27 weeks

    

               [hiding under my belly]

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: probably 24-25lbs by now. Was up 22 lbs last week.

Maternity clothes? Yep. Moved on to living 24/7 in leggings and a few longer tunic type shirts. So thankful for hand me downs. By the time NZ gets home I'm usually in one of his t shirts and my leggings from the day. Mama needs breathing room.

Stretch marks? Still feeling lucky that I don't have any. I brought back my kukui nut oil (Alba botanicals) from the US and have been greasing myself like a pig after my showers. I smell like vacation. I love it.

Sleep: Better some nights than others. NZ was away for a few nights so I had a king size bed to myself and stole his pillow to make myself comfy. I am still napping when Sal naps-about 2 hours a day. 

Best moment this week: Having Sal lift my shirt up and kiss my belly. It was followed by some belly button poking, but I love that he just approached me out of the blue and wanted to kiss the belly. 

Miss Anything? Diet cola. Big time. 

Movement: She has her moments of high activity but for the most part, she is much less active than Sal was...either that, or I am just too busy chasing him to notice each and every kick. She is finally kicking hard enough for NZ to feel her from the outside, which is always cool.

Food cravings: Frozen lemonade. Real Lemonade. All of which are either difficult to find or non-existent here in Wuxi. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. 

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks when I overdo it or when I eat too much chocolate. 

Symptoms: Sore back. Difficulty getting a deep breath when she is in certain positions.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody?: Happy with bouts of anxiety over what to do with Sal when we head to Shanghai to have his baby sister. I'm a worrier by nature. 

TWENTY SEVEN weeks

How many weeks? 27

How am I feeling? Apparently I totally missed the boat on a second trimester energy surge, because I'm now entering my third trimester without any excess energy in sight! I am thanking my lucky stars that I made the decision to "retire" early from work, and Halloween is my official last day after 6 years working for the Doctor. People ask me what I am going to do to keep myself busy--I can answer that easily--SLEEP! I've also been super nervous again, keeping myself up at night swearing that he isn't moving enough. Call me crazy!

Doctor’s Appointment? Not for another 2 weeks.

Workouts? If you heard me breathing after climbing a flight of stairs to the office--you'd think I just ran a 100 yd dash, but nope--it's just me...out of shape. This is a change for me since I have always prided myself on being fit!

Sleep? More, please. This week introduced a 3rd pillow to my arsenal of sleeping provisions. Thank you, NZ for so graciously sharing the bed with all of us.

Weight Gain? 22 lbs

Baby Preparation? We're waitlisted for a 3 part series "what to expect" course at the local hospital for December, and I signed us up for a tour of the actual hospital we will deliver at. I'm debating even taking the class--since consensus out there is that it's stuff we probably know already. I have time to waffle for a while longer--so if we get in, great, if we don't--ah well.

When my internetless granny found out we had our registry set up, she instructed my sister to go online and buy us our infant car seat--so, thank you granny! She was afraid someone else would buy it before her, haha.

I also perused etsy quite a bit on one of my days off, and I am in love with all things houndstooth and herringbone patterned these days..Especially grays, navy blues, aquaish blues.. Is aqua-ish a word? I think so! I found this boppy cover for sale on etsy and LOVE. I thought about making one myself, and probably will, however, finding gray hounds tooth fabric online has turned up a whole lotta nothing. I went to bite the bullet, not to mention break my rule, and order this one pictured below...and lo and behold--it SOLD already. BOooooooo!

[Photo belongs to: Kidzcraftz on etsy]

I will have to keep searching for the fabric, and if not, maybe I can find gray herringbone instead. I just like the simplicity of gray and white together. And houndstooth and herringbone prints are classic and gentleman like, right?

Likes/Dislikes?

Likes? My mah & sis came to visit me after my sis not seeing me since 16 weeks, and my mom since 18 weeks--I love my family! I also like that we made it to the 3rd trimester this week, and we're in the homestretch, baby! There have been soooo many days, bad dreams, worries that I wouldn't make it this far--and although we have a ways to go still, and anything can happen, I feel so fortunate to be where we are today.

Dislikes? The lack of energy and appetite some days. One errand to the market, and I am pretty much done being productive for the day. This is so not my style usually! But, I can't complain--he's growing!