Soap On A Rope

Only 90 days left!!! I can't believe it!!! Today I officially begin the third trimester and time is really starting to fly by. All the web sites say the baby should be about 2.5 lbs and 15 inches long and by the looks of my belly button, he is taking up every spare inch in there.

My belly button has taken on a life of its own lately and has begun to poke out like a turtle coming out of its shell. This is not attractive. I had heard of women getting "outies" during pregnancy but had never seen it first hand. Lord, I hope it goes back in once the baby comes out! Instead of a button it looks more like the beginings of another appendage... maybe I'm growing a third pinky toe.

As the baby grows, and with him my belly, I'm begining to really miss some of the things I've always taken for granted, like:

1) Having a waist
2) Seeing my feet
3) Putting on pants while standing up (being front heavy makes this a daily challenge and nearly caused a disaster in the maternity dressing room that had a curtain instead of a door- I nearly fell out of the room with my pants around my ankles)
4) Picking up something off the ground (my favorite is dropping the soap and starring at it wondering if I've washed enough of my body to call it good)
5) Reaching a glass in the back of the kitchen cabinet (the belly has probably taken a good six inches off my reach when I'm smashed against the counter)
6) Kissing Ross without rubbing bellies and having to stick my rear out
7) Wearing a belt (how does Santa do it)
8) Wearing anything without an elastic waist band
9) Tying my shoes (so that's why they invented velcro)
10) Sleeping on my stomach
11) Sleeping with one pillow and not inside a six-pillow nest
12) Shaving my legs
13) Sqeezing out of a bathroom stall (especially the tiny airplane bathroom)

But then again, being pregant does have its perks too, such as:

1) Getting to take as many potty breaks as I want during boring staff meetings
2) Getting to sit shotgun
3) Not having to help Ross chop or stack firewood
4) Not having to lift ANYTHING
5) And of course, getting to feel every little kick and squirm (although this many not be a perk for long as he gets bigger and stronger)

Regardless, we are getting so excited to meet the little guy and will take the good with the bad. I just may need to invest in some soap on a rope in the meantime.

Pregnancy Stats
There are 90 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 190 days pregnant.
I am 6.2 months pregnant.

Mother's Day

Well I hit a couple of milestones today. The first is today is Mother's Day and it holds an even more special meaning for me this year and we await the arrival of Baby Tucci. The second is there are just 99 days left until his due date. That's right... we are down to double digits!!

I got back from Phoenix around 2 a.m. this morning after the UW softball team wrapped up the Pac-10 season. I hit the sack alone as Ross was on shift and was rudely awakened with a charlie horse in my calf around 9 a.m. Shortly thereafter I heard Rossi sneak in and he surprised me with a Mother's Day present- a beautiful lily plant in a pink ceramic pot and boy did that turn my morning around. I was thrilled and told him I wasn't sure if he was going to recognize Mother's Day since technically it's still just the two of us and he said "Of course we are celebrating. You are the mother of my child." Needless to say he got a lot of brownie points for that.

I had to head to work today as the softball team learned its postseason fate and found out that it's getting shipped out to Nebraska on Wednesday. It will be the team's third trip there in the last five years and a part of me is really excited since I know they have air conditioning in the press box!! Normally this is one of many factors I consider when judging another facility but this year it has become even more of a bonus, especially as it was pushing 105 degrees in Arizona over the weekend. I'm convinced the kiddo went through a growth spurt because my oven was cranked to high.

Ross picked me up this afternoon and we met up with his mom, sister, niece and nephews to play in the park. We had a great time and I can't wait until next year when our little one will be trying to keep up with his cousins. I promise ours won't be the kid in the monkey harness like the little boy we saw today!!


Here are a couple shots of the parents to be. A special thanks to my mom-in-law for the cute non-maternity shirt in these pics.

Pregnancy Stats
There are 99 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 181 days pregnant.
I am 5.9 months pregnant.

A Soccer Ball?!!

I checked in with some of my mom-be-be web sites and read that at 25 weeks my uterus is as big as a soccer ball. Are you kidding me?! That seems really big, especially with three months to go. I keep wondering, how much bigger is this thing going to get? The size of a basketball ... a yoga ball?!!

I guess I should be thankful that I have so much room available for junior to stretch his legs (and knees, elbows and fists). He's been so active the last couple of weeks- it seems like he's just flailing around in there. Sometimes I swear he's doing jumping jacks or something.

Recently he has developed two new ways to pass the time. The first is giving me a swift kick to the bum. That's right- it's usually a direct hit and boy does that get my attention! And here I thought the worst kicks would be to my ribs.

The second is a form of peek-a-boo with Ross. Whenever the baby is kicking a lot, I invite Ross to feel. As soon as he puts his hand on my belly- complete stillness. Ross usually waits 5-10 minutes before giving up and then, almost without fail, another hard kick or two. I think the baby enjoys playing this game with daddy.

This also happens when my belly begins jumping around and alert Ross to take a look. He will stare at my belly for a long time without seeing anything, then, as soon as he looks away, a huge movement... I can tell the baby is delighting in this and it looks like the Tucci household is going to have another jokster on its hands.

Pregnancy Stats:
There are 102 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 178 days pregnant.
I am 5.8 months pregnant.