30 weeks

I know I usually post a picture every four weeks, but I didn't want to skip week 30 since it seems like a fairly major milestone. I'm not sure if I'll continue posting each month after this or switch to posting a photo every two weeks instead. I guess it might depend on the amount of belly growth that may or may not take place during this final trimester.

I'm well into the third trimester now. I know I say this every time I post a picture, but I still have no idea how this pregnancy is going by so fast. Only two and a half months left (plus or minus some days or weeks, of course) until we meet this little bundle! Yikes, we'd better get going on actually figuring out some viable names! And now that we've arrived in Folsom, we'll probably start working on finally getting some baby gear, but first we have to find a place to live where we can store that gear. It's a tough job to decide on the place where you'll bring your baby home and where he or she will spend the first months or years of his/her life.

In travel news, as many of you know, week 29 was spent in transit driving from Maine to Northern California. We managed to take a route that, happily, was filled with relatives. Over our drive we stayed with or visited Jonathan's brother as well as four different families or individuals from Jonathan's mom's side and one family from Jonathan's dad's side, which was great. Baby G also prenatally visited an impressive seventeen states (including Maine), two National Parks, and the Four Corners Monument. Not too shabby for just a week of traveling!

In actual baby news, Baby G is seeming to be doing well. There is a lot of kicking going on and I can see many of the kicks if I happen to be looking at my belly at the time of the kick (or punch or jab), which makes me grin and also amazes me. How can a thing that strong be living inside of me?! This past week it seems like my belly has gotten quite a bit bigger, but it may just appear to be bigger from my perspective now that I've traded my regular wardrobe from pants, long-sleeved shirts, and sweatshirts to shorts and T-shirts. My belly button is getting closer to popping, too, which is an interesting process to watch. I wonder when it will actually become a full-fledged temporary outie?

Before we left Maine I had contacted several prenatal caregivers in this area, and now that we're here we'll be meeting with them and hope to decide on one soon to get back into our regular schedule of prenatal visits, which should be happening every two weeks now that I'm in the third trimester.

That about wraps up the news for this update.