29 weeks

29 weeks :) I had morning face so you are only getting my belly today!

Prenatal Yoga: I started taking prenatal Yoga last week and will be taking it every Thursday at the Columbia Yoga Center. It's not like the yoga I'm used to, it's very slow and relaxing and calming... I am trying to be all of those things but I find I am someone that has a hard time relaxing so I'm going to try my best to at least be calm when I go to yoga.

Tired: All of a sudden I feel like I'm in my 1st trimester again, I'm sooo tired all the time and want to take naps after work. Good thing I'm done school b/c right now I would not have the energy for it. Other then being tired the second worse thing about being pregnant is the leg cramps at night. My butt and legs ache all night when I sleep (which could also be why I'm so tired) b/c I wake up several times a night to go to the bathroom or from leg cramps. But other then that I really feel blessed to have such a easy pregnancy :)

Doctor's Visit: I had a doctor's visit yesterday and they told me my blood work looks great but they don't' go into much detail as of why but I guess I'm not low on anything important like iron. I did get a little lecture on being a vegetarian from my doctor. I told her I don't eat meat (other then seafood) and she quizzed me on where I get my protein, like most people do when I tell them I have given up on cows and chickens. So I told her I still eat eggs and dairy daily and I have protein shakes, fish twice a week, and veggie burgers, oh and lots and lots of lentils! I have also tracked my pregnancy diet on babyfit which let's you know if you are getting all the calories and protein you need and I was on target for both. The baby needs lots of protein right now especially int the Third Trimester so I am very conscious about getting enough and my doctor was happy with the sources of my protein. She said that it sounded like I get plenty of protein but just want me to be aware of it (which I promise I am!).

Weight Gain: Still about 15 pounds (maybe 15.5) I did also talk to my doctor about my weight gain concerns. I told her that I have been slowing down and only gaining about 1/2 pound a week even though all the books tell me I should be gaining a pound a week. She told me that as long as I was eating healthy and exercising that I might not gain a pound a week and that it was perfectly fine for me to not gain or only gain a little during the last part of pregnancy. She would only be concerned if the baby stopped growing not if I stop gaining weight. So they check if the baby is growing by measuring my stomach which should be getting bigger every week by about a centimeter. When she measured my stomach I was at 28 Centimeters which is a growth from last time and right where I should be for this week. So the goal is a bigger belly!!! Yea I love the big Belly :)

28 weeks

I have hit the 7 month mark! Time is flying :)

Computer issues: So I'm late in posting 28 weeks b/c my work computer decided to blow up and I have been without a computer since Wednesday. Thank goodness I have an Iphone to check e-mails!!! How did we ever live without all this technology... Or maybe it's a bad thing that I'm so attached to my e-mail. Who knows what Juliet will have in the future technology wise.

Beach weekends: I have had two lovely beach weekends in a row and have been able to enjoy sun and ice cream :) It has been nice to relax on the beach with friends and have good dinners out. Might as well enjoy it while I can.

The Scale Does Not Lie: Unless John has been messing with it. So I had a minor freak out earlier this week when I went to weigh myself and I had lost 3 pounds. Here is what happened, I weighted myself and went from 16 pounds to 13 pounds, so I call John and this is how the conversation went:

R: John, I think I should call the doctor. There is something wrong with Juliet. I just got on the scale and I lost three pounds. So I think she has stopped growing.

J: I'm sure it's just water weight you lost, no need to freak out. It was hot last week and this week it's cool so I'm sure it is just water weight you lost.

R: I don't think so, three pounds is a lot. I'm going to call the doctor.

J: Well... Okay, I have a confession.

R: What????

J: I changed the scale so it would read that you weighted less then you really do.

R: You did what? Why in the world would you do that????

J: I wanted you to feel skinny.

Moral of the story: I love you John BUT no women in their right mind wants to lose weight when they are pregnant, even to "Feel Skinny!" Silly boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My real weight gain now that the scale is set back to ZERO is 15 pounds. John changed it two weeks in a row, the first week he set it the wrong way so I thought I had gained two pounds when I had really probably gained about pound that week (gaining two pounds was a much better feeling then thinking I had lost three pounds!)

27 weeks

Third Trimester? I think I'm starting my Third Trimester this week or next... All the sites and books say different things. Some say your third trimester begins in week 27, other say 28 but I guess I will go by math and say I have entered my Third Trimester... Divide 40 weeks of gestation by 3 = 13.33 per trimester. Week 1 to 13.33 weeks is 1st Trimester. 13.34 weeks to 26.67 weeks is 2nd Trimester and 26.68 to 40.00 Weeks is 3rd Trimester. So YEA TO THE FINAL HOME STRETCH OF BEING PREGO! Three more months to go.

Congrats to my Friend Jodi: Who had her 2nd baby today :) She went into labor last night after her water broke and gave birth to a baby boy at 5AM this morning. Can't wait to meet him :) Once she gets some rest and let's me know when visiting hours are I will go see the little bundle of joy and hear all about her labor and delivery.

I'm DONE: I am officially 100% done with grad school and will be receiving my Masters degree in the mail in a week or two. My next step to is to become a licenced counselor which means I have to take the National Counselors Exam and pass to get my provisional Licence. This allows people to bill their insurance under me and I am more marketable for jobs. I hope I can take the exam this summer before the baby comes b/c I know I will have limited time to study after Juliet makes her appearance. So I just have to get all the paperwork in and back in time to take the exam...

The baby's Room: We are making progress, John finished painting the room and we have all our furniture for the baby's room now in boxes since we have to get new carpet before we put it all in the room. (thanks Momma Green and Collins for helping with the furniture!) Mom's are the best! I am pretty confident we will have everything done by the end of July.

All aboard: I'm back on the weight gain train! Acquired two pounds this week so I'm sitting pretty at 16 pounds... much closers to where I should be at and my goal is 25-30 pounds by the end of all this.

26 weeks

I'm tired, stressed, and overworked but HAPPY... B/C I have one more week till I'm done with school and I can catch up on sleep. I just found out I PASSED my final exam for grad school so I will GRADUATE!!! YEA :) I have been busy writing final papers and studying for tests but that will all be over forever in a week. I can hardly believe I am finally done.... The light at the end of the tunnel is VERY bright. I wish I could have a graduation party but we are just too busy with our house renovations and getting ready for Juliet for a formal get together.

Two weeks left: Of my second trimester! the time is flying (probably b/c I have been so busy!) So we will only have about 3 months left to prepare for everything... Hopefully we get it together in time for her arrival and I don't go into labor too early :0 I am really excited for things to slow down a little this summer with my job so I can enjoy my pregnancy and getting mentally ready for a real live baby.

I love my Belly! I know I said this last week but I really love my belly now that it's getting big, I think it's so cute!!!! I was feeling yucky about my body before but the bigger my belly gets the happier I am with my new shape. I really didn't expect to start feeling more comfortable with my body, I thought it would get harder to feel comfortable in my skin. I look pregnant enough now that strangers are now just starting to point at my belly and say things like "look at you!" and "Do you know what you are having?"

Looking forward to: Everything!!!! We are painting the baby's room this weekend and we just got our crib and changing table in from Target (thanks Mom!) So we will start to work on the babies room from now until it's done. We are also getting new carpet's in the next few weeks so more fun renovations!

Healthy body, Healthy mind: Now that the stress of school is almost behind me (all major assignments done, this last week will be a breeze) I will be healthier for Juliet :) Less stress will be good on my body and mind. I have gained a pound this week so I'm up to 14 pounds. I was getting worried for a while when I wasn't gaining anything for about 2 weeks but felt better when the doctor told me I was fine and not to worry about it. Even though I have been busy (and other then my sweet tooth) I have been really good about eating healthy and often, in fact I don't think I have eaten this healthy in my whole life... Hopefully this healthy eating will continue after the baby as well. I have also found time to walk b/c it makes me feel so much better when I get some exercise. Plus the the nice weather helps.

25 weeks

Just being silly in this picture!!!

Yea for 6 months plus: 6 months pregnant and beyond has been my favorite stage of pregnancy b/c I feel like I'm moving out of that feeling that I just look fat to actually looking noticeably pregnant. I really can't believe I will be in my third trimester in 3 short weeks. It's moving so fast and we have so much to do!

Our House: We have been talking about redoing our two bathrooms, re-carpeting, and expanding our backyard for a while now but we are finally doing something about it. Last night I came home after a long day to our downstairs bathroom totally torn apart. John had removed all the wall paper, taken out the mirror and cabinets. So we are all most ready to paint and tear out the rest of the bathroom so we can replace everything. It's going to look great! Hopefully we can get this all done in three months before the baby comes.

Kicking: I really think little Juliet might set some kind of baby record for kicking me in the womb. I am going to start using my kicking counter on my phone to record this activity b/c I think most people don't' get kicked as much as I do!!! She was kicking me straight for 4 hours last night. John even sat there for a while and felt her and said it was pretty crazy how hard she could kick. I'm guessing big feet and long legs. I really wonder when she sleeps and is she going to sleep at night when she comes out of there??? The great thing about being karate chopped all day is that I know she is okay in there if she is moving so much :) In fact she is kicking me right now as I write this, she says "Hi everyone!"

Doctor's appointment this week: I had a doctors appointment this week and not much happened. She just said my blood work and weight gain was good and that Juliet was negative for spina bifida, so that's good. This was also the first time they have started to measure my belly to make sure the baby is growing correctly. My belly measured 24 centimeters which she said was perfect since I was in my 24th week at the time. I guess the measurement is suppose to be within two centimeters of the week you are in. My weight gain so far is 13 pounds.

24 weeks or 6 Months

6 months from the side

6 months from the front

I can't believe I have hit the 6 month mark!!! For some reason I feel like 6 months is a huge milestone in my pregnancy. I'm a little crazy and have read all the statistics on children that are born premature and starting at 24 weeks babies have a chance to live outside the womb b/c of lung development. I'm sure I am just worrying for no reason but let's hope Juliet stays put for a while she still had lots of growing to do :)

Stressful Busy week: So I have been in grad school forever but I am on track to graduate this May 2010 but before I graduate I have to take an exam that covers my classes I have taken at Towson. The only problem is I transferred some credits in so not all my classes were from towson (so I don't know the material as well as most). Plus I am about the only one in the program that also works full time b/c most of the students are right out of College and are lucky enough to have someone paying for them to go to school. So the bottom line is it was really hard to study for the Test that will determine if I graduate!!!!! I had the test on Friday and I don't think it went very well :( I will hopefully hear the results next week but I don't have a good feeling. The good news is if I "fail" I have one more chance to take it in a month... so all hope is not lost yet. It's just been a LONG road with grad school and I may freak out if one little test keeps me from graduating. So it's been a stressful week for me. Cross your fingers that I passed.

My Cravings this week: I had to have a frosty from Wendy's this week :) I rarely have super strong cravings but this one was pretty strong and the Frosty did not disappoint, it hit the spot. Which is kind of weird b/c I never really liked chocolate frosty's before.


My Belly Growth: I have gained 13 pounds so far but I think my Belly has expanded more then ever this last couple weeks (and my belly button is starting to look freaky!) Maybe more strangers will notice I'm prego??? My growing belly is also producing more and more kicking from Juliet, she is constantly practicing martial arts in my belly. I think I have a hyper one on my hands.

23 weeks & baby moon

So I was a little behind in posting b/c of our Baby moon vacation :) Pictures from 23 weeks will be posted in the next couple weeks but for now I can just let everyone know how our trip went.

Swimming with Sharks anyone? My second responsible choice as a parent was NOT to swim with the sharks on our vacation (my first responsible choices have been what I have been putting in my body - trying to eat healthy and avoiding things you shouldn't eat and drink). On the third day of our trip we went on a snorkeling tour since it seemed to be the only thing I was "allowed" to do. The kiddie slide our out Hotel even had a sign that said NO PREGO'S!!!! So signed up for a snorkel tour through our Hotel that told us that there would be three snorkel stops (but did not mention the last stop would be to watch sharks swim around). So when we came to the last stop they told us we could go watch the REEF sharks FEED on the fish food box they dropped in the ocean to keep them occupied while we watched them (you know so they didn't eat the humans). Well John decided he wanted to go but I declined only b/c of Juliet, the thought of a shark eating her made me want to throw up. Normally I would be right behind John to look at the sharks but I guess motherhood changes you and for once I was being cautious. But John enjoyed all three minutes of watching the Sharks and said it was his favorite part of the vacations :)

Early Bedtime on Prego Vacations: So the big difference between vacationing when I'm not Pregnant and when I am Pregnant would be that I enjoy going to bed early and resting so much more. I was actually able to relax on vacation and sleep a ton, which normally would NOT happen. John and I both have problems relaxing and usually want to do a ton of activities. Well since there was not much that I was able to do I was forced to be lazy and sit on the beach and enjoy just being. It was nice for a change but I think John still got a little antsy, ha ha.

My favorite part of our vacation: Was eating all the great seafood! We went to a restaurant called the Poop Deck and had an excellent Grouper and Crab Cake meal. It was soooo good. We also ate some of the local food at the fish fry. In Nassau they specialize in Conch (which is shown in the picture below) and the famous side items are pea's & rice, Fried plantains, and Mac and Cheese... Yum Soul Food!!!! So at the fish fry we were able to taste Conch which kind of tastes like calamari.