Friday, July 26, 2013

Week 34

Baby Castro compared to me as a newborn

BABY:
We went in for another growth scan ultrasound and he continues to be growing normally. He is a healthy weight and size (as far as they can estimate), but I am really starting to feel bad for the little guy. He is so squished in there! As painful as it can sometimes be for me, it can't be too comfortable for him either. His head is down (hallelujah!) and his legs are right up in my rib cage. I didn't need an ultrasound to tell me that. I was amazed to see a few things in the ultrasound though. I was, again, completely thrown off guard when his face popped up in 3D. It is even clearer than the first time. It's wonderful to look at those pictures, then down at my stomach and be able to connect the dots. They also showed him breathing amniotic fluid through his nose. Pretty cool.

As you can see, he is getting chubby. I love his cheeks and his pouty lips. His nose is pretty squished, but so was mine and it turned out relatively normal (here's hopin' kid!). They also saw hair in his ultrasound. I don't know how much, but I'm hoping it's a full head of dark hair like his dad had. I wish I had a picture of Joel as a newborn to compare.

Now that he's much bigger his movements have changed. He still moves a lot, but it's either big turns or limbs dragging across my stomach and sticking out. He gets the hiccups much more often than before and it shakes my whole belly.




PREGNANCY:
I heard that the 3rd trimester is comparable to the 1st, but I don't agree. While some of the misery has come back, the 1st trimester was still the worst. Getting closer to the baby's arrival takes the edge off of returned bouts of nausea, acid reflux, swollen feet & hands, interrupted sleep, exhaustion, difficulty breathing, waddling and feeling completely neurotic. In the midst of those glorious side effects, you get to wash baby clothes so they smell like heaven, stare in awe at how tiny their socks and diapers are, prepare a cozy place for them to sleep, and daydream about holding them for the first time. Granted the baby is right here with me already, pushing down on my bladder, but he still seems like a dream. My love for him is welling up inside of me and I can finally imagine how intensely you love your babies.

The last few weeks we've had an awful heat wave. Temperatures of 95+ which feel like 110+ because of the humidity. They measure temperature here in "feels like"s because of the suffocating humidity. The heat has been the most difficult thing about this pregnancy. It is torture--especially because we don't have AC. If you can control it, do not plan to have a baby at the end of the summer. You do get to wear a "I had a baby due in August" badge of honor and commiserate with your fellow summer baby moms, but it's still not worth it. My angel of an aunt bought us a window unit and I immediately put it on full blast, took off my clothes and fell asleep. No more waking up drenched in sweat!

At a recent visit my blood pressure was higher than usual (though still in normal range) and to be on the safe side they had me tested for pre-eclampsia. I had a blood test and 24 hr urine test. If you're not familiar with what a 24 hr urine test is, here is a picture of my urine jug in all its glory:
Shelley, this isn't considered over-sharing, is it? ;) Thankfully, the results came out negative for pre-eclampsia. Now I'm waiting to hear if I'm positive or negative for Group B Strep, and then I may have jumped all of the pregnancy testing hurtles!

We've chosen our pediatrician. It was very strange for me to choose a doctor for my future child. I do not feel grown up enough for that. We also took two classes on newborn care and one on breastfeeding and watched some infant CPR videos. No real ground-breaking news in any of those classes, but there were some helpful tidbits. We're currently chipping away at our "Baby Supplies" Excel spreadsheet and drafting a packing list (we're both OCD). Feelings mentally prepared is really important to me, so I am doing everything I can now so I can just relax and let this baby come.

All in all, I feel pretty good. I only have a week and a half left until I am full term (this post is late). I've gained a lot of weight, but no stretch marks yet. I'm taking naps, staying cool and nesting like a madwoman. I only have a few more pregnancy updates until this little guy arrives!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Date Weekend

A month ago, Joel and I had a "date weekend" in the city. 
We went to the temple on Friday night and hung out on the rooftop lawn at the Lincoln Center afterward. 


It's such a treat to find a nice patch of lawn in the city that's not overly crowded. We sprawled out and talked about our baby and good food. Two popular topics around our house. It was so relaxing. We will have to make this a post-temple tradition.


We grabbed a couple of hot dogs from Gray's Papaya to eat on our walk to our favorite pizza place. 


After dinner we headed to our friend's apartment to stay the night. The next morning we visited The Cloisters. It's been at the top of my list of things to see in the city.


Joel loved the the park around the museum. It is a sanctuary from the busy city--so lush and green, but a very different vibe than Central Park. We could've stayed there all day. 



The museum itself was incredible. It was like a quick stop in Europe.






The Garden

I love my pal. He's pretty cute and I really enjoy being with him. 


After The Cloisters, we grabbed some Shake Shack for lunch and had a picnic in Sheep Meadow. It was a hot summer day and, apparently, that means drop your clothes and lay out in your underwear. We found a shady spot and I took a nap for 45 min while Joel watched a soccer game on his phone. Pure bliss, I tell you.


On our way to The High Line we stopped at Doughnut Plant to try their Peanut Butter & Jelly doughnut I've been craving since I saw it on The Food Network years ago. We also got Coconut Lime and Hazelnut Nutella. All delicious but, sadly, not worth the hype (or the price). Hands down, our favorite donut is the blueberry donut from Banbury Cross in SLC, UT. Sorry, New York.


The High Line. I think we'll be taking repeated trips here with our baby in tow. It is such a cool place.


Happy, but oh so tired from walking up and down the city. 
I can't wait to get my energy back after this pregnancy. 


We jumped on a train home and got back just in time for a night with our friends. Joel saw World War Z with a group of guys in the ward (they call it Male-richment night), while I relaxed with my fellow pregnant friend, Nicki. 

It was a great weekend. We really must do some more city exploring before this babe comes. If only I can convince my nearly 9 months pregnant self to venture into the sauna that is New York City in the summer. Blech.