33 Weeks

What a busy week! Three great things happened; my mom flew in from Florida for a long weekend, the baby shower was wonderful and we revealed the baby's name!  Miss Harper Lynne Newton. The name "Harper" has a 'rock-n-roll' influence, thanks to Derek. Her middle name, "Lynne", is after Derek's father's middle name. Although Harper won't get to grow up knowing him, we will make sure she knows all about him and how much he loves her.

We are so blessed to be surrounded by a loving family and such great friends! Our shower, or Baby Bump Open House as we called it, was full of everyone we love and it was perfect! We are getting more prepared now for when this little girl makes her arrival. Getting everything put away somewhere is the biggest task and we're still not done figuring all that out! Thank you to everyone that gave a generous gift and 'showered' Harper with love!

Eat and be merry! Baby's doing most of her plumping up over the next month, so I've been more hungry. All the food at the party was fantastic. I'm still craving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like crazy. I also can't go with out orange juice in the morning and a bowl of cereal in the evening before bed. It's no surprise that I'm still eating the hell out of some watermelon as the summer months roll in!

She's been moving and squirming more this week. Baby weighs almost 5 pounds and measures between 17 and 19 inches. She's turning into a curious kid who can keep her eyes open while awake, and she's starting to coordinate her breathing with her sucking and swallowing. Those baby bones are continuing to harden as well. 

32 Weeks

Two months to go. Time is flying by. My doctor's visit went well this week. My belly is measuring 30 inches and I've gained a couple pounds since my last checkup 2 weeks ago. Still haven't hit the 30 pounds gained mark yet. I bet I will on my next visit in 2 weeks. Baby's heartbeat was steady at 150 beats per minute, the doctor said she's growing and doing just fine.

What a fine time of my pregnancy to be able to really take part in National Donut Day this past week. I celebrated, of course, by heading to Krispy Kreme and getting a half dozen donuts. That lasted me a couple days. I'm still eating the hell out of some watermelon and ice cream too! Hooray for summer!

If I hadn't mentioned it before, Regan (Derek's 16 year old cousin) took a photo-journalism class in school this year. Her project was focused on the creation and preparation of the nursery. She presented it last week and got the highest grade in the class. The pictures she took are wonderful and will be a great addition to the memory of our baby. In addition to her project, she agreed to take some maternity shots of me. We had so much fun taking different pictures and poses around Fredericksburg. I can't wait to share some when we finish editing. We plan to take more in the pool and at the beach in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Baby measures about 16 inches long and weighs just under 4 pounds. She's likely to be in the head-down position now, getting ready for her decent - the journey down the birth canal. She's definitely been moving enough... at this point, she's probably feeling even more cramped in there! Literature says that I'll be gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that  goes right to the baby. She's continuing to fatten up. She also now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz).

31 Weeks

Two months until my due date! Two months until we meet our little girl! The weeks are flying by even faster it seems. I've still been feeling great, just getting bigger as the baby gets fatter. Summer is finally here and the pool is open. Yay! Friday I got to lounge around the pool and didn't forget to sunblock my big belly. Getting on the raft was interesting, but I made it. To get sun on my back, I guess I'll have to "test drive" some floating rings to fit my belly in over the next two months....

I'm so glad summer is here and the watermelon is plentiful. I ate an entire watermelon in two days. Okay, I let Derek have a few bites. The weather was in the 90s so cold watermelon really hit the spot! I also needed ice cream, due to the heat of course, so I crushed up some Oreos and made my own Cookies and Cream milkshakes over the weekend. Sunday brunch with two of my favorite ladies at Arties completed my wonderful week. I wanted every item on the brunch menu, but settled for the french toast drizzled in fruit and yogurt. Who knew that you could order appetizers for brunch? We know now and tried lemon blueberry muffins and sticky buns. Needless to say, we all left feeling pregnant!

Pineapple: At week 31, baby's about 16 inches long and weighs almost 3.5 pounds. She's also going through major brain, nerve and eye development. Her irises even react to light. All five of her senses are now in working order! Plus, our little girl's body temperature is not partially being regulated by parts of her brain. Her bones, with the exception of the skull, are hardening too.

30 Weeks

10 weeks (or less) to go! The final weeks begin and the more excited we get! I'm sure these summer months are going to fly by. A couple days late for this post, sorry. Derek and I visited PA again to see Don and Sam's new house and celebrate Memorial Day. Then I ended up getting a cold.... I'm feeling a little better today and got the energy to blog. So what's new? I've been feeling great and baby's movements have been more prominent. Not only did Sam get to feel Baby Girl Newton wiggle, it was so strong that we could see her kicking! Pregnancy is an amazing, wonderful thing and I'm loving every minute of it!

After another doctor's visit this past Thursday, baby's heartbeat is strong and my belly is measuring at 29 inches. The doctor did confirm that everything with the second glucose test is fine. She also mentioned starting to look into a pediatrician. I also found out that I've gained almost 30 pounds! I've been staying pretty busy so I haven't really gotten to "treat" myself to anything like ice cream sundaes or donuts this week. Although I've wanted peanut butter almost every day.

Baby is the size of a head of cabbage (yuck) measuring almost 16 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds this week. Her skin continues to get smoother while her brain is getting wrinklier, to make way for all the essential brain tissue. Even though she's so small, she is strong enough to grasp a finger now!

29 Weeks

I returned to the doctor to have the three hour glucose test done. I got a little dizzy after the second blood draw and was a lot more thirsty than I was hungry. I hammered through it and read to pass the time. I got the results the following day and everything is fine. They didn't mention anything about my iron this time but I'll continue taking the supplement until I see the doctor this week for my next check up. My poor arms are still a little bruised though :(

Overall, I've been feeling wonderful. Sleeping is getting more difficult though. I wake a lot during the night because I can't get comfortable. What in the heck am I going to do for the next 2.5 months if it's getting like this now? Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I stayed busy this week with the doctors visit, a day of fun yard work and planting flowers with my wonderful grandparents and a day trip to Richmond where I got some cute little outfits for the baby at a consignment shop in Carytown.

Squash: At week 29, baby is getting plumper. Right now she measures about 16 inches long and weighs almost 3 pounds. She still has a long way to go, and will be tripling her weight before birth. Needless to say, she's going to start getting a little more cramped in the Bump Hotel. Some of her movements are amazing and you can see them, not just feel them! I'm pretty sure she had the hiccups too. Muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and baby's head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain.

28 Weeks

Whoa! Third trimester already? The time is flying by and only 3 more months to go. Derek and I are getting extremely excited for this little girl to get here. She's been moving a lot more. I'm pretty sure she's doing somersaults in my belly sometimes. Derek got to feel a really big karate kick the other night :)

I went to the doctor for my final second trimester appointment this week. We heard the baby's heartbeat at 152 beats per minute and my belly measured at 27 inches, just perfect! I had to do the infamous glucose test and blood draw too. The next day I got a call and the doctor said that my glucose level was a little high, so I have to go back this week and take another one! Ugh, this one I have to fast for and I'll be getting blood drawn every hour for three hours! I'll have to make sure my phone and iPad are fully charged to kill that much time! The second test is just a precautionary measure to double check the first test results. Hopefully when I get the results of the second glucose test, things will be good to go. The doctor also said that my iron was a little low, so I have to start taking a supplement for that now. Boo! Guess I wasn't eating enough leafy greens. Who knew that banana splits, Krispy Kreme donuts and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches had a lot of sugar and not enough iron?!?!

From here on out, baby is fattening up. I gained another 7 pounds since my last appointment. This little girl is beginning to take me out of my comfort zone. Normally, about another 10 pounds is gained in the third trimester, so I'm starting to worry about what my bikinis are going to look like on me this summer.... YIKES! About the size of an eggplant, she's over two pounds and about 15 inches long. Her skin has a smoother and less wrinkled appearance too. Plus, her eyes, which can open and close now, can sense changes to light in the womb
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27 Weeks

Greetings from Sarasota Florida! Getting to spend a long weekend with my Mom was wonderful. We decorated her new home, layed by the pool and visited two beaches; Siesta Beach which has powdery white sand and light blue waters and Venice Beach, known for its blackish sand and warm gulf waters. My bump got some tan :)

My bump also got to eat! Eston and I went to Taco Bus in Tampa; it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It was surely a dump but tacos from a bus never tasted so good! When we visited Siesta Beach, we wen t to an Amish owned Ice Cream Shop and I got two big scoops of black cherry in a waffle cone. Happy Belly = Happy Mommy!

Only 3 months to go and Baby Newton is almost 2 pounds and 15 inches long! She is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her little eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, baby's brain is very active now.