Internally Boxed: Being Abused and Entertained From the Inside Out

OUCH!

My man...my tiny, precious, little man that depends on me for sustenance, protection, and love...is BOXING MY GUTS nine ways from Sunday! Last night was like nothing he and I have ever experienced during our time together. For about 12 hours straight (no exaggeration), he twisted and turned and stretched and kicked and punched and rumbled and karate-chopped his mama's insides! He wants OUT! He's done! And honestly, I'm done, too. My internals can't take much more of this beat down. Half a day of internal attacks is a long time. And believe me, I love my little ninja. But going from a steady stream of movement to a full-tilt boogie, roller-disco, demolition derby in my uterus is exhausting.

I didn't get any sleep last night due to the beat down so I'm struggling this morning. I love being pregnant. In fact, I was telling Todd how much I'll miss the bump when it's gone, to which he replied, "We'll make another one". But I'm ready for Spencer to come on out into the world. I can make it another 5 weeks...I'm tough enough...but it would be nice to just have him be here. I made him from scratch. I want him in my arms. And I want my ribs to remain intact!  Pals have begun placing their bets as to when he'll arrive.  The winner gets the bottom shelf liquor of their choice delivered by me, dressed as a saucy cartoon character.

And my maternity leave begins 1 month from today (or sooner if there's a jailbreak).

12 weeks of the Spence Monster and me. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Third Trimester: The Final Leg Of This Crazy Race.

 Official business: android or monster for the Spencer Dome? Both, right?

This is my 50th post at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, my 27th week of pregnancy, and the official kick-off of the 3rd trimester! It's hard to believe that I am 2/3 of the way done cooking this little turkey that I am insanely in love with and madly over-the-moon about. Even if he did just punch me in the back of the belly button. That's his new skill, hitting the target.

Friday afternoon, my guy was ROCKING OUT. Keep your eyes to the left:

Cuteness To Remember
On Friday night, Todd was giving my belly a good rub when Spencer gave him a swift kick (or punch). So Todd nudged back...and Spencer nudged back. It was like they were fist pounding or something. Todd was so funny and excited and wanted me to feel the hand...or foot...or elbow...whatever...but I let it be their little moment. I have all kinds of one-on-one bonding time with him, it's got to be a little harder for the dads. With Todd's work schedule, I'm worried that Spencer's newly-hearing ears with mistake Detective Elliot Stabler as his father. HA!

On Saturday, we went to a wedding and I was told that I'm cute pregnant : )

Moving on. At 27 weeks down and (lucky) 13 to go, Spencer is STILL the size of a tasty eggplant. I'm guessing they're tasty, even though I've never had one. Everything revolving this little dude is delicious, so says his mother. He's no longer measured crown-to-rump. At our appointment next week, it'll be all head-to-toe! And in that big head, is a big and developing brain. Eyes are opening, ears are hearing, mouth may be jammed full of fingers, and taste buds are tasting. Last night we had some ice-cream and he had a strong reaction to it! Let's hope those were squirms of approval!

The shower invitations are on their way and THEY HAVE ROBOTS ON THEM.

And what else is awesome? The crib came AND Todd surprised me with a picture this morning of it all assembled and waiting for it's tenant. The changing table gets put together tomorrow. Sure, it's a table that will eventually be filled with baby bodily fluids, but I love all things Spencer-related so...I'm psyched! *It's black though it appears brown*

And I'm psyched that a lot is going on in the next 13 weeks that will hopefully make time fly. Take a sneak peek at my ever-growing (no, not belly - I'm still on the small side as websites and books say I should have gained around 16-20 lbs by now, but I'm still hovering around 10) calendar of events:

REMAINDER OF MAY
- next doc appointment
- Memorial Day

JUNE
- 2 doctor's appointments
- a family wedding and New Bomb Turks
- several birthday celebrations
- Father's Day cookout
- Lady Lead Foot's official debut show
- registering for delivery (still sounds so insane)
- Baby Shower

JULY
- 2 doctor's appointments
- 4th of July fun
- kids pool party
- packing the hospital bag
- Los Straitjackets (maybe my water will break there!!!)

AUGUST
- weekly doctor's appointments
- DOING THE SPLITS ON A CRATE OF DYNAMITE!

Yeah...it'll be here in NO TIME! I'm going to rule you, 3rd trimester!!!

Speed Bump: The First Low After 24 Weeks of Highs.

Spencer is 24 weeks along and allegedly the size of an ear of corn, according to one website. Another still compares him to a papaya until he hits the 6 month mark next week. I really can't believe I've been pregnant for 6 months. The finish line seems closer and closer, which is fantastic. I had a dream about Spencer being in his crib last night and I'm just dying to see that vision in person!

Here's a vision for you...

 

Not too much of a change in my bod from 22 weeks, at least not from the outside (though the interwebs say my innie should be an outtie but it's tucked in where it should be). Inside, his facial features are filling in and he's getting some baby fat so he looks less like a beakless chicken. Still just gaining and growing. I'm growing, too, as I was up 4 more pounds at my appointment today. That puts the grand total to 10 pounds gained but due to some digestive issues I've been having, I'm guessing that number is going to drop. In fact, speaking of "drop", we've hit a little bump in the road...but I'll get to that momentarily.

For now, he's growing, he's squirming, and showing off. In fact, Todd shot a video of him showing off his moves while we were in NYC. It may be hard to see his ninja kicks-n-punches from this cell phone vid, but you can hear the happiness in our (and Aunt Sharon's) voices, which is equally as awesome!

And even though I posted this snapshot over at my day-to-day blog, it truly belongs here. Father and son in NYC. I was relaxing before we hit the town again and Todd came over to give my bump a sweet and comforting rub. Spencer knows when it's daddy's big, hot mitts on him and shows off. It's my favorite photo in the world officially.

Speaking of our NYC adventure, we had an amazing "Babymoon". I fell in love with Spencer's daddy all over again. We know each other so well that every time I had a sore muscle or achy back or just needed a little physical attention, he knew and gave me what I needed. I have to give myself a pat on the back (and the belly) for hoofing it miles and miles and miles every day and making the most of the time I had with my friends and that amazing city. It was fantastic and I can't wait to put Spencer in his I <3 NY onesie!

Now for something that's NEVER fun!

As I blathered earlier, I had an appointment today but it was an emergency stop off (our next appointment WAS scheduled for Monday). After 24 weeks of what I can only describe as a BAD ASS pregnancy, I had a little hiccup. I don't want to go into the details because they're uber-personal, but Tuesday and Wednesday were HORRIFIC days and took almost everything I had out of me. Hence the emergency trip to the doc.

I had to get an exam and was happy to hear that I have no bleeding and my cervix is shut tight. And my doc gave me some instructions on what to do to right the wrongs that my body has been going through. I'm to stay off my feet for a few days and then I can get back to business as usual!

But there was a tiny little concern about my fundal height (a.k.a. the measurement from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus which should be a centimeter for every week you are along). I'm measuring 2 weeks early, which my doctor wants to keep an eye on. It could just be because (oh the glamor of pregnancy) I'm "backed up", but it COULD be something more:

-Multiples (already ruled out)

-Error in conception date (since we were trying, we're confident in out date)

-Healthy but large fetus

-Gestational Diabetes

-Excess amniotic fluid

-Breech baby

I'll have a blood test in the next 2 weeks to test my sugar and hopefully rule out the Diabetes. And I'm just going to cross everything I have that if he IS breech, he takes his remaining time in utero to turn around. For now, there's no reason to worry. His heartbeat was perfect and he's busting moves like a maniac. We'll just see how my bump is measuring at the end of May. Then the appointments move to every two weeks...every milestone brings him closer to my lovin' arms!

And like me, he loves Lady Gaga's new song. Grooves whenever I jam "Judas".

That's my boy!