28 Weeks

Although I haven't been a very good blogger during this pregnancy (work plus toddler makes it tough!), it's definitely helpful that I blogged more regularly through my first pregnancy. I've been feeling a bit neurotic--have I been eating well enough, have I been gaining enough weight, etc., etc. I just looked back at my old blog posts from this point in my last pregnancy, and all my concerns were the same. I just checked out the photos I took of myself back then, too. I am smaller overall, and in much better shape now (I walk everywhere, still). But, my belly is MUCH bigger now than it was in my first pregnancy. I have a very serious woman-who-swalled-an-oversized-basketball look to me. So I am probably worrying about nothing. Still, I constantly feel full, am never hungry, and feel like there is no room to eat, so I worry.

I'm going to try to blog more. I miss having this little piece of quiet time for myself to just kind of focus on me and the child that's inside of me. After Miss M goes to bed, I always seem to have a to-do list to accomplish, and then I fall into bed exhausted, and the new day is here before I know it. But I'm going to try to squeeze a little blog time in for me from now on. I want to spend a little time each day just focusing on myself and this baby. I feel like I haven't done enough of that, and she'll be here before I know it! When I was first pregnant, one of the nurses told me that the pregnancy would be nothing like my first--that it would fly by, and I'd have no time relaxing on the couch with my feet up, and boy was she right!

These last few weeks of the year are a good time to refocus. We aren't traveling for the holidays, and (somewhat sadly) no one is coming to visit us, because people are going to fly over after the baby is born. We're doing a dinner with some friends who can't travel on Christmas Eve, and then Christmas Day it will be just us and my step-sister, who has been living with us for the last few months. As sad as I am that family isn't visiting (or that we aren't visiting family), it should be really relaxing. We're making filet mignon for Christmas Eve and a ham for Christmas dinner. Turkey costs and arm and a leg here, so I'm skipping the bird for Christmas (think $100 for a 10 pound turkey, and you're in the ballpark!--totally crazy!). We always start Christmas day with mimosas (none for me this year!) and eggs Benedict, and we watch Christmas movies when we're done unwrapping presents. . .relaxing. All of my shopping is done, my packages are mailed, and the house is both clean and decorated. I bought us all matching pajamas--something T's family did when he was a kid. It's a little ridiculous, but I like the tradition of it. Plus, I got us all Mickey Mouse pajamas, which Miss M will go wild for. So, I have to do some wrapping, and that's it! I've been Christmas planning for at least a month, which is the only reason my shopping is done. I've never been done this early. Work will also be quiet these last few weeks, so that should give me some room to refocus, as well.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I should have gained another 4 pounds. I've been right on track the last few visits, and expect that I'm doing okay this time, too. I don't have a scale at home (just bought one, but haven't used it yet), so I can't tell how much I weigh right now. I'm definitely getting bigger, though! Overall I'm feeling well. They baby is very active, and has been for a long time. I get worried when she slows down, given how active she generally is. I can't tell how she is positioned, though. I don't think she's head down, and I'm starting to worry about that. I know there's still time, but still.

Because I walk a lot here (1.5 miles a day, in general), I'm a bit stiff and sore. My lower back, in particular, is bothering me. I've been using the hot water bottle every night, which helps. It's a bit of a conundrum--I don't really want to walk less, because I want to stay in good shape, and also because I still have just under 3 months to go, and I'll need to get myself around this city until then. But if I keep up the exercise, it's definitely only going to make my back worse as time goes on. I've slowed down my pace, but that doesn't help. I'm going to try adding some massages. The good news is that I just switched my health insurance to a different plan, and the new plan allows me $50 toward a massage 30 times a year!!! I could not believe that was a benefit (it's also a better plan for me to use in this country, which is why I switched). Massages here are really expensive--basically twice what I'd pay in the U.S.--but with $50 off per massage, they are looking highly affordable again. I just have to find a good pregnancy masseuse. I've had one massage recently, a few weeks ago when my back was really bad, but it was just okay, and it was too far from my house. There's a place not too far from my house that I have yet to try, but that's definitely in my future.

Things overall are good. Miss M started having night terrors again, which has always meant a developmental leap. We couldn't imagine what it could be this time, but all of a sudden she has loads of new words and loads of sentences. She's also gone through a bit of a growth spurt. The kid just cracks me up so much. Work is chaotic, but basically good. There's been a recent change in management, and the new management team isn't quite in sync yet, which has heavily contributed to the chaos. Miss M's 2nd birthday is next month, and I've planned a long weekend away as a surprise. It's a family resort not too far from where we live, with a giant indoor toddler pool and lots of toddler activities. One of the great things about it is that only one parent can accompany the toddler to the activities (except the pool), so while one parent is with Miss M, I've booked the other for spa treatments at the spa. I'm giving the bulk of these to my dear husband, who kind of needs a break from her toddlerness. He will be psyched. They have this half-day spa thing that involves all these different steam rooms, hot pools, water features, etc. Hopefully there will be other men there, too, but given that he'll have hours to himself, I doubt he'll care if he's the only guy. He's getting a massage, too. I am getting some sort of combined maternity treatment that involves a mini facial/body treatment/massage. My skin is crazy dry right now (I HATE the water here--so drying, especially this time of year!). Anyway, I can't wait for him to open the gift card on Christmas to see it all. I think he'll be happy with it. I know I'm looking forward to it! We have a cottage to ourselves with a kitchen and a wood-burning fireplace, too! Heaven. We'll be able to eat in or out. I was even able to pre-order groceries which will be there when we get there. It sounds both fun and relaxing, and I'm excited to get some quality time with Miss M for three days.

Tomorrow, we are taking Miss M to the theater to see a Christmas play. It will be her first theater experience. We took her to see Disney on Ice a while back, and she sat mesmerized for the entire show. We'll see how this one goes. I'm looking forward to it. It's supposed to be a really good show, and I was able to get us good seats. I guess I'd better get myself to bed so I can get a good night's sleep, since we have a big day ahead of us!