28 and 29 weeks

Here are my belly pictures from 28 weeks and 3 days and 29 weeks:

So what's going on now?  Well, we had our 28 week appointment where I had to chug 5 ounces of this sugar drink so I could go in to get my blood drawn to test for gestational diabetes (and I guess iron deficiency at the same time).  So that morning I could only eat bland things for breakfast and then drink the sugar water one hour before my scheduled appointment.  After drinking the sugar water I was not allowed anything else to eat or drink - not even water.  CLEARLY, I should have drank way more water before I drank my glucose drink because I was so thirsty AND once I got to the doctor's office my blood wouldn't come out.  The nurse stuck me in my good arm (geez do I sound like a junky?  You get poked enough during these exams you know where the good veins are...anyway) and she couldn't get anything out so she's moving the needle up and down and around and I was highly uncomfortable.  While I'm whining and complaining she tells me she's going to try another arm which prompted Ryan to recount a time when he got poked SIXTEEN times before they got blood.  I looked at the nurse and I said "Do not poke me 16 times to get this blood."  I guess she took my not so subtle hint because after she couldn't get any blood from the second vein she called in another nurse who got blood on the first try.  Thank goodness!  I am a squirmy patient!  I was black and blue on the insides of my elbows for a week after that!  

But the good news is I don't have gestational diabetes or an iron deficiency.  And everything seems to be going just fine with baby boy.  We were supposed to do another check on his size this time to make sure he wasn't getting too huge but the previous doctor hadn't scheduled an ultrasound and this doctor really wasn't too worried about it.  She said based on my measurements I seemed right on track with perhaps a slightly larger than average baby.  But just to be safe she scheduled an ultrasound for the 32 week appointment.  

Let's see, what else baby related has been happening.  Well, I gained 4 lbs between my 24 week and 28 week appointments, which is apparently right on target.  I continue to enjoy sweets but I think my cravings aren't quite as pronounced and I seem to get full much faster than before.  Could be the squished stomach.  Baby boy is still extremely active and now I'm so big that practically everyone I see who I don't know makes a comment about my belly/baby.  Someone today asked me if I was hiding a basketball in there.  My feet and hands are poofy so I wear right hand rings on my left hand and am wearing pretty much exclusively sandals on my feet.  My level of poofiness depends on the day and the time of day so there are times when I am in public and need to expand my sandal straps but because of my large belly it would be indecent for me to adjust my own straps so Ryan has to help me (you don't want to know the contortions I have to put myself into to get these sandals on):

He has to help me at night too because it seems like my belly is bigger at night after eating, drinking, and swelling throughout the day.  Poor Ryan.  But what a lucky girl I am.  It might not be too long before I can't get these shoes on by myself in the first place!  Giggle.