36 Weeks

We're another week closer to meeting baby Nolan. At my doctor appointment yesterday she had to pull out the ultrasound equipment to take a peek at him because she thought she felt him in a breach position again. But he's still head-down and will most likely stay that way now that he's bigger, making it harder for him to flip on his own. The ultrasound quality wasn't very clear but it was still fun to see him on the screen - seeing as the last time I got to catch a glimpse of him was at the 20 week appointment, and that feels like forever ago. My doctor did confirm that he is laying entirely on my left side, which is what I felt and definitely explains why my left leg/foot is experiencing the most swelling. His head is also still pretty high so she's not concerned that I'll be going into labor early; I was happy to hear that news. Even though I haven't been worried that I would go into labor early - especially considering Mallory was so late - it's always reassuring to hear confirmation from the professional.

Other than just getting more uncomfortable in general as this belly of mine continues to get bigger, nothing new or exciting to report. When Mallory rubs on my belly she always makes sure to point out that Nolan is "getting bigger and will be popping out very soon." She seems to be excited to not just meet her baby brother but also help take care of him. She and I are headed up to my mom's house tomorrow morning for a couple of days to just relax; it'll be my last road trip that I take before Nolan's arrival. It takes about two hours to drive up there and that's pretty much my max now of what I am able to comfortably handle without feeling like I want to jump out of my skin. This is definitely one of those times when either flying cars or teleportation would really come in handy.

A Date with John Mayer

Last Wednesday night, Jody and I got to enjoy a weekday date night and go see John Mayer in concert at Sleep Train Amphitheater. I love me some John Mayer - his music and his looks, though I will say that when he had his hair longer I wasn't as impressed. Thankfully his hair is back to short so I can continue to crush on him. I had been looking forward to this concert ever since finding out his tour was coming our way and deciding that even though I would be 35 weeks pregnant enduring the summer heat, it was still going to be worth it.

The last time I - we - had seen John in concert was back in 2007, and he's put out some really good albums since then. I had wanted to see him when he was going to tour after releasing Battle Studies, but he cancelled the tour to have throat surgery. But he's back baby, and in my opinion performed a great show. He played a nice mixture of songs; from his newest album Born and Raised, Battle Studies, Continuum, and even Room for Squares. He did a Bob Hope cover and also performed a new song that I believe will be on his next album. He can't hit the high notes like he used to, but besides having throat surgery he's also getting older so you can't expect things to remain the same forever. It was also fun to see him so into the guitars he was shuffling through and even had a couple of stories about some of them.

The only complaint I had about the whole night was that it was pretty hot, at times even muggy. Thankfully it was only for about an hour when we first got there and once the sun completely set, there was even a bit of a breeze that made it much more bearable for the rest of the night. Oh, and the mosquito bites on my feet weren't fun though I'm not surprised I got some. I was even wearing bug spray but I am a magnet for mosquitoes, so it's only fitting that I received a few.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from our lovely date night to share. Venue rules don't allow cameras with removable lenses so I was out of luck to bring mine in. I didn't even try and I'm glad I didn't because I saw another couple at the gate on the way in with one and they were getting lectured to go put it back in their car before they'd be allowed to go in. No one wants to have to be seen putting a nice camera back in a car that will sitting empty for a few hours; recipe for disaster. One day soon I'll have an iPhone though so I'll at least have that as a backup to my Canon because I would have loved to have some pictures. I'll have to rely on my memory alone for this one.

35 Weeks

Not only is this week 35 with baby Nolan, it means as of today I only have four more weeks until his scheduled delivery. Whoa. These next four weeks are going to go by so quick, I just know it. I remember when I was in the home stretch with Mallory it seemed like it took FOREVER. But this time I feel the complete opposite. I know it's mainly because I'm not in a hurry for his arrival like I was with Mal, but it's also because I'm busy keeping monster entertained. Fortunately I'm completely ready to go with his layette and necessary gear that we'll need right away so there's no stress for me there; the rest of the items that I might be looking over are either not important or will come with time. I'm putting the finishing touches on the decor in his room and will likely have that done by this weekend. It's coming together nicely and I'm excited to share the result of my efforts.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I've retired my running routine until post-pregnancy and now stick with power walks, body-weight resistance exercises, chasing a very active Mallory around, and cleaning the house (which sometimes makes me sweat more than an actual workout). However, activity in general is becoming tougher; I have to stop to catch my breath more often and have even started experiencing some mild contractions, especially when I climb the stairs. But this momma doesn't have any plans to slow down and my dedication to remain active has kept my weight gain under 25 pounds so far. I almost think that even though my belly seems to be bigger this time around, I might gain less than I did with Mal; I thought for sure I'd have a hard time with that goal.

My poor feet are pretty much swollen every day now. Sometimes it won't happen until the afternoon, other times I'll wake up and they're already puffy. Comfortably I have to stick with flip flops or my favorite, barefoot. Even my running shoes work against me by giving me blisters on my heels if I wear them for too long. The other morning, on mine and Mallory's way home from the park I just took them off and power walked the rest of the way in my socks. It probably looked pretty odd to those passing by but I was in less pain and that's all I cared about at the moment.

The heartburn is back in full force, even without eating spicy foods or drinking too much coffee. I know it's because Nolan is getting bigger and there's less room for him, so he's all crammed up against my esophagus. Of course there's all my other internal organs he's crammed up against as he moves and stretches around in there. Just making himself comfortable on my behalf, no big deal. Unfortunately I've also noticed that my morning sickness has become a little more frequent again. I'm almost out of my Zofran prescription, which I didn't think would happen seeing as my doctor gave me a huge amount when I first got it filled. I think we both thought it would last through my entire pregnancy.

All in all, I still feel pretty good for where I'm at. Nothing too out of the ordinary from what I think most pregnant women go through. I know three other girls besides myself that are all due in August and I think it's safe to say we're all pretty excited to be this close to the end.

Raising the White Flag

Within the last couple of weeks, I have been in a bit of denial when it comes to fully retiring my running routine during this pregnancy. Mainly because I've been able to do so without any problems. I've been making sure to listen to my body along the way - like my doctor has suggested at each of my monthly appointments. And so far my body has been fine with my exercise regimen. There have been a couple of occasions where I've had to take a few days off to rest a really sore muscle, but nothing alarming that has made it necessary to completely stop running. Until now.

My run yesterday morning started out totally fine and normal, but became a little too scary for me to ignore and I am calling truce on my running routine for now. The path that I take when I have Mallory in the stroller has a park that is about a half a mile away from our house and we always take a pause there to play on the swings, and let me cool down for a bit before continuing. Yesterday, as soon as I stopped running to take our break I was in immediate pain; like false labor type pain. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to walk, it hurt to sit. All I could manage to do was stand there leaning on Mallory's stroller, trying to control my breathing while racking my brain with the ideas of what could be happening and what I was going to do about it. Not gonna lie, I was scared. And of course I didn't have my cell phone on me, with a half of a mile to go until I was even home. I told myself, as I stood there trying to will myself to feel better, that if the pain didn't go away I would have no problem asking the gardeners that were nearby to borrow one of their cell phones. Luckily after about five everlasting minutes of breathing through it and sitting down, I was able to walk around again. It was still painful but I could tell it was lessening and would continue to do so. Mallory got to swing a little longer than normal while I drank water and let my body get back to feeling okay enough to walk us the rest of the way home. I was so relieved when the pain started going away and we were able to get home without creating a scene and involving the surrounding neighbors.

My body definitely let me know that it was done with my running routine. Like I said, I was just waiting for a sign that it was time to stop and I sure got one; a more scary and painful indicator than I thought I would receive, but I'm listening to it for sure. I'm not looking to get this little boy out any earlier than August 20 if I have my way, and if my running were the reason I went into early labor I would have only myself to blame. Not worth it. I would like to wait the four weeks that I have left, thank you very much.

Although I wasn't able to run for as long as I did with Mallory, I'm still pretty darn proud of myself. With all the morning sickness, lack of sleep and energy, having to lug around not just the baby in my growing belly but also the growing toddler in the stroller, and fighting with the summer heat...I think I rocked the running routine like a champ. Besides, there are plenty of other ways for me to get some exercise in. Especially with my funny Mallory monster to keep me on my toes!

34 Weeks

Baby Shower for Nolan

I had my shower for baby Nolan on Saturday afternoon. The overall theme was "Ice Cream" and then I played up the colors of blue, green, and orange. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have an ice cream party because, if you've been following my pregnancy journey, you have heard me say that ice cream has been my biggest weakness/craving this time around. With Mallory I craved vegetables, but with Nolan it's sugar. I had the shower at my community's clubhouse - the same spot I did Mallory's shower. It's nice to have access to a free, air-conditioned space other than my own house and still be within walking distance to show off the nursery.

I gathered a lot of my ideas for the party from scouring Pinterest - have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest. I was really trying to not go overboard and keep things as simple as possible, not just for the sake of my wallet but also for my sanity in that I didn't want to be too stressed out when it came to the actual set up. I feel like I succeeded and was able to truly enjoy myself when it came time for the party to start. We all enjoyed the yummy ice cream bar and played a few silly games before diving into the wonderful gifts that baby Nolan received - and even a few gifts for me to indulge in like chocolate and massages. It was a wonderful day and I feel so blessed to have shared it with amazing family and friends, both those that were able to come in person and those that were there in spirit.

33 Weeks

I am at the point in this pregnancy that I'm starting to feel uncomfortable more often now; sometimes all day whereas it used to be only when I would overdo it with too much physical activity. I have also decided that those who are largely-pregnant during the hottest of summer months have it harder when it comes to trying to still "look cute" and keep from turning into a meanie-pants by the end of the day. Thankfully, monster has been pretty darn cute lately so my moodiness is kept at bay for the most part. But she still knows how to push buttons and I just have to pause for a moment to breathe before dealing with her.

My increasing discomfort comes with some unpleasant side effects, as to be expected I guess but still not very welcome. My left ankle now gets pretty swollen so I've been elevating my leg and icing it throughout the day for some relief. So far it's only my left foot but I'm sure as Nolan continues to move, my right foot will experience it too. I remember when I was pregnant with Mal and I was a month out from her due date, I was working a multi-day conference in SF and by the end of it my feet were like stumps; it was awful. This time I'm at least able to take more breaks when I need to. I'm also now experiencing the lovely pelvic bone pain that leaves me feeling sore and yearning to "waddle" when I have to walk anywhere. I try to leave the waddle moments for when I'm at home or when I know no one else it looking. I am having to tone down my running a bit - taking more days off in between. My support belt has become more of my friend lately, especially with the convenient ice pack that I can slip in. Oh the fun parts of pregnancy.

I experienced Nolan's introduction to hiccups this past week. I was wondering if he would get them in my belly; Mallory got them all the time and she still gets them pretty easily. Baby hiccups in your belly are definitely a funny feeling that make me smile when I notice they're there. He tends to get them more towards the late afternoon and/or at night - usually to match the lovely heartburn that I have going on. He's favoring the left side of my belly for his current position - explains the whole left foot swelling thing. He'll move himself all over contorting my belly as he goes, but he always makes his way back over to the left side.

I have my baby shower this Saturday and I'm getting super excited. I've been preparing everything this week and can't wait to see it all set up, and then to share the day with family and friends. I'm also eager because it's an ice cream party, and we all know how much I love me some ice cream. In other good news, I received the pictures back from our maternity photo session and I love how they turned out. I'll share both the baby shower and some maternity photos in upcoming posts, so stay tuned.

Monster is becoming a regular in the belly shots

Our 4th Festivities

Even though it was dreadfully hot and humid all day and into the night, we still engaged in lots of outside activities. Scooter and bike riding, park time, swimming - both in the morning and in the afternoon, hanging out with family and eating yummy food, and of course fireworks - even though Mallory was scared after the first one and ran inside to hide. We had a wonderful day celebrating and hope everyone else did as well.

She's obsessed about picking things out of her toes

Happy 4th of July!

Water Park Merriment

Folsom has a smaller water park feature at John Kemp Community Park that I figured Mallory would like better than the crazy water features at the Aquatic Center, so after my run this morning we headed over there to try and beat the heat. The sprays aren't nearly as intense and there are no buckets of water dropping from above for her to be so scared of. She was interested as soon as we got there but still wanted to just watch from a distance at first. Then with a little luring on my part, she slowly got involved until she was completely in and I couldn't pull her out. Now that I know she likes it so much, we'll definitely be going back and might even try the bigger water park in El Dorado Hills.

Afternoon Cooldown

I didn't feel up to going over to our community's big pool so Mallory and I used her wading pool in the sideyard to take a dip this afternoon. The bad part is that the pool is a little small for the both of us to fit in at the same time, especially with my preggo belly. The good part is that she doesn't have to worry about a bathing suit - and though the pictures make it look like I'm in my 'birthday suit' too I swear I'm wearing something. The best part is watching her have a blast riding the green floatie like she's a cowboy, kicking and splashing water all over the place, and of course when she gives baby Nolan lots of love.

32 Weeks

Not much new to report on the pregnancy front. I have noticed that the linea nigra that I got with Mallory is back. It isn't as prominent at the moment but I imagine that it will get darker as time goes on. I read that being out in the sun can make it appear darker yet that doesn't seem to be my case, and with all this awful hot weather that we've been experiencing we've been out in the pool almost every day. I've also been known to sit in Mallory's wading pool in the sideyard while she takes her nap to get my white skin a little more color. Luckily I've steered clear of any sunburns and I plan to keep it that way - being pregnant is already uncomfortable enough without having to deal with a bad sunburn.

This heatwave has definitely affected me more than heat usually does, especially when it comes to running. The only chance I have to squeeze one in is first thing in the morning - like before 8am. And even then it's already pretty warm and the air is stale making it hard to breathe. When I was pregnant with Mal I ran up until 37 weeks and I was going to try and do the same this time. But if the heat continues like it has I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. I start to feel sick to my stomach almost immediately after I'm done and then I feel icky for a good while afterwards. I might need to resort to using the treadmill at the gym even though I dislike it because I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel, but it's better than nothing I guess.

Nolan is no longer breach and has been taking advantage of kicking me in the ribs more often. He still moves and stretches his body parts around more than kicking and flailing but it doesn't hurt any less. My belly is hard as a rock so when he stretches out like he does, it feels like my stomach is going to burst. But I still love to feel his little body move by when I have my hands on my bare skin as I try to make out which body part it is. Sometimes if I tap on my belly with my fingers he'll play along and push back; it's like a little game we play with each other. And I'm pretty sure he likes books already because when I read to Mallory at night he moves around the whole time I'm reading to her. When I sing too; or maybe that's his way of trying to get me to stop singing!

Riding low