8 weeks to go!!

31 weeks, 4 days in Barga on Friday

Today I am 32 weeks pregnant, and there are only 8 weeks to go! Holy cow. This past weekend we took a little road trip down to Tuscany and spent the weekend in a town called Barga. It's in the province of Lucca, not far from Pisa. During the weekend we spent the days by the pool (I got fried... and look a little bit like a lobster), and then spent the evenings in Barga. They had a really fun blues festival this weekend so the town was packed with people, strollers, and little squares with amazing bands playing. It was really fun! The only downside is that I get tired so early these days that we couldn't stick around to enjoy all of the fun.

The past week has been interesting for me. I had two doctors appointments, one regular checkup to look at blood test results and make sure Bambino and I are healthy. During that appointment they also gave me a nasty shot to protect Bambino- my hip is still sore from that and it was on Tuesday of last week!! The shot was because my blood type has a negative RH factor, and Josh's is a positive RH factor. Since Bambino's blood type could have taken a positive RH factor from Josh, it could create some problems for us this trimester. The shot is some sort of antibody to prevent any complications with our blood types if they are different. They'll also do this again at the delivery to prevent anything from happening. They also took my weight and they were happy to know that I didn't gain too much since my last check up, only 1 kg.

The other appointment last week was my third trimester ultrasound where they printed off more pictures of Bambino. They also took measurements to see how he/she is growing to make sure everything is on track. This was a shocker! Not because they took the measurements, but because of what they found... As it turns out, Bambino is 2.2 kg according to the measurements!! That's about 4.8 pounds... This is a lot bigger than Bambino is supposed to be at this point! Apparently he/she is only supposed to weigh about 3.5 pounds. The doctor asked us how big we were when we were babies, and when we told her I was around 8 lbs and Josh was about 9 lbs, she seemed to understand that it could just be genetics. At the same time, she wants me to go back in three weeks for another ultrasound to be sure Bambino isn't growing too much, and again she emphasized eating a low carb diet with less sugars and lots of protein. Everything is normal otherwise- no gestational diabetes, blood results are normal, and I've been eating healthy and exercising every day. So, I guess it's just my destiny to have a big baby!!


31 weeks, 5 days on the Devil's Bridge-
I'll post more about the bridge on my next
entry. It's pretty amazing!

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the actual delivery. It's only a few weeks away and I'm trying to decide what I want to do- all natural, some pain meds, or get the epidural. I've been doing a lot of research and trying to get as much information as possible, and it turns out that I definitely don't want the epidural. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I just don't think it's for me. I'm trying to do things to prepare for it, so if those moms out there who have done a natural birth (well, without an epidural) have advice, I am all ears!!

On another quick side note... if you are pregnant and have back aches, start swimming on a regular basis! Being in the pool this weekend and swimming was amazing. It took ALL of the pressure off of my back, and I could swim without getting the cramps that I get while walking. My back feels really good right now and it doesn't hurt as bad as it usually does. Not to mention it's a relief for my joints as well. I would highly recommend swimming as a regular form of exercise for the pregnant ladies. It also makes you feel like a normal size person again!  :)