Baby bump: 31 weeks

And, hello, week 31! Let me tell you, it sure feels “real” when you hit the 30 week timeframe.  Excitement is raising and also my instinct to make sure I have everything “ready” I can at the moment.  But it’s nice to remember, I do still (most likely) have the whole month of July and mostly the whole month of August.  Not that I’m not ready to meet our little girl, but I’d like to have all of these 40 weeks to get as much together as possible, ha.

31 Weeks: Me

• This week:
• We’ve really been able to feel her body parts poking out and moving around on my belly this week, mostly little feet.  One day in particular she was extra active and what we think were her knees kept poking out SO far.  It’s a lot of fun to guess what’s what and feel her moving around so much, inside and by touch.
• We officially decided to hire a doula and met with her this week and am feeling very good with the decision since we’ll be having a hospital birth.  I’m sure I’ll post about all this in more detail at some later date!
• Next appointment with the midwife is on Wednesday.  It’s amazing how fast two weeks go by now that the appointments are so close together!
• Headed to Nebraska this weekend for the baby shower and my grandma’s birthday party.  Excited to see all my family before baby arrives!
• House is still coming along nicely and seemingly on schedule for us being able to make it just in time.
• This week I’m loving Switch juice and cookies.  But I’m sure to eat my veggies too, ha 

31 Weeks: Baby

• Baby’s age: 31 weeks
• Baby’s size: size of a pineapple; approximately 16.18 inches
• Baby’s weight: approximately 3.31 pounds
• Baby is 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, baby’s body temperature is now partially being regulated by parts of her brain.  Her bones, with the exception of the skull, are hardening too.

Checking In

Hello!

Thought I’d stop in for a small update of randomness … first off, hello, summer! Our weather seemed to know just when summer started as it was welcomed in with 90+ degree weather.

So what’s been going on around The Purple Carrot lately? Here’s some highlights via photos …

Father’s Day

When I found a onsie that said “Forget baby food, give my pizza”, I knew I had to customize it with my own photo and add the word “daddy” … and love how it turned out!



This is such a cute book full of little “lessons” on raising a girl.  And how true they are! Ha.  Being an emotional female myself, I especially liked the ones that had to do with crying.  How true it is.

 

6th Year Wedding Anniversary

Today, the 23rd, is our sixth year wedding anniversary!  It’s hard to top last year’s awesome dinner at Jasper’s for our 5th anniversary, but we’re so very excited to be starting our seventh year together with our little girl and a new house … both soon to come to fruition.

We kept our celebration low key this year and went out to dinner at Westside Local.  If you’ve been around The Purple Carrot much at all, you know it’s one of our favorites! I used the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” mentality and got a grilled cheese with fries, ha.  But I also got a side of veggies so that has to count for something!



And then Erik gave me this lovely assortment of treats.  Ha, he knows me well.  Now I just need to teach my pregnant self how to ration it out and not eat it all in one day ; )

 

Baby Borger

And in case you haven’t been following along on Purple Carrot Kids, thought I’d post pictures from the last two weeks of Baby Borger.  We’re at 31 weeks … getting ever closer to August 25th!

 

Baby bump: 30 weeks

30 weeks! That sounds so very strange to say considering this whole thing only lasts about 40 weeks! 

My appointments are now every two weeks.  This past week at my last appointment everything was great.  She’s measuring right at 30 weeks and our smart little girl is even already positioned just how she should be! (To which I can attest, as her feet and legs have been making their presence very known near my ribs).

30 Weeks: Me

• This week:
• Good week, good appointment with the midwife (more details above).
• Excited for my baby shower in Nebraska coming up in a couple weeks with my family.
• I love chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
• And lemonade.
• Our house now has sheetrock so I’m feeling a bit better about our deadline. 
• It’s not so easy to breath deeply anymore. But it all makes sense … there’s only so much room in there! Ha.

30 Weeks: Baby

• Baby’s age: 30 weeks
• Baby’s size: size of a cucumber; approximately 15.71 inches
• Baby’s weight: approximately 2.91 pounds
• Baby is now able to see, and even though it’s dark inside your uterus, the eyes are wide open and scoping out the environment.  Your baby’s brain is growing rapidly, due to which it will not gain much weight or height this week.  Red blood cells are now forming in your baby’s bone marrow. Fluid is now present in the air sacs inside the lungs to help your little one take its first breath at birth.

Dante Ristorante Pizzeria

Okay, so it seems the only thing I can blog about when I actually am able to blog is pizza … but I suppose that’s nothing all that new, now, is it??

Amidst all the craziness of everything going on in life right now, we decided to drive up to Omaha for a day just for fun.

But mostly to eat Neapolitan pizza.



It’s been nearly a year now since we took our road trip up the west coast, thus a year since a “Great Neapolitan Pizza Quest” post has been seen. Check the above link in case you’re new here or have forgotten about our delicious Neapolitan pizza adventures!

Since then, we’ve been wanting to try Dante’s in Omaha, one of the very few authentic Neapolitan pizzerias in the Midwest (also VPN certified).

 

True to form, the margherita pizza is always a must …yum! And of course we can’t go to a Neapolitan pizzeria without sitting as close to the oven as possible and timing how long it was in the oven.  These pizzas came out in approximately 100 seconds.

(See my Pinterest album for comparison pics!)



We also tried Dante’s Bianco pizza which included: “papa’s sausage, olive, chili, garlic, basil & mozzarella”. 

It was very good as well, but I ended up wishing we would have just gotten two margherita pizzas because we love them that much that nothing else compares!



The Quick Stats (Erik’s notes)

Oven: Mugnaini

Cook Time: Approximately 100 seconds.

Dough: The dough is made in a spiral mixer, put into a cooler for 24 hours, balled into 9 ounce dough balls and put back in for 48 hours.  To my surprise, the pizzaioli stated that they were using a 00 ConAgra flour blend.  I must say whatever flour they’re using, the crust was top notch in flavor and consistency.

Taste: Immediately, the flavors brought us back to that unforgettable Neapolitan pizza taste that once one has, one never forgets. Sauce was spot on, the crust was spot on and the fior di latte (made using local, hormone and antibiotic free milk) complemented the pizza very well.  My only complaint would be a slight lack of sauce and the fact that our pizzas sat on the counter finished -- about three feet away from us -- for at least 5 minutes and were getting cold when we received them.

 

We will definitely return to Dante’s next time we’re in the Omaha area!

 

Baby bump: 28 & 29 weeks

Behind again and finally playing catch up with weeks 28 and 29.

It’s hard to believe we’re into the 30th week today.  As I see our house not ready to move into and as I read on my pregnancy app to begin thinking about and preparing my hospital bag on top of everything else that’s “not ready” yet, it’s a challenge to not stress about how these next few months are all going to come together in time!  Grace, grace, to it.

 
29 Weeks: Me

• This week:
  • Things are going well! While tasks are becoming less and less “comfortable” and/or “easy”, I really can’t complain at all.
  • Baby’s moving around is, of course, at an all time high.  It’s fun to look down and now see movement all around rather just feeling some kicks here or there. It always puts a smile on my face! Even when she jabs into my ribs or bladder ; )
  • Been trying to get “prep” work done and feel as “prepared” as I can manage, such as trying to figure out if I want/need a doula, trying to figure out what I need to pack to bring to the hospital, reading more about natural birthing to get my confidence up more and more, ordered a pack of newborn cloth diapers, fine tuning my registry, etc etc.
  • It’s easier and easier to feel like I’m short of breath and/or that it’s hard to breath.  Going to the bathroom and moving my position helps a lot.
  • Trips to the bathroom as starting to feel more frequent, especially when I drink a lot of water like I need to be doing.

29 Weeks: Baby

• Baby’s age: 29 weeks
• Baby’s size: size of a butternut squash; a little over 15 inches
• Baby’s weight: approx 2 1/2 pounds
• Baby's brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected. Your Mini's skin is looking less wrinkled as she packs on the pounds. She's now beefing up on the energizing and insulating white fat she'll be born with. And speaking of energy, your little Energizer Bunny is on fire these days. You're sure to feel your share of kicks, punches and elbows, especially when you're lying down.