Welcome to the third trimester!

Wow! Yesterday marked the 28 week mark with Bambino and I am now in the third trimester! There are only 12 weeks to go!

27 weeks, 5 days
(this past Saturday)
I feel like I'm carrying a bowling
ball these days! Especially since
my belly goes straight out.

Things are starting to get more fun with Bambino. I can feel him/her moving regularly and we are finally starting to prepare things for when Bambino moves in. This past week we were in Minnesota visiting family, and friends. My friend Holly and my mom even organized a little baby shower/BBQ for our close friends (and a few family members). In addition to that, my brother had a wedding ceremony for those of us that couldn't make it to the ceremony in Florida. The trip home was amazing and I am so grateful for all of the amazing people in my life, friends and family. It makes coming back to Italy difficult because I can't see them every day.

Back to the pregnancy stuff... The past few weeks have had some ups and some downs, but overall I'm still feeling great. At 26 weeks I had an appointment with my Doctor that was emotionally tough. After they weighed me in and found out that I had gained 11 kg (about 24 pounds) my doctor looked at me and said "you've gained too much weight!" I think it was definitely something that came out wrong with the language barrier, but it was like someone hit me with a ton of bricks! I've been eating healthy (with the exception of the sweets...) and exercising. I couldn't believe she was telling me that I had gained too much weight already! Her main concern was that she doesn't want me to gain too much weight and have complications later on, so she told me to cut back on the sweets and carbs. Ok, I can cut back on sweets, but I honestly didn't think I ate that many carbs... Between that and EVERYONE telling me at this point how BIG I am, it was everything I could do not to burst into tears at the appointment. Josh witnessed the whole thing and makes fun of me for it because he thinks I'm doing just fine.

In addition to being told that I've gained too much weight, she also told me that she wanted me to take the glucose tolerance test. So, I had that done the next day. Man, that is one disgusting drink they give you!! I took the 75 mg test where they take your blood three times over two hours (once before drinking the nasty stuff, once after one hour and finally after two hours). That stuff made me feel so icky- nauseous, and light headed, I even started to sweat a little. It certainly did a number on my body- I felt strange for the next day or so. I'm so glad that's over! I have the results, but don't know if they are normal. So, I have to go in to speak with the doctor tomorrow (this is standard procedure in Italy, you have to pick up your results from the hospital, then show them to your doctor). I think everything is good, but we'll see.

Some things that I've been able to learn about Bambino- last Monday we were on the boat at Josh's grandpa's cabin and Bambino loved it! The entire time we were on a boat Bambino thought it was play time. He/she was kicking, and doing summersaults. It was pretty fun. Bambino seems to be on a schedule now of sleep/play time. If babies are anything like they are in the womb, he/she will want to eat, then have play time. I swear, every time I eat Bambino starts moving like crazy! I've come to call this play time :)

Other things that have been happening... My feet swelled again on the flight back to Milan (not really a problem going to MN though). So, right now they look more like paddles than feet. But, thankfully it’s going down slowly. My hips have been sore on some nights, coincidentally it happens when I travel. But the pants I wore on the plane to MN now feel a little tight. I'm pretty sure my hips widened again last week. The nesting urge is starting to become real. After I purchased a bunch of stuff for Bambino last week I felt so much better! We still have a few things to purchase (furniture, a bath tub, and a few misc. things), but I feel like we are on our way to being prepared. It's a great feeling! Now I'm busy with laundry and re-organizing our apartment to make room for Bambino.

I'm so excited about the upcoming months and can't wait to have our apartment ready for bringing the little guy/girl home. And I'm so excited for my cousin Jenna who is due in the next week- I hope things for her go well and she has a safe delivery! Also, congratulations to Sissel and Ragnar who became grandparents this week! Babies are everywhere it seems!

My mom, Sissel (in her traditional Norwegian garb for my
brothers wedding), just two of the amazing women in my life!