Meet Mumbai, the giant monkey! I found him 'in the forest' to take home and put in the nursery. He's so cute!

I am 33 years old, been married for six years, no previous kids, work full time, and attend grad school full time. The pregnancy was a surprise, but a happy one. Guess it was meant to be. It's been quite a juggle between work, school, and husband&household, but I manage somehow. First trimester was awful, second trimester was euphoric, third trimester is wonderful!

The first trimester I was sick all the time. I couldn't feel the baby yet and I was losing weight. I never could tell how the baby was doing. I called it "peanut" after the embryo diagram I saw in a pregnancy book. I had business trips where I'd take the 7am flight and could barely walk down the jet bridge with out being incapacitated by nausea. The only good thing was that I went from a 34B to a 36C with no tummy yet. My husband wasn't too helpful in the begining. After I started getting a tummy he really came around, and is now super great and I couldn't ask for anything more. I first felt the first baby flutter at week 19. The experience felt bubbly - like I drank too much 7-up. I didn't start to show until week 20.

The second and third trimesters have been truly wonderful! I've barely had any side effects mentioned in "What to Expect When You're Expecting". I'm trying to take a lot of preventitive measures like drinking lots of water, eating whole grain fiber foods, avoiding cafeine and soda, applying skin lotion, and elevating my legs when I get home. I'm vegetarian, but since I've been pregnant I eat a small amount of salmon every once in a while. I take prenatal vitamins. The doctor says everything is going well. They moved my due date ahead of schedule by one week.

I bought two pairs of maternity jeans and some tops that are roomier but not maternity. I started wearing maternity jeans toward the end of the second month. Not because the baby was showing, but because my abdomen was sensitive and bloated, and the looser clothing just felt more comfortable. I have enough outfits that still fit me, that I haven't bought anything else. That is until week 31, I had to buy new pajamas which crushed my spirit a little bit since they were multi-colored stripes and baggy with a ribbon bow tie so they looked like clown pants. But now, mostly I just laugh when I'm wearing them and the belly really gets jiggling which makes me laugh even harder.

Week 32. The baby is still lying transverse, which in a way is good, because I haven't felt any kicks to the ribs or vital organs, as long as the baby moves into the head down position by week 36. I can pretty much always feel the head and the bottom, and sometimes I can trace the countour of a leg. When I put the remote control on my belly the baby kicks it off. My cousin calls that "personality".

Okay, it's week 34, and I don't know what happened here. None of my clothes fit all of a sudden. I have just over a month to go, and darn it I've got to go shopping. I'll have to post a week 34 photo soon. I finished shopping for the baby. Everything is all set in the nursery. I'm just leaving the bassinet and swing in the box until the begining of May because the room is pretty cramped yet cozy. My in-laws who I am close with have their plane tickets from Washington DC to come out and visit us here in June when the baby will be about 4wks old. Hospital orientation is next week. My husband is out kayaking and hiking a lot. I'm so jealous. He takes me out for ice cream sundays to cheer me up, he's pretty sweet to me. Got to get my chocolate fix!

Week 36 and I'm feeling fantastic. The baby dropped so I have more room to breathe, and I've become more active. I took my dog down to the river walk and went for a half mile. The only thing now is that I'm pretty fatigued from this new bizare sleep schedule. I sleep for only 3-5 hours in a row, max. I thought I'd be able to get extra sleep before the baby arrives, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It makes school a little more difficult too.

Week 38. I'm almost there. Things have just begun to get uncomfortable. My joints are getting really loose and then sitting in a computer chair all day at work and then sitting in school all evening is making my lower back really start to hurt. This is my last week of work. I still have four more weeks of school. Should be interesting how the timing works out...

Photo One:22 wks ~ Photo Two:27 wks ~ Photo Three:30 wks ~ Photo Four:34 wks ~ Photo Five:38 wks

When I told my company I was pregnant they tried to cancel my health insurance and wouldn't honor the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) until I fought for it. They recently told me that I am going to have to take an entry level position until I go on leave. I didn't think this kind of treatment still happened these days. Has anyone else experienced this? Let me know if you want some info to help get FMLA honored by your employer. I'm not at all a lawyer, but I have a lot of useful information I learned along the way.

My school on the other hand has been fantastic. They picked up my health insurance even though I was already pregnant. I think I'm going to leave them a nice contribution in my will. I can't say enough about how awesome they are.

I found this survey and thought I'd post it in my blog too:

Pregnancy survey
Age: 33
Height: 5ft 6
Is this your first pregnancy? Yes
When did you find out you were pregnant? End of September
Was it planned? No
What was your reaction? Shocked
Who was with you when you found out? No one
Who was the first person you told? Baby's father's birthday was five days away so I kept it a secret until then.
How did your parents react? Happy, it's their first grandchild
How far along are you? 32 weeks
What were your first symptoms? Missed period, I was in such denial, I let it go missed for nine days before taking the home test.
What is your due date? 19th May
Do you know the sex of your baby? No
If so what is it?
Have you picked any names? Yes
If so what are they? Karynn Marigny or Aidan Bryce
How much weight have you gained? 12 lbs.
Did you have morning sickness? Yes, really bad until week 16
Do you have stretch marks? No
Do you have any cravings? No. I always crave chocolate, but now I like it even more.
What is the first thing you want to eat/drink after the pregnancy? Jameson Irish Whiskey or a Mojito
Any reactions to certain smells? Coffee and beer smell amazing to me. I can smell lots of things much better. I walked into a house and smelled the pilot light from the stove when no one else could.
Have you felt the baby move? Yes, especially 5am, 10am, 4pm, 8pm, and 10pm
Will you keep the baby? Yes
Home or hospital birth? Hospital
Natural or medicated? Epidural all the way
Who will be in the delivery room with you? Baby’s father
Will you breastfeed? I'm going to try my best
Do you think you'll need a c-section? Maybe, the baby is still transverse
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time? Not sure, I'm really excited to see the face ever since getting a good look during the untrasound
What's the first thing you might say to her/him? "hi there, little one" or "Wow, look at you"
Would you let someone videotape the birth? Probably not
Are you excited about the birth, or scared? Just want to get it overwith and move on with my new baby and new life.