Baby bump - 27 weeks

Just a little over 3 months to go! I missed a couple get-togethers with friends this week just because I've been so tired. I was able to get more sleep last night though - so happy about that.

I created two registries - one at Babies R Us and the other at Amazon.com. It's still feels weird to be asking people to buy us stuff, so please don't feel obligated to do so if you are reading this post. I do know it's nice to have something to work off of when looking for a gift. Didn't add many clothes to the list because most people like to buy those anyway!

We already have a nice used glider/rocker and dresser set that I found on Craigslist. D made a daybed for the nursery (which Risha is currently sleeping on). One of my cousins has offered to send me her old baby carrier and Medela breast pump (I'm super excited about this - will need it for work). So, we're trying to go used or cheap for some of these items. No use spending a bunch of money when we aren't sure what the little guy will like!

Babies R Us registry
Amazon registry

Winter has arrived

Yesterday was fairly clear and cold - 8 degrees in the morning and down to 3 degrees when I went to bed! - but over the weekend Anchorage experienced a snow dump. D shoveled on Sunday and then Risha did the rest on Monday. I'm so thankful to have a warm garage in which to house our cars. While D is gone working on the Peninsula during the week, Risha is able to park her truck in the garage - which saves her quite a bit of time warming the truck or brushing off snow.

View of the back deck on Monday morning. Drift is going for his morning constitutional, if you know what I mean.

With daylight savings time, the sun appears earlier in the morning but it gets darker earlier at night. So by 4 pm the sun is already setting. Makes for a beautiful sunset but a dark commute home.

Room to breathe

Lately I've been experiencing shortness of breath during the day but especially at night. I guess as the baby gets bigger he is starting to crowd up against all my organs, including my diaphragm. I can deal with this during the day but it is almost unbearable when I'm trying to sleep. It's so hard to get comfortable! Lying down just puts more pressure on my lungs and I end up tossing and turning. I can't get enough air through my nose but mouth breathing leaves me with a really dry mouth. I get about 4 good hours of sleep a night - after that I'm awake for about 2 hours and then fall into a fitful sleep for another hour or so. And the nightly charlie horses in my legs - what is up with those? There are so many aspects to pregnancy that I never knew about!

But then I feel the little peanut kick or move around (or I see my belly ripple - so surreal but very cool!) and all the discomfort is worth it. I think about women who are not able to get pregnant for whatever reason (family & friends included) and I count myself extremely lucky for our baby that has blessed our lives already.

Baby bump - 26 weeks

This is the last week of my second trimester - at 27 weeks I'll be officially in the third trimester! The little guy enjoys kicking me all throughout the day and night. Pretty soon I'll have to count the number of fetal movements in an hour and make sure he's sufficiently active. My eyes have been getting dry and irritated at night, but I've read that is normal.

The generic weekly email I get says he is weighing around 2 pounds and the size of 3 russet potatoes. Average length is 13-14 inches.

It still amazes me that a big ol' baby this size is swimming around inside me!

Earlier this week I preregistered downstairs at the medical facility where I work. Our situation is a little complicated since technically I am a contractor here and my insurance prefers the other facility across town. I managed to get an insurance waiver (cross your fingers that my workplace honors this & writes off the difference in cost!) and the admitting girls worked hard to make sure all my info was entered correctly. Now all we have to do is go straight to Labor & Delivery when our baby is ready to arrive.

I DO NOT want to give birth at the other place across town (although it is where I was born waaaay back in '77). The place is a baby factory - churning out at least 2x the number of babies that my workplace does. You can't labor & deliver in the same room and most of the aftercare suites require moms to share a room with another woman (and share a bathroom - yuck!) Here at my facility you labor & deliver in the same private room, and then the baby goes with you to a private recuperation room on the Mother/Baby unit. The other facility does have a higher-level NICU than we do, so if anything goes wrong I will have no choice but to admit there.

I made an appointment with a well-respected pediatrician practice on December 2nd. There are two docs and two nurse practitioners, and I will meet with each of the docs that morning to see if they are a good fit. A couple people I know use these pediatricians for their kids and one of the physicians even has a radio show on the Alaska NPR station.