Week 30: "Cabbage"

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) (http://www.babycenter.com/)

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So apparently, Bebita was the size of a cabbage at week 28 and week 30...well, technically she was the size of a "Chinese" cabbage at week 28. Hilarious!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M 30 WEEKS!!! Only 10 more to go...hopefully. Here is my 30 week belly pic. My belly button is smushed this time because I'm wearing a tank top and full panel jeans that cover my belly.

I hope everyone had a great New Year! What an exciting year it will be for us! Teirney just said a few moments ago, "oh my, we're going to have a baby in 10 weeks...what are we going to do with her?" My thoughts exactly. We'll have been married 7 years in March -- we're so used to doing whatever we want, whenever we want. It will be quite the adjustment. I'm feeling very unprepared, especially because (aside from a few outfits I've picked up here and there) we have nothing for her yet. I'm really anxious to get the nursery ready finally. I'm just hoping our bedding and furniture come without any problems. We're painting the nursery this weekend, so that will feel good to get done. But I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. At the same time, I'm so glad I saved all this stuff for the last trimester, so it will make the time go by faster. I already feel like January will be gone before we know it.

I have a baby shower on Sunday, which I had mentioned in a previous post. And my sweet sisters are also giving me a shower in Marshfield on Saturday, January 24. I'm very excited...after 7 years of waiting to have a baby, it's finally here! Here is the cute invite for the shower my sisters are giving me.

I had my 30 week appointment yesterday. The midwife said everything looks great so far. My blood pressure was 128/78, Bebita's heart rate was 142 bpm, my belly measured 30 inches, and I didn't gain any weight from my last appointment (which was shocking considering Christmas and New Years). I mentioned to the midwife that the last several nights I had been getting leg cramps in the middle of the night. She said that before I go to bed I should take a bath in Epsom salt and stretch and massage my legs. I will try that tonight...hopefully it will help. I'm still not getting much sleep at night and what little sleep I get is filled with pregnancy dreams...crazy pregnancy dreams. I'm pretty sure I'll never know the heavenly sleep I once had before getting pregnant. Oh well...I'd trade that any day for a little angel baby. I find it hard to sit for long periods of time, but the one remedy that has helped tremendously is the birthing ball. In fact, I'm sitting on it now while typing this. It's amazing how much better it feels to sit on the ball than on a regular chair.

My big assignment right now is to try and find a pediatrician. It's so hard to know where to turn. I've gotten a few recommendations from people, so now I just need to make some phone calls and schedule some appointments. It's a little tricky because we're not sure where we're going to buy a house, so I guess we'll just have to pick a doctor we like and then drive a ways if we need.

We had our first birthing class this past Monday. So far, we knew everything that was covered and there were a couple occasions we had to stop ourselves from laughing out loud. The breathing and relaxation time at the end was nice, except for the "story" the instructor read..."you're in a meadow...you feel the sun shining on your uterus...you begin to feel a contraction...just breathe it away." It was a good thing Teirney and I weren't looking at each other because I think we would have both burst out laughing. Oh...Teirney did have to carry a 35 pound backpack on his front side for 10 minutes to simulate what we go through during pregnancy. That was slightly embarrassing, but he was a trooper. All the dads in the class will have to do it eventually though, so he just got it over with on the first night. We have classes the next three Monday nights.

Sorry this post got a little long.

Dearest Bebita -- everyone loves you SO much that they're going to be throwing you two parties in the next couple weeks. Aren't you excited? We'll try and get lots of pictures so you will one day see how loved you are. You're so quiet tonight. Maybe mommy needs to have a bowl of ice cream, does that sound yummy? Mmmm...it does to mommy. We love you so much and mommy and daddy pray for your health and safety daily and that you have a loving and generous heart. Grow, Bebita, grow! Love you!