The home stretch

I'm not sure if there's a definition for the home stretch in pregnancy, but if there is, I think I'm in it. Tomorrow makes 31 weeks down (I'm 30 in the pic below) -- nine to go! A big difference between now and when I last posted is what I can feel when the baby is moving around now. Before, I could just feel general movements of a "blob" inside of me (said with much love of course), but that has progressed to being able to feel discrete "hard" parts. I can't tell what they are, but I make fun guesses. A smaller hard part sticking out of my stomach may be a heel, or maybe an elbow. A larger hard part could be the back, butt, or maybe even the head. I know my guesses could be completely off, but this progression makes the baby feel even more real and its arrival that much more imminent. There's a real human in there! We can't wait to meet him or her :-)

Two weeks ago, we were in Florida ... sigh. In fact, two weeks ago from today we were headed out to a snorkeling trip at Captain Slate's in Key Largo, which was probably the highlight of our trip! Our babymoon was just what we needed. The first word that comes to mind is relaxing. It was lowkey, filled with lots of sleep, good food, and quality time with each other (something we had been low on due to ridiculous work schedules!).

Our first stop was Singer Island, where we spent three nights. The temperature was pretty much perfect while we were there, but the wind made it tough to really enjoy the beach. Of course that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves, and it was great to see our friend Charlotte while we were there too! Another highlight was a visit to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno, where we got to hang out with several recovering sea turtles -- I think this guy was namesd Carlisle.

From Singer Island, it was off to the Keys, where we fell in love with the pace, the scenery and snorkeling! Probably the one downside was how much good food we did eat, which had repercussions ... I had a doctor's appointment the Monday after our return where I found out I had gained 4 pounds over the previous two weeks. FOUR POUNDS. Gross. That is so many calories, and I'm the first to admit that the baby didn't grow that much. So it was a bit of a yikes, but I'm trying to remember it was well worth it. I may have another pound or two to work off after the baby comes, but I enjoyed every bite and the key lime pie at the Key Largo Conch House was fantastic!

For a final baby update, my shower is this weekend and I'm SO excited. It'll be great to see my family and friends and celebrate the arrival of our little one! And then on Monday, it's back to the doctor's office for our check up (every two weeks at this point) with an ultrasound to check out the little guy or girl. At my last two checkups, I've measured just a little bit big for how far along I've been so they're going to check out the baby and make sure that all is well and normal. I'm excited to see the baby, and I know my husband is too - after all, it's been 11 weeks since we've seen the little one - but I'm also trying not to be nervous. More than likely, all is fine and this is just normal me, the baby or a combo of the two, but we want more than anything for this baby to be healthy and the thought that something could be wrong does freak me out a bit. I'm trying to focus on the positive. More to come, including new baby pics, on Monday!