Holy cow!  Has it really been since April 2nd since I posted?  This time as passed by so quickly.  It’s crazy how fast your life goes when you’re counting it in weeks. 

A lot has happened.  I don’t even know where to start.

When I posted last time we were dealing with the finding that Keiki had a little cyst in its brain.  Its unfortunate that that was my last blog post because my silence since then might lead you to believe we’ve been dwelling on that.  This could not be further from the truth.  In fact, the C-word came up at our house last week and Ryan’s response was, “oh yeh.  I had forgotten about that.”  We really have.  I was afraid it would taint my pregnancy joy.  It hasn’t.  After doing a ton of researching, talking to our doctors and midwives and hearing from other really supportive women who’ve gone through the same thing, we realized it was really nothing to worry about.  So we haven’t.

What that experience did do was to make me a little more introspective.  Instead of blogging regularly I started a journal called “Letters to Keiki”.  I’ve been writing my feelings about this pregnancy in a journal that I will give to our little one one day.  I’ve shared things that I will want it to know.  That’s taken my time away from this blog.

It’s time to get back, though.

So if we haven’t been spending all our time worrying, what have we been doing?

Well, in April, shortly after my last blog, we debated what the first song we wanted to play for Keiki would be.  It was a very serious discussion.  All kinds of ideas were tossed around.  Should it be Nine Inch Nails, the Cure, Dave Matthews, Billy Joel?  In the end we settled on Madonna, Crazy For You.  What can I say?  I was born in 1980.  Madonna was a goddess to me and we both love the song.  It was actually one of the songs we played at our wedding ceremony.  And, really because, I am already crazy for this kid.  Ridiculously, head over heels crazy for it.  So, there we sat with my earbuds on my stomach playing Madonna.

We had our first Mother’s Day!  I was completely taken aback when I was wished a Happy Mothers Day for the first time.  A cashier at Whole Foods was the first to say these words to me.  I seriously don’t think I stopped smiling for the rest of the day.  I don’t feel like a mother yet.  For me, that won’t happen until I’m holding Keiki in my arms, but it was OH so nice to hear.

I swam in the Jim McDonnell lake swim.  I had wanted to find something that I could train for while being pregnant.  I was still rehabbing a foot injury and couldn’t run, so swimming became my outlet.  In May I did the Jim McD Triple Dip.  It was a 5k swim on Saturday followed by a 2 mile swim and 1 mile swim on Sunday.  I won’t lie.  It was tough.  That is A LOT of swimming for me.  It was so nice, though, to cross something off my bucket list while pregnant.  I was pretty darn proud of that.

We’ve started on the nursery!  This has been SO much fun.  We still have a lot of stuff to do, but there is a crib in there now.  It has become our favorite room in the house.  It makes me smile because I will catch both Ryan and Roo in there just hanging out.  We put one of Roo’s beds near the crib and it’s her favorite place in the house to hang out.  I think she is going to be a fabulous big sister.

I’ve kept up with my working out.  I’m so grateful that my foot has heeled and I’ve been able to get back to running.  It’s not fast, but I’m running.  I’m also grateful to have friends who are pregnant who have kept me motivated.  My friend, Meg, who’s just one week behind me with her own pregnancy has kept me driven to keep running.  I have other friends, Katie and Justina, who’ve kept me driven to keep swimming.  They were both swimming long distances right up to term.  I am surrounded by really strong, pregnant women and moms that keep me inspired.  I am so grateful for that.  I have been listening to my body and taking breaks when I need to, but I’m still out there and loving it.  Last week was my 31st week of pregnancy and I was still able to log13 glorious miles for the week.  I’m not breaking any speed records, but I’m really enjoying myself.  I hope I am able to continue this throughout.

Keiki is getting to be a big, strong baby.  It’s been so fun to see the progress.  I’m at the stage where everyday I notice him/her getting bigger.  It’s just been so mind blowing to feel her/him grow right beneath my hands.  When I feel my stomach now, all I feel are limbs.  It’s so hard to believe how much bigger it’s going to get.  Right now Keiki is probably about 18 inches and 3.5lbs.  In the next 9 weeks, it will likely grow another 3lbs and maybe another inch or two.  3lbs in 9 weeks!!!  Wowza. 

I have also LOVED not knowing whether Keiki is a little girl or a little boy.  LOVE it.  I love the surprise that is awaiting us.  I am so happy we decided not to find out.  It has made this journey even more fun, I think. 

Really, I’ve had the easiest pregnancy ever so far.  I actually kind of feel like a brat even admitting that.  My back has hurt quite a lot at times, but that is really it.  I just hit 31 weeks yesterday.  9 more until our due date!!  Being pregnant has been a more fascinating process than I could have ever hoped for.  I’m at the point now, though, were I just CANNOT wait to meet the Keikster.  I want it to stay put for at least another 6 weeks, preferably 7.  But, I’m getting antsy.   

I’m also really pleased with where all my numbers have been.  I passed my glucose test with flying colors.  My blood pressure is good.  Keiki’s heart rate is always strong and solid.  My weight gain is in a good place.  I’m up just under 20lbs at 31 weeks.  I’m pretty pleased with that.  Especially since my belly is measuring right on schedule, 30 centimeters exactly at our 30 week appointment.

I feel so fortunately that this baby has cooperated and taken it easy on me.  I know that I am lucky and I am grateful for it.  It’s also pretty shocking how unemotional and serene I’ve been throughout this process.  I’ve heard horror stories about how emotional people can get, but it seems to have had the opposite effect on me.  I think it’s because I get so high-strung and emotional about tri training that taking a year off is actually having a calming effect on me.  I am so uber competitive with triathlon.  Not having that in my life right now has made me less roid- ragey.  Turns out triathlon makes me more hormonal than pregnancy.  Good to know.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant.  With that being said, I am REALLY looking forward to hitting a hard workout again.  Every week I go to my tri team’s track practice and do my slow jog.  It’s nice to do, but, man, every now and then I just want to drop an interval in.  I can’t wait to just get the engine revving again.

So that’s where we’ve been.  Keiki, Ryan, Roo and I have just been chilling out and trying to get things ready.  I’ll try to be better about posting from here on out.  We’re in the home stretch and I want to remember every minute.

Pic updates coming soon……