A friend of mine recently posted a countdown to opening day for the Cincinnati Reds, and it just so happened to coincide pretty closely with baby’s due date. That said, baby’s rounding third and expected to make it home in just nine and a half short weeks! (EEK!)

The last month has been pretty fun in terms of looking pregnant. I’m not too huge to manage life yet, but it seemed like baby really popped out at about 23 weeks, and then at 26 weeks any slow-to-show belly I was sporting drastically transformed into a nice round (and now huge) baby bump. In fact, recent comments I’ve heard from Thais are “big belly” and “big already.” Although the “big already” comment was on the same day that I also heard, “If I didn’t know you were pregnant, I wouldn’t think there’s a baby in there at all.”

Weeks 26-30, fortunately, have still been smooth sailing. Other notable characteristics of these last weeks have been heightened senses, but not the typical five. I’m talking about sense of safety, sense of germs, and sense of balance (or lack thereof). I’ve also had a shift in my light-hearted dreams to a couple anxiety-provoking, waking-up-immediately, can’t-take-care-of-my-baby dreams. I most certainly prefer my dreams from six weeks ago when I would heroically rescue my cat Nici from an exploding building.

week 26-30

To round off this post, here are a few other fun facts on the baby bump front:

Newest symptoms: Blurry vision, more hair falling out, and a hefty motorbike burn (thanks mostly to my balance issues) and Braxton Hicks contractions like mad. Also, Burke will tell you I’ve been less agreeable… no comment.

Cravings/Aversions: Call it a craving if you want, but one day I made “Kathy’s potatoes” (sliced and sauteed just like my favorite breakfast joint in Greenville, Ohio) for second breakfast at 10:30 one morning (and then again the next day). Also, I mentioned in the last update my closest thing to craving was cold cheese. Burke mentioned this to some friends we were having dinner with, and they blessed us by sending us home with two blocks! Seriously, what a treat. Finally, ALL the fresh coconuts. On the aversion front, I’m still living by the hard and fast rule of “Thai food no more than once a day.”

Movement: Baby’s still pretty peaceful and content just hanging out in there. When I share this with people, they always say that means baby will be peaceful after birth too – we’ll see!

What can most often be heard: “It’s okay; this is normal. Baby is healthy.” – My doctors response to about any question I can come up with.

Weight gain: At my doctors appointment (28 weeks) I was up 13 lbs. and, according to the apps on my phone, I still have 11 to go – yowza!

Baby names: Still on the fence about a few. Lately my favorites have been completely unpronounceable by Thais.

Next appointment: January 31st, and then every two weeks after that. About time too, because we haven’t checked in on baby via ultra-sound since early December!

As a final thought, there is still plenty of time to participate in our baby pool!