33 weeks

How far along - 33 weeks as of 7/12/13

Total weight gain - 20 pounds

How are you feeling - Full and out of breath! I feel like I'm going to burst if I eat more than a few bites of anything, there is just no space for food in there with baby!

Movement - Oh yes! It is such a trip to watch my belly literally move like an ocean wave as the baby moves.

Best moment this week - Hearing the heartbeat at our 33 week appointment and having dr. tell us baby is continuing to grow right on track with that August 30 due date.

Looking forward to - My last 5 day work week is next week. We are down to 7 weeks left of work and 7 weeks before baby's due date. Any guesses on which will come first - scheduled last day of work or baby? Let's hope it's my last scheduled day of work! My money is on this baby arriving first week of September, but we shall see.

Anything else - After next week, work tapers down to 4 day weeks, with my last two weeks being 3 day weeks. I'm down to three dr. appointments (36, 38, 40 weeks), we have a newborn care class and then a late pregnancy class including a hospital tour and THAT'S IT! We were just given our hospital paperwork to fill out and submit as well as our birthing plan paperwork which is blowing my mind right now that we are so close to having this baby and becoming parents.

I'm starting to feel pretty uncomfortable and definitely getting to the point where I'm ready to get this baby out. But until then, I'm just trying to enjoy these last few weeks of peace and quiet and take in every moment of our life as two, before we become a family of three.

   

30 weeks

 

How far along: 30 weeks

 

How are you feeling: Wake up feeling great, hit a wall around 2:30-3:00 and all I want to do is take a nap. Get a second wind in the evenings and can't fall asleep until after 11:00.

 

Sleep: Sleeping pretty soundly. Consistently waking up about twice a night to use the bathroom. Hips starting to ache a bit from only sleeping on my sides, but using a pillow under my knee seems to help.

 

Belly button: Officially an outie as of a few days ago! You can see it if you look close in this week's picture.

 

Movement: Counting kicks every day. Some days I notice more movement than others, but I always look forward to laying down at night and focusing all my attention to the babe. I've also been setting my alarm for a few minutes early so that I can lay in bed and see if baby is moving. Luke likes to give the baby raspberries by blowing on my stomach. So far it seems to get this kiddo moving - it's pretty funny!

 

Food cravings: Fruit and spinach this week. And ice cream, can't seem to stop eating ice cream! Oh and hot dogs! I've really been missing hot dogs, and then a friend told me about nitrate free hot dogs from Trader Joe's. Seriously, amazing.

 

Looking forward to: Our 32 week ultrasound is 1 1/2 weeks away and I can't wait! I am so curious about how the baby is situated in there and how big he or she is measuring.

 

Anything else: Nursery is really coming together. I had my final talk with my boss about maternity leave so that is all set. I have a few appointments set up to check out home daycares. July is a busy month filled with baby classes. We have three baby showers in the next 4 weeks. It feels like we are in the home stretch! And with each passing day, we get more and more excited to meet our little one!

 



 

Babymoon

We wanted to squeeze in one last road trip before Baby Young arrives. Six years ago when Luke and I traveled across the country, we checked out a lot of National Parks and both agreed Zion was by far our favorite. We have wanted to go back ever since and so it was an easy choice when it came to deciding on where to go on our babymoon.

The drive to Utah is long and not very interesting so we took the most scenic route we could by driving through Yosemite and the Eastern Sierras and spending our first night at June Lake.

Driving through Yosemite

First night and Luke caught us a fish for dinner! Camping at June Lake.

It was a long and hot drive across Nevada, how people do that drive with kids is beyond me! We stayed in the small town of Springdale, Utah, about 1 mile from the entrance to Zion NP, at the same campground we stayed at six years ago. At one point I said to Luke how crazy to think that the last time we were here we hadn’t even been dating for six months and hardly knew each other, and now look at us, back at the same campground, married, with a child on the way!

After some negotiating, we were able to get a prime shady site right on the Virgin River which made our five night stay absolutely perfect.

Our campsite in Springdale, UT

Our first full day in Utah was Luke’s birthday and the birthday boy wanted to float the river. It was so fun and the perfect way to beat the 95+ temps. The town of Springdale runs free shuttles all day long from one end of town to the entrance of Zion NP which made floating the river and getting back to camp a breeze. We got in the river just above our campsite, floated down for about two hours, got out and caught a shuttle back to camp. 

Katrina floating the Virgin River

Luke with Zion NP in the back

Birthday float

The next day we thought we would ride our bikes into Zion, go to the Visitor’s Center and plan out the rest of the week. We packed a few snacks for our morning in the park, thinking we would come back to the trailer for lunch. Once in the park, we realized there was so much we wanted to see and do that we quickly forgot about not having a lunch and just got started on doing as much as possible. No cars are allowed inside the park. Instead there are free shuttles that run every 10 minutes taking you where you need to go. This makes for a great bike ride. We pretty much had the road to ourselves, with the exception of having to pull over for a shuttle every now and then. We would highly recommend biking through Zion, it is the best way to see the park!

 

Our ultimate destination for the day was the end of the road at what they call The Narrows. We stopped along the way for a quick three mile hike up through some canyons and got a great view of the valley.

 

We made it to The Narrows around 1:00 – the heat of the day. Hiking The Narrows means hiking in the Virgin River up through the canyon walls of Zion. As you walk up the river, the canyon gets more and more narrow creating some of the most dramatic scenery you’ve ever seen. At 1:00 in the afternoon, walking in that river was the only place we wanted to be. Man was it hot outside! The last time we were in Zion, we hiked up The Narrows as well, but it was April and the weather was about 30 degrees cooler – a much different experience! We could have hiked up that river for hours, and wanted to, but by 3:40 this pregnant lady was feeling the effects of skipping lunch so sadly we turned around and hiked back down. A special permit is required, but apparently you can do the entire 16 mile top-down hike through The Narrows which is definitely something we would like to check out the next time we visit (we just hiked a portion of the river bottom-up so no permit was required).  

Start of The Narrows

Luke walking up a section called Wall Street

At the end of the day, we had biked 20 miles, hiked 5 miles, and river walked 5-6 miles. Luke made venison burgers for dinner when we got back. A burger has never tasted so good as it did that night.

Well earned burgers for dinner

Our other big adventure that week was hiking to Angels Landing. We had heard so much about this hike (even saw t-shirts saying ‘I made it to the top of Angels Landing!’) that we just had to see what all the fuss was about. The hike is relatively short, about 5 miles round trip, but fairly steep and definitely a little treacherous at the top. The climb wasn’t that bad at all. What was tough, was walking the last ½ mile or so on the narrow spine of the mountain with sheer cliffs on either side and pulling yourself up another 500 feet in elevation with the help of some very worn cables. My heart is pounding as I type this just thinking about it! We nearly turned around, but very glad we stuck it out and made it to the top. We were rewarded with spectacular views in every direction.

Early morning in the park, start of Angels Landing hike

Start of the cables

So relieved to have made it across the spine!

This is the spine you had to walk across, very scary!

Made it to the top!

Top of Angels Landing

We got so many comments and looks of surprise from people when they realized I was pregnant. It made the hike that much more entertaining and memorable! My favorite was a comment from a crazy hippie man practically running down the steepest section of Angels Landing. When he saw me, he stopped and said “You are hiking this in that condition? Wow, you are all right!”

We spent the rest of our time in Zion cooling off in the river by our campsite and relaxing in our hammocks. Each afternoon as I lay on the hammock I would check in with Baby Young and see if I could feel any movement. Not only did I feel lots of movement, but it was the first time I saw the baby moving from watching my stomach! I just love that Luke and I were both able to experience this for the first time on our babymoon – how appropriate!

Afternoon nap

Luke relaxing

 

When it was time to say good bye to Zion and head back home, we weren't quite ready for our babymoon to end so we once again decided to take a slightly longer, but far more beautiful route home through Carson City and Tahoe. We stopped in Carson City and had breakfast with Luke's grandma, aunt, and cousin, and then finished up the trip with a night along the Truckee River. Saturday afternoon was spent floating down the Truckee River and Sunday we enjoyed a 35 mile bike ride from Squaw Valley to Tahoma and back. The weather was beyond gorgeous and it was the perfect way to end a wonderful trip.

Luke fishing the Truckee River

Final night of our trip. Camping in Tahoe.

Biking along the Truckee River

Biking around Take Tahoe

Our new trailer worked out great! Very comfortable, plenty of space, and easy to tow. So crazy and exciting to think that the next time we take the trailer out, there will be three of us! 

Six down, three to go

We are now officially in the third trimester with less than 3 months until Baby's due date. I feel like the countdown has begun! I had my 27 week doctor appointment yesterday and continue to measure right on track, baby's heartbeat remains strong, and all looks good. They scheduled my remaining appointments through 40 weeks - only four more appointments to go which seems beyond crazy to me. I feel like our baby will be here before we know it!

Here is a the latest belly progression picture because I know how people just love to see pictures of the growing bump!

23 weeks        -        25 weeks        -        27 weeks

We made huge progress on the baby's room over the holiday weekend by getting all of the painting done. It feels great to have that out of the way and done with! It took a little arm bending, but eventually I got Luke to agree to some bold color in the room. I think he was sold by the name of the color: soft duckling :) I mean, does that sound like the perfect nursery color or what?!

We are still playing with the layout, but this gives you an idea of how it looks

Next up on my to do list is find a daycare provider!

26 weeks

The count down is on! Less than 100 days until Baby Young's due date. I read a quote about pregnancy that rang so true to me, "Pregnancy is the longest shortest 9 months of your life." Sometimes I feel like it is flying right by (I can't believe we will be in our third trimester in a few short days) and other times I feel like I can't wait a second longer to meet this baby!

Baby weighs 1 2/3 pounds and is the length of an English hothouse cucumber, about 14 inches head to heel.

Baby seems to be the most active after meals - morning, noon, and night.

This growing belly is making it more difficult to bend over and roll over at night.

I haven't been sleeping all that great, waking up 3-5 times each night to go to the bathroom.

Walking, hiking, and gentle yoga are my new forms of exercise.

Current gender prediction: GIRL

Missing: The occasional beer and glass of wine (especially after a long day at work!!)

Craving: Chocolate chip cookies (what else is new) and veggies

Names: Still brainstorming, but getting closer to narrowing it down

Looking forward to: Mumford and Sons concert this week, 27 week dr. appointment, and last day of work before vacation!

Belly Progression - 25 weeks

I snap a picture every Friday morning on my way out the door to work to watch the progress of the growing bump. The growth is not always noticeable on a day to day basis, so it’s fun to look back over the course of a few weeks and see the change.



21 weeks          -          23 weeks          -          25 weeks

We have been busy getting our lives ready for baby. With the help of some mommy friends, I’ve been learning about all the must have baby items and slowly, but surely building our registry. I had the big maternity leave discussion with my boss this week which went well enough, although I was way more nervous than I thought I would be! Not to mention a bit emotional at the thought of balancing it all. And perhaps the most exciting thing of all, we decided on nursery colors! Now we just need to go pick out the paint and get the room painted and decorated.   

June and July are going to be busy months and August (and baby!) will be here before we know it. We head out for our babymoon in two weeks to kick off summer and the start of our third trimester.  



24 weeks

I'm pregnant. This week, I actually feel like it. You know how a few weeks ago I said sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant? Well, I don't think that will be happening anymore! I'm tired, like all day long. It's getting more difficult to get up out of my chair at work and I have to pee pretty much all of the time. I tried to go for a run yesterday which quickly turned into a walk. I can cry on a dime, my body is starting to ache (lower back and hips mostly), and I'm up a couple of times each night. All of that aside, I'm actually doing pretty well! Every time I feel this little baby move, it's like nothing else matters.

24 weeks - the babe is 12 inches long and about 1 1/2 pounds

My belly seems to have popped out overnight and I'm only rocking maternity and yoga pants these days. It's crazy to think that in just three weeks we will be done with the second trimester and into the third.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there! Luke and I are blessed with two pretty amazing moms. Lots of love to you both!

In other exciting news, we bought a trailer. We needed something bigger than the toy hauler for our growing family and after weeks of searching all over the state and Oregon too, we found the perfect one 10 minutes from our house. Funny how life does that sometimes. The first adventure in our new travel wagon is a babymoon to Zion National Park in Utah. Can't wait!