Catching Up...

30 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)"

Unbelievable - I am 10 weeks away from meeting this amazing human life we have created! It's hard to believe that this time next week I'll be in the single digits of weeks left to go. Man, things are just moving right along!

Before going into what lies ahead of us this week, I'll back track for a second to give a quick recap of the last two weeks. One of my best friends, Marsha, had her baby girl on Thursday, October 8. I got to spend some time with them last weekend in Tennessee and got to meet Alexis Jordan for the first time. She is the cutest, sweetest baby!! She's got these great, squishy cheeks that you just wanna pinch! I think she cried two times the whole time I was there which was really impressive to me! She ate a lot, slept even more and dirtied many diapers! It was so awesome to hold that newborn baby and let her sleep on my chest and cuddle her. It made me realize how close we are to doing that with our own little one!

Alex

I also spent a night with my mom and brother, which is always nice. We don't get to spend much time together so it was great getting to visit with them. Even though it was short, it was well worth it. I stopped and saw my best friend, Jenn, and her hubby on Sunday and got a couple more baby items that she got for Austin!

This past week was pretty low-key, just going through the motions of every day life. Yesterday, however, got a little hairy. And yes, it was the "3rd Saturday in October", which means Alabama and Tennessee met up for their yearly match up. The game was in Tuscaloosa this year and as much as we wanted to go, it's probably a good thing we didn't because the ending of the game would have surely put me into early labor! I am amazed that we won that game, literally in the final seconds by blocking a field goal. We haven't been playing our best these last few weeks, and with this being a very deep rooted rivalry, I really thought we would have played better than we did. I'm just thankful that we pulled out a win and didn't throw our season away with one play. We watched part of the game at home, then the rest with some friends. There were about 10 of us that got together to watch the Auburn game and eat some yummy food. We had a great time, even though we were the only Bama fans there and Auburn did not exactly play very well.

Today, we are baby-sitting!! Our friends are going to a wedding this afternoon and we're going to be hanging out with their 11 month old, Amy Grace! She's a sweet, easy going baby and we love getting to see her so I know we'll have a fun afternoon! Her dad and Justin are already scheming and trying to plan an arranged marriage between her and Austin! With all of my friends having little girls, it appears Austin is on his way to becoming a ladies man!

We have a big week ahead of us - well, I guess I should say a big day on Tuesday. We are going to my 31 week checkup at the doctor at 8:00, then on to our closing at 10:00! I can't believe the day is finally upon us! We are SOOO excited and can't wait to actually move in! We've got about three more weeks before we move in but it will really be here before we know it!!

Here is my latest belly pic, taken yesterday at 30 weeks! Austin's movements have changed a little, and I don't feel very many jabs and kicks anymore. Now his movements feel very fluid and I can feel little body parts underneath my hands!! It's so amazing to feel and even weirder to see it! We'll look down and see this ripple across my belly! I'm not sure yet which body parts I feel, probably elbows and knees, but it is such a cool feeling!

I hope everyone is enjoying this fall weather! And get started on that Christmas shopping - it may seem early but it's only nine weeks away!!! I don't know how much we're going to be doing as far as Christmas shopping, but I can promise you the pregnancy will not hinder my holiday eating! I plan to stuff myself silly this year, so watch out Thanksgiving!!

29 Weeks

29 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day."

Third Trimester - Already?!?!

28 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world."

I seriously cannot believe I am in my 3rd trimester already (or that I'm carrying around a Chinese cabbage in my belly)! It has really flown by - even looking back when I felt like it was going so slow, it's almost hard to believe I ever felt that way! We have so many changes coming our way, I'm amazed that I haven't had a mental breakdown yet!

I'm assuming I passed my sugar test since I haven't heard back from the doctor about it. I had the abdominal/kidney ultrasound done Monday morning and of course that came back normal - I knew it would. I knew it was a waste of time but try telling a doctor that. It's going to take an endoscopy to see the problem, which is obviously not going to happen any time soon. So now I'm just doing my best to deal with the pain.

Sleeping is getting harder. I'm so paranoid about sleeping on my back, it keeps me from sleeping at all! Then when I do sleep, either my hips start hurting from being on my side or the pain in my stomach wakes me up. It's pretty annoying, but this too shall pass. Hey, only 3 more months right? I can make it.... I keep telling myself that, and even though I have no choice but to believe it, it doesn't make it any easier.

So we are set to close on the house October 27 - less than 2 weeks from now! I can't believe it! We really have a lot of packing to do, but we still have plenty of time to do it since we won't move until November 21. It almost makes it harder to seem real when you close a month before you move, but I know those last few weeks will go by so fast. I've got my 31 week appointment and closing on the same day, then the next week we'll get to see Baby Austin in 4-D! I'm super pumped about that and just really hope that he cooperates enough for Mommy and Daddy to get a good glimpse of our baby boy up close and personal! He is extremely active in my belly and has got some pretty strong limbs. He definitely throws a good punch already and has got some kicks that would make Chuck Norris pretty dang jealous. All in all, it feels like we have a strong, healthy baby boy in there!

Here are some of the latest belly pics from a few weeks ago!

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

Weekend Update

Well, I just got back from the doctor's office - I won't know the results of my sugar test until tomorrow or Monday. I had heard how awful that drink tastes, but it actually wasn't so bad to me!! It reminded me of those orange drinks you got in elementary school, when you had the choice between orange "juice" or chocolate milk. I told the doctor about the stomach pain I've been having, which I think is all due to my gallbladder removal this time last year. The pain has gotten significantly worse in the last few months, and it's in my stomach and in my back. The pain wakes me up in the middle of the night and keeps me awake, which is really frustrating. I really didn't think it would make a difference to tell her about it because I know they can not check to find out what the problem is until after Austin is born. But she decided to order an abdominal and kidney ultrasound and also did some blood work to check my liver enzymes. My ultrasound is Monday morning so we'll see...

This past weekend we had a get together with a few close friends to eat, drink (well not me of course!) and watch football. We wanted to plan something like this so that we would have some time to spend with these friends before Austin comes and turns our lives upside down! It was meant to be a "Vinson Family Celebration" and I really didn't want it to be a "shower" where people felt obligated to bring gifts. So we were very shocked and so excited that we got some presents!! They catered BBQ, got an awesome cake from Edgars and had very cute decorations. Austin got tons of onesies, hats and socks, we got our diaper bag, some hangers, outlet covers, sleepers, and a few more odds and ends. It was really awesome to spend time with everyone and we're so grateful for the gifts! I will post some pics as soon as I get them uploaded!

This weekend we are going to the Widespread Panic/Allman Brothers concert on Saturday night. Some friends are coming in from Tuscaloosa to "tailgate" and watch the Bama game before we go. I'm so excited!!!

The house procedures are going great...the inspection was done Monday, and it turned out really good. We're having the appraisal done this coming Monday and we're still set to close on October 27! I just can't believe we're so close to the end now!! We are BEYOND excited about it!

27 Weeks

27 Week Update from BabyCenter.com:

"This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle."

I don't have much time for an update this week but I will post something about our weekend later. Today is my 28 week appointment at the doctor's office and I will have my glucose test done. I'm hoping and praying for good results!!