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 Holy crap!!  30 weeks!!  So glad! I don’t know what it is about just being able to say I’m 30 weeks along that makes it feel like there is going to be an end!  10 more weeks (give or take a little) and our son will be here.  Pretty unreal, but super exciting!

This weekend we were able to take Ollie’s grandparents to our 4D ultrasound in Bloomington.  I think both sets of grandparents were pretty amazed at how well the pictures turned out.  We could clearly see his face and he was being a little bit shy, and turning into mommy and keeping his hands up by his face the whole time.  The technician had me turn on my side and he gave my tummy a few little taps to try to get Ollie to turn around a little so he could get some clearer pictures.  We also got a 20 minute DVD of the entire session so we can go back and watch whenever we want.  I think the DVD is going to be my life saver over the next few weeks when I’m feeling really down and wishing it was over. Here are a few pics.

I'm not seeing any resemblance to either of us yet, but some say a little  "Mister" 

We were also able to stop at Babies R Us and get our new jogger stroller with car seat.  Super excited about it!  Cannot wait to get this little man out on the trail with his mommy this summer!  Hoping he likes the outdoors as much as his mommy and daddy because it’ll be a lot of time outside while on maternity leave.  Have a feeling that being cooped up inside would probably cause me to be committed to the nut house! Here’s a pic of Ollie’s new ride :)

I’m still feeling huge and really looking forward to Ollie getting here so I can get back to a normal workout routine.  I’m amazed and how fast I become out of breath and get light headed now lifting weights.  And running…. Forget it.  Feel like my stomach skin stretches with every step and when I finish my hips are killing me!  So… for the time being running has been put on the back burner.  But Ollie’s new jogging stroller will get me motivated again this summer!

We’re officially at our bi-monthly visits to the doctor now.  I had an appointment on the 11^th and Doctor Taylor said I was for sure measuring at 29 weeks (which is a couple days ahead of schedule – which was great news to tell a hormonal pregnant woman! – smart man!) I also had to take my glucose screening test last week as well and passed so that was another good thing.  Next appointment will be on the 25^th for my 31 week visit. 

On Thursday night of last week was our Breastfeeding class.  For being a woman, and having breasts of my own, and thinking I knew a lot about them… I was WRONG! Ha! But, this class taught us both a lot and really got us thinking about how we’ll be handling the feeding routine with Oliver when he gets here. Some of the videos that they showed us has both my mister and me wide eyed and thinking “holy moley!” but yet still had me thinking it was amazing how smart babies are when they are born.  The instincts that kick in are absolutely unreal to me.

This week we have our last class – Car Seat safety.  I’m thankful the classes are almost over, because this lady cannot stand sitting in those uncomfortable chairs anymore!

Hoping that Spring will get here soon.  Would really like to enjoy some outdoor time with my Mister and my puppy before Oliver gets here and there is no more “me and mister” time.  Here’s to this pregnancy being ¾ over and to warmer weather!  Have a great week everyone!

{ 28 Weeks and We Have a NAME! }

YES!  Third trimester is finally here!  To say we’re 2/3 done with pregnancy feels awesome, scary, overwhelming, exciting, crazy and unreal! In a few short months we’re going to finally have a human being to blame for all this discomfort that he’s causing his mommy right now! Maybe all the discomfort now means an easy fast delivery!? Fingers crossed!

This week’s big announcement… we've decided to share our son’s name!  Oliver Thomas Viland! (Ollie for short!) I was so excited when my Mister finally said it was ok for us to tell others.  For a while there we weren't quite sure that we didn't have other names we liked better.  Oliver just seemed to fit the best and was the name that Mister and I had discussed wanting long before we even got married.  After we had the gender reveal appointment, we got in the car and Mister goes “So, Oliver then?!” I don’t know that I’ll ever forget that, because Mister calling the baby “Oliver” was a big “whoa this is real!” moment for me.  Oliver is Mister’s great grandfather’s name and also Mister’s middle name.  My father’s name is Tommy so we gave a nod to my dear ol’ pops with “Thomas” for the middle name. 

We recently got tickets to the Twins opener for my Mister's b-day.  So of course I had to get a festive T-Shirt :)

Things are starting to get a little uncomfortable for mommy these days.  Lots of pressure under my right ribs!  Oliver has some major kick spasms sometimes too that stop me dead in my tracks.  Some of them have actually made me jump because they've come out of nowhere!  Almost like when you have those dreams like you’re falling and you wake up because you feel that you've just been dropped in your bed like a ton of bricks! There is never a dull day of movement with this child.  I like to give my Mister some crap about how this kid is 100% his!  When Mister and I first started ‘eyeing’ each other in high school, he’d get in my car and fidget with every single vent, radio button, visor clip and door button.  He, to this day, cannot just sit still EVER!  Father like son!

My discomfort has prompted a flurry of internet searches that consist of “What can I do to move this kid out of my ribs”, “How long before baby drops”, “What’s the average length of pregnancy for first time moms” etc! ha!  The internet is good for new moms, let me tell ya! Don't get me wrong, we are so blessed and I'm so dang excited that we're having a baby but like I've said before, pregnancy is not my favorite thing. I'm really hoping that all these crazy mom’s out there that say “oh it’s so great, you forget all about the bad stuff when the baby gets here” are right!  But, I have a blog.. and I get to go back when I start getting baby fever again and remember all this stuff again! :) So.. remind me when I turn into Crazy Soccer Mom Baby Needing Lady, to go back and read this!

We had our last child bearing class this week on Monday, and no lie, could have really gone without going to that class.  That class had me in a mood that evening and all day the next day.  Topic of class – post baby and how marvelous your body and hormones are afterwards – (insert eye roll here!). 

The instructor comes to the front of class with a “bag of gifts” – she calls it. The bag was no gift! It should be called “bag of scare the crap out of mom (but hopefully not literally ‘crap’ because you’re not going to want to do that for a long time!)” This bag was almost like a gag gift that I’d see at the Stradtman Christmas gift exchange! I won’t go in to detail but between the size of the diaper style pads, ice packs, and stool softener discussion my eyes were the size of baseballs! I look around the room and all the other moms were yawning and could care less about this lady’s show and tell of “bag of horrible things!” So either they weren't listening, or think this stuff is no big deal – we differ greatly! Here’s the text I sent to my friend Dani after the class.  I mean really….

2 weeks away from the official first day of spring.  I cannot wait to get back outside and take Tyson for walks and just be out on our patio enjoying the end of this pregnancy with NO SNOW!  This winter has been way too long and I’m ready for the green grass, budding trees, warm sun, the grill, longer days and everyone in a better mood!

Mister gives a little love to Tyson before taking our maternity picture, as i'm sure you can tell, Tyson isn't always a HUGE fan of doing this picture thing each week!

Mister asked me this week “do you want me to write something for the blog again this week?” and I said “No honey, you don’t have to.” And he almost seemed disappointed.  I just didn't want to force him to write something because I felt a little pushy about it last week :), but if he’s got something he wants to say then I’ll let him say it!  ---

Words from the Mister:

This week marks 28 weeks, another week closer to our little guy’s arrival.  My lady still tells me all about how active he is and then, as if he is preparing for his stern father, when I place my hand and her tummy tum he suddenly stops.  So I hold my hand there, rubbing her tummy, and wait; only getting the intermittent kick or punch.  I say the next middleweight champ, although I think Amy is hoping for something more along the lines of a soccer player.

This week in class, the ‘birthing partner’ had to blow up a balloon to what we think the size of a baby’s head is.  A practice to help us realize what lady is going to have go through.  Turns out my guess was a grown man head; hope for Amy’s sake I am an over estimator.

Amy and I are both really excited for the warmer weather of spring to come, and of course just as the weather seems as though it should be turning around for the better we get more snow than we have had all winter.  This couldn't have come in December?!  I am getting into the stretch of winter that really drags on and bums a guy out.  The excitement surrounding the little man definitely helps though.  For instance, last night I had a baby dream; he was probably in the 2 to 3 month range and working on his alphabet and counting already, not bad!

The end