30 Weeks

Weeks Pregnant: 30
Baby Size: Cabbage
Total weight gain: +26 lb
Total waist gain: +10"

Physical stuff:
I am actually feeling way better than I have in awhile! My soreness/pelvic ache has gone away, and my back is feeling much better. We spent a week in Omaha, and I went back to my chiropractor there for an adjustment, and it helped so much. I think I have found a good chiropractor here in Chicago finally (going later today, so we'll see), but since we were in Omaha I just stopped in for a quick appointment. It really pays to have a great chiropractor during pregnancy. Mine helped with nausea a bit in the first trimester with acupuncture, but then when my headaches set in during the second trimester, she cleared them up right away. It was pretty amazing considering that I was plagued with headaches for months when I was preggo with Penny. And now for the third trimester, it helps to manage those aches and pains. Love chiropractic! But you have to find someone good and get referrals–don't just go to anyone. My chiro says to run away screaming from any chiropractor that requires x-rays on the first visit.

Emotional stuff:
I feel like I'm so busy watching Penny grow and learn that I hardly have time to be emotional about this pregnancy. We had a great visit to Omaha (Josh had to go for work, so P & I tagged along). It was so much fun to see our old friends. It made me a little sad because we haven't formed such close friendships here yet, but it was great nonetheless. I have been a bit stressed lately about holiday plans. I pretty much just want to veg out at home in my sweatpants and eat turkey soup, but there is always pressure to travel, regardless of pregnancy and toddlers and exhaustion and whatnot. And of course this week has brought lots of emotions out regarding Hurricane Sandy. We have many, many loved ones on the east coast (all of whom seem mostly okay as far as I've been able to gather) and many memories there. I spent every summer growing up on the Jersey shore, so seeing all of the destruction there is a bit heart-breaking. How many environmental/natural disasters is it going to take before we start to take climate change seriously in this country? How did we make it through 4 debates this fall without a single question about climate change/environmental issues? These disasters are not happening by chance. We are inflicting serious damage on our ecosystem, and it is imperative that we bring about some real change in the way our government and our people interact with our environment. But I suppose that's not really pregnancy-related.

Prenatal/Birth Stuff: I passed my glucose-tolerance test with flying colors, so that's good. (This is a test for gestational diabetes.) Baby's heartbeat is strong. Baby is head-down, which of course doesn't mean much at this point. According to fundal height, baby is measuring right on track size-wise, which is a relief because my weight gain has been a bit more rapid this time around. Of course, I started off a good 5 pounds lower than my pre-pregnancy weight with Penny (hello, breastfeeding), so I probably had a bit of weight to catch up on. I've also started listening to the Circle + Bloom healthy pregnancy/healthy birth program. I have raved many times about C+B, and I continue to absolutely love this company and their programs. I will probably do a full post on the healthy pregnancy program soon, but basically, it is awesome! :)

Before Baby to-do list (items in italics have been started but not finished):

• Make a few frozen oven-ready meals
• Stock the freezer with filling snacks (muffins, lactation cookies, bagels)
• Read Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk
• Make 30 cloth diaper inserts
• Get more all-in-one diapers
• Purchase a double stroller, or figure out some other plan for carting around 2 little ones
• Purchase a supplemental nursing system (just in case)
• Look into potential sources of donor milk
• Clean and inflate my birth ball
• Get homebirth supplies ready (from list from midwife)
• Submit paperwork for maternity/postpartum gym suspension
• Find newborn photographer
• Catalog/archive/organize digital photographs–I need to figure out a system for this. Suggestions welcome!
• Unpack newborn clothes from storage bins and put in dresser for baby
• Unpack newborn stuff (slings, blankets, nursing pillow, swaddles, etc) from storage and organize for baby
• Get Penny's preschool applications ready
• Go out to a nice dinner with my husband 
• Figure out a childcare plan for Penny during the birth

Ok, so I haven't actually crossed anything off yet, but at least I've started on a few things. In fairness, we were out of town for a whole week since my last post. Oy, overwhelming.

Here we were two years ago as Juno and the boyfriend at 30 weeks for Halloween. It's so funny that my due date is only a week different–I could have even used the same Halloween costume!