Great Expectations: 27 weeks

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Fruit Size Comparison: Rutabaga 

Weight/ Clothes: I was a pregnant bridesmaid this week! I pulled out pretty much ALL of my appropriate maternity dressy items for the bridal tea, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and of course my earlier mentioned altered bridesmaid dress. I was able to breath in my dress which was much appreciated, so I could enjoy the celebration of my long time friend, Blah/ Jen, marrying the love of her life, Mr. Blah/Doug.  I was feeling pretty ROUND all over the day of the wedding, so my biggest request at the hair salon was to have a hair-do that would help minimize the roundness of my face.

Adam wasn't able to join me at the wedding this weekend because he had his first Park Street Youth Retreat to run, so I didn't get my usual photo coverage of the wedding since I was busy being IN the wedding and my camera wasn't with me a good portion of the day. Hopefully I can borrow some of the professional shots and friend's photos to make up for my lack of my own pictures throughout the day. 

Cravings: Salads...I am all about a good salad! Want to go to Ruby Tuesday and I'm there for that salad bar. I enjoyed California Pizza Kitchen THREE times in the past week because I was so excited about being able to order their half size salads. I think it's a good craving to have, so I don't mind if this one sticks around. 

Gender: I interacted with a couple moms of boys this weekend. Blah's sister has two boys and was SUPER jazzed about that fact that we too are having a boy. Seeing her excitement for me was very encouraging since I feel a little less prepared to have a boy after growing up with a sister. Adam on the other hand I believe will be better prepared to have a boy since he grew up with a brother and is a boy himself. It will all be pretty similar in the beginning with a few exceptions (mainly handling the different male vs female parts.)

Movement: Baby Herndon is on the move. He enjoys doing summersaults occasionally and even woke me up abruptly one morning this week. The kicks were so strong that it startled me awake and my first thought was that Samson, our pup, had jumped up on the bed on top of my belly. Adam was getting dressed for work at the time and looked at me like I was crazy because I surprised him when I sat up and told Samson to get down only to realize Samson was no where to be found and it was indeed PEANUT!

Symptoms: I experienced some CRAZY swelling of my legs, ankles and feet this week! My legs and ankles seemed a little bit swollen the day of the wedding, but it wasn't too bad. I just made sure to change out of my heels when I had the chance at the reception, and then I put my feet up at the end of the night once I got back to the McCormicks, who were so hospitably hosting me for the weekend.

When did the swelling get so crazy you may be wondering? I noticed how bad it was when I got home to Boston from Washington DC on Sunday after NINE hours of driving. It's no wonder since I'd been sitting in pretty much the same position ALL day and only made quick stops to pee and grab a snack or meal. I didn't give myself longer breaks out of the car because I wanted to keep driving since Superstorm Sandy was on her way and I wanted to stay ahead of the storm as to not regret having left for home. I was definitely ready to get home after being away for over two weeks even though it was a WONDERFUL visit! Thankfully I beat the storm home and it didn't even start raining on my drive until the last hour of the trip and I had made it to Massachusetts by that point and only had a little further to go.

I parked and went straight to our new members class. Then Adam helped me unload the car, which was PACKED with goodies for Peanut from the baby shower. He was amazed at how much I had managed to fit in our Fusion and I was happy to get it all home unscathed (I was a little nervous the car would be broken into while parked in DC for the wedding, so I covered everything in the backseat with sheets to make it a little less tempting for someone...though I truly think they would have been disappointed to find a crib mattress, pack n'play and other suck items which found their place in the back seat. I'm super excited about ALL these items, but your everyday robber probably wouldn't find baby stuff a treasure trove.)

Well, back to the fun that was my symptom of the week...SWOLLEN ankles...once everything in and I  could finally relax for the evening, I changed into PJs and that's when I saw THEM...Kankles!! I no longer had ankles to speak of!!! I had thought my feet felt a little tight as I sat through new members class, but THIS was NO JOKE! I immediately put my feet up, WAY UP and hoped the swelling would go down! Thankfully my ankles had reappeared by morning and they've looked like their normal selves ever since. PHEW!!! The lesson here...no more LONG drives without stopping to walk around periodically or taking opportunities to put my feet up (on the dash) if I'm not driving myself. I don't foresee myself driving anywhere far alone the remainder of this pregnancy, so I will just keep these couple tips for myself in mind. Adam and I will do a bit of driving on our babymoon that's coming up this week as we make our way from the cruise we're taking out of Miami to the wedding we're attending in Savannah. Don't worry if that seems like a long drive because we're stopping to see Brent and Trisha and their family to break up that leg of the trip. The last BIG drive will be when Adam, Samson, Peanut and I drive home for Christmas, but again he'll be with me, so hopefully I can remember to put my feet up and try to stay comfortable for that drive.

KANKLES and heartburn...good times, NOT! But really in the grand scheme of things I cannot complain. Pregnancy suits me for the most part and I'm really enjoying this new season and all its new nuances.

Mental State: I've been reading a book that discusses all the nuances of bringing home your baby from feeding and sleeping to diapers, baby gear and even learning and development. Much of it seems like review of the basics, but I've enjoyed the book none the less.

Next on my reading list is books on the birthing process. ANY SUGGESTIONS out there? I need to get on signing us up for our birthing class as well, but I have a little more research to do on which class I want us to take. At this point I'm looking for a good mixed methods class, which will hopefully include parts of the Bradley Method because I think it will be more well rounded and provide multiple options for natural childbirth than just a Bradley Method class alone. I also learned of another pain relief  option this weekend from a doctor friend I saw at the wedding that I had never heard of...a sciatic block...supposedly it can be helpful like an epidural, but has less of the side effects that can be scary with an epidural like the possibility numbing of the lungs if the epidural is placed too high (I'm sure this isn't the case for most epidurals, but still it's a possibility.) I'd REALLY like to have this baby as naturally as possible and that will be my birth plan but I am also trying to keep somewhat of an open mind especially after having numerous friends whose births didn't go as they would have "planned".  Since I do not know my own pain threshold, how long the labor will be and what my labor will need I don't want to completely count anything out, even an epidural, but this alternative sounds like a better option that I might consider if I really need pain relief. 

Appointment Updates: I had my second sugar test at the normally scheduled time in pregnancy and I remembered my straw this time to help with the drinking process. I PASSED! YAY for no gestational diabetes though I wasn't too worried since I haven't had any symptoms, which I know to look for having a diabetic dad and sister to name a few of my diabetic family members. 

Is this normal? Strange occurrences: Getting kicked hard enough to startle me awake.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting to be a pregnant bridesmaid! I was so honored to be able to support Blah in her impending nuptials and be there with her on the Big Day to celebrate her union with Doug! I was thankful to have energy and be at a point in my pregnancy when I still felt comfortable and able to fully participate in photos, dancing, singing and overall celebrating!

I like the bump is the size of my bouquet!