LbC: Week 29

Little Baby C {LbC} Pregnancy: Inch by Inch from 4 to 40 {weeks}

Trimester: 3 

How far along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: butternut squash (almost 3 pounds, 15 inches long)

What is going on with baby: his muscles and lungs are maturing, head is growing to accommodate his larger brain, and he's growing, growing, growing!

Total weight gain: +12  Yesterday I had a prenatal appointment and was surprised when my doctor asked if I was eating.  I said "Yes!" and she said that at this point the minimum weight gain she likes to see is 15 and that she would actually like to see me above 15.  I only gained 23 pounds with Finley so I haven't been worried about my low weight gain especially since I continue to measure correctly... in fact LbC measured a half week to full week ahead of schedule.  She said because he is measuring well she isn't overly concerned about my weight, but would like me to try to gain more.  When I told Devin this, his first response was "Well, did she tell you how she wanted you to do that?"  And I started laughing because to most the obvious answer would be to eat more, but to those who know me and know that I eat more than anyone else I know, it isn't as simple as "eating more"!  =)  Anyway, I'm sure with the holidays, I'll have no trouble adding a bit of weight! =)

Wedding Rings: Both still fit

Feet: I can still see them!

Belly Button: Half in/ half out

Stretch Marks: Not that I can tell.

Linea Negra: Not yet.

Maternity clothes: More and more!

Food cravings: Spicy and candy

Labor Signs: Pressure

Sleep: Needing lots of it! =)

Best Moment This Week: We finished registering though we'll add a few things right before my shower in a month AND we agreed on a NAME for LbC!!!!!!!  We are planning to keep the name a secret and I'm not sure this is our final name, but we have been calling him by a name the last few days and it has felt sooooo good!  It makes him more real.  We just have a first name so until we have a middle name with it and I can get a full picture we are still name hunting, but it's nice to know that if he was born today, we would have SOMETHING to call him!

Looking Forward To: Working on his bumper this weekend during Craft Day!

My Prayer This Week: 

Dear Lord,

I pray for my baby's hearing that is developing now. Give him perfect hearing, with the ears and inner parts of the ear working properly. But Lord, I also pray that my child will hear and recognize Your voice. Give him spiritual ears to hear what You say to his generation, and to him specifically. I pray that my child will love Your voice and be sensitive to it.

Lord, you say in the book of John that Your people hear You and follow You, and that You give them eternal life. I pray now for my child's salvation, that You would give him a wonderful experience in knowing You are his personal Lord and Savior and that You have prepared eternal life for him.

Jesus, I also pray that my words express love and are positive, encouraging, life-giving and Bible-based. I pray that my baby hears only good things coming out of my mouth, and I pray that I will think about what I am going to say before I say it. Help me teach by words and action to speak praise.

Show him the path in which You want him to go and help him to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever he goes.

Thank You, Jesus, for hearing my prayer. I ask this in Your name. Amen.

Footloose and Binky-Free

It's been over a month now and Finley is officially binky-free!

At Finley's 2 year appointment (on November 4th), Dr. K confirmed that it was time to get rid of the binky.  I knew it was coming, but had been avoiding it.  As soon as we got home from the appointment, I cut the tip of the binky off as Dr. K had suggested and put Finley down for a nap.  All the way down the stairs, I heard "BINKY BROKEN, BINKY BROKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I sat on the couch and cried.

It's so silly, but I just hated taking away something that she enjoyed so much.  I have no problem saying no to her and don't even cringe really when she experiences the consequences of her actions, but for some reason getting rid of the binky was really hard for me.  I just didn't want to do it.  She seemed too young and yet I knew the older she got the harder it would be to get rid of it.  So I just had myself a good cry and allowed her to do the same.

The first nap without the binky was a rough one.  It took her forever to fall asleep.  This was repeated at night as well.  The first two to three days were a bit difficult, but each time she fell asleep quicker without the binky and fortunately once she fell asleep, she stayed asleep.

Now it's been a month and though she refuses to throw away her "broken" binky, she sleeps just fine without it.  She is teething (brilliant move to lose the binky at the same time she is getting her molars!) so she likes to just chew on the edge of the binky from time to time, but she no longer NEEDS it.

All-in-all it has been a really smooth transition and I am thankful.

Since I never posted about her 2 year appointment, I will also say that she is doing great!  I had lots of questions for Dr. K regarding adding another child to the family, but he assured me that she would do fine.  Of course, I told him that if she didn't adjust well that I would be calling him and he laughed.  He said that usually girls handle it just fine... and then later in the appointment he told me that she is definitely more "boy" than girl so now I'm worried again! =)

I thought it was hilarious that Finley has more of a boy personality.  Devin and I have both thought that too, but she is still very girly in certain ways so she is an interesting combination.  Dr. K said she may be harder to potty train because of this so we'll see.

Regardless, we love knowing that our little girl is still healthy and on track.  She did have earwax build-up again which was the only negative.  He said he couldn't see much, but that we didn't need to rush her to the ENT again yet.  We are hoping that as she gets bigger so will her ear canals!!!!!!  Still if this is our biggest health issue, we are nothing, but fortunate!

Oh and she was in the 50 percentile in height and weight.  She measured at 33 and 3/4 inches and was 27 pounds, but she is actually closer to 26 pounds.  Not that it really matters much at this age!

Anyway, I am so proud of our little girl!  It is tough to lose something you love and yet she has done just great without her binky!  I am so thankful that she is happy and healthy.  She is just the sweetest blessing I could have ever asked for!