots of pressure down below.  The culprit – J has already positioned himself head down.  He seems impatient like his big sister was. 

Movement:  His movement is a lot more forceful and obvious on the outside.  Sometime he kicks/punches so hard that I’m sure someone saw it from far away.  It’s crazy!  I think he’s slowly running out of room in there, so it’s not as frequent, but he can still be stirred easily just if I drink water or even talk.  He likes to position his butt on the right side of my belly.  Even if I put my hand on it, he doesn’t move it.  Lazy kid!  He hiccups quite frequently.  It’s the weirdest sensation, and it lasts for at least 10 minutes every time. 

The nursery:  My wonderful friends flew/drove in to help me with this nursery this weekend!  While we had a little too much fun in NOLA the night before and didn’t get as much done as we’d hoped, we did finish up the stripes and curtains! 

Allison is starting to paint the stripes!

Beth is getting in on some action!

It was a joint effort – Dusty helped, too!

Here’s a little sneak peak of the finished product (more pictures to come later once I have more things in place):


Kent was a sewing fool!  She made a gorgeous set of curtains for J’s room! 

Here’s another sampling of what’s in store for the nursery:

1. Old lamp I found in my house.  I spray painted the base with Valspar Aqua.  I love the way it turned out!

2/3.  I found some inspiration artwork on Etsy and DIY.  The frames are old black frames that I found around my house and just spray painted with the same aqua paint I used for the lamp.

4. The chevron fabric for J’s curtains

5. His bedding

6. Adorable birds that I had made from The Fish Box on Etsy.  I’m going to make a bird mobile to hang above his changing table.
 
Here’s a closer look:
 
7. Fabric palette for pillows and the changing pad. 

Joe spent the day working on assembling the crib.  Now I just need to hang the curtains, get a dresser and start putting up all of the odds and ends.  Lots left to do, but we’re slowly getting there! 

New stolen idea of the week:

I want to hang these in the corner near his crib.  I still need the stars and some other colors (probably orange).

I got the inspiration here:


What I’m looking forward to:  Finishing up the nursery.

What I miss: Not much right now.

Next appointment:

Since I had bad cramping and pressure last week, my OB requested that I have an ultra-sound to check my cervical length. I had pre-term labor with Anna and had time-table contractions at 35 weeks, so we’re being overly cautious at this point to avoid that again. When I went in for my Gestational Diabetes test last Thursday, she set me up for an appointment on Wednesday, January 25 to have the cervical check as well as a growth ultra-sound for baby J. He measured a 1 1/2 cm. behind the last two appointments. While that’s not too significant, my Dr. wanted to be check on things just to make sure J is growing as he should be.

Admittedly, I was super excited to see J again and totally relieved when everything checked out A-OK. He’s measuring right on track or ahead in some areas (his head was a few days bigger than some other body parts).  My cervical length checked out fine, too.  My fluids are where they need to be.  All in all, it was a great visit.  J is head down and in position!

Here’s a picture of him from today:

He has the same exact profile as Anna!

The other images are freaky looking, so I won’t post them here. 

He was pretty active today – opening and closing his mouth, moving his arms/hands all around.  Oh, and he’s still a boy!

I’m still waiting on the results of my Gestational Diabetes test.  My next appointment is Friday, February 3.  I’m starting the every two weeks appointments now.  I can’t believe it’s already that time!

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So, my friends Beth and Kent drove in this past Friday, January 20th to help out with the nursery.  Our plan was for them to arrive on Friday afternoon, head out to NOLA for the evening, paint/sew on Saturday, take it easy that night, and then head back to NOLA on Sunday for beignets and day time fun. 

Little did I know that they had something else in the works!

They both arrived around 4ish in the afternoon (give or take a few), and it was so awesome to see them again!  We sat and chatted for a bit and then headed out to NOLA (with Joe) to have some fun. 

We stopped off at Napoleon House for dinner.  It’s a quaint little place with delicious NOLA cuisine.  Right after we get our meals, I look to my right and see Allison and Dusty walk in!  I had ZERO clue they would be coming, so it was a total surprise.  An amazing surprise.  I sat there completely stunned, and it took me a good hour or two to finally realize that two more of my closest friends on the planet actually came in to see me!  ME!  I felt so special and blessed to have them there.  It was truly the best weekend a girl could ask for, and I thank Beth and Kent for arranging it all and keeping me totally in the dark about it – good job! 

Here’s video of the moment they arrived:

I’m also glad they came because now we have pictures of our weekend. 

Joe is an honorary member of our little group! 

Dusty is talking to baby J.

Then…as we’re sitting at Pat O’s, another SURPRISE.  My friend Aly (in the middle) comes up and joins our happy little group!  Again, TOTALLY surprised.



I’m so happy that we’re all together again! 

I wish I had a slice of that pizza right now!

There are many more pictures that shall remain private simply because what happens in NOLA stays in NOLA.  Of course I had a sober front row seat to everything since I didn’t drink a drop, but I’m not spilling any secrets! 

Saturday we had a late start based on the previous day’s festivities.  I posted the nursery pictures above since that’s what we spent most of the day doing – motivating ourselves to paint and relaxing around the house.

We went out that night to a delicious local restaurant that served creole cuisine.  It was a hit!

Here we are in front of the place (Joe was the photographer):

Once we got back home, they surprised me – YET AGAIN – with a baby shower for J. 


Adorable Saints hat from my friend Mandy.


Joe especially liked this one even though it was a Mustang.  He may have to suppress his Chevy obsession while his son wears this one. 

I got this Rock N Play Sleeper from the girls – little did I know how fantastic these things are.  They’re all the rave now!



It was such a fun little shower – I got lots of cute onesies and other baby items, diapers, etc. 

We left fairly early the next morning to go back to NOLA for the daytime fun.  Dusty and Alyson were leaving to go back home later in the afternoon, so we wanted to get an earlier start.

Here we are at Café Du Monde:


Here I am imitating Tyrone.



Crack is whack, yo.

My bump looks HUGE here!

After we dropped off Dusty at the airport.  Beth, Kent, and I went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant in my college town.  It was so nice to have a relaxing meal without toddler interruption!  I am so thankful that my wonderful in-laws watched Anna this weekend so I could have some Natalie time with my favorite people on earth!

Once we got back home, Anna was there, and she had a blast playing with Beth, Allison, and Kent.

We spent the rest of the evening watching TV and relaxing and went to bed fairly early since Allison’s flight was super early, and Kent/Beth had a long drive ahead of them.  Plus, I had to work the next day. 

It was am amazing weekend full of fun, great food, and great friends.  It’s one of those memories that I’ll cherish forever and think about when I’m all old and decrepit.  There aren’t many friends like these girls, and I’m forever thankful that they’re a part of my life.