29 weeks

Here is what is going on with Noah this week, according to babycenter.com;

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.  Your baby's very active now. Your healthcare provider may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let your provider know if you ever notice that your baby is becoming less active. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.  Some old friends — heartburn and constipation — may take center stage now. The pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation, coupled with the crowding in your abdomen, slows digestion. Sluggish digestion can cause gas and heartburn — especially after a big meal — and contribute to constipation.  To prevent constipation, eat a high-fiber diet, drink plenty of water, and get some regular exercise.  Some women get something called "supine hypotensive syndrome" during pregnancy. This happens when lying flat on your back causes a change in heart rate and blood pressure that makes you feel dizzy until you change position. You might notice that you feel lightheaded if you stand up too quickly, too. To avoid "the spins," lie on your side rather than your back, and move slowly as you go from lying down to sitting and then standing.

As for me, I'm still feeling good, but I think slowly each week I go a little more down hill now.  I've gained a little under 20 lbs so far and feel as big as a house, and am wondering if I'll ever have a flat stomach again.  I overdid it this weekend and walked 5 miles and had a sore back and didn't want to get off of the couch for hours after that.  I will say that was my fault though, and as long as I stick to shorter walks my back pain is VERY minimal.    From time to time I'll get mild foot or calf cramping while sleeping or laying down, but these aren't bad at all.  I'm just starting to get tired of being huge, and not really being able to bend over.  I've decided that it's too uncomfortable to bend over and paint or cut my toe nails so Jeremy removed my toe nail polish for me, cut my toe nails, and now I'll be polish free until I can reach my own feet again.  I'm still sleeping pretty well most nights, it just takes a little longer to get comfortable to fall asleep, and I have to get up 3-5 times a night to use the restroom, but other than that I sleep well while I'm asleep.  My glucose test/ blood work came back perfect from last week, so it sounds like everything is going well.  Now I'll have doctor's appointments every 2 weeks until I get to 35 weeks and they start seeing me weekly.  I'm still eating most of the same foods and loving all things meaty, salty, cheesy, or all types of fruits.  Noah moves around all of the time, and him and Jeremy have found a way to wrestle with each other through my belly... Jeremy pinches at my tummy and then Noah gives a good sharp kick back, this went on and on, back and forth, for about 30 minutes on Saturday.  Noah is very responsive to music and will start moving all around when we play music in the car, or especially during worship at our Sunday gathering.  So far it seems like he loves David Crowder and Hillsong. 

Time is flying by quickly and I'm sure that Noah will be here before we know it.  His nursery is mostly set up and we have most of the stuff that we'll need for his arrival... we're just waiting until after my 2 baby showers in Sept. before we purchase any final necessities.  I'd say our biggest needs at this time are some more cloth diapers, cloth wipes, crib sheets, and a diaper bag.  This week Jeremy's parents hit the motherload of baby yard sales and found all kinds of adorable outfits, socks, bibs, and burp cloths for Noah for just 25-50 cents a piece.  There was even a newborn Saints shirt in all of the loot.  I can't wait to see our little man in all of those super cute clothes!  I just need to take some time to go through and wash/ sterilize all of the bottles and breast pump parts that we have, and do the initial wash with all of the cloth diapers and we'll be good to go.  We have another prenatal class at the hospital this month, one more next month, and a breast feeding class at the hospital next month as well.  We're in the home stretch and trying to enjoy the last bit of time that we have as just two of us, while still excitedly anticipating meeting our son!

Shannon