29 Weeks and Counting

As Baby Center says, only 77 days left to go! A co-worker commented yesterday that I've gone from a sassy swagger to a slow shuffle. I'm holding steady at about a 27 pound weight gain, which is supposed to be healthy. However, people keep making the comment that I'm small for 7 months. Since it's becoming more difficult to find clothes that fit comfortably when I get dressed, I'm not sure I want to get too much bigger. Some of my shirts seem likely to expose my midriff. I jumped up a couple sizes in pants since my spreading hips are making my pre-pregnancy sized maternity pants shimmy down as I walk or sit. It's weird that the clothes go on, they just don't want to stay on. It's probably good that I plan to stop work about 3 weeks before I'm due, because by that time, I'll probably be rotating two sets of clothes.

Potus has become very active of late. Or, it's probably more accurate to say he/she is just getting stronger. The kicks are more noticeable as kicks and seem to pick up whenever I sit (which is most of the day at work).

We were able to "break-in" some of the baby gear this weekend when our friends from Indy came up with their 7 month old daughter, L. L was a super sweet smiley guest. She put up with Zeus although we tried to curb the worst of his overly generous kisses. Isis didn't seem too interested, but she wasn't agressive, just attentive. She has strong enforcer tendencies, so she'll probably do a lot of watching in the future. By the end of the weekend, Zeus seemed to get that we held L in high esteem and he was not to go near her unattended. Still, he showed a huge affinity for all plush toys associated with L. I have to give him props for delicately chewing the string off a stuffed insect attached to the floor gym. He eyed it all weekend and despite shooing him off it several times, he found it unattended sometime Sunday morning and "freed" it. However, he didn't damage the toy, just disengaged it. For such a slobber-puss, he can manage some precision chewing when needed. This, however, does not bode well for the future of plush toys in our house. I hope Potus and any future siblings can appreciate nice hard plastic toys....

On the health front, I took my glucose test last week and am doing just fine. No gestational diabetes, yeah! I also got my Rho-gam shot (since I'm Rh Negative and P is positive) which should hold me through delivery unless Potus runs late. I've started battling a little heartburn after meals, so I bought a bottle of Tums, which seems to do the trick. At first I attributed it to eating too fast or eating and then going to bed, but it's getting a bit more regular, so I think it's just eating, period.

I'm beginning to feel the need to fix up Potus' room. P has the changing table built. He just needs to complete the drawer pulls and finish it. However, he ran out of wood for the crib, so he's in a holding pattern until he can make it to South Bend for a bit more cherry. He wants to finish the pieces at the same time for efficiency. Once those pieces go in the room, it'll start to feel like a baby room. And, the second baby shower is coming up in less than a month now so we should find out what gear we still need soon. Right now, the list is pretty overwhelming. Especially considering the loss of my income.

Travelers Return for Week 18

Yesterday, Zeus and I gladly returned home. We were ready to sleep in our own quiet house in our nice comfortable bed. Zeus' first stop was the dog yard which I found kind of funny since he had gone potty a few times that day already. Then he got a flea bath. P gave him another one tonight because he's still scratching.

I hit the ground running at work today and put in nearly 10 hours before I went to an after-work meeting. Luckily, Maureen provides good snacks, so Potus and I didn't suffer. Had a light salad supper, because I feel super stuffed by the end of the day. I think I had a little too much salt in my soup today and am retaining more water than usual.

Our trip was very good, even if we did do more driving than visiting. Still, I was able to spend some quality time with my sisters and parents. Visited with the Flamingos and saw some old friends at the baby shower. Even made a trip to big D to visit Aunt d. She treated me to yummy cheese enchiladas, which was my primary food objective on the trip. Sister C and I logged a lot of walking in super hot Fredericksburg for a couple of days. We did actually go into the stores we'd previously dismissed. But, we really only bought food and a Christmas party dress for me. I've been obsessing (quietly) about what to wear to this party that is about 2 weeks after my due date. I figure I'm about the size I'll be then, so last week was the perfect time to try stuff on. It's not super fancy, but it's flattering, forgiving, and I believe washable and wearable for many future occasions. All in all, the kind of purchase that is highly satisfying.

The baby shower was nice, co-ed, and not really like a baby shower at all, except for the gifts. People I hadn't seen in years were very generous and made a good sized dent in the list of "must-haves". I'll go through the registries and make sure what we got is marked off.

Zeus got to visit lots of dogs too. He met a couple at the rest stops, had a minor flirtation with a boxer in a massive truck on the highway, and after a rough start, became best friends with his goofy Cousin Sam. Sam is a largish black and white shelter dog of unknown parentage with a super sweet and klutzy temperament. He thinks he's a little dog, which makes it a little awkward when he tries to crawl in your lap. He's also very playful, which meant Zeus had a ready play buddy. Zeus thinks he's a big dog, but found the spinning butt move he uses in scuffles with his sister to be utterly ineffective against Sam's greater height and weight. Later, Zeus met Aunt d's menagerie, but didn't quite hit it off with any of them like he did with Sam. I think he would have gotten along with Bubba the Cat though, had they a longer acquaintance.

We missed the Week 17 update, since the little rental house didn't have wi-fi as promised. However, at Week 18, which begins tomorrow, Potus should be about the size of a bell pepper. Started feeling more pregnant today. It could have been all the salt, but it could just be about time. I believe I felt Potus quicken when we went bowling about a week and a half ago. The fireworks at the picnic also got a pretty major response. So, the kid is either going to be terrified of loud noises or a drummer.