Adios, 29 Weeks!

I know I've said this before.. but holy cow we're getting close!

• How far along: all done with 29 weeks. I think I'm the only teacher I know who feels like these last few weeks have flown by. I feel like time is going by so quickly and we're getting so close to meeting our sweet baby boy!
• This week Xavi was the size of an acorn squash. What the heck is an acorn squash? I don't know. The Bump says 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. We've come a long way. We've still got lots to grow, though... I hear he's going to triple his weight before birth... How in the world is he gonna fit in this belly? Oh, Lord. 
• Total weight gain/loss: +19 guys! The Dr. told me at my appointment today that I have only gained 1 pound over 2 weeks. That's a heckuva deal. Wahoo. 
• Maternity Clothes: Nope. 3, count 'em, 3 days last week I wore pants. Not maternity pants. My pants. I threw on the belly back and was so excited have 3 Duggar Free Days! 
• Best moments this past week:
• I did not lose all of the data on my iPhone! It may have taken a face-first dive off of the couch last Tuesday night. The screen wasn't cracked and Siri still worked but I had nothing but a black screen. Luckily, I'm super lucky and I had been (apparently) backing everything up on iTunes and iCloud. I was without a fully functioning phone for 3 days or so and was SO relieved to learn that I hadn't lost all of my everything from my original phone. <Insert sigh of relief here.>
• We spent yesterday at Jason's mom's house by the pool. It was a lot of fun. We/they played lots of outside games in the yard and the guys spent some time on their World Cup Sticker Books. We ate yummy food and relaxed. It was a lot of fun. I love this time of year.
• I had my 30 week doctor appointment today. Everything is healthy and she said I'm measuring 30 cm. I don't speak Doctor but I'm assuming that's right on track. She said my weight looks good and we're doing a great job growing a healthy baby. :) 
• Another cousin of Jason's gave us a stroller, car seat, boppy pillow, high chair, and a changing pad yesterday. It's all so well taken care of and looks brand new. We can't yet fit it into Jason's trunk so it's still at his mom's house.

• Food Cravings: Steak, cereal, bananas, salad, any kind of fruit, Publix Lemonade, water, water, water, and hot fudge sundaes from McDonald's. I let myself have any amount of whatever I want from the list above... except the sundae. We limit those to about 1 a week, and I enjoy the heck out of it!  
• Wedding Rings: On. For now. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm prepared for not being able to slide them on. I can tell it's getting close. 
• Labor Signs: None. 
• Movement: All. The. Time. and it's getting stronger and more frequent. He's all over the place (or so it seems).
• Belly Button: I don't think I can call it 'in' any more. It's definitely more 'flat' than 'in'. It's not out, but it's certainly not 'in'. 
• What I miss: sleeping on my belly and being able to reach my toes without being in pain or losing my breath. That's about it this week. It was a pretty good week. I could have use a glass of wine though...
• What we're looking forward to: 
• Decorating more of Xavi's room.
• Our first (of 3) showers is coming up. We're pretty excited about that. 
• Summer
• Memorial Day = 3-day weekend
• Weekly wisdom: 
• Send it to The Cloud. Seriously.
• Not every piece of advice you get is useful to you. You're gonna get some great ideas. You're also going to get some advice that makes absolutely no sense. Take in what you want and remember that you're going to figure out what works for you.
• Put your feet up and rest. For real. Your husband will help more than you expect.
• When you get your stroller, figure out how to work it. When your husband tries to figure it out, let him struggle. He'll figure it out. You won't always be there to show him. Jason learns by doing. He practiced a few times and now he's folding and unfolding that thing like a champ. :)

Bump:

28 weeks: Check!

Anyone else tired of growing? No? Just me. Okay, then...

• How far along: all done with 28 weeks. Do you know what that means? Holy Toledo, guys. That means I'm already in my 29th week. You know what that means? That means that there are only 11 weeks until my due date. I'm only a week away from being 30 weeks. I don't know about your but that's pretty Hold-The-Heck-Up startling. Let's just take a minute to think about how  NOT FAR away that is...........
• This week Xavi was the size of an eggplant. That's not small, guys. Average babies at this time are 13.6 to 14.8 inches long and about 1.5 to 2.2 pounds. I know for a fact he's long enough to stretch across my belly. I saw it (and felt it) happen this week. Pretty weird. My stomach was a pointy oval for about a second. Glad I got to see it... also a bit creeped out. I have forgotten what it feels like to have a still tummy. This week Xavi continued to put on layers of fat and apparently his lungs are mature enough that he could probably breathe on his own if he were born prematurely. I'll take you for your work, The Bump App. Not interested in making that little tidbit of information my Science Fair Project or anything. I'll be able to hold on a few more weeks.
• How I'm feeling: Good. I may be in an Easter Coma. I love lots of things about Easter. Usually I totally binge and then regret it for a week and bust my butt to button my pants for a week. This year I was more cautious. Not as much fun. Booooo..... But baking a baby is totally worth passing up on that Family Size bag of Peanut Butter M&M's.
• Total weight gain/loss: +19 guys! I need you to be excited about that. Because we sure are! I haven't gained just 1 pound in a long time. I like this 1 pound thing... 
• Maternity Clothes: Okay. I have been rockin' the Maxi skirt as of late. I am stubborn... and cheap. I didn't/don't want to spend money on maternity clothes that aren't going to fit forever. However, as I got dressed this morning, I looked in the mirror. I thought to myself, "I totally look like a Duggar." I love me some Maxi. Don't get me wrong. But this long skirt thing is getting old. I feel like I should be the 217th member of the Duggar Family. I think a pair of maternity jeans just may be in my future... 
• Best moments this past week:
• I don't have Gestational Diabetes! I took the test and passed by 3 points. The "Orange Drink" that everyone warned me about was actually Fruit Punch flavored and not awful. It tasted like Kool-Aid with only 1/2 of the recommended amount of water mixed in. Not awful... but not something I'd be interested in chugging down every day.
• We seeded the back yard this past weekend. It was so much fun. I love doing things with Jason. He's so knowledgeable about so many things and he's so much fun to work with. We raked the yard and went to home depot for some top soil and seed. It seems dull and boring but I really enjoy time that we spend together. Alicia and Jason Alone Time is ticking away and I want to get in as much as I can. Soon we'll be able to share our time with our sweet baby. But, for half of our lives it's just been us. (With parental supervision for some of it!)
• Yesterday was Easter. We had a great day. We woke up on time and I made some pancakes for breakfast. We spent the early afternoon with my family eating and opening our Easter Baskets that were filled with lots of fun things. Then we went to Jason's mom's house and spend the evening there. We played basketball and threw the frisbee around. We also worked on our World Cup Sticker Albums that Jason and his cousin and uncle are totally obsessed with. It was a good day.
• Before Easter lunch at my parent's house, we stopped by my grandmother's house. Jason's cousin gave us a glider, along with a bazillion other things, early on in our pregnancy. As the ideas for Xavi's room came to be, we realized that the glider wasn't going to 'go'. We decided to give the glider to my grandmother who is was in need of a new chair so badly. She was so thankful and so appreciative. I was happy to make her day/week/month and see her so happy. :)
• Our puppy, Abby, had her first birthday yesterday, too! We bought some puppy ice cream and she and Mia had a small ice cream party in the backyard. It was fun.  

• Food Cravings: Steak... again. I just want the protein. I also ain't hatin' the A-1 Steak Sauce either. I went to eat with my team last Friday because we didn't have any kids and my entire plate was cleaned before the waiter even had time to being the ketchup that someone asked for... they noticed. I was not ashamed.  
• Wedding Rings: On. For now. I can tell that it's going to be a battle soon, though. It used to be hard to take them off late at night but in the morning I could just slip all 3 rings on at once. Not now. I have to do one at a time and work for it.
• Labor Signs: No Way! I do think that I was introduced to Mr. Braxton Hicks this week though. I know that they happen all throughout the pregnancy and most of the time they aren't even felt. This was either Braxton Hicks or some crazy gas. Let's go with Mr. Hicks, mmmKay?
• Movement: All the time. All over the place. Who knew that your belly could look like you swallowed a football whole?
• Belly Button: In. - But almost flat. I think we're going to lose it soon, guys. Can't even get a finger in there now. 
• What I miss: sleeping on my belly, my belly button, jeans/work pants
• What we're looking forward to: 
• The glider coming in
• We're starting to discuss artwork for Xavi's room. I think we're narrowing it down and I can't wait to find what we're looking for. :) Decorating is so much fun... even more fun when it's for your sweet baby. 
• Weekly wisdom: 
• Enjoy your belly button while you can. I'm so jealous of you people who can get belly button lint.
• Inhale that steak, green beans, and broccoli at lunch. It's amazing. No regrets. 

Maybe I'll toss up a picture of me next week... 

Xavi's Room: Phase 1

The green room.

For the last 2 years, we've called it "The Green Room".

In it we kept the cages for the dogs, cases of water, Jason's extra bins of basketball jerseys that he refuses to admit he'll never wear again, about 40 Barbies that my grandmother gave me that I just can't seem to let go of just in case one of them is worth a gajillion dollars one day, and the extra ottoman from our living room furniture.

I loved the color of that room. Environmental. I think I loved that color more than any other color we have in the whole house. (A total of 6.)

We always knew that one day it would be the room of our sweet baby.

... and here we are.

The walls aren't green anymore. Thanks to Jason and his mom the walls are now gray. The same gray as most of the walls in our bedroom. Exactly what we wanted.

There are no more puppy cages. No more cases of water, basketball jerseys, or Barbies.

Now we have a crib. A sweet crib. This crib will be where our sweet baby spends his nights. Where he will go when nothing but rest and sleep will solve his problems.This crib will grow with him. It will become a fort on a rainy day and Home Base when he plays hide and seek or tag with daddy. Thanks to Xavi's sweet Abuelita. Oh, this crib...

We also have 2 dressers. We decided to put the crib in the closet. I love it in there. It's a perfect fit. That created a storage situation. We solved that issue by getting a second dresser. Thanks to my parents we have plenty of space for sweet onesies that say, "I love Grandma" and "My mom doesn't want your advice", and tiny little socks, a place to organize and store diapers and wipes. One day these dressers will be a place for his very first trophies.

                                                                                                                   

                 

Next, we bought a glider/recliner for the room as well. We bought this glider:

in this color.

I can't wait to rock our sweet baby to sleep in this glider. We'll sit in that glider and watch him sleep. I'm sure half asleep ourselves. We'll wake up in that glider some mornings - never having made it to bed. Stiff neck and all. We'll read bedtime stories in this glider. We'll have talks about how good boys act in this glider. One thing's for sure. We'll be comfy as heck in this glider.

We've got some more decorating to do. We'll throw in some blue around the room eventually.

What a sweet room for a boy who is already loved so very much.

27 Weeks

• How far along: done with 27 weeks.
• This week Xavi was the size of a rutabaga. I've never seen a rutabaga before. Part of me wanted to search for one at the grocery store. Another part of me (mainly the lower half of my body) wanted to keep that in the 'mystery' category. Either way - TheBump says that babies at 27 weeks are usually 13.6 to 14.8 inches long and 1.5 to 2.2 pounds. TheBump says that his brainstem us nearly fully developed and his cerebral cortex is growing more and more. That explains why I have felt like a total dummy this week. 
• How I'm feeling: To be honest? Big. I look like I have a basketball stuffed in my shirt. Someone told me today that I wasn't waddling yet. That might have been the nicest thing I've heard all month! Other than that I feel great. I was able to rest a lot last week and catch up from being so tired after Spring Break. 
• Total weight gain/loss: We're gonna call this a mini-win this week. I'm +18 as of yesterday morning. Let me explain the mini-win. When I started this whole thing I didn't want to gain 20 pounds before 20 weeks. I can safely say that didn't happen. Here's win #2: I was SURE that I had reached that this week. I feel like I have doubled in size (in the belly category) in the past week and a half and had already given myself a pep-talk before stepping on the scale. So I'm gonna stick this in the "Win" category. You do the same.  
• Maternity Clothes: Maxi to the Skirts!
• Best moments this past week: There were lots!!
• This was a week filled with lots of sleep for me. That was pretty darn amazing.
• One of my faves posted this on her blog. I needed to hear it and it was perfect timing. That was pretty great, too.
• That same "fave" celebrated her second baby's second birthday yesterday. I got to celebrate too. That was (you guessed it) pretty great.
• This past weekend was the first weekend in a LONG time where there wasn't any soccer. It's about to start up again - next weekend in fact with practices and tournaments and tryouts. This is such a stressful time for Jason (which turns into stress for Alicia) that it was nice to have one weekend of just nothing. Saturday we slept in and I made a Montoya Favorite for breakfast. We hung around the house and slept. We finished the night at the Rowdies game with my parents and about 7,000 other people. After the game there was a concert. That was an experience. Sunday we spent with his mom. She needed some things done around the house and since this was Jason's only free weekend, she/we decided it would be a perfect time to get those things done. While Jason played Bob Vila, I partied it up with Kelly and Tate. :)
• We ordered the glider/recliner for Xavi's room last week. Maybe Friday night?? We (of course) didn't like the stock fabric and needed to have something custom made. That took our deliver date from 7-14 days to 10-12 weeks. I can't wait for it to come. It may not be here before Xavi but it's what we want. Totally worth the wait.

• Food Cravings: Nothing extravagant. My gestational diabetes test is tomorrow afternoon so I, naturally, could have eaten the entire chocolate birthday cake that was in the teacher's workroom this afternoon. I just chugged on my water and pictured myself jumping across the table and snatching that fork out of that other teacher's hand and eating every last crumb off her plate. MMM. Water. 
• Wedding Rings: On. For now.
• Labor Signs: No Way!
• Movement: Constantly, and it's starting to hurt every now and then. Sometimes I have to push my belly around until he takes the hint and gets his stuff situated so I don't break a rib or something. (I'm exaggerating about breaking a rib. Calm down.)
• Belly Button: In. - But almost flat. 
• What I miss: sleeping on my belly, Sangria, frozen concoctions of adulty beverageness
• What we're looking forward to: 
• We're not 'excited' about it, but my gestational diabetes test is tomorrow. Wa. Hoo. 
• Xavi's glider/recliner coming in. Can't wait.
• Weekly wisdom: 
• Don't settle. If you want something, wait the extra 10 weeks. 
• When you get a minute to do nothing. Use every.single.second.

Well. Here's to 28 weeks. Take a swig of something alcoholic for me. I bet sangria misses me too...

26 weeks - done and moving on!

• How far along: 26 weeks
• This week Xavi was the size of a head of lettuce. Yum! He was between 13.6 and 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.2 pounds. This week we put the finishing touches on eye balls. I hear that next week some pretty amazing stuff in the eye ball category will happen! 
• How I'm feeling: Super duper tired. We had a really busy weekend. I am also feeling quite large this week. I think we definitely had a growth spurt. I was a bottomless pit during the week. 
• Total weight gain/loss: Wellllll..... Let's put it this way: Last week I was +14. This week we're going to start at +14 and add in CiCi's Pizza for dinner on Monday with my grandparents, Brighthouse's company picnic on Saturday night, and the Clearwater Thresher's Suite in Sunday. I decided to stay away from the scale this morning in order to prevent a melt-down. 
• Maternity Clothes: Can you say Maxi Skirt? I don't think I've been so excited about getting a new skirt. I got a black one on Friday night and I was so excited!
• Best moments this past week: There were lots!!
• Thursday night we put together Xavi's crib. It was a lot of fun. It took us about an hour and a half. We made one mistake - accidentally mixed up 3 longer screws for 3 shorter screws. Apparently it's a big deal that we didn't get in a fight about it or yell at each other once. Parenting Practice win! 
• That night we also took his dressers out of the boxes they were shipped in. They came fully assembled so all we had to do was take them out of the box, place them where we want them, and put the handles in place. I can't wait to post about his room progress so far. There's not much else in there but it's so exciting to walk in and see that progress is being made!
• Friday night we picked the blue color that will be his accent color. In case you've never been to our house - we're pretty simple when it comes to decorating. We're not into knick-knacks or things that don't have a purpose. We are very picky about the things that we put up. So for us to finally find a blue that made us happy was a big step. 
• Saturday afternoon we went to Babies R Us and picked out the glider/recliner that we'll order this week for Xavi's room. I wanted a glider and recliner in one because his room isn't huge and I wanted the option to sit with my feet up and not have an ottoman taking up space. I can't wait to order it! :)
• Saturday night we got to go to Brighthouse's company picnic with my mom and dad. I look forward to this every year. It's always at night after the park has closed and the lines are short and we ride roller coasters over and over. Well.. the roller coasters thing wasn't happening this year. You better believe that I rode the heck out of the Sky Ride! I may have even raised my arms on our last right on it. Yes. We read it more than once. Yes. I pretended like it was a roller coaster! Since I couldn't ride roller coasters, Jason needed a buddy. His sweet cousin Tamar recently reached the minimum height to ride all of the roller coasters. We bought her a ticket to celebrate. She had so much fun and was fearless! She rode in the front row on two of the scariest coasters there... and did both of them twice! It was such a fun night. We won lots of prizes on the carnival games. I did, however, come home with some swollen feet and toes. Sausage fest!
• Sunday was another day-o-fun! We got to go in the suite at a Thresher's game. We pick a game every year and invite Jason's friends from college. They're some of my favorite people to spend time with. We eat great food and have so much fun. We always look forward to spending time with them. We have so many great memories with them. 
• Sunday afternoon we took a nap. Glorious. So glorious!
• Sunday evening we had a tour of the birthing center at the hospital where I'll have Xavi. Holy Toledo. It was surreal. The tour was about an hour long. I told Jason that he needed to pay close attention to everything for 2 reasons. (1) I may have a slight to not-so-slight case of undiagnosed ADD and can't really pay attention to anything for more than a span of minutes. No kidding. I need to see a doctor when I'm done being pregnant. and (2) I may be a little distracted when we go to the hospital for the real deal.
• Sunday evening also brought a calm-down-you-still-have-a-few-months visit to RITA'S!! Please understand my excitement!

• Food Cravings: Today I was really interested in honey roasted almonds. They didn't disappoint. Not much else though. Although I did have some pretty amazing veggies and ranch dip at the baseball game yesterday. Oh, and some mini pretzel dogs. YUM. 
• Wedding Rings: On. For now.
• Labor Signs: No Way!
• Movement: Constantly. 
• Belly Button: In. - But almost flat. 
• What I miss: Sleep. Rita's.  Spring Break. 
• What we're looking forward to: 
• Ordering Xavi's glider
• Finding a rug we like
• Finding curtains we like
• This weekend we have no plans. That's gonna be great. 
• Weekly wisdom: 
• Take a nap. 
• When you're putting the crib together take your time and really follow the directions. It's not worth fighting about. We did it. You can do it. Two people makes it easier than one. 
• Build the crib INSIDE the room. There's no way we would have been able to fit it through the bedroom door fully assembled. 
• If you change the nail polish on your sausage toes it will help distract people.
• Rita's 

Soon I'll put up a post about what's happening in Xavi's room. I absolutely LOVE everything that is going on in that little space of our home. Jason is getting so anxious and can't wait for him to be here. I've never see him so opposed to waiting for anything! Sweetest. Thing. Ever.