Le troisième semestre (THIRD Trimester)!

28 weeks officially begins the third trimester, and yes, I can believe we're here. Gabe is ~15 inches long (like a Chinese cabbage) and weighs about 2 to 3 pounds. He is able to dream when sleeping and blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. The eye color has been established, but may change within the first six months after birth. We know they'll be blue, but what shade? He's now sleeping for about 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Fetal movement will be most obvious when I'm sitting or lying down. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. His lungs are almost fully developed, so there's a good chance that he would survive if born prematurely (of course not anticipating this).

My uterus extends well above my navel. As baby gets bigger and stronger this month, I may experience leg cramps and mild swelling of ankles and feet, difficulty sleeping, shortness of breath, lower abdominal aches, clumsiness or scattered Braxton Hicks contractions (hardening and relaxing of the uterus). I am the cramp queen. So far this pregnancy, I've had calf, tibialis anterior, knee, ankle, foot, hip, and hand cramps. Last pregnancy, I even had elbow cramps. I eat foods with high potassium, too: meat, milk, yogurt, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, etc...I just take a potassium pill if it's particularly bad one evening. This past week, I've felt like I couldn't breathe deeply if I was leaning back or not sitting up straight. The weight of the uterus/baby must be putting pressure on the vena cava or something? I didn't have any Braxton Hicks contractions until 36 wks last time. I have my glucose test and thyroid testing this morning and my next appt Monday, 2/9. Joel also presents his business plan Monday morning. Pray for him!

This week went pretty well. I went out to coffee with a new friend, which was fun and needed. I subbed for Special Ed. Thursday at Washington, where I did the maternity leave. I was not looking forward to it. I just don't want to sub anymore, but I guess I'll just keep looking and take the jobs I find. There are never any! Stella and I are getting used to being at home. She is receiving her share of time-outs for not obeying. Dean, Elena, Indy, and their new Boston, Maddy(sp?) are coming Fri. for the weekend. That will be fun, especially to have a new puppy to play with. Hurley and Stella will really enjoy that! I'm planning to go to a women's Bible study next Tuesday at church, and they provide childcare, so that should be nice.

One of the downsides of renting is that we're not willing to invest in painting our house. We haven't really done much decorating as it is either. SO, we won't be painting Gabe's room. It would be weird to just have 1 room painted a color anyway. Elena is, however, using Stella's same fabrics to make a twin-sized quilt/sheets. We are moving Stella to our other upstairs bedroom that has built-in desks/shelves and more light. We have to buy her a bed and dresser. That way, we can leave the crib, dresser, and bookshelf in her room for Gabe to use. Here's a pic of the fabric that will be the theme of Gabe's room:My plan when I first got pregnant with Stella was to have an old-world travel theme if she was a boy. Elena remembered that and looked around and found this. Joel and I both really liked it as well as the accent colors we'll pull from it, so she ordered enough to use for the bumper pads, bed skirt, sheets, and window treatment. We need to go pick ~ 4 accent fabrics - probably batik-style - but that will likely have to wait til I go to BN. Manitowoc has 1 fabric store, and I have never been there. I also want Elena's opinion about the fabric quality. I feel like now that we're in the 3rd trimester, we really need to get some things going, which will be easier with my being home: big girl bed for Stella, switching bedrooms, potty training, getting out and setting up baby stuff, buying newborn supplies, etc...I'd also like a tour of the obstetrics unit at our hospital. It is WAY less stressful this time around. We already have so much of what we need minus clothes and diapers/wipes. No registering, no prenatal classes (which I loved), and we know what to expect. I'm aware that 2 kids will bring even more chaos and less relaxation and sleep. That will be the new experience as well as having a boy. Still weird for me to think about. I wonder what he'll look like? I'd like for him to look like Stella b/c she was and is so beautiful. I don't want him to look like me this time and have that go all wrong:) I just don't want to have an ugly kid. Then people have to lie about his being cute, and that just makes life harder. I guess we'll see...