30 Weeks!

I've hit the 30 week mark!!! This is a pretty monumental week for me, at least. I feel like it's coming so soon and too fast now. The last 10 weeks flew by and I imagine it's going to be the same over the next 10 weeks. It's crazy to think that I only have 10 weeks left. I don't know if I'm going to go a little early and have him a little late, either way... it is so soon! I have so much left to do before he makes his arrival!

Here's an updated survey for this week...

Symptoms: I'm really starting to feel him on my lower back and it's affecting my sciatic nerve. It's nothing too painful, more of an annoyance if anything. However, an annoyance I am more than grateful to have. I had such a rough time the first 5 months of this pregnancy, my pregnancy symptoms now feel so menial. Neal and I were reading on whattoexpect.com and learned that the baby is now facing downward and preparing to make his way into the world. Because of this, a lot of women experience lower back pain so I'm not worried :) Our little Liam is doing exactly what he needs to to prepare to come.

Movement: Lot's of it! I've had a couple more jabs to the ribs but nothing dramatic. He loves to kick, punch, and turn around in there. He's definitely trying to make himself more comfortable. He is getting a lot stronger and stays awake longer throughout the day. I've been very blessed because of the fact that he's never kept me up late or woke me up in the middle of the night with his movement. I KNOW that will change once he gets here. I'm going to enjoy all the sleep I can get now before he starts to determine my sleeping schedule.

Maternity Clothes: This week my mom took me shopping for an outfit for maternity pictures/baby shower. We were able to find the perfect dress at MotherHood! :) It was the first dress I saw and tried on... my kind of shopping! Before we left my mom had me look at some maternity pajamas for the hospital. All my friends are telling me to bring my own comfy clothes to wear after I have the baby so we looked around for some cute nursing pajamas. I found a set that I love! It was surreal having it on and thinking that the next time I'll wear it I'll be holding my baby. It's a nursing tank top and cardigan/robe with comfy pajama bottoms. I love it and I'm so excited to wear it while I'm at the hospital :)

Old wives tales: I've hear a million and one things to do to prevent stretch marks while pregnant. There's just too much advice out there so I listened to one and made some of my own suggestions. A friend of mine posted on her blog that she took flaxseed vitamins while pregnant. Flaxseed is supposed to increase skin elasticity and decrease your chances of pre/post natal depression. So far it has been working great! At least on the zero stretchmarks and pre natal depression. I haven't had any problems yet so I'm going to give the flaxseed a two thumbs up! The one other thing I do to help prevent them is use aloe vera on my stomach every night. I love the cooling sensation it gives and it keeps my skin extra moisterized so it doesn't get dry and itchy. I've heard so many horror stories of women that scratch away at their bellies as they stretch out. Not fun and not my cup of tea. The aloe vera has worked so far so I'll continue to do it :)

What I'm looking forward to: My baby shower is tomorrow!!! I'm so excited to see my friends and family and celebrate our new addition. I'm looking forward to seeing what we get so I know what else we need. I've been so hesitant to go shopping because I didn't want to buy anything that we'd get as a gift. After the shower tomorrow I'll be able to go shopping and buy all of the essentials that the baby will need. I am definitely going to feel much more prepared after this weekend :)

Bump Watch '11:
I'm going to spare you the pictures for today. I went and had my maternity photos taken earlier so I'll post those as soon as I get them back this week. I am so excited to see how they all turned out! My friend Kelsey took them for me, I'll send you a link to her page once I post some of the photos from our shoot. She's amazing and I'm so grateful she was willing to squeeze me in while I've been up in Salt Lake.