29 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Another week down, 11 more (give or take a couple) to go! Today Jared was looking at the schedule for the class he is teaching this summer. He gives his final on July 24th. I told Asher he is free to come July 25th! I definitely won't be counting on that, but here's hoping he's not one of those 41 or 42 weekers. And here is the latest look at pregnant me.

pregnancy revelations a la melissa

My friend Melissa is due with her first baby 4 weeks before me. She's having a boy too. Today she wrote a beautiful post on her blog called "Realizations" about her physical and emotional journey during her pregnancy. I won't ramble on about it. You should just go read it. It's beautiful.

a victory plan for hillary

According to Gail Collins New York Times editorial today, this is all that must happen for Hillary to win the nomination:

1) A big, big win in Kentucky next Tuesday. Ideally, Obama should be limited to no more than 100 votes.

2) Oregon, scheduled for the same day, inexplicably breaks off and sinks into the Pacific Ocean.

3) Puerto Rico, clocking in on June 1, not only gives Clinton a huge majority, but also manages to become a state in advance of the vote.

4) Finally, on June 3 as the South Dakota polls open, Thomas Jefferson’s head on Mount Rushmore comes to life and starts shouting, “You go, girl.”

Think she can pull it off?

one of those days

Ick. I'm having one of those days. The kind where you just feel off but can't quite put your finger on the exact reason why. Although I do have a few suspicions--

My long awaited camera is back ordered.
I'm at work doing stuff that I could care less about when I would rather be at home getting ready to move.
My house is one big pile of stuff that needs to be organized and packed.
I have a mild headache.
My ever growing tummy is starting to cause aches and pains, and although it's not too terrible now, I know it's just going to get worse.
After getting a slow start, I now seem to be putting on the pregnancy pounds much quicker than the recommended one pound per week. If I continue at the rate I've set the past few weeks, I'm going to be huge by the end. Here's hoping this is just a phase.
I'm really, really sick of my job. But at the same time feel bad that I have to go part-time and then quit fairly soon. Still, I really, really didn't want to come back after lunch today.

Ok enough of that. I think I'm feeling mildly better already just getting that out there. As I said, it's just one of those days.

weekend recap

We had a really good weekend. Saturday Jared helped a guy from church move, and I ventured out to the mall to buy some new comfy flip flops. I also bought a few maternity shirts and after waiting in line forever at the register my feet were killing me. But that didn't stop me from going to a dance party some friends of ours threw. It was so fun! We all acted quite silly and had a rockin' time. But yeah, my feet felt like they wanted to fall off by the end of the night. And the next day. And even today they are still sore. They aren't so happy about all the abuse while having to support a baby too.

Yesterday was of course Mother's Day. Jared made me waffles for breakfast and made lunch too. He was going to make salmon for dinner but neither of us were very hungry, so we are saving that meal for tonight. He also wrote me a beautiful card.

Last night we went over to our friends' Steve and Rebekah's for a little party to celebrate Steve's graduation. He is now Dr. V. Oh what a glorious day it will be when Jared graduates! Steve and Rebekah and their four kids are leaving us soon to move to California. Steve will be teaching at UC-Berkley. We will miss them! They are some of our favorite people here. Rebekah has some killer moves on the dance floor. :-)

We also got some great news yesterday--Jared's graduate adviser is rehiring him as his research assistant for next year. This is a HUGE relief as Jared's funding from the University is up, and with a baby coming, I won't be able to work full-time. Jared will be able to work from home again next year while he studies for his comprehensive exams and starts his dissertation. We feel SO very blessed! And excited that we will be in North Carolina one more year.

In other news, we are moving into a new apartment in three weeks. It's closer to campus and near a ton of people we go to church with. It's going to be really nice to have friends close by when the baby comes. Plus, utilities are included in the rent, so I'm not going to feel too guilty about having the AC going during the sweltering NC summer! Unfortunately, moving means packing and cleaning and unpacking--all things I don't enjoy. I need to get started so that I'm not overwhelmed a couple days before, especially because I am working full-time. Sigh. I hate packing.

Oh and last but not least.... I bought my camera!!! I've been really wanting a digital SLR camera for a long time now. My parents gave me a nice chunk of change for my birthday back in January that I've been saving towards my camera. And since we just got our little stimulus package from the government, I thought I'd take the plunge and order it. I am SO excited! It's going to be so fun to figure it out and practice and start taking some better photos. For those who want to know, I got the Nikon D80 and two lenses--the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR II DX Nikkor Lens and the 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens. It should be here by next week.

28 weeks

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

two books every mom or mom-to-be should read

I recently finished reading Birth and am now reading Pushed. I think every woman who plans to have children should read these books. They have me pretty fired up right now about obstetrical practices in our country and how they are affecting women and babies. I think I will probably write a more in-depth post about my feelings later, but for now I want to HIGHLY recommend these books. Go to your library and check these out! They are both written by female journalists who did extensive research. They will open your eyes to maternity care in the US and seriously make you think.

Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born
(the link takes you to Amazon, which has a good review)

This book is a well-research history of birth practices beginning with the evolution of human pelvises and head size and covering every fad and medical "advance" to help women give birth. The author, Tina Cassidy, a former journalist for the Boston Globe, set out to research the history of birth after the unplanned cesarean of her first son. The book is quick read as it flows very nicely from topic to topic and is full of meaningful anecdotes as well as study-based findings.

Here is a link to Tina Cassidy's blog.

Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care

As the title suggests, this book is much more focused on modern maternity practices. I am about half-way through it, and the more I read the more fired-up I get. Jennifer Block, also a journalist, did exhaustive research to write this. She cites hundreds of studies and talked to many, many medical professionals and mothers about the birth experience in the US. Did you know that some women are so traumatized by their birth experience they get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the same disorder that soldiers in war and victims of extreme violence are diagnosed with?

Here is the book info from Jennifer Block's blog:

In Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care (Da Capo, 2007), Block reports on the current state of maternity care across the country, from inside the operating room of a hospital with a 44% cesarean rate to the living room floor of a woman who gives birth in a kiddie pool with an illegal midwife. Pushed is not a pregnancy guide, but rather a narrative investigation of modern American childbirth.

Do routine inductions, C-sections, and epidurals equal medical progress? Why are home-birth midwives illegal in 11 states? Why are physicians and hospitals denying women vaginal births after cesarean? Can breech babies be born vaginally? How did episiotomies become routine? Where does Pitocin come from? Should midwives go to jail? Is home birth safe? Are women really requesting unnecessary C-sections? Is normal birth the next “woman’s right to choose”? Pushed tackles all these questions and more.

I have a lot I want to say, but I'm going to say it later. I just can't emphasize strongly enough that I think these books are well worth your time if you ever plan on giving birth.

election day in north carolina

If you live in North Carolina (or Indiana) go vote today!!! Even though I think this primary season has lasted too long, it is really fun that my vote here in NC is counting for something. Jared and I actually voted on Saturday, the last day of early voting. There were a lot of people there. Voter turnout is expected to be at a record high this year.

27 weeks

How your baby's growing: This week your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what he's thinking?

Asher is due in less than three months now! Wahoo! Here is the picture of the week. For some reason I look a bit drugged. Don't know why.

the big cut

Here I am in the chair as she's putting in the pony tails. I look nervous, but I actually wasn't.

Measuring the ponytails to make sure they were all at least 10 inches. I'm pretty sure they were close to 12.

Making the cut. She had to work hard to get her shears through my hair.

Bye-bye first ponytail.The raw cut and the ponytails.

Now to make it pretty.
She ended up using the thinning shears a lot. My hair is thick! I didn't even realize how thick it is since I haven't ever had it this short. Plus, it's thicker now since I'm pregnant.My final haircut (with unruly bangs) and the hair I gave away.
This haircut took forever! We were there for 2 hours!

Back at home...
Here is the back of my hair.

And here is the front. I might cut my bangs a little shorter, but I'm very happy with it.

It actually doesn't even feel that weird to have my hair so short, even though it is the shortest I've ever had it. I think it's because I've been mentally prepared for months, since I decided to do this a year ago. It will be so nice not to have all that long hair during the hot North Carolina summer.