30 WEEKS (BUTTERNUT SQUASH): Oct 23-29

Why does my hair look yellow/green in this photo? Haha! Oh well.

Time to hit up Old Navy to see if they're still selling black tank tops! Need to go up a size apparently... This is why you don't buy clothes when you're only 20 weeks pregnant! You don't realize how big you're going to get with the remaining 20!

• Umm... Why are there only 10 weeks left? That doesn't feel like enough time! Still so much stuff to get and prepare and learn!!! I've got pregnancy figured out now, but I've had 30 weeks to learn about that! Now I only have 10 to learn about baby?! 
• This blog is about full disclosure right?...Maybe embarrassing moment for the week should be a new thing.. Remember how last week I was commenting on kegels and how a friend said they pee when they sneeze? Well... I laughed too soon! I had a nice big triple-sneeze the other day and definitely peed a little on the last one. Sigh... Let's get those kegels going! 
• Baby's brain is developing Convolutions (wrinkles) now which allow for greater surface area and increased brain tissue! 
• Now that baby has started putting on some weight, the lanugo (downy hair) that was covering his body is starting to shed. He no longer needs it to keep warm!
• Baby's bone marrow is starting to produce red blood cells! Previously this role was taken by tissues and the spleen. 
• I felt the hiccups again at the beginning of week 30. Baby would hiccup every 3-5 seconds or so for about 10-15 minutes. Every so often it felt like the hiccup would startle him and he would spazz out all his limbs at the same time right after a hiccup! Pretty cool! Little human in there... 
• Still lots of movement happening in there. Lucky for me right now, baby usually sits quite high in my abdomen. He's up near my ribs, but facing down I think. Maybe his bum is up here. Having him up so high keeps him off my bladder most of the time, although there is the odd time I'll have to pee "SOOO BAD" and then go and it's barely a trickle! Or I'll be up 4 times in a night to pee. Usually I can keep it down to one night-time disturbance though which allows this momma to get some good rest! Having him up high also makes for fun times watching the movements across my belly. Good rolls and slides and pushes. Not many spastic kicks anymore though. There isn't enough space for that!
• The back pain comes and goes day to day. It is usually in my hips (particularly my right hip), and along the mid-section on my left side of my back. I had chiropractor this week and there is just not a lot they can do at this point. She adjusted my ribs which was heavenly, but then by the next day they were out of whack again! Darn that relaxin hormone making my body loosey-goosey!
• On Monday, October 24 we had a midwife appointment and Community Group/Prenatal Class. 
• Baby-K's position: Head down
• Bouts of Blurry Vision - Midwife says it could be due to low blood pressure. If it happens again, I'll have to get my BP taken (good thing I work with nurses!) and if it BP is out of whack, or blurry vision doesn't go away, then I have to go to hospital. So far it hasn't happened again though!
• Moving up to appointments every 2 weeks. That means I get one in between this class and our next class! I guess that's one perk(?) to being due first out of everyone. 
• Midwife recommended I up my iron intake in my diet and/or take some supplements. My diet has improved since I had my blood drawn a couple months ago, but it couldn't hurt...
• My Weight: 139 lb. (That's 16 lb weight gain since my first appointment)
• My Blood Pressure: 108/66
• Baby-K Heart Rate: 148 BPM
• Belly Measurement: 28 cm. It was actually 29, but she deducted 1cm for my leggings. 
• We learned some rather disappointing news this week. The Community Birth Program used to include Doulas as part of their cost, as you may recall me mentioning after our last Midwife appointment. We found out this week that their funding has been revoked starting January 2017, which means it is no longer free. Those of us who were planning to have a Doula would now have to hire one. Private Doulas cost around $1,000 to hire........ That's quite the shock when you're expecting $0. There is a group of about 13 Doulas who have agreed to take on moms from this Community Birth Program and provide a different support plan for 50% off at $500. Still quite the hit. I was really upset about this at first. Having a Doula had been a part of my birth plan for quite some time, and learning now at 30 weeks that all of a sudden it's going to cost upwards of $500 (for less care than we were planning on) was devastating.
  After much discussion between David & I, we've decided we would still like to try get a Doula for our first baby. We will save up, and possibly ask for "Doula Dollars" at our shower(s). Otherwise we would have had to sacrifice our maternity and newborn photos, but I those are very important to us too! Yeesh! Change is hard!
• I've been having more Braxton Hicks this week than previous weeks. I don't know if it's related to exercise, stress (lots of that happening) or just regular pregnancy progression. No pain, just sudden tightening!
• My anxiety has been pretty bad this week. We had a very busy week where we were out every. single. night. My main fear at this point is that I'm going to slip into depression again. Any time I feel the slightest bit melancholy (which happens almost daily when I'm this exhausted and working 40 hour weeks), I work myself into a tizzy thinking I'm going to get depressed again, and what that would do to my family and myself. I'm nervous about the potential to get Postpartum Depression. Am I more prone? Will the short, dark days in January make it more likely? I am VERY grateful for my awareness about the way I am feeling. A few years ago I didn't understand what/why I was feeling. I have more tools in my tool box that aren't medications to cope with depression and anxiety now. 
• I'm thinking I may need to seriously consider ways to cut down my work weeks... Every ounce of my daily energy is used up at work and then I am just a complete emotional/hormonal vegetable by the time I get home. That's no fun for anyone. 
• So far still no linea nigra (dark line that runs down many pregnant womens' bellies), and still just the on spot of stretch mark(s) on my belly-button piercing. Reminding myself I still have 10 weeks of growing to do though! +
• David had an alumni vs. Senior team Basketball game at his old high school (Frank Hurt) on Friday evening. I tagged along as I figured it would be nostalgic from back in grade 11 and 12 watching almost every single one of David's basketball games! It sure was... The smelly teenagers, squeaky shoes, loud pump-up music and hard benches. Am I getting old?? It was lots of fun to watch David play and have fun though. I have to say... Someone seemed to have more fun than anyone! Baby-K did not stop doing jigs for an hour and a half STRAIGHT! Right when we walked in and I sat down he was boppin' around to the loud tunes, and then the entire game he was going crazy to the sound of the squeaky shoes(?), the yelling(?), the stomping(?). Who knows... I had never felt him be so active for so long. It was funny. It felt like a bonding moment between daddy and son, even though David had no idea what was happening inside my belly. Maybe David will get a basketball player after all!
• Speaking of baby liking basketball, I find myself wondering now what he will be like! Will he like cars? Dinosaurs? Space? Animals? Sports? Dolls? Cooking? Dancing? I can't wait to see his personality develop over the next few years! Seeing friends with babies/toddlers I always love hearing about their quirks, personalities, likes/dislikes, etc. I just think it's awesome that they are literally just little people! But first... we must get through newborn/infant phase! Eek!