29 weeks! Hopefully this works...
30 Weeks (above)
31 Weeks (above)
30 Weeks (above)
31 Weeks (above)
30 Weeks (above)
31 Weeks (above)
I made it to 31 weeks, 7 months! The pic from 29 weeks while
in Utah hiking at Zion & Arches National Parks and Bryce Canyon was causing problems for this website - so I am unable to add it! *UPDATE, ADDED PIC* I did
about 14 miles total, but went slow, took lots of water/bathroom breaks (when I
could find a large rock near the trail to hide behind...), and thankfully
usually had one or more slow people to walk with me. Ariel enjoyed the hikes,
well I assume she mostly slept and enjoyed the rocking to sleep. Same symptoms
as usual, although I somehow had more energy than normal last week to do all of
the hiking. Now I am feeling exhausted with the new quarter starting. The biggest
issue was having to sit on my tender bottom for hours upon hours during the van
rides. We stopped every couple of hours, but it was very temporary relief. I
slept well maybe 2 out of the 8 nights...However I do think it was helpful to
get on a good sleep/wake cycle.
Ariel is 16.5 inches and 3.3 pounds this week (according to a website not actual measurement). She
will be gaining 1/2 pound per week from now on... crazy! I somehow gained about 5 pounds in 3 weeks... eek I'm already close to my 25 pound goal. 151 - I have
never weighed this much in my life and my butt is feeling it every time I sit
for a long time! She is getting so huge, but my stomach is not stretching fast
enough so she is smashed against my ribs and organs. I can barely bend over
enough to put my shoes on now. I am most comfortable when I extend my torso to make more room for her - it would be so helpful if I were even just a few inches taller... Also very sad is my top hole for my belly ring is getting stretched too much, it's pink and looking like an odd-shaped stretch mark. Ariel moves around a lot when I am sitting/laying down. It is crazy to see my whole stomach move/twitch. I also have sporadic Braxton-Hicks contractions, sometimes the only way I can tell is that it feels like she is stabbing my bladder or cervix and then I realize my stomach is very firm.
I had my baby shower a couple weekends ago, thank you
sisters/friends who helped with everything! We had a lot of fun playing games,
eating, designing baby book pages, and ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing over the baby
gifts. Ariel went to the zoo for the first time too! Well in the womb, but
still counts kind of. It was great to see my mom, older sister, and dad and
have the whole family together. Hieu's parents also came and got to meet my
whole family. His mom also enjoyed the baby shower and thankfully had Vy to translate the whole time! We are all very excited to meet Ariel in a couple months... Our
next appointment with the midwife will be this Wednesday... I still haven't
found a doula and need to ask around for a good pediatrician... so much to do.
My brother did help me put together the crib that arrived (thanks mom &
dad), it took us a couple hours - I say us but Brian did most of the work and Vivian helped too!
