Week 33 | an update

How far along: 33 weeks...bonus points if you know what the heck a durian is! I believe it's a type of stinky fruit that nobody likes from a few times I've seen it show up in the mystery ingredient basket on Chopped.

Best moment this week: 

So many great moments this week spent with my little C while papa T was out of town on a fishing trip. See some of them here. 

Maternity clothes: 

Yes. (Above dress old, similar here). I pretty much alternate between active wear and dresses depending on what we have going for the day and how ambitious I'm feeling on the exercise/getting ready for the day front.

Sleep: 

Not the greatest. Baby likes to be awake and kicking at night, so getting quality sleep has been somewhat difficult lately. Hopefully this is just because I notice the kicking more at night, and not a sign that we have a little night owl on our hands. If so, he/she might end up being nighttime formula/bottle fed by Papa T who loves nothing better than staying up until all hours of the night...or so it seems. Mama needs her sleep!

Miss Anything: 

It was pretty warm over the weekend at the lake, and I was really wishing I could indulge in a nice cold glass of chardonnay. Sigh...This could have been brought on by an email reminder that our next case of wine from the WSJ Wine Club just shipped, and no doubt I'll be the one signing for it.

Baby Movement: 

Yes. Baby is particularly active at night when I want to be sleeping, and has a habit of practicing ninja kicking skills after I get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night...in turn keeping me up instead of falling back asleep. Baby's movement should be starting to slow down due to space constraints these final few weeks, but I've yet to notice. As C would have me say after reading Darth Vader & Son about a million times last week while T was away...'The Force is strong with this one'!

Cravings/Aversions: 

Still craving sweets. Or anything easy that doesn't take much time to prepare. I'll be honest, it was kind of nice a huge stress relief to have T out of town last week and be able to do quick simple things like cereal and popcorn for dinner instead of having to create a big gourmet meal for a hubby who doesn't eat all day long and comes home famished. So I guess you could say I'm averse to preparing big fancy meals! We really need to invest in a deep freeze so that we can prepare and stock up on freezer meals before baby arrives and things get really crazy around here!

Symptoms: 

This week I had the pleasure of experiencing round ligament pain, and all I can say is OOOOOUCH! As in ouch-I-need-to-sit-down-because-I-can-barely-breath-take-your-breath-away-pain. I didn't experience anything like it when I was expecting C, so this is a pregnancy first for me this time around. Round ligament pain is typically felt on the lower right hand side of the abdomen, and is just normal side affect of stretching muscles and baby movement in mid-late pregnancy. I could take Tylenol, or use heat/ice to alleviate some of the pain, but it generally doesn't last a long time...the two times I've experienced it so far have come out of nowhere and lasted for about 30min-1hr at a time...not really worth taking pain meds for in my opinion. I have a relatively high pain tolerance (or so I've been told), and I would liken this pain to the pain I was feeling just before getting an epidural when I was in labor with C. No fun at all. 

Looking forward to: 

The original plan for the coming weekend was to enjoy an extended family getaway to Des Moines for fun things like a visit to the downtown farmer's market, Blank Park Zoo, and catching an Iowa Cubs game at Principal Park. Unfortunately, it is literally supposed to be 99 degrees and sunny, so it sounds like we are going to have to nix our weekend plans and come up with some other fun idea. On the short list are a possible visit to Spencer for the FlagFest parade, Okoboji Parade of Homes, popsicles, and splash pad.

On My Mind:
T's pod coordinator emailed me his July schedule this morning, and most of what I noticed was a lot of call days, and no scheduled time off around baby's due date. Womp womp. Since we don't know when baby will be joining us, not scheduling time off around my due date is understandable, but still worrisome. When C was born, I had to drive myself to the hospital...20 minutes on a highway...while enjoying enduring some pretty strong contractions...not the most relaxing road trip I've ever taken! The night we brought C home, T stranded me after being home for only a couple of hours to go and deliver someone else's baby...after which, I should mention, another physician had volunteered to step in since T himself had a new babe at home. I have warned him that he will find himself in a significantly LARGE dog house if that happens again, so please pray that baby decides to come when I have a present husband around!

Mama-Mini Adventures

As you may know, T escaped the state for the greater part of last week, and headed to the Canadian Boundary Waters for my brother's bachelor party. It was all fun and games until late last Tuesday night when he discovered, only hours before leaving, that his passport had expired three months prior. In a frantic whirlwind of oh no's!, what ifs, and overall madness, he finally got ahold of border control in International Falls around 2 a.m., and got an all clear that he would be OK to get into AND out of Canada with his expired passport so long as he had a valid ID and birth certificate handy. Whew! I don't know who was more relieved...T, who could escape on the guys trip he'd been so looking forward to, or me, who had been kept awake the greater part of the night by all of the drama. I'll be honest, I was NOT in any way shape or form looking forward to having a sulky depressed T to hang around with for the next five days while he missed out on the boys trip. Thankfully, everything worked out, and C & I had the remainder of the week to ourselves to enjoy all kinds of mama-mini adventures!

 Back at home, C & I played outside every chance we got, went to a different park almost every day, enjoyed a coffee/muffin date at Arnold's Perk, practiced our basketball skills, explored Arnold's Park Amusement Park, spent time with all of C's grandparents and great-grandparents, took several trips to the music park, snuggled up and read countless stories, slept in, dined lakeside at Bob's where C got to try his first hot dog (and loved it), shopped a bit, hunted turtles, and overall just had a perfect few days of mama-mini adventures.

Ballin' is serious business! If you happen to be at the park playing basketball while C is visiting, watch out! He is very curious about big basketballs, and just about every chance he has, he's sneaking off to swipe an unsuspecting visitor of their unattended basketball. 

Rainy days are made for coffee dates, snuggles, and reading lots and lots of books. 

On one of our many mama-mini adventures throughout the week, I took C inside the Park for the first time. He was absolutely fascinated by watching all of the rides, walking around exploring, and seeing the go-carts in action. Even though C is too little yet for most of the rides, the park itself is free to walk through, and you don't have to wait in line or show a wristband to enter. Another great feature for little kids...a playground situated right in the middle of all the action. I foresee many park visits in our future! It was so much fun watching C as he got to discover the roller coaster and ferris wheel that we read about in one of our favorite storybooks, An Okoboji Day, up close. Of course, on our way out of the park we had to stop to get frozen yogurt, making it one of the best days of summer so far.

C & I rounded out our week with an overnight visit at the lake house and spending some quality time with grandparents before T's return late last night. After a long day of traveling, he was pretty wiped out by the time he got home, but overall, the trip was a success, and everyone had a great time. C hasn't been reunited with papa T yet, and will no doubt just about jump out of his skin in excitement tonight when he finally gets to see his Dad again! Can't wait to see his reaction!

Week 32

Week 32 | an update

How far along: 32 weeks

Best moment this week: 

T & I celebrated our four year anniversary on Thursday, so that was pretty exciting. Baby related, entering 32 weeks is also pretty exciting. Baby's heart rate this morning at my checkup was a steady 140bpm, and everything checked out as it should. C arrived at just over 37 weeks, so if this pregnancy goes anything like the last time, hopefully we'll be meeting our newest little sweetheart in just over a month.

Maternity clothes: 

Yes, aside from a few choice maxi dresses like the one I'm wearing here (from LOFT outlet...not available online).

Sleep: 

Could be better, probably if I got a pregnancy sleep pillow, but I'm so close to the end now that I really don't want to splurge on something I'd only use for a couple more months.

Miss Anything: 

Strength. I feel like walking up hills, or in particular, pushing C's stroller uphill really works my muscles more than I ever noticed it before. Is this a product of loosening muscles brought on by pregnancy, or the fact that C is over 30lbs and is just plain heavy? Who knows. Either way, I hope it doesn't mean I'm as out of shape as I sometimes can feel.

Baby Movement: 

Yes. Baby has been moving lots. I typically notice the movement mostly at night, or in the mornings while I'm still sitting down before C gets up.

Cravings/Aversions: 

Still sweets...although this could be the product of the recent holiday weekend and lots of goodies being constantly in front of my face. That being said, I have been pretty consistent about getting a walk and some exercise, so hopefully it will all balance out in the end. I think the rest of this week will be filled with simple meals for C & I while T is out of town. Bring on the frozen dinners and casseroles! Maybe we'll get crazy and order take-out!

Symptoms: 

I'm feeling pretty good this week, and haven't got any new symptoms to report. I didn't really experience any Braxton Hicks either, so I must have not overdone it, and drank enough to stay well hydrated. It helps that C has been, for the most part back into a normal routine, and hasn't been too bent out of shape about anything to be throwing tantrums and using my tummy as a punching bag.

Looking forward to: 

Lately, I've been thinking that I need to go through our newborn supplies and see what we need to stock up on before the new baby arrives. Getting out of the house for a quick run to Walmart for last minute supplies with a toddler and newborn in tow is highly unlikely, so it'd be nice to get at least some things organized beforehand with hopefully plenty of time to spare. Since this won't be our first rodeo, we do have at least a general grasp of the big ticket items that we'll be needing. Grandma S surprised us with this bassinet for new baby, and I can't wait to get it set up and test it out. Knowing T, this will be happening after baby arrives, but knowing that the box is physically in our home waiting to be unpacked is a step in the right direction. 

Banana Walnut Bread

Nothing smells better in the morning than 1.) freshly baking banana bread and 2.) coffee. Am I right? This is certainly true in my kitchen as I've learned when T walks in the door after his morning rounds and his immediate reaction is to ask 'What are you are baking that smells so delicious?', and 'When will it be ready?' This from a man who rarely if ever chooses to eat before mid-afternoon. When it is finally ready, of course, he reverts to a child and has me cut him a couple slices, butter them up, and serve him. Completely helpless.

Recipe adapted from food.com

I've tried many different variations of banana breads...most of which have their own little twist on what makes them great. In this version, I'd like to think the key ingredient is cinnamon. If I didn't like bananas so much (no jokes, I usually incorporate at least one, sometimes two into my daily diet), I'd probably make this recipe on a weekly basis!

BANANA WALNUT BREAD | Yield: 1 loaf or 3 mini-loaves | Total Time: 1 hr. 15 min. OR 55 min. for mini-loaves

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir until well combined. (OK to have some butter chunks).

In a small bowl (or the same bowl if you want less dishes like me), use a fork to mash bananas. Transfer bananas to the butter mixture, stir to incorporate.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add into the large mixing bowl, and stir until just combined. If using, fold in chopped walnuts. Butter or grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan (or 3 mini-loaf pans), and pour banana mixture inside. Sprinkle top with additional chopped walnuts if using, and bake (1 hr. for 9 x 5 loaf pan // 40 min. for mini-loaves). Check for doneness, and continue baking as needed.

Cool on wire rack and serve warm. Freezes well!