CountDOWN begins = 103 days till baby (27 weeks pregnant)

As I type, I have this odd form of heartburn where there is no actual acid refluxing up to my mouth, just a warm, burning sensation deep down in my throat that flares up. It's real pleasant.

I'm 27 weeks pregnant and I've been pretty awesome with getting more advanced with my crocheting. Here is an alien thing that I made the other day.


I also painted this onto a box that I got for toting craft supplies

It is becoming more difficult to get out of bed. This forces me to test the limits of my bladder every morning. Aria's kicking and shifting and boxing has become much more frequent and a hell of a lot stronger. It definitely seems as though she responds to John's voice almost immediately while ignoring my own petitions. If I'm away at a meeting for a few hours, I'll come home and as soon as he starts talking she is excitedly moving around. Of course, the increased movement could be a result of sugar reaching her amniotic fluid but that would mean I must be stuffing my mouth with like, starburst and cherry fruit snacks and sobe fruit punch everytime I leave the house which would be totally unlike me.

We've submerged ourselves entirely in the first-time parent thing by enrolling in a Lamaze class and going swimming almost everyday. Both of these have been fantastic for us as a pair. I'll speak for myself, but Lamaze has been a guided way of making us think about what is going on and how we will thrive as a couple during labor (and beyond). It feels really good to know that John wants to be as supportive as humanly possible (as usual) and educated along with me about pregnancy. I know this is going to extend into our parenthood and how awesome is that?

Swimming everyday has been significant too. Physically, swimming makes me feel revitalized in a way that I don't know I've ever experienced. After an hour in the pool, my body feels flexible and my skin is tingling from what I assume to be improved circulation. I never expected to feel so good after a "workout". Having this routine with John has been so much fun too. It's a "thing" that we "do". I love that our schedule allows for it and I get to see John wait in line with a bunch of 4-10 year olds for the rope swing. I also love watching him do aqua jogging for 5 minutes for reasons I'm sure I don't need to explain.

Tonight I'm preoccupied with thinking about the next few months and how they will pan out as far as John's working/living situation. I feel slightly unsettled and want more answers than usual. At the last Lamaze class we talked about labor coping strategies and the role the partner will play. If John relocates between now and June, I suppose I'm feeling anxious about how my pre-labor will go without him by my side. I don't know that this will be the case but the thought isn't easy to tuck away. Hopefully we'll have some concrete answers this week and we can start projecting our 3 month plan.

By the way, the women's locker room at the Ballard pool is a crazy place with a LOT of nudity. Nudity and conversation, nudity with strange children around and nudity with communal showers and soap dispensers.