Small Town Girl. Big City World.: Pregnancy, Week 34 - Stuck in a room with hundreds of pregnant women!

Physical Symptoms: Check the past two week's blogs and add on some headaches. Now this one I am not sure is pregnancy related or because the Santa Ana winds are whipping everything around and causing my allergies to go crazy but I have had a few headaches. I talked to my doctor and she said if a headache lasts for longer than a day and medicine doesn't help to call the office because it could signal blood pressure issues. For now, unless that scenario happens, I am thinking its allergies.

As of Wednesday (technically 35 weeks along) I have gained 32.8 pounds. I should only be gaining 1-2 pds a week now. I'll be happy if I end up at or below 40 pds by the end.

Around week 34/35 be prepared to take a Group B strep test. I passed but had no idea this test was coming. So if you are wondering what it is, google it. Just know its a routine test in late pregnancy.

Food Weirdness: All good in the food department and my acid reflux is happening less and less.

Size of little (girl) bug: Honeydew Melon

Workout: Walking and fit breaks. I actually did a walking tour of the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botantical Garden one day during work. Seven acres of UCLA's campus is dedicated to this garden for medical/scientific research. It was really cool to learn about all these different plants. I totally geeked out on Chris about it when I got home that night.

Preparation: We organized a lot this past weekend. We hung black out curtains in our room and then wished we would have done that a year ago! Wow! We feel like we are in a hotel room. Also, I washed Natalie's clothes and organized them in drawers by size and type. We organized her changing table, started putting together her diaper bag and set up her swing (thanks Mike and Roshan) and co-sleeper. The house finally looks like a baby is coming to live there.

Discovery: Natalie kicks hard! The other night Chris was feeling my belly and she gave out a wallop that surprised him and I both and honestly even hurt a little bit. She is a strong little one!

Funny Moment: There were a few funny moments this past week:

Dancing at Mike & Taryn's wedding had to be funny looking. I danced until my feet couldn't handle it any longer but I had to bust some moves!
My friend Brandee and I went to a event called Big City Moms Biggest Baby Shower LA (more on that in a minute) on Tuesday. They had photographers there and one guy could not stop taking pictures of my baby bump. There were TONS of pregnant women there but he just thought my belly was the cream of the crop, even telling me he thought it was perfectly round. So here I am trying to talk to vendor and this guy is all up on my belly taking close ups. Awkward. Did I mention this was after I spilled chocolate ice cream down by dress that left a big brown stain? Yeah, that happened.

Feelings: My feelings are going to be about the event Brandee and I went to because it was so great to be around so many pregnant ladies, learn about the newest baby gear and let's be honest, get free stuff.

The Big City Moms Biggest Baby Shower LA was an event held at the Skirball Center that was a fun and informative offering vendors, seminars, games, treats and PRIZES. Brandee told me about it and it was so much fun going together. We arrived and immediately grabbed our mocktails and were on a mission to collect our 25 signatures from vendors so we could be eligible for the raffle. We discovered a lot of new (to us) brands of car seats, strollers, organic food, baby lotions, baby services, etc. Many of the brands were European which basically meant "expensive" to me but it was great to learn about them and they are ahead of their game when it comes to functionality and style.

We also took part in some seminars. There were a few celebrities that spoke including Ali Landry and Jaime Pressley. All were informative and covered topics like fitness and wellness, the ups and downs of being a mom, navigating the first year, etc. At the end of the seminar you were eligible to receive a larger raffle prize if your ticket was pulled out of a bag. Well... I WON! I couldn't believe it! I won the Sage Spoonfuls Let's Get Started Pack which is a homemade baby food system. The recipes that came with the package seems simple enough. We will see how this mama will handle making her own baby food but I am willing to give it a try (when its time) even if it's not for every meal.

Whew, long post today! Its been busy!

PS: Chris and I also celebrated our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY this past week. We took J and had yummy Italian food and the best lemon cake ever. It was a great way to celebrate.

Learning about the original rose at the Botantical Gardens where I completely had a geek moment.