29 WEEKS (CABBAGE): Oct 16-22

• Embarrassing moment to start this post off... I was in the shower the other day after brushing my teeth. I was shampooing, and then realized I needed to spit. With my eyes closed, I spit out the excess toothpaste, and went back to rinsing out my shampoo. When I opened my eyes again I looked down and noticed my spit didn't make it to the drain. Nice toothpaste slobber sitting on top of my belly. Ugh... I forget sometimes that I have this belly now to catch things for me! Haha! Thank goodness I was in a convenient location for quick and easy clean-up!
• This week baby is the size of cabbage... I don't know what this means. The measurements are getting weirder and more confusing by the week!
• Baby weighs 2.5-3 lbs now, and is about 15.5-16 inches long. 
• You know what's crazy? It's not all that uncommon for babies to be born at this time... I'm not ready! 
• We went for our usual dog walk on Monday and I started having cramps. I don't know if they were exercise-induced, gas cramps, from back pain or what. All I know is that they were worse than period cramps for me. I almost considered sitting down and asking David to grab the car. Not because I couldn't tolerate the pain... Just because I'm 29 weeks pregnant and I didn't think it was normal to have such bad cramps. We (eventually) made it back home, and I drank a big glass of water and sat on the couch for a while with my heating bean bag. If this happens again this week I will definitely bring it up with the midwives at our next appointment. Otherwise I'll chalk it up to regular pregnancy discomforts and figure it is nothing to be concerned about. 
• In the third trimester, it is sometimes recommended to do a "kick count" where you count flutters and movements and kicks from your baby. The goal is to get to 10 movements in an hour. They recommend having a light snack and laying down for an hour to see if you can get the 10 movements in. I decided to try this a couple times this week. The very first time I do this, I get my 10 movements within 30 seconds of laying down. Yeesh!! This is not uncommon for me. I find it hard to believe it could take an hour. I figure maybe as baby gets bigger and runs out of space (as if there's space in there now...) he won't move around as much? At least I'll know if baby decreases movement significantly! He's such an active guy most of the time. 
• Baby-K is starting to fill out and put on some chunk now! They call it white fat... I prefer chunk :)
• "Common symptoms" this week include pregnancy brain and fast-growing nails. YUP! That's a fact! 
• Someone needs to remind me to register at the Surrey Hospital and to get a tour of their maternity ward!! *David... I'm looking at you!*
• After we returned from our baby-moon, I was talking to a nurse at work. He asks what we like to do in our spare time. Watch movies, go out to eat, play games, go for walks, etc. He just looks at me and says "spend the next 2.5 months DOING ALL THOSE THING! DO ALL THE THINGS!!! And sleep in... SLEEP!!!" He seems to think we will never have time again to do the things we enjoy together. Granted he has two little girls at home, and I'm sure he is in the midst of the craziness. Maybe I should remind him that one day it will get better :). But yes. We plan on "doing all the things" we enjoy before baby changes our lives!
• I keep being reminded to do my Kegel exercises. I'll try! Have to make a habit/routine of it! I received a text from a friend with a baby recently that said, "I pee when I sneeze :(... do your kegels." Thank you for the laugh and the reminder!! ;)
• Baby starts producing androgens and estrogen necessary for my milk production. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my body to milk production... Let's try hold off until baby is born and my body isn't my own anyway. 
• Getting tougher to get my shoes/boots on by myself! I feel like all the air gets pushed out of me when I go to put my boots on... Oh hunnyyyyy!!!! Almost time to feel needed! Haha.
• Mom sent the below message to our WhatsApp group. The top photo was taken with me and the brothers when I was 18 weeks. Now I'm 29 weeks... 11 weeks ago, and 11 weeks TO go... Wow! That just doesn't seem like all that long ago... 

• I went for a massage on October 18 which was LONG overdue and very much needed. I asked if there was anything I can do (posture, stretches, etc) to prevent my back getting so tight and sore. He just said, "Unless you can shrink your belly and change the laws of gravity... no not really. Kind of par for the course." Nuts! That's what I expected... 
• After my massage I headed back to work. I parked my car and as I was walking, I noticed a spot of blur in my vision. It was like I had looked at a bright light and was seeing spots in one spot near the bottom of my vision. 15 minutes later, by the time I was at work and walking around talking to people, it had gotten MUCH worse and I could barely see peoples' faces and could hardly read emails or text messages. It looked like I was trying to see the world through a plate of water. Fluid movements and all. I got pretty concerned and called Dave to let him know if it wasn't better soon I'd be asking him to pick me up. Over the next 20 minutes it gradually got better until it went away. So a total of 40 minutes of rapidly blurring and un-blurring vision... Huh... not sure what this means, but I will definitely be mentioning to the midwives next week. 

Love my little photo-shoot buddy! <3