Another Milestone

Just in time for Week 31 - I weighed in at the 200 lb mark (200.4, thankyouverymuch!) Maybe it was the excessive food consumption from the weekend, or maybe this baby is planning on growing 2 lbs a week instead of the recommended 8 oz, but we've hit an impressive growth spurt. I can no longer sit comfortably at my desk with my arms at 90 degree angles. I have to scoot back in my chair or else my belly pushes too far into my desk (and lately, the baby has been starting to push back!) And I had the joy of going out to buy yet another pair of maternity jeans at Old Navy to accommodate our rapidly expanding waistline.

Baby Activity Tracker:

He gets the hiccups whenever I sneeze, which is too cute for words, and he's been keeping me nice and warm through the winter months. We're loading up on all of the must-read baby books and putting things in place in his room. It's all quite exciting. (Especially now that it's starting to get filled with gifts from friends and family!!)

We hit 8 months on Wednesday. I'll post a new picture for your entertainment then.

Thanks for Everything!

Thanks to everyone who made the shower last weekend so special. It was great to have my mom and Cousins Paula & Nicole there to join in the festivities. It was also a bit overwhelming to feel the love from generations of friends and family. A network that strong is a testament to those who are a part of it, and I'm happy and proud to be bringing Baby Z into such a loving and warm group.

Now, on to the Thank You notes!

In other news...

... I just had a FANTASTIC review and got promoted.

Go me!

30 Weeks

Had a fantastic Pre-Natal massage this week. It was marvelous. They make these special tables with a giant elastic hammock in the middle for your belly. Laying on my front side for an hour was a treat, and the masseuse was wonderful. I've already scheduled my next appointment a month from now to help work out any tweaks this growing belly might introduce.

Also looking forward to a Zalinski/Lesniak family shower this weekend.

Hope all is well. xo L

Game over.

Time to retire more maternity stuff. Today was a sad day for me, and a
great one for Z. I guess from now on, it's gotta be "Go Bears". Sad.

Cloth Diapers?

Yes, cloth diapers.

I don't know where it came from, but I have a significant tree-hugging part of me that is repulsed by the amount of plastic diapers babies go through before they are toilet trained (1 TON!). Add in the fact that each plastic diaper takes 500 YEARS to decompose and I'm ready to consider alternatives. So, we're going with cloth diapers.

Now, to answer your first question: No - I'm not actually planning on cleaning them myself. There's a wonderful delivery service in Chicago that will come and drop off clean diapers, and pick up our dirty ones every week! Bottoms-Up Diaper Service. We did the math, and it will cost the same per week as putting the baby in pampers, without all of the waste. Additional benefits: more breathable, faster potty training and lower risks of diaper rash. It's a win-win.

I've done the research, and Z's on board. We have a friend who has their baby in cloth, and has sold us on how easy it is. They've done all of the research too and recommended their favorite diaper cover brand. Thirsties. Cute colors/patterns, and the new "Duo" wrap style has a snap system down the front that let you crop the diaper to grow with the baby. Brilliant!! 10 diaper covers and your set for the whole first year. The only down-side? They aren't sold at either of the stores where we registered, so we have no way to tell everyone about our plans to NOT use disposable diapers.

So, there you have it. The Zalinski's: Making a difference, one diaper at a time. (...And yes, before you ask - I plan on making my own food when the baby is ready to eat solids too)

29+ Weeks

I'm officially over the 29 week mark. Figured I'd wait until the big 3-0 to take another picture.

Milestone of the week: my pregnant belly officially sits on my upper thigh when I sit down. I celebrated with a bagel and cream cheese.

Glucose Results

For all of you concerned, the results for my glucose test are back and I'm in the clear. No gestational diabetes. I'm at no more of an elevated risk of having a giant sized baby than I was before.

And after eating a bushel of vegetables in the past 24 hours, I'm feeling much better and think I have gotten over the sugar shock from yesterday.

New addition to my 'comments that are making me crazy' list from earlier today:
"How is that baby going to keep growing!?"
I don't know... but I'm sure if mother nature (or evolution) made it possible to grow a human being inside the belly of another human being, I'm at a relatively low risk of it expanding beyond the capacity of my body. Thanks for your concern.

A moment to share...

I'd like to take a moment to share with my closest family and friends about some of the things that I love (and hate) about being pregnant.

Now, I was warned in early pregnancy about how annoying it was to have random people touching a pregnant belly - but that hasn't made it onto my list. The only random belly rubs that I have received have been from co-workers, which while a bit more intimate than I would expect, wasn't from anyone oddly inappropriate. Now, onto my list...

Things I love:

• Baby kicks, junior dance moves and in utero gymnastics
• Strangers smiling at the sight of my belly
• Looking pregnant, instead of just looking fat
  
• Stretch panel pregnancy pants
• Craving good-for-me food (Boy, did I luck out)
• Feeling happy and healthy
• Prenatal Yoga
• The bagel shop that sells bialys across the street from the yoga studio
  
• Having friends with babies, lots of friends with babies
• Bonding with acquaintances about the jointed experience of baking a baby
• Tiny little baby clothes

Things I don't love:

• People asking if I'm excited. Does any one answer that question "No - not really."
• People telling me that I look ready to pop - Uh, actually, I still have 2+ months to go, but thanks.
• Upon hearing that I still have 2+ months to go, the same people following up with "Are you having twins?" - No, there's just one in there, but again, thanks.
• Upon hearing that I'm not having twins, people replying "Are you sure?" - Yep, pretty sure, thanks for thinking you know more about my pregnancy than either me or my obstetrician. (I can't tell you how many times that exchange has happened already… it started when I was a round 4 months, and is only getting worse as I get further/bigger. I never had to say it, but I'm actually THANKFUL when people stop after the "ready to pop" comment.
• Not being able to roll over in bed, then pulling random stomach muscles trying to get out of bed.
• Zits in random places
• Being tired/cranky/achy, sometimes in rotation, sometimes all at once
• Walking up stairs with 30 extra lbs. it's like a backpack filled with rocks that you can't take off. My knees aren't thankful.

29 Weeks starts tomorrow. 11 weeks to go.

Sugar High!

Today, I had my Glucose Tolerance test to see if I've developed gestational diabetes. I don't know the results yet, but I do know that my tolerance level was NOT good. When was the last time I had 100 grams of sugar in a DAY, let alone all in one 5 oz container? Yuck.

Beyond the trouble I had ingesting that level of sweetness first thing in the morning, I didn't think much of it when I was drinking the special glucose cocktail at the docs. But then, once I'd gotten to work and was getting along with my day, I realized that the baby did NOT. STOP. KICKING. It was so steady and constant that I was getting sea sick from all of the movement. It took me a while to realize that he was reacting to all of the sugar. And that I was a bit loopy from the sugar myself.

After the sugar rush, I crashed. And I crashed hard. I was useless for the rest of the day! But after veggies & lean protein (ok, ok - it was chinese greens and chicken from the asian takeout down the street...) and a long walk with a pregnant friend, I'm back to feeling like a million bucks.

Now, what's on the menu for my good-night snack...

Week 28

28 Weeks down. 12 to go. And... Happy New Year!

March 30th feels like tomorrow... and at the same time years away. The baby will apparently triple in size between now and when he shows up, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I experience a slightly less dramatic weight gain in that time.

My back is starting to feel the impact of the extra weight up front, and it's started to feel like I'm walking around with a backpack filled with bricks whenever I walk up the stairs. In this cold, it's my only form of exercise, so I have to be diligent about not being lazy on the elevator and escalators.

Physical Therapy is covered by health insurance (so I've been told), and I have a litany of stretches and movements I'm supposed to be doing hourly (!) It's hard to be good about doing them religiously when I have zero privacy at my desk. If all else fails, there is a great pre-natal massage therapist that I happen to have a gift certificate to... Thanks, husband, for a fabulous holiday gift!