Week 32 update

Short and sweet:

Weight gain: + 2 lbs in two weeks/ +26 lbs total at 32 weeks

**I know it said I gained +26 at 30 weeks, but apparently the nurse who weighed me at 30 weeks did the math wrong...hurray for me:)

Moodiness

From what I hear, moodiness is "normal" at this point in my pregnancy. But I feel out of control. For instance, today I could not regulate my mood whatsoever, and spent most of the day feeling sad and blue. I am not sure if this is normal, but I miss the days of feeling genuinely happy. It seems like I spend approximately 70% of my day in a blue mood. Is this anxiety related to the changes that are about to happen in my life? Or is it due to my changing hormones? Whatever it is, I pray it gets better because I really don't want to spend another week feeling blue.

Enough said!

10 weeks to go

We saw our doctor, heard Carolina's heartbeat, and received some good advice to keep healthy as we move through our last 10 weeks. I am sad about my weight gain, but keep telling myself that it will all come off after Carolina is born.

Current weight gain: 5 lbs in 2 weeks (+26 weeks in 30 weeks)

Week 28

We went to the doctor's office on Monday. All went well, and Carolina's heart is beating strong and steady. She even dodged the doppler throughout the heart monitoring experience. She really makes me laugh when she hides from the doppler, and she makes me laugh even more when she bats at it. I wonder if it is any indication of her personality.

Current weight gain: + 1 lb in 2 weeks (+ 21 lbs in 28 weeks of pregnancy)

Another one bites the dust...

I wish I were just singing this crowd-pleaser, but it actually happened today.

If you view my picture below, you might notice that I've been wearing glasses lately. It's a long story, but the short explanation is that it's just been easier to wear my glasses lately. The only problem with that is my vision (without correction) is 20/800, so with glasses, I can see clearly in most of my line of site, but have 20/800 vision peripherally. (Don't worry people, Jeff does most of the driving!)

This morning I was moving about my therapy room, trying to grab a box of speech cards to take them to my desk, and I tripped over a box that was sitting on the ground. Luckily, I have cat-like reflexes, and I landed on my knees and hands. I called my doctor, and she wanted me to go to labor and delivery to make sure the baby was okay. She was okay, which made me realize that God really does a great job creating perfect little protective packages for his little miracles.

My knees are so sore, but not bloody, so I consider myself blessed in that regard. I am icing them even as I type, and I plan on "taking it easy", which may change in definition as the weekend goes on.

PS--Belly pics and weight update to follow.

Story Time!

Monday night was a big one in my book. It was the night I read Carolina her first night-night story. I selected one of my favorite books, "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.

The book has always intrigued me - Max's wolf suit, the brightly detailed illustrations ("Let the wild rumpus start!"), the idea of eating someone up because you love them so (which I never got until I held baby Victoria). I also love Max's imagination, turning his room into the place where the wild things are.

Reading to Victoria when she was in utero was one of the highlights of that pregnancy. We read her children's books and Bible stories. She heard something almost every night, one reason - people tell us - she's as smart as she is. I feel I've dropped the ball with Carolina in some ways. I've known for several days that she was finally really hearing things outside her bubble, but it seems so hard to find quality reading time with her (and Melody). I've actually thought "I'm going to feel horribly guilty if Carolina isn't as gifted as Victoria because I'm not reading to her."

And this, I've found, is one of the traps of the second child. "Well, we did it this way the first time, so..." If there is anything this pregnancy has taught me it's that they're all different, and that's okay. I've been able to apply that to how Melody's feeling, but not in how I'm preparing myself for the arrival of my second daughter. Seven years ago I was a clueless kid, reading everything he could get his hands on...which is really easy to do when you're unemployed (err, job seeking). Now I've got two jobs and less time to really enjoy this pregnancy as much as I've wanted.

But really, it's going to be okay. We're just getting into the third trimester, so there really is time left to read to this baby and make her as smart as her big sis. In fact, I'm going to do something about that right now. Time to sneak into Victoria and Kaylei's room and grab a book off the shelf. I think tonight I introduce Carolina to "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

--Jeff