30 Weeks and a busy October

Welcome to October and the last 10 weeks of Baby O's growth and development in utero! This month brings lots of baby preparation and exciting events, but first let's talk about how things are going with me and the baby.

This past week I started developing a few new symptoms. First, I have started to have more aches and pains, especially in my lower back and butt/legs. I'm pretty sure this is mostly due to being on my feet all day, but of course the growing belly doesn't help either. The next symptom is increasing hunger in the afternoon. All last week I was starving once 3:00 hit, and I had to dig into the snacks I have in my classroom. I've also noticed an increase in body temperature. The weather was kind of cold out last week, but I would be sweltering and overheated by lunchtime almost every day. It was not fun. I'm also still having some nausea/indigestion at night, so I have been trying to eat dinner earlier and get in more snacks throughout the day. Otherwise I end up eating hardly anything or resorting to a bowl of cereal for dinner. The final thing I've noticed is that I'm getting more emotional about the pregnancy coming to an end. One day I was driving to work and started crying, because I wanted the baby to be here so badly. I know he'll be here soon, but it seems like there is still so long to go. Still no stretch marks or swelling, and I've had a little more energy at work which has been nice. Overall, I'm pretty lucky that I haven't had more symptoms and that the ones I've had haven't been too bad.

Baby O has been consistently moving, and I've started to notice where he is lying a little bit more. He often seems to be lying on my left side, and I can usually feel a big bulge in that area from his back/butt/head (still not quite sure which one it is). One day I was lying on the sofa next to Josh, and we noticed one part of my stomach sticking up where the baby was. It was kind of funny. Josh has gotten to feel the baby move a lot more also, and I love his reactions. He'll put his hand on my stomach and say, "Woah, I felt that," over and over each time the baby moves. It cracks me up.

Finally, as I mentioned before this month is going to be a busy one for me. This weekend Josh and I make the eight hour drive to Michigan for my sister Kristy's wedding. We are leaving Thursday, so we will be able to take our time driving up and have time to recover from the trip on Friday. I also have Monday off for Columbus Day, so that will help me rest up afterwards. I'll probably have a whole separate post just about the wedding weekend and how Baby O and I did with all the traveling and excitment. Tomorrow I also start my childbirth education class at OSF. This is a 3-hour class every Tuesday in October. That means I'll be exhausted on Wednesdays, but I know the class will be really helpful. Josh can't come tomorrow, so my mom agreed to go with me for the first class. The final event this month is my baby shower! I am so excited about this. It is on the 22nd, and my mom, Josh's mom, and Hannah (my sister-in-law) are all helping put it together. I cannot wait to get lots of things for the baby and start getting everything organized and put away. Last night Josh and I went to Babies R Us to add a few baby clothes to our registry and pick out the crib and dresser before the shower. It made me really excited, and I'm eager to decorate and set up the nursery.

As you can see, I have a lot to keep me busy this month. I guess that's good, because it means the time will go quickly and get me closer to the baby's arrival. I just can't wait to have this precious little one in my arms!