30 Weeks and NOT Contagious!

So last Thursday I started getting a sore throat...which got progressively worse until Saturday. I never had any fever or any other symptoms, so I decided to go get a strep test to be safe. The test came back negative, but they sent a throat culture off to a lab to run the test again to be sure. Sure enough, yesterday I got a phone call saying that I indeed did have strep throat. :( So, I left work early yesterday and took the day off today....and after being on antibiotics for 24 hours, I am no longer contagious! Woo Hoo! Luckily, I was able to be productive during my time at home bcause I feel fine...no sore throat or anything anymore. Stinkin' pregnancy immune system. This is the first official sick day I have taken in my three years as a teacher. I guess it had to come at some point. :)

And now....your week 30 update!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 30: fetus in the seventh month: The light is visible at the end of the tunnel! Your oversized self and amazing growing baby have finally reached the single digits (in terms of weeks till birth)! The fine lanugo hair that has been growing all over their little monkey-like body is going to start falling off this week in preparation for the big day. But don’t be shocked if they’re hairier than you’d anticipated, some babies keep their lanugo until after birth. Still, it’s not any cause to be concerned as it will fall off eventually. No surprises here: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs this week thanks to the ever-growing layers of subcutaneous fat. In terms of numbers, your baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long.


I have my first baby shower this weekend, so another update and pictures soon to come! :)

Week 29 and Belly Touching...

I've always heard that once you get pregnant, random people will come up and touch your belly. Now, I believed this, but wasn't sure of the extent of the weirdness. This past week, I experienced my first belly rub from a total stranger. Now, I don't mind people I know touching my belly...and pretty much everyone I know has at least asked before they touched. I was at a wedding this past weekend and a complete stranger walks by me, rubs my belly, say "And there's going to be a baby" and keeps walking. That was it. So weird. On another belly touching note, I learned about a hispanic tradition of good luck from rubbing bellies today. One of my student's parents came up to me today very concerned because I was absent Friday (for the aforementioned wedding) and asked if I was sick. I assured her I was not, and she was relieved. She said she got worried because she saw me on Thursday at our Valentine's Day party, and didn't rub my belly...and then I wasn't there on Friday. Apparently in the Spanish culture, it is bad luck for mom and baby if you don't rub mom's belly - so she was worried she had brought me bad luck! Such a sweet, concerned mom!

Read on if you're interested in baby's development this week:

WEEK 29

If you’ve been feeling butterflies moving around in your belly, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pre-birth performance anxiety. No, it’s your amazing baby with a case of the hiccups: a fairly common occurrence at this point resulting from practicing breathing for their big birthday. In addition, to getting a round of butterfly-like hiccups, your little swimmer has arduously managed to accumulate enough baby fat to account for nearly 3.5% of their overall body weight. Yeah, compared to we adults, it’s not a lot, but when they’re little like that—it’s certainly a healthy (and warming) accomplishment in its way. Another fantastic accomplishment: your baby's spleen is now in charge of hematopoiesis—the 10 dollar name for the process involved in building up certain important blood components. Another fantastic-accomplishment: your little monkey has been peeing into their amniotic sac for a little while now (this is why potty training takes a while) and if you didn’t know, actually swallows it along with the rest of the amniotic fluid. Although the concept is nasty, their urine is sterile and as part of the amniotic fluid base, is replaced several times throughout the day. So if you didn’t know before, now you can tell people, that yes, you drank your own urine—you were still in the womb, but nonetheless, you’ve been there.

Week 28

So the countdown is on....only 12 more weeks!!! I think from now on I will give you the week-by-week play for the rest of the pregnancy. This is something I have emailed to me every week...

On another note: stay tuned for pictures of our nursery in progress!!!

Week 28:

Fetal development in pregnancy week 28:fetus in seventh month You know how you’ve been feeling a bit like a barn with legs? Well, that feeling won’t subside before… well, you know, when you finally give birth. For the time being, you’ve got yourself a baby in the business of collecting fat and lots of it! In spite of the dubious joys of being a human-barn, this baby fat business is very serious and you’ve got to put up with it because it’s going to keep your little porker warm and healthy after birth. Other good stuff from inside: their eyes are doing lots of blinking this week because they’re now able to respond to light and dark. Also, their industrious little bone marrow is now a major construction site for developing red blood cells, while their super-cute adrenal glands are actually producing androgen and estrogen—which will stimulate your hormones to begin milk production. Can you say, “Moo?”