We just came in from our first venture on the old town tennis courts. I was amazed by how quickly I lost my breath! I guess tennis isn't the most common recreational choice in the 8th month of pregnancy ;) It felt great to be outside though, and I was pretty proud of myself as I scooted (careened? whoomped?...?) around the court. Baby Boy was going a little nuts inside, I think I was throwing his balance off.

I had another prenatal on Friday and it went great: I got 3 or 4 high-fives from my docter! He's really pleased with how I've worked with the GD thing and how things are progressing. He says I look fantastic, blood pressure's great, baby is head down (though moving everywhere still so who knows?), and everything seems fine. We've got a really great doctor, Im glad we were able to get in with him.
I'm finishing my 31st week today and measuring at 28/29 weeks. I may have a late ultrasound to confirm that Baby is growing enough and all that, but it doesn't seem to be a concern.  Also, the Dr. has discontinued me testing my blood three times a day as he's pleased with the numbers, development, menus, etc., and he doesn't want to risk me getting too obsessed. Good stuff, no poor finger pricking :) I still need to keep up with my menus and exercise. It's actually becoming quite a positive lifestyle shift, I'm interested to see what happens once Baby arrives and I can go back to my 'old ways'.

What else?
- This weekend we had company and I made a flourless sugar-free chocolate cake. It was awesome :) We also created yummer flax/oat/soy pancakes this morning (which i thought were AWESOME) but jer wasn't too impressed ;)
- We  got the home! (And this weekend the possession date moved up to August 1)
- Baby is moving SO much, see Facebook for video
- I have a wonderful 'blessing' shower coming on Tuesday with 4 of my close friends here. Kind of a ceremonial/liturgical evening of blessing, prayer, treats, and beautification to mark the transition into motherhood. It's going to be awesome!
- I can't wait for summer!
- We start prenatal classes this week- wahoo!

This coming weekend is going to be a little nuts, so I thought I'd do a midweek entry for fun :)

My pregnancy has arrived at a unique point, and it's somewhat difficult to explain. On the one hand, I'm loving my body, the motion of the baby, the promise of what's to come, and the special treats like baby showers and such. I feel relatively healthy and I think/hope he is as well.
On the other...I don't know...I'm feeling a pretty intense. I'm overwhelmed with the desire to 'get out and get done'; get out of the office, complete my tasks, clean the house, reno' the new house, and take off. I'm moody and distant and cannot even fake small-talk. I feel an intense need for solitude and alone time, like a solitary road trip to a cabin or campsite where I can just process everything that's happened this year and everything that's coming. I just feel so closed in; too many issues and people and questions and responsibilities. I need space and purity and rest and reflection.
I feel behind. My house is in such a disarray, my office is upside down, my goals and talents are wearing dust, my faith is torn and weak. I just want to get everything done so I can just get away for a little awhile, just step away from it all.

Can anyone relate? Past/present prego's? Am I just crazy?

So, now I'm at the office and I have a list. If I can just get the list done I'll be so much closer to locking the door and walking away. But to begin...that's the difficult thing. Can I just walk away and leave it as it is? Just drive to Hicks Lake and spend of week of solitude on that big rock?

I need to get things (heart, mind, focus, emotions) in order or else I'm going to be one frayed mother. I hope I'll be ready in time.

I've always looked ahead and kind of idolized the 30th week. It seems like such a milestone, such a huge point of progress with only 10 weeks to go, and I made it! I'm at the end of 30 weeks so that means 8-10 weeks left for me and my son-WOW.

So what has the 30th week brought me?
Braxton Hicks (at least that's what i think/hope they are) are getting super intense! I never expected them to hurt this much and sometime I wonder if I'm going to come super early. The edema I mentioned last week is a daily companion though I'm learning ways to work with it. Finally, I have officialy (in MY opinion) started to 'waddle'. I just noticed on Thursday that I have to swing my arms with gusto as I propel my front-loaded self along our walks. It's really pretty funny ;)
In the midst of all this I'm still loving pregnancy. I still haven't thrown up, Fibromyalgia has been incredibly passive this past month (a HUGE blessing), no belly stretch marks yet, and no life-threatening complications. I'm blessed :)
I've also become really proficient with creative carb counting and blood sugar management; I'm kinda proud of myself. My newest recipe this week was a low fat, low carb, sugar free bran muffin, and it was REALLY good (Jeremy's even eating them, which says something). We were dealing with a bunch of home-purchasng issues and I was way too riled up to sleep, so I set about inventing muffins and salmon burgers just before midnight. It was a little wierd but fruitful :)

What else...?
In the midst of purchasing a home and it looks like it's going to happen. That means we're going to hold off on our tree mural and wall script/writing until the new baby room and just leave this one as is (with it's beautiful laminate...). Hopefully the new room will look even cooler :)
(Note: I promise we're not copying Missy's tree idea! :)  We've always wanted to do a tree and 'nature based' decor since before pregnancy. Our tree may bear more of a 'tree of gondor' look to it though, per Jer's suggestions, and I'm guessing it could end up a little wierd...! I hope it works though, suggestions are welcome. We're thinking the tree painted in white and then scripture or faith-based quote in Celtic style script??) :)

Finally, today is my big baby shower!!! I'm SO excited! Some friends are also doing a sweet smaller/private one at the end of the month; I'm spoiled! I am SO soo excited about having a baby shower, it's a little silly. It's just so cool to have a party because of my baby. I've gone to so many showers over the years but this one is for MY son and we're going to get loads of wonderful presents just for us. Oh man, how fun is that!? ;) Unfortunately, we're in the midst of a 'winter' storm that's dumping snow and cold, but hopefully people will still come out. I'm so excited :)

Three weeks till mat' leave, 3 hours till baby shower. Can't wait!

I wrote part of this earlier today but was distracted and busy. Now to finish...

I feel like I've entered 'labor preperation mode' or something. I'm actually half-wondering if this boy is going to be early, but who knows? I'm feeling a growing urge to prepare, to clean, to plan, to...nest! There is just so much to do and right now it all looks fun and exciting and necessary. I need to wash the diapers, set up the bedding, buy more diapers, pack my bag (kay, maybe I'm a liiiitle bit ahead of myself ;) ) but I'm just so excited! This week I starte drinking my prego' tea daily (I didn't think I had enough to do that and then I portioned it out and realized that I have loads!), began using the official 'tummy butter' stuff to prevent stretch marks, realized i couldn't see 'down there' any more,  and began wondering if this super-active little boy was thinking of settling in head-down anytime soon.

Today was gorgeous. +22, sunny, clear, perfect; the first warm day. i love that I'm having a warm-weather baby (this month would be perfect! gotta plan for that next time) ;) We ate supper by the fire in the backyard and I just got back from a bike ride. Yup, a bike ride! I felt pretty hardcore biking down the highway all suited up with my belly riding high. It kind felt like he was gonna push my supper out, but overall it was pretty good and switched up my workout routine. I think I have another few weeks available for biking with this belly :)

As of this week I'm definitely feeling the third trimester- yikes! The belly's getting huge, the 'restless legs' are in full fledge, and the most bizarre thing happened this week: edema.  I came home, sat on the floor, and realized that my ankles had disappeared!!! Somehow, within hours, my legs had swollen up and my ankles were gone! It was seriously the freakiest thing ever- so gross- and didn't feel so nice either.;) So, since then, I swell up and look nasty by the end of the day and apparently that's how it's supposed to be. Pregnancy can be a little wacky somedays! ;)

In other news....
Blood sugar seems to be under control and the Dr. was super impressed with my maintenance- yay! I exercise after every meal, have adjusted some food choices, and have even found some great new 'allowable' things and created new recipes. I'm feeling healthy and fit  and feel really pretty :) There's something beautiful about this belly that moves and grows and interacts. My son is with me all the time, tucked right into every moment of my day and night.

Well, that's that for now. My shower is a week from today- can't wait!