Week 28

One more week down! It's hard to believe that tomorrow is already July! September will be here before we know it! On Friday we are having a 3-D ultrasound done and both of our mothers are coming to experience it. I've heard nothing but good things about 3-D ultrasounds and that I HAVE to invite the grandmas! I'll put pictures up sometime this weekend! Here's what's happening this week:

You know how you’ve been feeling a bit like a barn with legs? Well, that feeling won’t subside before… well, you know, when you finally give birth. For the time being, you’ve got yourself a baby in the business of collecting fat and lots of it! In spite of the dubious joys of being a human-barn, this baby fat business is very serious and you’ve got to put up with it because it’s going to keep your little porker warm and healthy after birth. Other good stuff from inside: their eyes are doing lots of blinking this week because they’re now able to respond to light and dark. Also, their industrious little bone marrow is now a major construction site for developing red blood cells, while their super-cute adrenal glands are actually producing androgen and estrogen—which will stimulate your hormones to begin milk production. Can you say, “Moo?”

New Adventures

This past weekend was full of new adventures! I traveled back home on Thursday to watch my younger brother Brett show hogs at the county fair. It was his first (and last) year showing hogs, and he did a great job. He got a few second and third places ribbons, which is great for his first year! Even though it was his first year in 4-H, Brett has decided that it is a lot of work, and would rather enjoy his summer ;) I agree with him 100%!

A new adventure that I experienced was traveling to the 'Ice Cream Capitol of the World' on Saturday! In case you don't know where that is, it's a town in western Iowa called LeMars, Blue Bunny headquarters are located here. Ashley and I went there for a wedding of a college friend. Of course we had to stop at the ice cream shop and get some ice cream while we were there! (Pictures to come soon) How could two pregnant ladies pass that up on a hot summer day?!?!

Ashley and I

Me: 27 weeks

Ashley: 19 weeks

***I MADE Ashley take this picture - she really didn't want to! But who knows if we'll ever be pregnant together again - its something special that I wanted to document!

In other news: Adam finally made it home from guard! Never again will he be gone for a 2-week training. Yay! He has been home for 48 hours and has already been golfing 3 times! Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we went golfing, grilled some steaks, and went to a movie. Life is so much better with him around!!!

Second Trimester: Check!

It's official - I'm in my third trimester of this pregnancy! I absolutely cannot believe it! Only about 90 more days to go...90!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow - a mix of emotions overcome me just thinking about it- anxiety, nervousness, happiness, excitement, worry! Let's just hope everything continues to progress smoothly and the baby doesn't want to celebrate his/her birthday early. It has been so hot the past few days that I can say I literary have a 'bun in the oven!' Our air hasn't been working very well so I had someone come take a look at it today. I think it got cleaned out and he tripped the breaker or something. The power went out yesterday and today, so whenever that happens I need to check the breaker or something?! Who knows - I wish Adam was here to take care of it! Only 4 more days until Adam is home! It surprisingly has gone by quite fast - I think working a few days a week definitely helps. I hope he's doing okay with the heat and the storms. He hasn't called since last Tuesday, so he must be keeping busy. Speaking of keeping busy, here's what the baby is up to this week:

Your not-so-tiny-anymore brilliant baby(about 2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out.” Obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but when you start to feel an unfamiliar pressure on your cervix, you’ll know you’ve got a fully flipped baby locked and loaded for the countdown to their birthday! Even now, at the beginning of the third trimester, their little lungs are already capable of breathing air while the pulmonary vascular system can provide sufficient gas exchange and the central nervous system can generally regulate rhythmic breathing as well as their basal body temperature. For what it’s worth, at this point in a healthy pregnancy a premature child (with intensive care) could easily win on the show: “Survivor: The Early Years.”