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!

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. 

Week 30

BABY:
When I went in for another ultrasound, the tech surprised me by switching to 3D. I actually didn't want a 3D ultrasound, but as soon as I saw his face I couldn't have cared less that she didn't ask me beforehand. I saw him snuggle up to my body, move around and watched his face grimace because he does not like being poked. He is not a submissive patient, that one. He moves every time someone tries to measure his heartbeat.

The bigger he gets, the more I'm aware of his position. He spends a lot of time nestling his head underneath my ribs. He favors the right side of my belly (possibly because I'm pregnant in my right uterus) and can travel pretty far to the right. No one ever told me babies can hang out on your sides and not just the front. It is not comfortable. He also uses my hip bones to push off and get into a more comfortable position. It startles me every time. He is constantly moving during the day and seems to settle down when I go to sleep. (Let's keep this routine going when you're out of the womb, too, okay baby?) We saw Iron Man 3 and The Great Gatsby recently, and both movies got him rocking and rollin' (by either my adrenaline or the level of noise). Speaking of which, ever since I could feel his movements, this little guy gets so excited by popcorn. I don't know what it is, but every time I eat popcorn he goes crazy. It's pretty cute.

We've decided on a name but we're keeping it a secret. People are much too opinionated and we don't want to hear it. We also want to make sure we're not sick of it by the time he's born.

30 weeks at The Cloisters

PREGNANCY:
Having stepped into the 30's makes it feel like this baby is coming in no time. But who am I kidding? I still have 10 more weeks to go until I'm full term. This making a baby business takes forever. I mean, really, it takes almost a year. I was pregnant during Christmas of last year! As anxious as we are to have our baby in our arms, we are fine with letting him plump up for a couple more months. Joel and I both have our moments of feeling totally overwhelmed where we look at each other and say, "Are we really ready for this?!" But we also spend a lot of timing staring at my stomach begging him to just come out already. Pregnancy is full of conflicting feelings. That is an understatement.

I'm getting tired again. If I spend half of the day busy and next half napping/resting, I call that a successful day. Because I have a didelphic uterus, I only have half of the ligaments supporting my pregnant uterus. This means more strain on my ligaments and it can get painful. I'm going to buy a belly-support band (any recommendations would be helpful!) and hopefully that will ease the pain. My appetite is starting to change again. I am ravenous one day and completely disinterested the next. I still can't stomach most meat (I can't imagine ever eating chicken or seafood again) but I love spicy sausage and bacon. I eat through entire packages of Costco strawberries and grapes within a few days. Watermelon is my new best friend. Oh, watermelon. I've had taquitos for lunch every single day for months now. I don't understand the obsession but they're just so good. Give me Peruvian, Venezuelan, Brazilian or Mexican food and I am in heaven. There is no question I have a Latin baby inside of me.

As far as prepping for labor goes, I am nervous, anxious and excited. While I'm reading and practicing relaxation and breathing techniques I feel confident and as ready as I can be. I was blessed to grow up surrounded by women who have a very healthy and natural view of pregnancy and labor, but there are still times I feel panicky and unprepared. I have certain hopes for labor, but no expectations. I will do my best, and let my body do its best, and look forward to having a healthy baby (and me) at the end of it all. The human body is divinely created and it's been an incredible thing to witness during this pregnancy. I have a lot of faith in my body and I am so proud of how well it has done growing a baby so far. That sounds strange, but when I found out I have a uterine abnormality I never knew if my body could do what it needs to in order to create and sustain a healthy baby. It can! And it is! And I count every week that passes that I'm still pregnant with a growing baby boy as a miracle.

Upstate New York

For Memorial Day weekend we took a trip upstate to visit my Grammie Liz & Grandpa Ralph and spend a day in Palmyra. The weather was perfect and we were thrilled to see where the restoration of our church began.

Captain Moroni statue

On top of The Hill Cumorah 

A replica of Joseph Smith's bedroom as a boy in the Smith log-house

View of the temple from the entrance of the Sacred Grove

The actual Smith Frame-house

The Sacred Grove

It's not hard to imagine that such a special event happened here. The grove is that stunning New England green and the scattered patches of sunlight add a glorious glow to it. I can't imagine a more serene spot for The First Vision to take place.

The book-binder in me was so giddy in this room

Beside the Sacred Grove, this was my favorite part of our trip. I have seen these two paintings countless times, but never the originals. The details were stunning and the paintings evoked strong emotions. I could've stared at them for hours. 

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My grandparents live on a farm in a small town called Fort Plain. Ralph is actually my step-grandpa (they were married 17 years ago) but he is the only grandpa I've ever known so I love him like he is my own. Being a World Ward II vet, he was the perfect person to spend Memorial Day with. We visited downtown Fort Plain to watch the parade and have lunch with the veterans at the VFW and American Legion.

Ralph was the life of the party at the Veteran's lunch. He is the oldest (96 and still going strong!) and the liveliest. It was amazing to see how sprite he is compared to men 10 years younger than him. 

After lunch we visited the gravesides of his family members. He took a seat on top of his brother's headstone and told us stories about his life. 

We look a long scenic drive back to the house and saw several Amish farms and families. Joel and I were both mesmerized by their lifestyle. We love the Amish. We want to go back and people watch at their summer auctions. My grandma said they have great produce and other goods  to sell. 

I took my usual afternoon nap while everyone else talked. Growing a human is tiring. 

This historic church is right across the street from my grandparent's house. Ralph has a headstone next to his first wife in the cemetery in the back. To the right of the church, in the grove of trees, are old Indian and settlers' graves. Years ago, Ralph placed crosses he made at the head of each grave. My grandma painted this church in beautiful pastels and we have that painting hanging next to our bed in our apartment. 

We're grateful for every moment we get to spend with those two. Joel and I love to sit and talk with them (and eat their delicious food). Ralph is one of the most interesting people I know--having been farmed out during The Depression, fought in WWII in Europe and Northern Africa, and full of stories of life on the farm. We also got to meet some of Ralph's family and they are such good people. I want to grow up to be just like my Grammie Liz. I'm hoping that the more time I spend with her the more she will rub off onto me.