Does this bump make my butt look big? ; )

As promised, here are a few updated pics of my baby-incubating belly (taken yesterday at 32 weeks, 3 days). And before you try anything, be warned that I will NOT giggle like the Pillsbury Dough Boy if you give me a poke. I may, however, poke you right back. ; )

(Hey, a girl's got to have SOME ground rules....)

And this is why you should never tempt fate...

We had big plans for this past weekend. I had a to-do list that was a mile long, with every intent of checking every item off. Fate had something else in mind, however, at least where I am concerned. I remember telling someone a week ago how lucky I was to have been healthy for over eight months (which is VERY rare for me, since I seem to catch every bug that goes around)...seriously, I haven't even had so much as a sniffle all winter long. So what do you suppose I woke up with on Friday? Yep, that's right....a full-blown head cold. This wouldn't be so bad, except that in my current preggo state I can take next to nothing to alleviate the symptoms. Three days later, this cold shows no signs of departing. Blech.

Then, to top it off, I managed to tweak some muscles in my thigh (yes, I'm that cool), which then spread to my groin area.....leaving me in a great deal of pain and unable to walk or move around much for a good chunk of the weekend. A call to the doctor calmed any fears that something was wrong with the baby (considering where the pain was originating from, it had me a little worried), and he instructed me to take some Tylenol and use heating pads to take the edge off. Luckily, this seemed to help....as I am doing better today. I still have some pain, but as long as I take it easy I should be ok. The on-call doctor indicated that I can probably expect more of this in these remaining weeks of pregnancy, as everything in that "region" begins loosening up to prepare for labor and delivery. I'm sure I'll appreciate this once I'm actually in labor, but for now I am less than excited about this prognosis. : P

Anyway, as I said, these little "hiccups" meant that I accomplished next to nothing on my to-do list, which frustrated me to no end. Jeff, being the excellent caregiver that he is, insisted that I rest....so I felt pretty useless. I did manage to get a couple of things done, though, and luckily Jeff took care of a great deal. Other than a few touch-ups, the painting in the nursery is completed....yay! Jeff is also nearly done refinishing the dresser we bought for the room (last coat of enamel goes on today), which is great. I did some laundry, and he took care of some outdoor chores in the lovely weather. Next up.....doing our taxes. (Can you tell how excited I am?)

Sprout has been learning some acrobatic tricks over the past few days. He'll be quiet for a bit, and then all of a sudden I seriously feel as though he is doing somersaults inside of me! (Ok, he must have read my mind....because there he goes again!) It is becoming more and more evident that Jeff and I are going to have a VERY active little boy on our hands. : )

We didn't take our next batch of belly shots this weekend (which we do every four weeks) because I felt less than photogenic....so we'll take those tonight or tomorrow and post them soon. It's hard to believe it is already time for that to happen!

I was very excited to hear the news of my friend Ann Marie's arrival over the weekend.....beautiful little AnnaBeth was born late last week, and both mom and baby are doing well! I couldn't be happier for them. My thoughts and prayers are also with my friend Katie, who is set to be induced today. I know everything will go well, and I can't wait to hear all about it!

Take care, everyone.....look for new belly shots soon!

Love,
Jeff, Farrah and Sprout

32 weeks, 2 days......EDD May 16

That Tricksy Placenta

Hello, all.....

I just wanted to post a quick update regarding our appointment last Wednesday (the 4th). As I may have already mentioned, we had our last ultrasound for this pregnancy....and it was SO great to see our little Sprout again! Here is his cute little face looking right at you, now filled in some with adorable baby fat so he doesn't look like a little alien anymore (keep in mind, it is pretty blurry):

And then he decided to start waving at us (literally) during the ultrasound, with his hand in front of his face as if to say, "Go away....I am done with you":

Sprout is doing really well, and is still measuring right on track....weighing in at approximately 3 lbs. 4 oz., as of last week. He should be gaining about an ounce per day at this point, so I'm guessing he will be at least an 8 lb. baby (but PLEASE, no bigger than 9 lbs.).

(WARNING: The words "placenta" and "cervix" will be used frequently in the next paragraph. If this makes you feel all squicky and weird, please skip ahead.)

The main purpose of this ultrasound was to check the positioning of my cervix and placenta, which had been a little too close together at my January ultrasound. But, alas, the placenta hasn't really moved away like they hoped it would. Right now, the bulk of it is situated about 4 cm away from my cervix (it has to be at least 3 cm away in order to allow a vaginal delivery), but the very tip of it is right at the edge of my cervix. My doctor seems to think that there is still a chance that it might move a little further away, and she also seems fairly confident that it won't move closer to cover my cervix.....so that is what I am counting on. I will be so disappointed if I end up having to have a c-section, but as our doctor told us, what matters most is that Sprout is born healthy.....not the manner in which he was delivered. Still, I am saying MANY prayers that everything turns out the way we hope!

We are now at the point in this pregnancy where we will be having appointments every two weeks.......a fact which is unbelievable to me. So next Wednesday (the 18th) we are back at the doctor's office.....though these visits should be fairly routine from here on out.

I am definitely feeling very pregnant these days. My lower back has been causing me some issues, and I also haven't been sleeping the greatest. But really, I have had a pretty great pregnancy so far.......so I can't complain too much. And all of this pain and discomfort feels completely worth it every time I feel Sprout kicking and moving around (which happens VERY frequently these days). : )

We also managed to (finally) complete our baby registries at Babies 'R Us and Target over the last few days. We registered for lots of duplicate items between the two stores, which will hopefully be helpful to those who only have access to one or the other. I have to say, this process of registering for Sprout was much more overwhelming than I thought it would be......it is unreal how many items such a little person requires! But I will say, most of it is pretty darn cute. ; ) We still have a list of items to purchase for the nursery, and a bit of painting to do.....but it's getting there. Our goal is to have the whole room completed by mid-April, so here's hoping.

That's it for us....take care, and we'll check in soon!

Love,

Jeff, Farrah & Sprout

30 weeks, 4 days.........EDD May 16

Our Babymoon (Don't worry, the following content is all PG-rated)

Hello!

I just thought I'd pop on to share a few photos from our little getaway this past weekend. As you may recall, Jeff and I spent a couple of days at a bed & breakfast outside of Taylor's Falls along the St. Croix River, in an effort to get away from everything for a bit and just focus on spending time together. We spent some time poking around in antique stores and hanging out at coffee shops, as well as getting pampered with massages at the B&B. And while the temps were a bit chilly, we managed to get in a little time outside...at least long enough to snap some pics.

Here are a few shots of the B&B:

* St. Croix River Inn, built around 1900

* Jeff, looking stoic in our room (the Afton Suite)

* Me, obviously going for a more dramatic entrance

Grecco's on the St. Croix, our dining destination on Saturday night (it was FABULOUS!)

Sights along the St. Croix River

Jeff thought it would be funny to take a series of photos of me shivering in the cold (stupid me forgot to bring a hat)

Our faces may be frozen....but damn, we still look good. ; )

A random, ancient pop machine at a gas station that we thought was hilarious (if you look closely, you'll see that back in the day, Mountain Dew was brewed in the "traditional hillbilly style" and promised to "tickle yore innards".)

While scouring antique stores, Jeff was reunited with his past.....

It was a lovely, perfect weekend......and we didn't want it to end! But we had to face reality as Sunday evening rolled in.....and we headed home. We have big plans of making the same treck along the St. Croix River this summer or fall, when we hope to bring Sprout along to see the sights and enjoy the outdoors. Thinking about that prospect makes it easier to accept that we are now in the midst of another work week. : )

Take care, all.....I'll update after tomorrow's doctor's appointment!

Love,

Jeff, Farrah & Sprout

29 weeks, 3 days.....EDD May 16