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Look out! Big belly coming through! There's definitely no hiding that I'm really close to having a baby. I'm dressed up because we were on the way to Jaya's for a Diwali party.I went to the doctor again today. We "reserved" our room for the delivery. I was highly confused about that when I first heard we had to reserve a room. I guess it's just so they have an idea of how many women to expect around a certain time. I had some cramping last night, just for about 20 minutes. I read in What to Expect that cramping is a sign of possible early labor. (which can last for hours or for weeks) But Dr. Kapur told me that most likely I just ate something that disagreed with me. I've convinced myself she told me this just to keep my expectations low. Unfortunately, I'm all too ready for this baby to get here, so my expectations are sky-high. She said Hazel is about 3/5 engaged, but seemed to think I'm still a ways off from labor. Also, she had to be reminded that Hazel has been measuring as quite a large baby. That's odd - it's all I can think about. :) She did some metric system math in her head that would mean nothing to my American readers, but came out with the number of 4 kg (about 8 lb 12 oz). Her eyes got big when she realized the number. So much for comforting me.
Once upon a time, two kind ladies named Suzie and Tonya wanted to throw a joint baby shower for two very pregnant friends, Andrea and Emily. One said pregnant lady, Andrea, ended up needing overnight monitoring in the local hospital. So what were a group of fellowship-loving ladies to do? Well, have two baby showers, of course!
Our heroine, bedecked in pink to represent the anxiously awaited arrival of her daughter, Hazel, went to the baby shower as planned. She was a little sad to not be able to share this honor with Andrea, but the large amounts of food made up for it. It was a brunch theme, and after all, breakfast is her favorite meal.
The guests all graciously prayed for Emily and Hazel, and then said a word of advice for the mother-to-be.
They laughed, joked, and talked with each other until Suzie brought out some toilet paper. The guests wondered why would toilet paper be at a baby shower? Suzie quickly explained that everyone was to guess how much toilet paper it would take to wrap around the pregnant belly. The toilet paper was Indian, so each square was a slightly different length. Our heroine was about 10 squares around, and Lydia guessed the closest with 11 squares. Everyone else over-guessed, much to the amusement of Hazel's mother.
Gifts were passed around, and our heroine was overwhelmed by her friends' generosity. Everything to prepare for a bouncing baby girl was provided, and the mother-to-be felt the true meaning of what it meant to be in the Creator's family.
Then delicious cake made by Tonya was passed around, and everyone was full of sugar. None was more delighted than our heroine. A very unique gift was created on the spot for Hazel, which will be posted later. And then as some people left for their homes, others boarded a vehicle to take the baby shower on the road! The less round ladies boarded a lot more gracefully than our heroine.
After sneaking gifts up to Andrea's room, 5 ladies, one man, and a little girl celebrated the up-coming arrival of Jellybean in what was surely a hospital rule-breaking baby shower. Some cake and tasty scones made by Tiff were brought for Andrea to enjoy later, and the toilet paper was pulled out one more time.
Although our heroine came close, it was actually the father-to-be, Adam, who knew the exact amount of toilet paper needed to circle his wife's belly.
Gifts were opened, and Jellybean's creative gift was worked on as well. 
At 36 and 34.5 weeks, the mothers-to-be took another belly picture, and everyone enjoyed the impromptu hospital baby shower. More prayers were said, this time for Andrea and Jellybean, and smiles were on the faces of all in that hospital room. No one can know for sure, but legend holds that even Jellybean and Hazel were smiling that night. The end.
Last week was my birthday! My last birthday before Hazel (and hopefully subsequent children) arrives. When James and I got married, I made a goal in my head that I'd like to have our first child when I was 27, and look, it's actually gonna happen. I definitely didn't think of that when we got pregnant - at that time, it was more of the "we really want a baby" itch.
So I talked to Dr. Kapur last Monday about my diet. She asked me, "Emily, why have you lost weight?" I thought, Finally, she's going to allow me to eat my comfort foods again! I replied, "Remember how you put me on that diet...?" She made sure I was getting enough protein and carbs (which I am), and then said, "Fine, continue with your ban on sweets and fatty foods." Darn! I did warn her, however, that I was planning on eating chocolate on my birthday, to which she replied, "By all means, binge on your birthday." I knew there was a reason she was highly recommended by other Americans! I have to confess, I took her words a little too literally - I even cheated here and there all week before my birthday. I had a chocolate chip cookie on Sunday, I had three gigantic spoonfuls of this awesome chocolate fudgey ice cream, and I had pizza oozing with cheese. Then on my birthday, look at this list of off-limit food I ate: - a coffee shop muffin
- a rasgullah (basically a ball of sugar)
- some fried mozzarella cheese sticks from Bennigan's
- a slice of chocolate mousse cake from my neighbor
- a slice of black forest cake from Jaya
- spring rolls and sweet and sour pork
- a big ol' chocolate ice cream dessert concoction
All in one day! And then for the rest of the weekend I snuck bites here and there of the rest of the black forest cake. I couldn't help myself, it was staring right at me every time I walked into the kitchen. On Monday morning, I timidly approached the scale at the gym, and you can imagine my surprise that after all that junk food, I had only gained 150 grams (1/3 lb). At this point in the game, I should be gaining roughly a pound a week.
So my question now is, is all that chocolate still off limits? I'm so tempted to say no way! At least I only have 6 more weeks-ish left. It could be that Hazel gained a lot of her weight early on and is now slowing down. Remember, she is a heavy baby, if the scans are accurate. Or it could be that God is giving my prayers the green light - I've been asking Him that if it's healthy and in His will, that Hazel would slow down in growth to the average size, and have even asked Him if her head could be a certain size, and also her weight. 
You may not agree with the idea of such specific prayers or think I'm putting God in a box. But my belief is, ultimately He's gonna do what He wants, and already knows my desires anyway, so why not voice them?
On the left is a picture of James and me outside the restaurant on my Day of Gorging. At present broadcast, there have been no explanations regarding the football player stance said pregnant lady is taking.
Here are my 34 week pics. Can you believe my due date is 6 weeks away?! I sure can't.
Back in July, I took a picture with some preggo friends. This is the picture - we were 18 weeks, 20 weeks, 16 weeks, and 26 weeks. Well, the girl on the far right has already had her baby girl! I'm jealous! :) The rest of us are waddling through our last few weeks. We met up last night and took some more pictures. We have definitely grown!
Andrea is 31.5 weeks, Kari is 35 weeks, and I'm 33 weeks.
That jumping picture cracks me up, especially the big thud after we landed. Andrea took us to find exercise balls at a local market, and we definitely got some amused and amazed stares. Most Indian women hide their pregnant bellies with scarves and loose clothing, so seeing three very pregnant foreign ladies walking around together was quite the sight! I saw an Indian woman who was pregnant too, and I smiled and nodded at her like we were in some sort of sisterhood. She looked at me strangely. Andrea joked that maybe she wasn't pregnant, and it was like I was saying to her, "Hey, we're fat too!" :)
Did you notice...my due date is two months from today! Fortunately, we're close to finishing things up for Hazel's arrival.
I got a package from my mom today! She sent me these super fun athletic pants that as you can see, 
I was really excited about! As these pictures show, I am quite the dork, as is James, so poor Hazel doesn't have much of a chance at coolness.She also sent this really cute red top. Depending on your heat/cold tolerance, it's already weather at night for long sleeves, and soon, it'll be cool all day long! I am loving this October weather. So these are my 31 week belly pics.
Mimi also sent Hazel some things, of course. A couple more blankets (one with ballet stuff on it!), some cute pink caps, and some handy nursing items! I would have taken pictures, but in my nesting excitement, I threw them immediately into the washer so I could put them away.
Whether it started at 27 weeks when I was exactly 3 months to my due date, or it started at 28 weeks, I'm not sure, but I do know I've arrived to the dreaded and exciting third trimester! I'm excited, because I'm in the home stretch. I've been dreading it though because I've heard the horror stories of these last several weeks. Here are the symptoms I've been experiencing: - Discomfort while sitting
- Fatigue
- Frequent urination
- Hazel loves to kick my bladder and my ribs
- Excessive sweating, which is weird because I'm still not getting overheated
- Irrational mood swings
I guess if this is the worse it gets, then I had nothing to dread about the third trimester. But I have a feeling it's gonna get much, much worse! The mood swings are probably the worst symptom I've been experiencing, just because they annoy me by how illogical they are, and how quickly they come on. But hey, I haven't had a bite of chocolate in 4 weeks now, so can you really blame me?
28 weeks photos:
As Andrea pointed out, these aren't the most flattering angles. Especially in combination with Hazel's "ooh" face!
Their daddies are the Swaddlemeisters! (is that the correct German usage, Deanna? :)
Look who's smiling! 
Aashini slept a lot this day for some reason. But she made some funny faces!
As Andrea pointed out, these aren't the most flattering angles. Especially in combination with Hazel's "ooh" face!
Their daddies are the Swaddlemeisters! (is that the correct German usage, Deanna? :)
Look who's smiling! 
Aashini slept a lot this day for some reason. But she made some funny faces!
