Week 33

How far along: 33 weeks, 5 days

Size of Baby S: 17 in, a little over 4 lbs

Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): pineapple

Total weight gain: 19.5 lbs

Sleep: Good. Trying to focus on sleeping on my left side to help Madison get in the ideal birthing position and still having to get up to pee at least once in the night.

Movement: Lots still.

Unglamorous body changes: Really tired this week. So tired I just spontaneously burst into tears on Wednesday. And Friday. And almost today. Okay I am also hormonal! Poor Jason.  :-/

Also, I have been having a lot of BH contractions still, but today especially my stomach felt hard and rigid the whole day. I am going to ask the midwife about that at my appointment next week.

Maternity Clothes? Yes. The shirt featured in my weekly pictures isn't maternity and that's evident as the bottom has begun creeping up my belly. I might have to start wearing an undershirt with it soon!

Showing: Yes!

Food cravings: I stooped to a new low this week... I put American jar icing (betty crocker type) onto a girl scout cookie. Or rather, three of them. It was delicious!

What I miss: Same as usual - lunch meat, margarita, etc.

Anything making you queasy: No.

Strange experiences: Nothing too off the wall this week. However, Jason and I did take a yoga class as part of our birth course this weekend and also spent Friday night listening to information on homeopathy. The breathing techniques and positions lesson was good, but we aren't quite sold yet on the homeopathy. However, we figure it's not going to hurt so we may as well give it a try!

Milestones: Madison's skeleton is hardening, but the bones in the skull aren't fused together allowing her to easily (relative term there...) move through the birth canal.

Best moment this week: Starting to think about Madison's arrival and starting to read more about labor, delivery, and overall mental preparations for her entering our lives. We are also enjoying the birth course that we are taking and all of the information that it's providing as well as a place to ask questions.

Looking forward to: My midwife appointment next week to see how Madison is situated and make sure that everything is still looking good. We also have next Wednesday off for a Norwegian holiday and I am looking forward to doing some nursery stuff for Madison since this week has been too crazy to do anything.

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We support animal testing...

if you have written permission that the test subject is complient and willing to participate in the "study".

Last week we received our air shipment of baby stuff from Houston. I absolutely was not sitting by the window in great anticipation of the moving truck's arrival and snapped the top left picture when I saw the truck backing up to our apartment complex entrance...

The movers got everything unpacked and our living room quickly became a baby zone (which is what we have accepted our apartment has become and will remain for the next 18 or so years). I went to work starting to organize everything - my favorite passtime! (And no, there is not any sarcasm in that statement. I truly love organizing!!)

I had some help from Zoey in checking the packages and making sure nothing was missing -

My sweet husband came home and after saying hello and I love you began to work on assembling the glider. That man is amazing! He got the glider and the crib finished on Monday night (along with a bookshelf) and was able to get everything else done throughout the week before he went out of town for the weekend. I was left alone to "nest" and start preparing Madison's nursery (pics to come!).

In the meantime, we felt it was necessary to test out the equipment we purchased from the States. We needed to make sure everything was up to code and met all safety standards. We found a (semi)willing volunteer for the job - Zoey!

We made sure to get appropriate permissions and liability waivers signed.









And then proceeded with the testing! :-)

First the rocker. The thoroughly enjoyed the vibrating feature on this toy. Once we added the toy bar she happily batted at the toys overhead. Once we unbuckled her safety seat she remained in the rocker for another 30 min... I think we have a winner!

Next was the high chair. She was not too crazy about this one and seemed slightly confused as to why she was sitting at the table. However, once treats were put onto the food tray she happily obliged. Until they were gone.

Next was the bumbo chair. The best we can say is that she tolerate the chair. It was not her favorite toy to say the least...

Um, hello play mat! These pictures were not staged. Zoey actually rolled around a bit to play with the overhead hanging toys once she realized that they moved and she could swat them.

She reached up enthusiastically for a small animal on a pull cord...

And was more curious about the moose than entertained...

Zoey liked the infant swing (even though we didn't have it on and swinging) mostly because she realized that she could move the stars from one side of the bar to the other. She discovered this feature on her own and continued playing with it for a bit. She didn't love it as much as her rocker, but it still got a good rating.

The bouncer was a bit of a curiosity to Zoey. Especially when Jason began twisting her around to the different toys. She was not very amused. She played some, but did not enjoy the standing position she had to endure to test the product.

And of course we took her for a test ride in the stroller! She enjoyed going up and down the hallway in style. :-)

CeCe, however, did not...(which was fine because we didn't have a waiver from CeCe)

But Zoey's favorite spot on the stroller was definitely the basket below. We will have to double check that it's empty before heading out the door...

And while the stroller sat in our living room she jumped inside and got comfortable. I tried to tell her she was not sitting in it properly, but she wouldn't hear it.

Next came the, wait, what?! That is NOT authorized testing of baby products! I turned my back for two seconds to grab some more clothes to hang and I came into Madison's room to discover this! Sigh. I suppose we will just have to accept that Madison is going to consume an unhealthy amount of cat hair that hopefully build up her immune system and prevents her from inheriting Dad's cat allergy.

Okay, back to the testing. Next was the glider, complete with nursing pillow.

And finally the baby carriers! She only tested out the baby bjorn and the moby wrap at this time. We will test her in the ergo at some point in the near future...

She looks so happy, right?! ;-)

Zoey thoroughly tested all of her soon-to-be sister's equipment and has given the green light to using all products (although she strongly discourages the bumbo at this time...)

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Week 32

How far along: 32 weeks, 5 days

Size of Baby S: 16.7 in, 3.75 lbs (I love that decimal point accuracy, haha)

Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): jicama

Total weight gain: 19 lbs.

Sleep: Good. I am consistently having to get up at least once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I wake up and try to turn and my bladder is so full that it hurts to move. That's when I opt to get up. ;-)

Movement: Lots! It's wonderful to feel her move. She was moving around like crazy Thursday night and Jason and I were trying to identify which part of her body was moving where so we can start preparing and doing activities to get her in the optimal birthing position over the next couple of weeks.

Unglamorous body changes: Even though the scale didn't show and increase in weight, I woke up Monday feeling very pregnant and heavy. I shared these vulnerable feelings with Jason only to have him (non)empathetically retort, "Well you've still got 8 weeks to go and you're going to get a lot bigger." Thanks honey. That was awesome.

I've also been really tired this week, but I think that's my own fault and doing since I've spent every night this week doing something with our air shipment that arrived on Monday!

Maternity Clothes? Yep.

Showing: Yep.

Food cravings: Nothing really.

What I miss: Cycling. The BP MS 150 is this weekend, a 2 day, 150+ mile bike ride from Houston to Austin that I participated in the past two years. I wish I could be there riding with everyone this year!

Anything making you queasy: Nope.

Strange experiences: I'm not sure what would top printing soft porn at work last week so I've got nothing. ;-)

Milestones: Madison should start gaining half a pound a week from now on until delivery. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair/peach fuzz. Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Best moment this week: Receiving our air shipment of Madison stuff this week!! My sweet husband already got everything put together (glider, crib, pack and play, bouncer, bookshelf) and I have been organizing and starting on laundry to get all of her clothes ready.

Thursday we got a call that our stroller had arrived and we were able to go get it picked up after work. I absolutely LOVE it and I cannot wait to use it!

Looking forward to: Spending the weekend solo while Jason is away on the Men's Retreat with our church. I am excited to do nothing, but nursery stuff to get ready for Madison! And hopefully there will be some reveal pictures in the next few weeks. :-)

Next weekend Jason and I are taking a birth class. We also are taking a homeopathy preparation course. I've started to think more and more about the actual delivery and trying to prepare myself (both mentally and physically) for what's to come. I started reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, a book from one of the most well-known midwives. I also attended a prenatal yoga workshop on Sunday, but am just not totally sold on it. It was good at stretching out my hips and practicing breathing and I did enjoy it more than I have enjoyed yoga in the past (perhaps the hormone relaxin flowing through my system is taking effect!). I might attend another, but I believe the course next weekend will also discuss some breathing and labor techniques so I will wait and see what's covered in there before I make a decision.

Overall though, I am just starting to reflect on the whole childbirth, labor, and delivery process. It seems strange to be praying and preparing for Madison's arrival since it still seems surreal that we are having a baby!

If you have any suggestions for books or podcasts that you think would be helpful or encouraging I would love the suggestions! :-)

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Maternity Pictures! :-)

When Jason and I decided we were going to Cozumel for our "babymoon" we thought it would be a great place to take maternity photos! I started researching and emailing photographers in the Cozumel and Cancun area and was really impressed with Miguel and his company Cozumel Images. We told Miguel we'd like to do a two hour session and he suggested doing one hour in the morning and another in the evening to get pictures at multiple locations and including the sunset. He was so helpful and accommodating that we knew we'd made a good decision!

On Monday during our trip, we met him and his wife Fabio, at a beach club to get some shots. That evening we met back up with Miguel (assisted this time by his two kids in high school) for sunset photos. They listened to our input and made sure to take some shots that were similar to ones we'd pulled from Miguel's website and Pinterest that we really loved.

Our friend Marianne is an amazing photographer from our church in Houston with her own company, Charade Photography. I've always wanted her to take pictures of us after seeing so many amazing ones of our church family and their little ones. It was great to take advantage of her skills and get some maternity pictures using props and a completely different scenery than our ones in Cozumel. She suggested Terry Hershey Park (a place I am all too familiar with from so many marathon training runs!) because she'd found a fantastic cluster of bluebonnets. I'm so excited with how the bluebonnet pictures turned out and they were very Texas, which is great since little Madison was conceived in the Lone Star State.

We couldn't be more excited about how all of the photos turned out! Below are some of our favorites, but you can see all of the pictures on my Facebook page here. (You can view the pictures even if you don't have a Facebook account.)

In addition, Miguel put together an awesome video with shots from our session. Amazing!! :-)

All images are copyrighted and should not downloaded or used without written permission.

My Vogue-like attempt :-)

Look closely - it says Madi in the sand!

Love this handsome guy!!

Dueling onesies!

Stingerie BA pose

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