Hanging with the Hockenberrys: Abs of Steel

I have decided that I am in a minority. I'm not talking about being in a minority of pregnant women. Heck, 95% of the people I see every day appear to be pregnant right now (men included). I am a minority of pregnant women at the GYM. And when I say minority, I am really saying that I'm the only one. Personally I hadn't thought much of it. I was a regular at the gym 3-5 times a week pre-pregnancy, why wouldn't I continue to go after? Combine that with the fact that I can get a teeny bit hard to deal with when I don't make it to the gym and why wouldn't ~~Kevin force me to go~~ I go? (Kevin may or may not have mentioned that he doesn't know if he's going to be able to live with the post-baby weight Nazi that will be living in our house once Bob is here. I don't think he was talking about me.)

Going to the gym has definitely gotten more interesting in the last couple of months. I am still lifting my weights although I'm not lifting quite as much as I used to. The women at the gym think it's awesome. I get a lot of "you go girl!" and "you're such an inspiration!" from them. On the other hand, from the guys I just get a lot of deer in the headlight looks. I'm not 100% positive, but they seem to think that me pressing a 35 pound barbell over my head while balancing on a Bosu ball is going to send me over the edge and into labor on their watch. Okay, I lied. I am positive. They're like open books. It's actually quite funny to watch them watching me. My favorite day at the gym so far was when Mr. Beefcake Wannabe walked over to the weight rack and picked up his dumbbells. The look on his face when I walked over and picked up mine (that were heavier than his) was priceless. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him there since. I, however, plan on continuing to go for as long as I can. It must be doing some good because I have harder abs now than I have EVER had in my life. I am giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "Abs of Steel".

But no, I am not going to the gym to lose weight or even to maintain where I'm at right now. I'm up 25 pounds with 10 weeks left! I don't think there is any way I'm going to stay under the "recommended" 35 pound upper weight gain limit, am I? Especially since I have other pregnant friends who are trying to sabotage me by emailing me recipes for Crescent Roll Burritos (I'm looking at you, Katie). Even though I'm up 25 lbs, I appear to be carrying it well. Kevin told me yesterday that he can't figure out where I'm putting all of my weight. (Kevin is a very smart man and obviously values his boy parts.) Hopefully people are able to continue wondering for a while longer.

As for me, I recently had an epiphany about pregnancy and weight gain. I've come to the conclusion that the entire reason your butt also gets bigger when you get pregnant is because Mother Nature doesn't want you to tip over forward and hurt the baby. So your butt grows in order to counter-balance your belly. Genius, right? In addition to my growing butt (keep in mind that when I say growing, I mean the extra 4 ~~inches~~ centimeters that have been added since February - refer to above paragraph), guess what else is growing? My BOOBS! (But not enough that my butt has had to counter-balance them too of course). Now, I know that most people don't consider growing boobs to be a good thing. I am not most people. (And just for the record, neither is Kevin.) Mine have gone from A cups to FUN CUPS. (Seriously, I have no idea how big they are. Maybe B's? But let's not rain on my parade, mmm-kay?) Who would have thought that boobs could be so entertaining? And before you freak out and get a visual of Kevin and my chest, let me be clear that I am not even talking about him. I'm talking about ME being entertained. Can I just say that I totally get why guys are so fascinated by boobs? I could walk around poking at these puppies all day! I don't of course, but I'm saying I could. If I had the time. And didn't have to go to work. Or to the store. Or drive. One thing that this pregnancy has made me realize is that I could never, EVER get fake boobs. I wouldn't be able to put them down. Or stop staring at them. I get it guys, I get it.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 30!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Up another few pounds! I'm officially in the 170s. So I'm up 23 pounds from 148. As I said above, I still have another 7-10 weeks so I'm hoping that I continue to do the slow, steady gain and don't step on the scale to find myself at 201 next Friday.
Next Appointment: September 16 - just another check up. But we had an appointment yesterday for our second attempt at a 4D ultrasound. In preparation for it, I ate 2 candy bars on the way to the office, just to make sure Junior was up and at 'em. I lay down, she puts the wand on my belly, and............he's in the exact same position that he was last time we tried to get 4D pictures. AND he's completely conked out. Luckily this time, with some helpful poking (okay shoving) from momma, we managed to get him flipped upright and got a few pictures of his face, even though we couldn't get him to wake up. I don't think he was happy about the poking though - he looks seriously pissed off. Both the ultrasound tech and I think he looks exactly like daddy. I'm sure it's not because he seems to have a perpetual scowl on his face...
Maternity clothes? Holding strong. But I need to get some more. I'm getting bored wearing the same 5 outfits over and over. So much for being frugal.
Labor Signs: As you can see, I've added another category to the check-in list. As scary as it is, there is a very real possibility that I could go into labor soon. I'm considered full term at 37 weeks so it makes sense that things could start happening. I'm not exactly sure what those things are, but I'm hoping that instinct kicks in at the right time. Or maybe I should read a few more books.
Sleep: None. Okay, I may be being a bit of a drama queen. I am getting some. But I am beginning to dread going to sleep because sleeping = leg cramps. The "experts" say that drinking a large glass of water before going to bed will re-hydrate you and being well hydrated will help prevent them. What the "experts" don't tell you is that it isn't drinking the water that is preventing the cramping. It's the fact that your legs don't have TIME to cramp since you're ~~jumping~~ rolling out of bed to pee every 30 minutes. That's very sneaky of them.
Best moment this week: Getting my ultrasound pictures. I'm glad we got some, even though he was asleep the entire time. It would have been cool to see him awake and moving with his eyes open. I think. Actually come to think of it, that could be kind of creepy.
Movement: I have a herd of hamsters in my stomach. Or maybe they're Guinea Pigs. Whatever is in there, it is large and apparently trying to make more room.
Food cravings: Yup, none. I mean PIZZA. I HAVE TO EAT PIZZA NOW. (Ha! Now pizza is sounding remarkably good.....)
Planning/Preparations: Oh my god - STRESS! It hit me a couple of days ago that I only have 7 weeks until I'm full term. That's less than two months! And I have a list a mile long of things that need to be done before this baby comes. One of which is finish the nursery. We were on a roll (for about a week) when we got it painted and got the crib and dresser put together. And there it's sat ever since. We need to go buy a rocking chair (or preferably a big, comfy recliner instead), curtains, and wall decorations. I am also freaking out because while we got a lot of what we need from our baby shower in Michigan, I don't actually have any of it in my possession right now. So while I know we received sheets for the crib, I couldn't tell you what they look like or what color they are which is making it incredibly difficult to buy any of the other stuff that we still need. In addition to finishing the nursery we still have to paint the entry and do some other home improvement projects, get wills/legal documents/life insurance in place, make frozen meals for the first couple of months, buy a camera, choose a pediatrician, pick baby announcements, etc.
Belly Button in or out: In. And although it is getting flatter, I don't think it's going to pop out any time soon.
Stretch Marks: None.
Showing?: Remember last week when I said that every time I walk by a mirror I do a double take? I did that again today. Except this time I walked by, backed up (beep...beep...beep), and focused on my butt. I can't help but wonder if Kevin was lying to me when he said he's wondering where I was putting my weight.
What I miss: Still my sleep. I know that I'm going to need to get used to it, but seriously? I had no intention of "getting used to it" this early.
What I am looking forward to: A LONG holiday weekend! Finally, time for some serious R&R. Saturday we're heading to Galveston to one of our friends beach houses for the night, then Sunday and Monday I plan on working on the Baby To-Do List. At this point if I could get one thing crossed off it, I'd be a happy camper.
Milestones: I've finally hit 30 weeks. Not sure if it's an actual milestone, but it is definitely surreal.