Progress pics & pregnancy updates...@ 34-weeks!

How Far Along? 34-weeks. 3-weeks to "full term" and 6-weeks to "full 40-week pregnancy".

Size of Baby? About 19 to 22-inches long (almost at her full length!). For comparison, baby is now about the size of a large cantaloupe. About 5+ pounds!

Weight Gain? I was up 19-lbs as of my first September appointment at 32-weeks. As of my last appointment (34-weeks), I was up 22-lbs! Doc says I need to watch my salt intake since it appears I am retaining water. 

Maternity Clothes? Wearing them but still able to alternate with some pre-pregnancy clothes. 

Stretch Marks? Just the 5 I noticed a few weeks back! So far, nothing new has cropped up. I keep checking each day cause a few women I know said they developed stretch marks in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy.

Sleep? I slept really well the last couple of nights. I think its cause I was so tired, my body just couldn't take much more. I only had to get up twice to pee both nights! Is it too soon to get excited that my 4-times/night pee episodes are over?

Food Cravings? Still nothing. BUT I am eating more often now. I get hungry every 2-3 hours!

What I Miss: Getting up without breathing heavily and without feeling like my gut is about to fall out. Sleeping through the night (I know that's not going to improve once she arrives), working out more (I still workout 4-days a week but I feel like I could do more) and feeling energized after my workouts instead of feeling like I just ran a marathon and likely won't be moving off the couch for days!

What I'm Looking Forward To:  My baby shower tomorrow. My sisters and mom are coming into and I can't wait to see them. I miss them so much! Attending our last child birth class this Sunday. Doing the hospital tour on Monday.

Symptoms? Serious insomnia and I am tired ALL THE TIME!!! And since I've had a busy few days, I am even more tired. Didn't know that was possible.

Movement? YES! LOTS AND LOTS of movements. They are slower BUT the kicks are more painful now because they have more strength to them.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in and my OB promised me on Monday that it will remain in. She said it might change its shape but will likely stay in since at this point, it hasn't even scratched the surface. YAY!!!

Labor Signs? Braxton Hicks!!! Let's just say I have been practicing my breathing exercises.

Best Moment of the Week? Getting a sneak peak at our little princess again on Monday when I went in for a leg ultrasound. My left leg was so swollen in comparison to my right that my OB recommended I get it checked ASAP. So far, everything looks good.

Weekly Wisdom: Be a true friend to someone. Take the time to be self-less and think of someone else. Its a VERY rewarding act of kindness.

Pictures? Yup. Here's one from last night and another from our maternity session last week.

Have a FABULOUS weekend!

Thoughts/Random Questions:
Got any fun plans for the weekend? If so, do share!

Getting ready for baby...Childbirth classes

So last Sunday, J & I took our first childbirth class. It was quite an experience and I must admit that a lot of the information was quite scary.

I spent most of the class thinking "wow...there's no turning back now!" And J spent most of it rubbing my back and saying "its OK...just tell me what you want as your push gift!"

The class started out with a video after initial introductions were done and the instructor who also happens to be a nurse at the hospital where we'll be having our baby was quite detail oriented.

I had never heard the term "ring of fire" until I heard and saw it in one of the videos. Umm...OUCH!!! All I can say is KUDOS to all the moms out there. You all really deserve a lot of praise on a daily basis.

Then there was the "show and tell" portion of the class. The lady actually brought in an epidural needle and the tube that goes into it to feed the meds. I was leaning towards going natural due to my very real and SEVERE fear of needles. After seeing that epidural needle my mind was made up. I mean, seriously??? That thing is HUGE!!! I know...my fear might have exaggerated its size a little bit in my head but still...
I found a picture on the web with a comparison shot.

THEN the instructor says "about 90% of first time moms end up with an epidural".

Let's just say I am now starting to wonder if its worth it to have a real birth plan or if I should just go with the flow. The instructor says its worth it. I definitely do plan on practicing my breathing though. I know I'll need it.

After I got home, I told my mom about the class and she said "don't you appreciate me more now that you know what it took to bring all 6 of you into this world?" And my response to her was "ummm...no...I think I would have appreciated you more if I was a boy and didn't have to go through it at all!!!" Of course I was joking and am glad she thought it was funny.

Thoughts/Random Questions:
For the moms out there, did you take a child birth class? If so, did it help or scare you?

For non-moms, have you given any thoughts to how you'd like to deliver when the time comes? I always thought I'd go with an epidural but after seeing that needle, my fear far outweighs the thought of pain...for now :-).

Buona mangiavano...Good Eats

WARNING: You just might start to salivate from viewing these pictures.

As promised, here are some pictures of the VERY DELICIOUS meals we had while in Italy. I was never a pasta person prior to this but I guess pregnancy and pasta make for good bed mates. Thankfully, J & I walked A LOT so we didn't put on a ton of weight. As a matter of fact, I went down 2-lbs when we got back.

My first lasagna in over 10-years! It was so so good!

Ziti with sauce...no meat but you wouldn't know you were missing anything because it was THAT good.

Stuffed pasta with meat sauce. YUM!

Can't remember what this was called. J ordered it and as you can see, within minutes, it was almost all gone. It had chunks of beef and larger spaghetti noodles.

Took a pic of the bread because this was the first place we actually got a bread basket with our meal. I guess it isn't common to get a bread basket Italian restaurants there as it is here in the States.

Panini and bruschetta. Authentic Italian Panini. We ordered bruschetta with each meal every single night cause it was just so refreshing and yummy.

Our eating utensils came in this "fancy pouch"...it definitely puts a smile on your face.

Pasta with meat sauce. Oh if I concentrate hard enough, I can actually still remember how good it tasted.

It was THAT good. Granted, J helped me finish it but not by much.

In addition to all the yummy dinners, we also had a serving of gelato everyday to "cleanse our pallets" after our hard day of walking. J's first taste of an authentic Italian gelato. He LOVED it!

Italy was a blast! The time went by really fast but we created some memories we'll always cherish.

Thanks for letting me share my babymoon pics with you. I hope you enjoyed viewing/reading the posts as much as I enjoyed re-living it through this blog.

Have a fabulous week!

Progress pics & pregnancy updates...@ 33-weeks!

How Far Along? 33-weeks. 4-weeks to "full term" and 7-weeks to "full 40-week pregnancy". Less than 50-days to her due date! 

Size of Baby? About 18-inches long (almost at her full length!). For comparison, baby is now about the size of a medium pineapple and weighs about 4.5 pounds! I was up 18-lbs as of last week Monday. Doc said "oh I think you should gain about 5-more lbs before baby." I stepped on the scale this morning and was up 4-lbs since. I doubt I'll be under the 25-lbs mark. Somewhat disappointed with myself.

Maternity Clothes? Fully in them now but I am still able to alternate maternity clothes and pre-pregnancy clothes. So far, I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy items.

Stretch Marks? Just the 5 I noticed a few weeks back! So far, nothing new has cropped up. I checked with the aide of a mirror a couple of days ago. YAY!!! The skin discoloration is still there but it should go away after the baby arrives. Or so I have read .

Sleep? Well, I sleep in 2-3 hour spurts. Her daddy on the other hand can't sleep because for some reason, I have been snoring REALLY loudly! Poor guy. I think its her way of saying "hello daddy...I am about to keep you up at night so here's a preview!"

Food Cravings? Still nothing. Appetite has also decreased. Likely because I don't have enough room in there to hold much so I have to do smaller meals. Although, I can tell when baby just had or is about to have a growth spurt cause I feel very famished!

What I Miss: My shoes!!! Its getting colder and I can't fit into ANY of new shoes. Even my sneakers are too tight cause my feet spread :-(. I do plan on getting a cute pair of shoes for the baby shower. Hopefully, they'll still fit after baby arrives and my feet go back to their regular size. Being able to eat without thinking "hmmm...can I have that? Is it safe during pregnancy?" Case in point...I had salmon on Monday from Ruby Tuesdays. But I couldn't remember the size. So even though I really really really wanted a tuna salad sandwich for lunch today, I had to settle for a chicken salad sandwich just to be on the safe side.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Our maternity photo shoot on Friday, setting up the baby's crib sometime in the next few weeks (likely after our baby shower),  attending our first "child birth class" this weekend and also selecting the colors for our outdoor sidings and shutters on our new home.

Symptoms? Sleepless nights, swollen features (face, hands, feet), tiredness, a little more forgetful, more clumsy (I hate this one), heartburn, aches everywhere (too many to list). I am sure J can list a host of others .

Movement? YES! LOTS AND LOTS of movements. They are slower BUT the kicks are more painful now because they have more strength to them.

Belly Button In or Out? Still in but it has taken on a different shape. I don't think it'll pop but I think it'll stretch a little more. For now, I am fine with that.

Labor Signs? Braxton Hicks!!! They have moved from the "feeling uncomfortable" stage to the more "intense" stage. Not painful but enough that sometimes, I have to stop what I am doing and take a deep breathe.

Best Moment of the Week? Getting to see our little princess on Monday. I have had MANY ultrasounds but NOTHING can compare to actually seeing her and her facial features and the smirk she had on for us. It definitely made if very real. I almost got emotional...almost .

Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your body. Take care of it. Its a gift and also the only one you'll ever have. We don't come with spare parts.

Pictures? Yup. Here's one from last Thursday and also a 3D pic of our little princess. Part of her face was covered by my apparently "large placenta"...

Italy - Part 2 of 2...Florence!

We had a great time in Florence and on the second day, I had what I considered my biggest accomplishment during the trip. I climbed the Giotto Campanile! Here's some information about it in case you're curious. It has 414 steps up the tower and I did it!
My goal was to climb the Duomo which is about 463 steps but the line to get up there was LOOOOONNNGGG and I since I already did that the last time I was there, it was OK to just climb a different one this time.
The view from the top was just as spectacular as the Duomo.

Front of the Duomo.

While climbing the Campanile, I took this picture.

The Duomo! I climbed that building in 2007. Wow...can't believe its been that long!

Yup yup! We made it to the top :-). Yes I am smiling cause I'd just had an apple so I have some energy to smile :-).

I did it! Baby and I did it that is. Had to get a picture with the bump :-).

We had a great time in Florence. My next blog will be some of the dishes we had during our trip.

Until next time...Arrivederci!

Italy - Part 1 of 2...Florence!

While Rome was a full fun city experience, Florence had a different feel to it. Its more like a nice romantic city and a little more homey to me.
J loved Rome and I fell in love with Florence the first time I went there. But then, after experiencing Rome & Florence with J, I cannot decide on which city I love more.

J & I spent 2-days in Florence. While we didn't get to see everything, we did get to see all the sites we set out to see and did A LOT of walking.

Here are pictures from our first day in Florence.

OK...you get into the Galleria dell'Accademia after waiting in line and paying 12 Euros per person and they tell you "no photo! no photo!" I mean, seriously? Do they think people paid to come look but not show evidence of the visit? Anyways, here is a picture of The Real David by Michelangelo.

Full frontal. Its quite spectacular!

And here's one of his back side :-).

This has something to do with Narcissus or a modern day version.

OK...This was just TOO FUNNY not to take a picture of. Right after you come of the gallery area where the real David is, you walk outside their store and this is what you see.
I thought it was very funny that he is pink AND has yellow hair. Ummm...I guess he's a true blonde!

And his backside. Thankfully, there was no blonde butt hair too. That would have been freaky!

 I was just amazed by the architectural work of these cathedrals. To think that most of them were built hundreds of years ago just makes me stare in awe and truly appreciate the talent.

I thought this was a pretty cool clock. Although, I don't know how to read it. Can you?

The Duomo!

Piazza della Signoria

Another fake David.

J & I noticed a lot of art depicting 2 males or 2 females. I guess the Romans were very comfortable with their sexuality way back when.

 Ponte Vecchio!

Not sure why I have that look on my face. I wasn't even upset. My handsome husband was clearly delighted and I guess I must have been tired after doing a lot of walking and I on the other hand could barely smile.

 We found someone to take a picture of us on Ponte Vecchio.

And our day's adventure would not be complete without a picture with Albie.

5 years ago when my sister and I visited Italy for the first time, we found this place. They had the best gelato! It was so nice to find it. I couldn't even believe we found it! I just happened to look back while we were walking and sure enough, there it was tucked in somewhere. Needless to say, we went back there again the day after :-).

I thought this was pretty funny. Looked like he was going up a hill.

That's it for now. Until next time...Arrivederci!