Pregnancy Update- 29 weeks

How Far Along: 29 weeks, 4 days...so close to 30-crazy!  Officially into trimester 3!!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: about 23lbs. (I think its supposed to slow down the third trimester....hopefully!)

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity...and Ryan's clothes.  I put on an undershirt of his tonight and it wouldn't go over my belly...a mens medium is too small!

Gender: GIRL!!!!!  Drum roll please...  Brooklyn Noelle!! We debated telling, since we kept Der's name a surprise.  We thought we would give it a try this time around and see how people reacted.

Brooklyn we really liked, especially since it has family ties.  Ryan's great grandpa (Papa), who moved to the US 100 years ago this year lived in Brooklyn...and Ryan's Grandpa worked there too.  Kinda cool...and we thought it would be fun to take Baby Brookie there when she is old enough to appreciate it.  And Noelle would be after its meaning...Christ's birth.  Plus I have loved all the books I have read by Noel Piper (John Piper's wife), so the original idea came from her name.  We just changed the spelling.  We are already practicing her name with Der.  Its a good thing he likes B words :)

Movement: All the time!  This girl is on the go...or trying to break out or something.  The movements are getting stronger and stronger.  I love to watch my belly roll around.

Sleep: Not so much...do I really have 10 weeks to go.  Between the kicking, the pain in my back and side from carrying Der around, and all the changes we have going on right now...I have a really hard time sleeping.  Its no surprise that I am typing this at 12:45am.

Symptoms:  Just starting to feel really pregnant.  Up until recently, my expanding belly hasnt slowed me down.  But lately, there are more and more things I can't do (especially with Der), which makes me kinda sad.  And with the lack of sleep, and changes going on, I have been more emotional these last 2 weeks than the first 26 combined (poor Ryan).  The reality of everything is catching up with me plus the lack of sleep makes me feel a little crazy.

Cravings: Not meat!  I have a hard time thinking of things to cook because meat sounds yucky.  If someone makes it, then I dont mind.  Ryan has been grilling to give me a shot at being able to eat.  I still want cold stuff... and Der and I have "Popsicle" time every afternoon after his nap.

Best Moment this week:  Hummmm... maybe our family outing on Saturday to take Der to get his first doughnut.  He was so cute with chocolate icing and sprinkles all over his face.  Or maybe watching him in the pet store at the mall.  That boy was beside himself with delight, running back and forth between dogs.  They had all the animals he can name: dog, cat, bird, fish- such fun!