Well, hello there

Look what decided to show up -- a real live, unmistakable baby bump!

After months of playing peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek, my baby bump decided to stick around for good a few weeks ago. It's been so fun to finally look pregnant!  This picture was taken at 28 weeks, so my belly has another 11 days of growth on it today. I have a feeling it will be 11 times as big by the time the baby comes. We have just over 10 weeks to go and it's so exciting! Now that we're a couple weeks into the third trimester, I figured a little pregnancy update is in order.

Baby Boy:

Our little guy is doing great! I had a detailed ultrasound yesterday and loved getting to watch him move around in there for so long. All fingers and toes are accounted for and everything seems to be working the way it should! He's weighs about 3 pounds and is measuring a week taller (in his femur bone) than his due date and other measurements. His head is down low and he's apparently nice and stretched out in there, which I assumed from the way he loves to kick my ribs. The ultrasound tech let me peak at him in 3D but he was too cuddled up against the placenta to get any good pictures and too stubborn to move his face. An active, strong-willed little cuddler? I'll keep him for sure.

Baby Names:

Everyone always asks about this so I thought I'd toss it out there. We like traditional boy names, which makes things hard because we come from big families that also like traditional boy names. That means a lot of the names that would otherwise be on our top-ten list are already taken, and we don't want to name our baby after just one uncle. We do have a clear favorite and a handful of lesser-loved-but-still-great backups, but we can't commit to anything until we meet our baby. So, until then, the discussion is tabled and we refer to him as "Baby," "Baby Boy," "Little Guy," or whatever else comes to mind at the time. We definitely can't wait to meet him and give him a real name!

Movement:

He moves around non-stop when he's awake! Unfortunately, his awake times don't tend to agree with my sleep times but I'm still in that blissful love-to-feel-my-baby state so I don't mind (well, except for when he practices punts on my ribs at 2 a.m. ... I do mind a little bit then). He also provides shows for the outside world if they're so inclined to stare at my belly for a few minutes. It's rather entertaining.

Cravings:

Fruit and dessert, but again, I can't really chalk that up to pregnancy because I crave those all the time--baby or not! Although, eating an entire cantaloupe in one sitting certainly wasn't normal before I had a baby in my belly. Now I can't get enough of the yummy summer berries and melons! Meanwhile, I do my best to keep treats out of our home and just eat them when we're at friends houses, on a date, etc., because I've apparently lost all self control when it comes to dessert portion sizes. Matt broke the rules last week and brought home two cartons of Dreyer's S'mores Ice Cream, which is a heavenly limited edition flavor that is really hard to come by. The first carton was gone in less than two days, so I had to take drastic measures to ensure the second carton's survival:

Duct-taped shut and hidden in the back of the freezer. So far it's working.

Symptoms:

As you know, the first trimester and first month of the second trimester were zero fun. I turned a corner around 18-ish weeks, though, and it just got better from there. Weeks 20-28 were so lovely. I felt awesome and had plenty of energy. At 29.5 weeks, I'm still feeling pretty great overall but have definitely started the downhill slope. I'm slowly having less energy, more ligament pain, and just becoming more uncomfortable. It's really not that bad yet, but I told Matt it's good mental practice for when we age because I feel like I'm 90-years-old watching my body slowly fall apart as I'm able to do less and less. And yet I just barely told my friend Tarin that I love being pregnant. I never thought I'd be one of those girls that says that, but I did--and I meant it. I mean, I love being not pregnant more, but I definitely love being pregnant. It is the neatest thing and worth every little discomfort.

Random Milestone:

I just barely had a stranger say something about my pregnancy for the first time last week and it made my day. We were picking up paint at Home Depot and a random 30-ish guy walked by and asked nonchalantly, "Painting the nursery?" A stranger's acknowledgement of my baby bump legitimized it somehow and I smiled all the way home.

Not-so-Random Milestone:

Matt's first Father's Day! Well, pre-Father's Day. I'm sure next year's celebration will feel much different with a little guy running (no pressure, Baby) around. Still, Matt's the cutest pre-daddy -- he loves to sing and talk to the baby and feel him kick, is reading all he can about new babies, and has been awesome with getting baby things and setting up the nursery -- so he definitely deserved a party. On Father's Day, I made a delicious brunch with Kneader's-style french toast and gifted Matt a funny-yet-informative baby book for dads and an "I love my dad" onesie for the baby to wear next Father's Day. I also wrapped up an official post-it-note "I.O.U." for a grill, because when I went to Home Depot to buy it, I realized there was no way for it to fit in our car and we'd have to order it online instead. I.O.U.'s still count, right?

Lastly, while we're on the subject of Matt, I just have to share one quick story from the other night. We were cuddled up on the couch talking about baby things and life in general, when Matt sweetly touched my face and said, "You know, I have never been more attracted to you." At 29 weeks pregnant and after spending the day in gauchos and a t-shirt with my hair in a ponytail and nothing more than mascara on my face, that was certainly not something I expected to hear. Matt then elaborated with some of the sweetest comments about how beautiful he thinks I am, how he's loved seeing me grow as a mom even just to this point, and how excited he is for our future. I'm pretty positive I married the world's most perfect man, and I am so grateful to be starting this little family with him.