Third Trimester

Well folks, it's official.  We made it to the third trimester!  It really feels like the countdown is on now.  Just about 3 months to go - or you could say 13 weeks, or 98 days.  It feels like it took forever to get here, and August 4th still seems so far away.  But before we know it, Sea Monkey will be joining our family! 

What to Expect in the Third Trimester
Right now, Sea Monkey weighs about 2 lbs.  We can expect to see him gain an additional 4 - 7 lbs in the next few months!  Dear GOD I hope he doesn't gain any more than that.  Sure, I want a healthy baby.  But YOU try to imagine giving birth to a 10 lb baby.  It's terrifying.  Plus, he won't fit in the cute newborn clothes I bought him if he's that big.  I might need to have a chat with him about all this weight gain.  Speaking of weight gain, I've put on (probably more) than my fair share of weight.  But don't think for a moment I'm disclosing the number I saw on the scale at my last appointment.   

New Skills - Sea Monkey will learn to blink, dream and regulate his own body temperature.  By 31 weeks, he will have use of all 5 senses.  Hopefully he doesn't get a 6th sense like that creepy kid in the movie.  Sea Monkey will be able to tell the difference between light and dark, will taste what I eat and can hear my voice.  Wow he's going to be busy learning all these things! 

By week 34 - 36 weeks he should be making his final turns to get in position to be born - head down and bottom up!

There sure are a lot of things happening in the next 13 weeks! 


What's going on with Mommy
Hmmmm..... Aside from feeling like a sausage, and being exhausted all the time, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.  Ask Mike though - he might give you a different answer.  I bet he'd tell you I'm crabby and moody.  But that's pretty much the "norm" for me anyway.  How that wonderful man fell in love with me I'll never know.  I've put on some serious weight in the last 27 weeks.  Here's my 10 week to 27 week photo: 

I know, I'm pregnant.  But I feel fat.  At 10 weeks I never thought I'd say I was skinny, but looking at how HUGE I am right now, and knowing there's still 3 months to go ..... OH DEAR GOD how big will I be in July?!

Ok - now that we all know how big I am.  I have other exciting news.  I've finished my Master's Degree program in Healthcare Administration!!!  And even though the school doesn't give out honors to graduate students, I would have graduated with honors.  Yup, that's right - my record includes all As or A-s.... Not a B in sight!  And I'm pretty damn proud of that.  Graduation is in just less than 2 weeks and I'll be enjoying my fancy diploma with a Dr. approved glass of REAL wine.  Yeah, I'm a rebel.  But imagine if I lived in France. I'd probably be celebrating with a bottle of wine. 



We continue to make progress on stocking up on things for Sea Monkey.  As you know, the nursery is furnished, and we've bought a lot of the bigger items like a swing, bouncer, stroller etc.  We struggle to not buy Sea Monkey clothes every time we go to the store because the stuff is so darn cute.  This weekend, we went to a consignment sale and scored a few more things.  The biggest score was the second base for the carseat.  It's in great condition, not expired and we paid half the retail price for it.  I was really psyched!  And I know, shoes are totally not practical for a child who can't walk, but I couldn't resist these. 

We also got a bunch of cute clothes - almost all still brand new with tags on them!  A bottle, and a book about baby sign language.  I was surprised at how well we made out - especially because the sale started Thursday night.  I figured by Saturday everything would have been picked through and all the good stuff would be gone, but I was wrong. 
Sea Monkey has been kicking and punching .... each day getting stronger and stronger.  You can even see my belly move now!  I was able to capture a good kick on video to share with my parents.  But I'm not posting it on here because it's of my bare belly and I don't really want the entire world to see that.  I'm sure you really don't want to see it either.  Maybe if I get a good video when my belly is covered by a shirt I'll share.  But until then, you'll just have to imagine what it looks like. 

Nothing exciting in the next week or so.  The next big event will be my graduation on the 19th, and the 3D / 4D ultrasound on the 20th!  As of May 20th, I'll only be working 4 days a week until I'm off full time for maternity leave.  I'm really looking forward to the extra day off to relax and get a few things accomplished.

Well that's about it ..... 13 weeks and counting!