Bump Date: Week 29, 30 & 31

31 weeks. Bye toes!

Week 29/30/31

How Far Along?  31 weeks today! We're in the single digits! 9 weeks to go!

Size of the Baby? Baby G is the size of head of lettuce. He is likely measuring 18 inches long and 3.2 lbs. Baby G is going to gain about 1/2 lb a week until we get to his due date!

Maternity Clothes? Yes, ma'am! 

Stretch Marks? None from pregnancy so far! Burt's Bee's Momma and Baby oil has been good to my growing belly. The ones from before.....eh, they weren't going to disappear so who really cares. ;) 

Gender? Boy! 

Name? Benjamin Andersen Garbe! 

Sleep? Sleeping very well, most nights. :) Also taking a lot of naps ---- I took two the day of the baby shower. ;) 

Cravings? Pancakes and tacos. And salads (drenched in ranch, obviously). 

What I Miss? Energy. Family. Framily. :) 

Movement? Yes! Moving a lot ---- more big movements rather than kicking, which my body appreciates. ;) 

Symptoms? Feeling hot. I love this polar vortex. :D Heartburn (they say to avoid spicy food, but I can't give up my tacos). I'm starting to get leg cramps. Those are fun. ;)

Belly Button? In, but it's making it's way out! 

Best Moment of the last three weeks? Schaumburg Baby Shower! Seeing my best friends and framily!

Looking forward to: Continuing to work on the nursery and not having to travel again until after Baby Ben is born. 

Some random thoughts from the last three weeks: 

Last week we toured Ben's future daycare. It was the definition of bittersweet. I'm so glad they were able to accommodate us in their infant program ---- I was told a couple of years ago to put our name on the waiting list "the second you know you're pregnant" and I practically did --- at 9 weeks right after our ultrasound! The center is really secure, clean, and (most importantly) highly recommended by many good friends. The babies looked really happy ---- and the idea that Ben will get to see and play with other babies kind of makes my heart melt (so cute). I also almost cried at one point thinking about leaving Ben to be cared for by someone other than myself or Dave. But! Such is life when you want a career and like to shop travel!

Dave and I have been going to a series of childbirth classes that I've found to be pretty useful. I had a love/hate relationship with this week's class --- it was focused on Comfort Skills and I can tell already Dave is going to be an AWESOME labor partner, but I also felt like the whole "labor is painful" thing was a liiiiitttle bit glossed over. During a video, women were saying things like "when I relaxed my face, it's like the pain just disappeared". Please! I'm not believing that for a second. I also just scheduled a meet and greet with a Pediatric ARNP and also registered at the hospital for labor. Feels great to be crossing items off the to-do list, and it also heightens my anxiety that we've only got about 2 months to go!

We had a baby shower in Schaumburg last weekend, which you know about if you're reading this! It was so beautiful and it was so great to see people who have been such a significant part of my life since childhood. Truly my "framily". I have some really talented and creative people in my life ---- everything was absolutely perfect, and I kept a few decorations for Ben's nursery. I know I keep saying this, and I don't want it to seem disingenuous, but I really am overwhelmed by the amount of love and support we've received during this pregnancy. Everyone is so excited for Ben's arrival, and he has already been spoiled beyond belief and I have a funny feeling that's going to continue. ;) Thank you so much to my lovely hosts!! Some of my favorite pictures from the day:

*Random note: My hospital recently started playing Brahms lullaby over the main intercom whenever a baby is born; however, initially I did not know this and thought I was genuinely having some baby-related hallucinations. Though a cute idea in theory, there were 100 babies born within a ten day period. I'll let you decide if that song gets annoying after a while.