30 Weeks

This week didn't start off well. Paul called me Monday night to tell me that his friend Stan had passed away. I couldn't believe it at first and thought that maybe he'd been in some sort of accident. It was even more tragic than that. Stan was only 34 and he died of heart failure. I don't know all the details but what I've heard is that he had been born with a genetic heart defect that was never detected. Apparently the walls of his heart were too thin and although he had been complaining of chest pains for a short while, the doctors never found anything wrong. The only thing they seemed to be concerned about was a slightly elevated cholesterol level. They told Stan to exercise a couple times a week, and he did. While he was playing squash with a friend, he collapsed and the paramedics spent about 20 minutes trying to revive him. I'm not sure when they pronounced him dead but he was taken to the hospital and his family was notified. Paul & a couple friends went over to see Sally, Stan's mom and to offer help with anything. She had her sister over but was thankful for the visit. I wanted to go with them but I couldn't. I had already made plans to get my gestational diabetes test done.

I had heard lots of things about this sugary drink but it was definitely not what I had expected. I thought it was going to be a shot of some super sweet orange syrup but it was more like half a can of sweetened orange crush. I drank it and had to sit in the waiting room for an hour before they could draw my blood. It was a little boring since Paul wasn't with me but I did bring a book to read. That only made me sleepy and I decided to close my eyes for a little. There weren't a lot of people coming in and out so I didn't feel to awkward sitting there with my eyes closed. After an hour, I wasn't feeling too good. All that sugar was making me a little queasy and it had left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. The nurse then called me in and she took my blood. It wasn't long before I was out the door and heading to Tim Hortons for a coffee and bagel. I felt much better after that.

Easter was coming up and I had promised my mom I would make a lasagna for lunch to accompany her roast beef. I thought I had everything I needed but when I started cooking friday night I realized that I didn't have enough pasta and could only make the meat. I got up early Saturday morning and quickly made my way to Giant Tiger. I never took any notice during the morning but, after cooking the lasagna I sat on the couch to rub my soar feet and was surprised to see that they looked like potatoes. Apparently my socks were making my feet swell and I started cursing them. I flung them across the room and tried to keep my feet elevated until we had to leave which was only for a half hour or so. They got a little better as the day went on but didn't go back to normal. It wasn't until the next morning that they deflated to their normal size. But ever since that I day I've been folding my socks down and that seems to help a lot. My feet still swell a little because I'm on them all day but they haven't been that bad since.

Well, even though it was Easter weekend, Paul & I picked up the crib. We'd had a difficult time agreeing on which one we liked and when we saw this one we knew it was the one. It's still in the box since we haven't cleared out a room for our lil' bean but at least we're one step closer. Unfortunately the dresser wasn't available so we're still waiting on it. And since I forgot to mention it before, you'll be happy to know I now have a baby registry. It was really a daunting task but we managed to pull through. Most of the stuff we need probably won't be purchased but at least we've been through it all and if push comes to shove, I can pick up the necessities knowing Paul won't be unhappy.

Easter Sunday was also baby oriented. My sister-in-law brought over the bassinet we're borrowing and it's great. At least if we don't get the nursery done in time our lil' bean will have someplace to sleep. The other thing that happened that day was me being able to see my shower invitations. They are too cool. I decided on "monsters" as my theme and my sister-in-law came up with such a great design. They are felt monsters, sewn together with a flat stuffing to make them sort of soft. The actual invite will be placed on top of the felt monster. They are so adorable.

At 30 weeks my lil' bean is weighing in at about 3lbs. roughly the size of a cabbage. There is about a pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounding him, which will decrease in volume as he gets bigger. The soft lanugo hair that was protecting the skin is now starting to fall off. He is keeping active by moving around and this can be seen and felt. He is also practicing his breathing movements by moving his diaphragm which could lead to hiccups.