Thirty Weeks

The big Three-Oh, baby. I'm in my thirties! (something I can say with excitement regarding pregnancy weeks, but I still think turning 30 in real life is going to be a shocker. I'll hang onto my twenties for a few more years just in case).

In my thirties, sweaty from my gym escapades, and apparently VERY pregnant:



I mean, I knew my belly had grown in the past two weeks but holy moly....no wonder Nate said 'woah' when he looked through the viewfinder this week:

I seriously just spent 30 minutes staring at these 3 pictures in disbelief. I still think I've cropped the pictures incorrectly to make them look this skewed. That has to be it, right? OMG.

This week I've decided that I'm either housing an extremely active human baby boy, or perhaps a rabid cat inside a brown paper bag. Seriously. He's squirming around in there as if my precious internal organs were bumper guards to his giant bowling ball head. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing my belly do the following patented dance moves: The Slow Sideways Shift, The Sudden Forward Jab, and The Is-This-His-Head-Or-Butt-Because-It's-Really-Hard. It's just odd to see and feel the difference between second trimester flutters and kicks and this free-for-all boxing match happening in my gut. When I told my OB that I was feeling most movement on either side of my gut, and therefore I was convinced baby boy was sprawling out transversely she corrected me. Apparently baby boy used to be a goldfish in a fish bowl but now he's a hefty trout in a fish bowl---so he can still move fairly easily inside there and won't get totally wedged in until about 34 weeks. So maybe he's still turning somersaults and living the easy life in his mom's roomy ute. All in good time, my son, you will be my little sardine packed beside my lungs and kidneys. Enjoy the freedom while you can and I shall do the same:)

Now that I round the corner towards the finish line with this pregnancy I can honestly say that hearing other people's reactions to my own pregnancy is highly entertaining, if not a little appalling, and it never ceases to amaze me what people will say to a pregnant lady. I haven't had it THAT bad by any means, but it's just funny to me how vastly different everyone reacts to my pregnancy.

For instance, I've heard things like 'You don't even look pregnant' or 'Where is your belly' and 'Are you sure you are 7.5 months pregnant?' more times than I can count. Apparently this will be the overall theme of my first pregnancy: everyone compares my belly to a stereotypical pregnant belly, mine isn't as huge, and therefore I'm 'not even showing'. Ridiculous. It used to bother me for the first, oh, 25 weeks when people said that. I'd go on about how since I'm tall I have a long torso and a lot of room for the baby, and how it's only my first pregnancy, and so on. But now I just shrug it off because holy hell, I think I look obviously pregnant and I like my belly thankyouverymuch. I really don't care if you qualify my bump as 'small' or not because to me, it's just right. Can you tell I'm still a little sensitive about this subject? Huh. I guess I am:) But nothing compares to the comment that was said with passive-aggressive sarcasm (I think?): "I'm sorry, but you don't even look pregnant, it just looks like you got a fat gut." REALLY? Huh that's weird. I could have sworn I have a living human being inside this fat gut, so suck it. And it's really odd to have a 'fat gut' that is rather round and hard...kind of like, I don't know, a PREGNANT BELLY! Ugh. Some people.

In other bump news, I think I'm starting to get a very faint linea nigra which is both freaky and cool at the same time. I mean a random stripe down stomach? What's the point? It's just one of those crazy pregnancy things my body is doing all on it's own, without my conscious brain running the show. I continue to be amazed that my body knows how to grow this baby. I have a new respect for my body's capabilities than I ever did before and I bet after it actually pops out my child I'll be even more blown away.

Belly button is still an innie but it just gets shallower every day and my skin is still screaming for frequent moisturizing sessions. Still no stretch marks but that doesn't stop me from examining every square inch of my torso with a magnifying glass (I kid, I kid). Still a little bit of uncomfortable heart burn but no more random vomiting, which is good.

Still running/walking at the gym with an emphasis on the walking part. That darn uterus of mine just likes to tighten up like a little wench right when I'm hitting my stride after about a half mile. Oh well. I signed up for a weekly prenatal yoga class at my gym so of course, I'm scared to death. Not of the actual class, per se, but I've always been too intimidated by the hard-core class-taking chicks at my gym. I'm more of a 'Ho, hum, I'm minding my own business while running on the treadmill' type of gym-goer. Not so much a 'Everyone stare at me while we do deep lunges together in a confined space' type. I like taking classes with friends so we can hold hands as we cross the thresh hold of the classroom, and then gossip about everyone in the class afterward. But me? By myself? With my small-but-huge pregnant belly? In a YOGA class? (did I ever tell you about the time I attended a Bikram yoga class with Hannah and we had no idea it was going to be 'hot yoga', complete with a scary drill instructor and a room that was 200 degrees? Another time, my dearies. I'm sweating just thinking about it) Yikes! I'm pretty pumped, actually, and it starts next week continuing until I am 37.5 weeks pregnant. I hope my water doesn't break while I'm doing a downward dog pose. That would be the end of my group exercise classes for sure:)

Speaking of being determined, I am still attempting to capture baby Carlos doing his dance moves on video. Not the best, but I think it's a little better than last time. Watch my right/middle belly throughout and right before you hear my utter the dorkiest phrase ever ("That's all baby, folks!") is the best movement. It's like a little wiggly wave he does on the upper right side.



Eh maybe not. But because Henry is a total ham, he begged me to put another video of his cute face up here, too, right in the middle of a pregnancy post. He's a show boater, what can I say?

This is him on Christmas Day, freaking the heck out about my mom's creepy baby dolls (don't ask, long story) and his hat. Whenever he experiences inner turmoil he always bites toys, carpets, paper, himself, etc. You get the picture. Enjoy!