Week 26

Hello third trimester! :-)

We're back to the usual outfit and background. For one week at least because then we will be in Houston for the next two Saturdays!!

How far along: 26 weeks, 5 days

Size of Baby S: 14 in, 1 lb, 11 oz

Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): English hothouse cucumber

Total weight gain: 11 lbs

Sleep: Better this week! Although perhaps that was because we stayed up until 2 and 3 am chasing the Northern Lights and I never really caught up this week...

Movement: Yes! I got concerned one day when she didn't move much, but later that evening she picked up a good amount and relaxed me.

Unglamorous body changes: Not really. I have found that I cannot lean over like I was able to before because there's a Baby Girl in the way, but that's not really unglamorous. In fact, the way I contorted my body to grab things pre-pregnancy was probably definitely more unglamorous.

Maternity Clothes? Pants yes, still okay wearing a lot of my tops, but many are being retired (I know, I know I said that last week too, but a bunch more went into the storage box for now.)

Showing: Yes! I've had multiple people comment this week that it's starting to look like I am actually pregnant. Third trimester success. ;-)

Food cravings: No, but I am starting to dream of all the delicious, albeit unhealthy, foods that Jason and I are going to be eating while we are in Houston...

What I miss: If I still say a margarita does that reflect poorly on me? Oh well, I want a margarita. On the rocks. With salt.

Anything making you queasy: Nope.

Strange experiences: First was when we were watching the Northern Lights. I haven't been up that late in a l-o-n-g time and Baby Girl was moving and shaking a lot every night! Either she was trying to keep warm or we have a nocturnal baby on our hands... I'm hoping for the former.

Thursday night of this week the strangest thing happened to me. I was laying in bed and I must have flexed my calf or something because all of a sudden I was wretching in pain with a charley horse. Jason heard me suffering and came in concerned with an ice pad. I've had a charley horse before, but not like this and man did it hurt! Could be completely non-pregnancy related, but I'm throwing it in here anyway. And getting on the foam roller to stretch out my calves...

Milestones: Baby Girl's ears are developing and more sensitive. She can hear Daddy and I talking to one another. She can also probably hear Thrift Store blasting on the radio since I'm currently obsessed with that song... perhaps I need to re-evaulate what music I expose her to in uteru...

She's also starting inhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid to prepare her lungs for that first gulp of air after she's born.

Best moment this week: I received the invitations for my two baby showers in Houston and they are both wonderful! I feel so incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends and family that want to celebrate Baby Girl with us. :-)

Saturday we went to the bi-annual Stavanger Kids Sale. We sought out specifically winter clothes for Baby Girl to use this fall/winter and anything else good we could find. We were able to get some great deals and she's going to be one stylin' and warm baby!

Thoughts: My friend Chelsea who is just a few weeks ahead of me in the first baby department also does weekly updates on her blog. She has a section of Thoughts on hers that I really like and am going to copy because I have a random thought that I want to capture and it doesn't fit under another section. I am in charge of the blog, right?! I do what I want! Sometimes.

Anyway, before I digress too much. I am still deep into the book I mentioned in last week's update, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies, and a section regarding the Golden Hour really struck me. It discussed those first moments when you see your baby and hold him/her. There are a striking number of benefits from having that initial mother-child physical contact right after the delivery. You provide heat and warmth, which soothes the baby. Your smell becomes imprinted on the baby and as a result she has a tendency to prefer your smell at least in the short-term. Most strikingly, is that the hormone exchange that occurs with the skin-to-skin contact can increase your chances of being able to successfully breastfeed greatly.

The unfortunate thing is that it sounds like in the US that the baby is quickly whisked away for cleaning, foot printing, weighing, etc. before given back to you. (Granted, I have not given birth in the US and perhaps this isn't the case or you have control over what you want to happen after the birth.) I have no idea what to expect or prepare for being here in Norway, but it's something that has really left an impression on me and I now have a strong desire to hold my Baby Girl during some of that Golden Hour right after she enters this world. Jason is aware of how I feel about it and has promised to help however he can in insisting that we get some time with Baby Girl. We also plan to ask about it during our birth class in April.

Looking forward to: Mexico and Houston next week!!!! We leave Friday for Houston and will celebrate Jason's birthday before hopping on a quick flight down to Cozumel. We are planning to relax (or at least attempt to try and relax) for a couple days on our "babymoon" and also do maternity photos on the beach. Then we're headed back to Houston for lots of time with friends and family and preparing for the arrival of Baby Girl! We are so excited for the trip!!!!

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Week 25

Once again you might notice a slightly different background than my usual weekly posts. Jason and I are out of town again this weekend enjoying the northern city of Tromsø and chasing the Northern Lights (see them in the background of this awesome, untouched pic my husband took?!)

How far along: 25 weeks, 4 days

Size of Baby S: 13.5 in, 1.5 lbs

Fruit/vegetable comparison (according to Baby Center): rutabaga (glad I don't have to draw that this week since we are out of town!)

Total weight gain: 11 lbs

Sleep: I've been tossing and turning a lot lately which is pretty annoying. Not sure why either, but the small wedge pillow is helping some and it's not too bad at this point. I complained to Baby Girl that it was her fault and Jason kindly retorted that she plans to do a lot worse to our sleep habits in just a few months. Thanks for the reminder honey. ;-)

Movement: Yes! It's become a favorite pastime to lay on the sofa or in bed and read together and feel her kick. She was creating quite the ruckus this past Wednesday night!

Unglamorous body changes: Just getting bigger. I am not sure why, but for some reason I just feel/felt very large this week, which I realize is ridiculous because I have a long way to go still! I don't think I had a major growth spurt either, but I just kept feeling so big every time I looked in the mirror. I am sure I will look back at this in a few weeks and laugh at myself. It probably didn't help that I tried on a bunch of skirts and a few tops from my closet and had to retire them to the "I will wear you again  I promise" box.

Maternity Clothes? Maternity pants, but I am still okay with some of my dresses and tops. Things are definitely be retired though to the aforementioned box weekly...

Showing: Yes. :-) I did have someone compliment me that I do not look pregnant everywhere (meaning face and general swelling, etc.) Let's hope that continues since I am trying to keep working out and eating healthy.

Food cravings: Not really. Although I did buy a box of Fruit Loops when I was in the UK for my Girl's Trip to Aberdeen and Jason and I tried them this past week. Let's just say that UK Fruit Loops ≠ USA Fruit Loops. Major disappointment.

What I miss: Cold lunch meat. My usual lunch companion, Megan, always adds a slice of turkey to her salad and I gaze at it enviously longing for the day that I can eat it again, haha.

Anything making you queasy: Nope.

Strange experiences: I was scolded by the chiropractor for my TB wedges and also said no heels... She wants me to wear tennis shoes to work or buy some flats with good support. Guess I need to go shoe shopping while I am in Houston...

Milestones: Baby Girl knows which way is up and down. Might have made her feel a bit awkward in spin class when I was bobbing up and down for hills and flats, hehe. She handled it gracefully though! She's also getting more fat and hair too.

Best moment this week: Feeling her move is going to be on here for awhile I suspect!! :-)

Also, my friend Ashleigh recommended a book to me called Do Chocolate Lover's Have Sweeter Babies by Jena Pincott. Jason and I started reading it on the plan ride last weekend and have become addicted. The book discusses the science behind the changes our body goes through when we are pregnant and what influences our baby in-utero. She's humorous with a balance of science and studies that makes the book an easy read for anyone. The format is also setup kind of like a Q&A so that you could just skip to the topics that interest you rather than read the whole book through if you'd prefer. I would highly recommend it! It's eye-opening and a little scary to think of the influence I am already making on my future daughter!

Looking forward to: March 12. We have our appointment with the doctor for my regular check-up and to do another ultrasound. Jason and I have talked to Baby Girl about behaving for this one otherwise she's grounded.

Also, T-minus 2 weeks until Houston and we get to see our family and friends!!

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Weekend in Bergen

This weekend we decided to hop the short (25 min) flight over to Bergen. This was my first experience flying domestic and I learned two things. First, the airport doesn't check your ID for a domestic flight. At all. And second, because no one is more important than anyone else (Norwegian mentality), they open up boarding all at once for everyone on the plane. A bit chaotic, but an experience nonetheless.

We arrived and caught the flybussen over to the sentrum (city center) and checked into our hotel before venturing out to walk the city and find dinner. Here was our first mistake of the evening - we didn't make reservations. The place we'd looked up was closed and every other place we checked as we walked around was full. One of the restaurants suggested we try Jacobs Aall as they normally have outdoor seating available. It was a bit chilly outside, but the heat lamps and blankets they provided made it tolerable. Until the table next to us started smoking and we learned that the entire upstairs since it was outdoors was smoking. After table-hopping three times and crying at the idea of having to find another place to eat because I was so hungry (I blame the hormones...) we settled into a spot away from anyone else and downwind in case new smokers arrived. Fortunately, the waiter was great and our food was amazing which saved the evening from being a total disaster!

The following morning we headed to the tourist office to pick up a Bergen card. Along the way we took advantage of the monthly Farmer's Market that we happened to catch and also perused the famous Fish Markets on the way to our next stop - the akvariet (aquarium). 

I'm not sure what it is about zoos or aquariums, but Jason and I are smitten with them and love visiting them wherever we are. There's just something serene about walking slowly together and enjoying looking at the animals and reading about them. We can't wait to take our daughter to zoos and aquariums after she arrives!

We made sure to catch the seal feeding before we left the aquarium. The male was a bit of a show-off and we enjoyed watching his tricks along with his three leading ladies.

We walked along the Strandgaten with a beautiful view of the water and mountains. We stopped at Cafe Kippers for a chai tea and muffin and sat outside soaking up the sun.

As we made our way back towards the sentrum we stopped at the Bergenhus Fortress. The main attraction there is the Rosenkrantz Tower, which we discovered was only open on Sundays. We noted the hours so we could visit the following day and walked around the grounds for a bit before heading to the Bryggens Museum.

Overall, I would say the museum was a bit of a disappointment. They had one floor with some decent exhibits and the upstairs temporary exhibit was all about shoes. It was interesting to see how shoes were made in the old days, but beyond that the rest of the exhibit was pretty corny. I would only recommend going there if it's free (as our visit was with the Bergen card) or you have time to kill.

We headed back to the hotel for a short nap before walking over to catch the tram up to Fløibanen. The mountain overlooks the city of Bergen from over 300 meters and we wanted to watch the sunset from the top. We took my Week 24 picture there and walked around before snagging a good spot to watch the sunset.

I did not throw a snowball at you...

Check it. I'm a troll.

We'd learned our lesson the previous night  regarding dinner so Jason had made reservations for us at Holbergstuen. We enjoyed another great meal and walked around the city afterwards as we slowly headed back to our hotel.

On Sunday we caught the bus and took a short walk to catch the cable car up to Ulriken, another mountain overlook of the city. This view, however, was over 600 meters high and allowed us to see more southwest of Bergen and a better view of the mountains surrounding us.

The top had lots of trails and we saw plenty of hikers and cross-country skiers taking advantage of the sunny weather to get outside. We threw a few snowballs at one another and walked around the top before heading back down to the sentrum.

Next we visited the Hanseatic Museum. It gave a great overview of the fishing industry in Bergen during the 13th to 17th centuries. I would highly recommend visiting this museum to get an understanding of the history of Bergen and how it was influenced by the fish trade.

King cod

Rosenkrantz Tower was next on our list and we walked through each of the floors of this medieval tower dating back to the 13th century. It was extended in the 16th century and named for Governor Erik Rosenkrantz. It also underwent significant restoration after a ship exploded in the nearby harbor in the 1940's.

Finally, we walked along Bryggen (the Wharf) and admired the old buildings we'd learned were built during the Hanseatic time. Their narrow alleyways gave us a good view of the shifting foundations that over time has caused these buildings to lean pretty significantly.

We had some time to kill before our flight and enjoyed a long and liesurely lunch at Nama Sushi and Noodles. Jason was aghast at spending over $150 for two people on sushi. (Welcome to Norway!) But once again the food was spectacular and hit the spot.

Here's all the delicious food from our trip!

Overall it was a great weekend exploring our first Norwegian city outside of Stavanger (which we really haven't done any of the touristy things here in our hometown yet...). We were fortunate and caught Bergen on a sunny and relatively warm weekend with no rain.

Up next on the list is visiting Tromsø this weekend to go dog sledding and chase the Northern Lights!

PS. I've added a link to the top navigation bar for our adventures in Norway. Enjoy!

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