34w0d

How far along? 34w0d or 85% or 8.75 months pregnant.

Total weight gain/loss: +24 pounds...and I'm guessing I gained 10 more pounds at the state fair yesterday, LOL.

Size: Cantaloupe or Honeydew. He's nearly 18 inches long and weighs about 4.75 pounds now.

Baby Development: His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. He continues to gain fat layers and filling out his tiny little body.

Movement: YES! Both movements and kicks happen regularly throughout the day and night. I think he is starting to run out of room too, I can feel him pushing out against my belly and it's starting to hurt a bit now.

Food cravings: Nothing new lately.

Food aversions: None.

What I miss: Jimmy John's, alcohol, my jeans.

How I'm feeling: For the most part I'm feeling good, I have the normal pregnancy aches and pains...but I manage to waddle myself around :) Swelling is back under control but my feet/ankles are puffy by the end of the day (which my doctor says is completely normal) and my fingers look puffy too...hopefully they go down a bit once it cools down next month.

Milestones/Best moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat and knowing I'm still measuring on track. Although I kinda dread the bi-weekly appointments because of the stepping on the scale...hearing his little heart and knowing everything is still progressing makes it worth it :)

We had a VERY long Friday and the reason this post is a day late. We got up early and headed to the state fair...we had a lot of fun and hit all our usual food and vendor stands. We had cheese curds, pronto pups, caramel corn (that was gross and ended up throwing away), sweet martha's cookies and french fries. We shared most of these and Joe tried a breakfast lollipop, which was sausage deep fried in pancake batter and dipped in syrup. It was really good, we will definitely add this to our usual routine next year. We also stopped by the Star Tribune stand and they were handing out ketchup and mustard chap sticks...I guess they really taste like it too, YUCK! I will take their word for it...I won't be trying it!

After we got home, I noticed some unusual changes with me and thought I might be leaking amniotic fluid. After a few hours of stewing and using Dr Google (always a blessing and a curse!)...I finally freaked myself out enough that I called the hospital and talked to a L&D nurse. She told me the only way to know for sure was to come in and they would test to find out....so at 8:30 on a Friday night, we headed to our hospital. I think that was the longest 20 minutes of my life...we both didn't know what to expect and both kept thinking "we aren't ready to be parents yet"...and "this can't be happening yet." I wasn't having contractions but I also didn't know what they would do if I was indeed leaking amniotic fluid.

They hooked me up to the ultrasound machine, where they measured for contractions and the baby's heartbeat. We had to wait a while for the nurse to come in, she was busy with another patient but once she came in, she administered the test. After about 10 minutes, the results were in and I was NOT leaking amniotic fluid, thank goodness! However, before I could be released, I needed to be on the ultrasound machine for 20 more minutes and I had to have my doctor's approval. Well, my doctor is out of town this weekend but the nurse didn't read far enough in the notes to see that...so after trying to page her twice, she then went to paging her backup doctor. Finally, they got ahold of that doctor and he wanted me to give a urine sample to check for a UTI (another issue I had yesterday was I was in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes and never felt empty). So we waited again for those results to come back from the lab...once they were in, they had to get ahold of the doctor again before they would release me. The results were negative for a UTI as well and finally at 11:30, we were walking out the front door. It was a long 2.5 hours but I'm glad I went in...it's better to be safe than sorry...and with Joe out of town this weekend, I didn't want risk something bad happening while I was by myself. At least there was a positive of the night, we listened to our sweet baby boy's heart for almost the entire time we were there...and it was all over the place, ranging from 125-173...it was crazy to feel him move or kick and then see his heartbeat rise.

We also realized how unprepared we are and how fast time is going...so the car seat will be installed and the hospital bags will be finished this weekend, except for the last minute items we'll need to pack like changes of clothes, computer, my glasses or contacts, etc. It was an awful feeling...having nothing that we needed with us, especially since we didn't know if we'd be rushed into delivery or not. I guess it was a good practice round and hopefully the next trip we make will be the real deal! At least we'll be more prepared next time.

Then as we were driving home on 610, all of a sudden, we had a cop car chasing us with his lights and sirens on...seriously?!? After the last 2.5 hours in a hospital, this was the last thing we wanted to deal with...what else could go wrong. I was already stressing about what this hospital visit was going to cost us...and then to top it of with a ticket?!? UGH! And to make it worse, Joe's old speeding ticket is finally dropping off in January too, so I was hoping for a drop in our rates. So the officer came to the window, took Joe's license and insurance card, then told us he was pulling us over for not using a turn signal. WTF, are you kidding me?!? He went and checked Joe's record, then came back and luckily just gave us a warning. After we pulled away, I told Joe I bet we got pulled over because he was looking for DWI's. It is a holiday weekend and they always bump up patrols...so when he didn't use his blinker one time, it gave him enough reason to pull us over. 

So we walked in the front door well after midnight....to find Shiloh had eaten the zucchini bread wrapped in foil that was on the counter. I was concerned about the amount of tin foil she had consumed, so we called the ER vet, thinking we would be making another hospital visit in the same night. The vet Joe talked to wasn't concerned enough to bring her in, due to her size and amount she ate (had it been a entire roll, it would have been a different story) and thought it should pass through ok...but I need to watch her carefully this weekend and make sure it passes (can't wait to inspect that, ugh!), otherwise we will need to go in.

And then Joe was out the door this morning by 7am...it was a very LONG night but thankfully everyone is healthy and no major problems to be concerned with as of yet (assuming Shiloh passes everything)...just a stressful evening and not the way I wanted to start my 4 day holiday weekend.

This morning I had some serious cuddle time on the couch with my sweet girl...something I know I won't get much of anymore once pumpkin seed arrives but every 15-20 minutes or so, she would sit up and look out the window for her Dad...it was pretty darn cute!