32 weeks

Eight weeks left, officially, of this pregnancy!! Now it is feeling as if time has flown and is flying!

I chatted with my dad last night via Skype. He gave me some great advice, which thankfully I've been following all along: Don't wish the moments to go by quickly, because before you know it the kid(s) will be wanting to go to college (my youngest brother) and having kids of their own (me, twice as old as my youngest brother). I truly have been trying to stay in the moment and enjoy each and every little thing about this pregnancy. Even the not so pleasant moments, for which I've had very few and not so bad.


Total Weight Loss/Gain: No weight gain this week, which means I'm still at 80kg. I do feel bigger!

Maternity Clothes: I've been getting lots of compliments about the clothes I've been wearing (mat and non, but mostly mat). Some of them make my bump stand out and others sort of mask it, but there is no way to hide this bump completely. Hehehe

Stretch marks: Not a single one. I love my bump! Even the 3 scars I have from my laproscopy surgery don't bother me so much anymore. However, I am doing my darnedest to ignore my ever-increasing outtie of a bellybutton.

Sleep: When I sleep, I usually sleep quite well (it's my own fault when I get to bed too late, not pregnancy), so long as I don't drink tons of liquid before bed. But this last week, my hips have started hurting on several nights. On the nights that my hips hurt, it is more difficult to find a comfortable position and thus sleep solidy.

Movement: Several mornings this past week I've woken up and just laid in bed for a few moments and felt Paxlet wiggle around. Sometimes it is a huge kick and other times it is smaller movments, but definite rolling and wiggling inside. So funny!

I also believe I have felt Paxlet with hiccups three times now! The movement is small and rhythmic movements. Poor guy! Mr Siili asks if he should tell our cat Rusty about it so he can laugh at Paxlet because I've laughed at Rusty in the past when he's had hiccups. Bad momma, I know!

Cravings/Aversions: I've been eating lots of fruit, still! It's just the right time of the year to eat it. Yum!

Gender: It's a boy!!
The big news I seem to get from my weekly progress emails about the pregnancy are: "If your baby's a boy, his testicles have probably moved into his scrotum." WooHoo! Go Paxlet!

Symptoms: Sore hips sometimes, having to walk slower than normal, needing to sit up straighter so that I can breath normally and not feel squished (especially after I've eat something)

I've noticed that I'm quite thirsty lately. I drink quite a bit of water and water flavored tea and some juice, but I feel thirsty. I wonder if this is normal.

What I miss: I truly tried to think of something for this, but really, I haven't had to cut out much out of my life that I now miss. Most of the things are so little as to not be a huge deal. Such as I miss being able to be a piggy sometimes when it comes to food I like. Right now if I eat too much food at once, I just feel very uncomfortable. 

What I look forward to: Tomorrow is our 4th and final 'course' that is being offered by the neuvola center. Tomorrow's topic is birth. I only have 7 more days of work, before my maternity leave starts!! Mr Siili is taking a week of holiday starting the same week as my maternity leave. My 36th birthday is a month away (as of tomorrow). The RHCP concert is a few days after my birthday and I'm still convinced I'll be feeling well enough to attend. 
So much to look forward to and I'm sure I haven't listed everything that's going to happen that I'm looking forward to!

Moods: I've been feeling quite good this week, although maybe a bit more irritable at Mr Siili. On the flip side, I don't think he's been so helpful, supportive and understanding, so I think some of my not-so-pleasantness isn't totally uncalled for.

Milestones: Paxlet is the size of a squash! And he weighs as much as a rutabaga/swede (1750g).
Only 56 days to go before Paxlet is scheduled to arrive. Wowzers!

Medical concerns: The first part of my pregnancy saw me freezing all the time! I know it was mid-winter, but I was always cold. Nowadays, I am much warmer and even sometimes I feel like I've got hot flashes.

I've been meanting to post about this one for a few weeks, but I keep forgetting. About 8 weeks ago, Jesica over at Just Smile and Blog talked about Diastasis Recti (separating abdominal muscles) and the fact that she had never heard of it before. I had never heard of it either before her blog post. It is quite strange to see a ridge running up and down ones tummy when they use their stomach muscles to sit up or move in some other way. It doesn't hurt, it just looks strange. I don't think I would have ever thought of this as being something out of the ordinary, and I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for Jesica's post. So, I too have the pregosaurus symptom.

Misc: Work is insanely busy and I've got short-timer's disease. On the one hand, I know I need to get some stuff done and caught up because quarter-end closing is near and there is tons of work to be done, yet some of the things I just can't be bothered to worry about. A part of me is also thinking "it's about time that it's my turn to go on maternity leave". Next week one of my co-workers, and the person who will take over my stuff, will be back from holiday and I'll be able to hand stuff over to her. WooHoo!

Our new place still needs to be organized, cleaned and everything put in it's place. I didn't do anything last week, as Mr Siili and I took a holiday from it. I've sort of started up again and will have to pace myself because I can't be standing too long at a time. I'm not worried, it will get done.

As I posted earlier today, I'm starting to get a bit stressed over the things we have for Paxlet, or rather, the things we don't yet have. I'm loving the comments I've gotten so far and can't wait to see what else people have to suggest. Thanks!

This week's bump pictures can be seen in the Paxlet Pictures tab.
Again I was bad and no pictures were taken last week. But, I did get pictures taken today, I just won't be able to put them online until tomorrow (the earliest).
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8 weeks until D-date

That's right folks, I'm at 32 weeks (weekly update to follow soon) and Paxlet should be here in another 8 weeks, give or take a few days*. I keep telling people that my due date is at the end of August and still a ways off and that I have plenty of time. But my maternity leave starts in just a week and a half and Paxlet's due date is just under 2 months away! When I look at a calendar, the realization of how close my due date is, it is slowly sinking in. Oh, My, Gosh!

This realization of impending birth is making me a bit stressed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not stressed about the actual birth itself or the fact that we'll (hopefully) have a baby in our arms. Those things will happen no matter what, there's no turning back now! It's a question of "Do I/we have everything we need for a baby?" and "What do we really need?".

This is what we do have:
- car seat
- baby bed & crib (put together)
- at least 1 set of sheets and couple of blankets (not enough?)
- changing table (put together)
- some clothes
- a couple (6?) of cloth diapers (not nearly enough)
- a bathtub for baby
- baby sling (kantoreppu)
- some breast pads/protectors (3 pair reusable and some disposable)
- what do I need at the hospital?

updated:

- nursing pillow

- pacifiers / binkies / tutti

- blankies, for wrapping the baby and on the floor

What we don't yet have:
- stroller (at this moment I have 2 offers for good strollers, it's just a matter of choosing which one I want)
- diaper bag (I have a small-bag, but I have a feeling I'll need/want another)
- ?

updated:

- Moby wrap (I think my stepmom is sending me one, but I won't know until the beginning of August)

This is where my bit of stress is coming from. I know there are some things I still need, but what? I also know there are many things that are fun and handy, but not really necessary. So I'm asking you, dear readers, what is missing from my list? Fun or practical, I'd love to hear it all!


*Yes, I did say give or take a few days. I've had a talk with Paxlet and told him that he's not allowed to stay in there over 40 weeks and that it is ok if he comes a few days early. And after the talk I had with my dad last night, he said all 4 of his kids, myself included, all arrived into this world around our due date. No one arrived way too early or too late.

Happy Midsummer

It's all downhill from here, so you'd better get your winter jackets out. At least, that's what I've heard from several Finns already. Every year it's the same thing... Such a pessimistic bunch!

Yesterday was the official date for the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. Here where I live in Finland, the sun rose at 3:42 and set at 23:13, meaning the sun was above the horizon for 19 hours and 31minutes. With the sun being so close to the horizon, it doesn't get fully dark here, which even after all these years still amazes me.

While the actual date of midsummer or solstice is past, here in Finland it's a weekend long celebration and it's just getting started. Most people don't work on Friday (even if we do get paid) and shops that are open today, the liquor stores included, close at noon and most won't open until Monday. (Although, some smaller food shops will be open Sunday.)

Juhannus, or Midsummer, in Finland is a big deal. I would go so far as to say that it is the second biggest holiday celebration after Christmas. This is the time when many people start their summer holidays (4 weeks) by leaving the city and heading to the countryside to their summer cottages (mökki). Summer cottages bring to mind simple and easy living, relaxation, sauna and quite often no running water or electricity (or at least only one or the other). There is a lot of cooking on the grill and more than enough meat and makkara (sausages) to eat. I mustn't forget the liberal amount of alcohol that will also be consumed by many this weekend too.

A good holiday weekend is had when then death toll from road accidents and drownings are low. This is usually determined, in part, by the weather. The sunnier and nicer the weather, the more drownings there tends to be. This year, the weather is a mixture of sunny and cloudy, but surprisingly not much rain is foretasted. This will be an unusual midsummer if there is no rain! In fact, I'm not sure I can remember a mid-summer without rain.

Juhannus weather 2012

Having said all of the above about Juhannus, Mr Siili and I will spend the weekend at home (in the city). We'll go to sauna (our own sauna, whenever we want!), relax and find a park to walk to and just hang out. We'll hopefully eat a makkara or two, but not by grilling it, as a grill is one of the things we haven't purchased yet. We might try cooking it on the sauna or if all else fails, I'll fry it in a pan. *grin* (I really want to eat a makkara or two!) But first, Mr Siili's stomach needs to stop hurting. (At least we know it isn't his appendix.)

Hyvää juhannusta, kaikkille! 

Happy midsummer to all!

31 weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I'm an even 80 kilos this week. That puts me up 14 kilos from my start weight. Still not worrying about my weight, but I do think a little bit (only a bit, mind you) before eating some of the sweets I want.

Maternity Clothes: Totally loving the clothes I bought last week. I hope I now have enough to get me through the rest of this pregnancy.

Stretch marks: I had a neuvola appointment this morning and the nurse commented on how beautifully round and stretch mark-less my tummy is. I could only grin.

Sleep: Getting enough sleep is an off and on thing. Some days I feel quite rested, others I just don't want to get out of bed. Today I actually took a nap and I'm feeling great at the moment. I don't always want to take a nap because I know it doesn't guarantee that I'll wake up refreshed and pleasant (poor Mr Siili).

Movement: Paxlet is still mostly kicking me on my right side. It's quite funny (for lack of a better word) when he kicks me and the right side of my tummy is hard with his body, yet the left side is left soft and 'empty'.

Cravings/Aversions: I'm going to the store to get me more fruits today, especially nectarines and watermelon.

During this last week, Mr Siili and I bought some nectarines. I picked out 3 and he picked out 2. I ate my 3 in the first day and a half. I posted on Facebook and joked with Mr Siili that I was going to eat his too if he didn't eat them soon. Soon after, when moving Mr Siili's nectarines from the counter to the table, one jumped out of my hand and onto the floor. It got bruised. Mr Siili didn't eat it that night, so I ate it the next morning. I couldn't let the bruise get worse! And just today, I re-spied his last nectarine on the table. It no longer exists in fruit form. *big grin*

Gender: It's a boy!!
As the neuvola nurse was checking my tummy size (fundal height) today she was quite sure she felt an arm or leg at the top of my uterus. I know that isn't anything earth shattering or relevant in terms of my pregnancy, but it made me smile. Paxlet and uterus are measuring just right for 31 weeks.

Symptoms: I've been a bit tired lately and my iron is a tiny bit low, so I'm going to take some iron again. But I'm not 100% convinced that this tiredness is due to lack of iron. I know I just haven't been sleeping as well, for one reason or another, like usual.

I've eaten too much food in one go a couple of times this last week, which has left me feeling quite yucky. It's all my own fault though. LOL

I'm finding that I need to sit up more and definitely not slouch. Slouching leaves me breathless and also a very uncomfortable tummy.

What I miss: I miss being able to spring up out of bed so easily. And as usual, there really isn't much else I can think of that I miss. I'm still doing most of what I normally do, just taking it a bit slower.

What I look forward to: Juhannus (mid-summer) is this weekend. I hope we'll grill some makkara (sausages), as that is sounding really yummy to me right now.

Only 2 more weeks of work (plus a day or so) when I go back next week. I'm so thrilled that I'll be off from work and that it is finally my turn to get to experience this thing called 'maternity leave'!

Next week is the final parenting course. It will be about birth. I look forward to hearing what they have to say, as I really haven't thought too much about my upcoming birthing experience, other than it will happen. I also wonder if I'm being a bit naive about thinking that I can maybe do it naturally. Yet, I am not against needing medications, if I feel so when the time comes. This is a subject to think about more in the near future.

Moods: I've been a bit weepy and moody this last week. I know part of it is due to missing my mom.

Milestones: Paxlet is the size of a squash, yet again this week! He is the weight of 4 navel oranges, which is about 1600g.

Medical concerns: I think the yeast infection is better, but I'm still watching for symptoms that it hasn't fully gone away or that it has made a come back.

I have been having some asthma issues with feeling like I can't get enough air, but that is easily solved with using my inhaler.

Misc:  I tried to do a little something nice for Mr Siili on Sunday morning for Father's day, although in Finland this date doesn't happen until the fall. The place I wanted to take him wasn't open for another 30 minutes when we arrived, so we went back home and will maybe go there another day. I was bummed that my little plan didn't work out.

Then Mr Siili and I had a heated argument about all the crap in our place and not having enough room to put it. It started because Mansi knocked over the computer siding and gouged a hole in the floor. Mr Siili thinks if we had no crap, that everything would already be in it's place and this wouldn't have happened. I'll concede that we do have a lot of crap, but I don't think we have as much unnecessary stuff as he thinks. In my opinion, it is more a matter of storage spaces being different in this new place than our old place and therefore it will take some time to figure everything out. He's unhappy and stressed that the house isn't 100% ready now, just over 3 weeks after moving.

In other events, my baby shower later in the day on Sunday was awesome! I had my best and greatest friends (and co-workers) with me. We talked, ate (too much), laughed, played a few games and I opened presents.

The games were fun, easy and didn't take too long. No eating poo out of diapers here!!! Blech. We played a memory game, word scramble game (with Finnish & English words), identify the given Moomin characters by name and the last one was the funniest. There were 8-9 questions/items that people had to answer and only once Paxlet is born, will we know the winner. My friends had to guess the date Paxlet would be born on, his weight and height, plus suggest some names he might be called, what I might yell or say during delivery and so on. It was quite amusing reading the answers the following day. I sure hope I don't go 2 weeks over the due date. In fact, I've talked with Paxlet and he is welcome to come a few days early.

I (we) received a green bathtub and green hooded froggy towel, several pieces of clothing (many are green), a small diaper bag that can attach to the stroller, a mirror to put on the headrest of the car so I/we can easily see the baby while driving, a baby monitor, a kitty mug for me and a Baby guide (for engineers) book for Mr Siili. I also can't forget that my BIL & SIL gave us their recently used (for their 3rd child) infant car seat.

As I've been sitting here typing this post up, the construction men have been working an extra long day (it's now 6pm) getting the yard prepared. When we moved in, the insides of all the houses were finished, but the outside of the houses and yards are not scheduled to be completed until the end of July. Our yard has been flattened, raked, the mulch put on the borders and who knows what else will be done today. Eventually we'll have grass!

This week's bump pictures can be seen in the Paxlet Pictures tab.
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One year on

It's been one year exactly since my mom died suddenly of a heart attack. I have many things going through my head, but what I'm trying to keep out of my thoughts is my mom because the second I think of her, I get teary and start crying. I'm not ready for that, still. I miss her very much. I miss her even more because there are so many baby related questions I want to ask, but I'll never get to hear from her. I know my dad knows some of the answers, but not all. Nothing can replace a mom and her knowledge. I just want my mom!

30 weeks

This week, 30 weeks pregnant, is the end of the 7th month. It also marks only 10 weeks left or 70 days (theoretically). OMGosh! I'm still boggled by the fact that I am pregnant and I think I am only believing it because this bump is hard to ignore these days.

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I know I looked at the scale on Wednesday morning, but now I can't remember if I now weigh 78 or 79 kilos (171,60 - 173,80 lbs). In any case, I'm not worried about it, although seeing my weight in pounds is a bit shocking, as I've never weighed that much in my life!

Maternity Clothes: Very few non-maternity clothes fit these days. Shirts are just too short and my pants just don't like to stay up on my hips even when I wear a belly band. It's a good thing I finally broke down and went to H&M on Tuesday to see what I could find. They were having a decent sale and I found 8 pieces of clothing for 67€!!! Half the items are maternity wear and half are not, although the non-mat clothes fit me still! One of the shirts I bought has pink in it, which if you know me, you know I don't generally wear pink. But I felt so cute trying it ont and think I look pretty darn cute in it. What do you think?

Stretch marks: Mr Siili has said that he noticed some stretch marks, but when pressed to state where he saw them, he doesn't remember. I think he was just seeing the ones I've had since my growth spurt during my teen years.

The top part of my belly button is flush with the rest of my tummy. I think pretty soon it is going to be an outtie! Eeew! *big grin*

Sleep: I sleep in about 3 hour incremints if I am lucky. During this last weekend, I was not sleeping well at all, but neither was Mr Siili, so I'm not usre if it was just me or something in the air. Also, we've been innundated with mosquitoes lately and that is making sleep more difficult with the annoying buzzing in our ears waking us up.

Movement: Paxlet is moving like crazy! On Tuesday he poked his head or rump into the right side of my tummy and decided that was a good place to stay, much to my dismay. It was quite uncomfortable. He's been doing more of those type of movements and actions, which I am very happy he is moving, but sometimes I wish he'd be a bit nicer to me. hehehe

Cravings/Aversions: Loving fruit!

Gender: It's a boy!!
I'm getting a bit stressed over the fact that we don't have any names picked out. I broke down crying about it Sunday. I mean, I don't expect to have THE names picked out now, but we don't even have any sort of idea of what we might like or want. No list, no nothing. Mr Siili keeps saying "we have time" or he tells me that let's worry about it when it becomes something to worry about (like when I would just try to engage him in a conversation before I got pregnant or even this last weekend).

Symptoms: My bump is getting in the way a lot lately! I keep forgetting that I need to have my body back farther when I open doors or cupboards and that I can't pick things up as close to my body like I used to.

I now believe I know what Braxton Hicks feel like and I am sure I am having them. Also, looking back, I am sure I have been getting some BH for a few weeks, but not nearly as often as this last week. The neuvola nurse had explained them as my tummy geting rock hard for a short bit and then going back to normal, which, I guess it has been doing that at times, but I was still feeling the layer of fat on my tummy, so not really realizing it was 'rock hard' underneath. I also think I was expecting something else. I'm not sure what, but maybe just not this. Anyway, when I get BH, my tummy feels "heavy" and a feeling of discomfort. It isn't painful as such, but it isn't comfortable either. Thankfully they don't stick around for too long and if I don't over do things, I get them less. Which I have been over doing things this week, so I've had more BH than I'd like.

What I miss: I miss being able to squat down and get up with easy, get out of bed easily or rolling over in my sleep. While these more limited movements or movements that take more thought are somewhat annoying, I don't begrudge them at all. It means I am pregnant and that Paxlet is growing inside of me like he should be. It is also a part of pregnancy and I get to experience it!

I also miss not having to pee as often. (It's been a while since I discussed this topic. lol)

What I look forward to: There's a huge list of stuff I look forward to this coming week.
Thursday: Today after work I'll meet up with a friend I haven't seen in a while. Unfortunately, we'll be disucssing IF stuff. I've had a feeling that they've been trying for some time and now that has been confirmed. I'm sorry she has to go through this too, but hopefully with some of the knowledge I've gained that she'll have less frustration and that it won't take her as long (not because of my info, but just that the treatments help her faster).
Friday: Last day of work for a week!
Sunday: My friends are throwing me a baby shower. I know it is Sunday and that people will start arriving around 3pm, but that's all.
Monday: I'm going to visit a co-worker who is on maternity/school leave. She's funny and great to chat with!
Tuesday: I'll have a breast feeding and child care course that is given through neuvola. (Yesterday was next the couple's course and it was boring! Plus, Mr Siili couldn't make it as he had a work function until late.)
Wednesday: I have another neuvola appointment. I'm not sure if I'll see the doctor or not, but it'll be nice to see my neuvola nurse one last time before she goes on holiday for the summer and I give birth. *ack*
The rest of the week and weekend are, as of yet, unplanned.

Moods: I've been a bit grumpy this last week, but I think part of that has to do with not as much sleep as I'd like, a grumpy Mr Siili and a bit of stress trying to clean, finish unpacking and organizing the house.

Milestones: Paxlet is the size of a squash, still! And he weighs as much as a medium sized cabbage head (1350 kg).
I don't see in my weekly pictures that my tummy has gotten bigger in the last few weeks, but I do feel like it is bigger if only because it seems to get in the way more.

Medical concerns: I had another yeast infection and have since treated it. Feeling much better.

Misc: Besides the name issue mentioned above, I'm starting to stress over other baby related things. Such as:
- we have a crib, but it isn't put together yet,
- the baby's room is full of cat stuff (3 scratching posts, litter box, food, a few boxes, etc), although I know it won't be too hard to clear it up (I hope!)
- I haven't washed the clothes from the maternity box, much less put any of them away, yet,
- we haven't picked up the car seat, but hopefully that will be taken care of next week,
- I haven't figured out what type of stroller I want and bought it yet,
- I haven't thought too much about cloth diapering, but I really want to give it a try,
- I haven't even thought of what sort of stuff I would want in the hospital, much less even thought about packing anything in a bag
- and most of all, I just don't know what I need for a baby! I'm worried I'm not going to have something that is needed or that I'm just going to all out fail. (I know this is mostly irrational fears, but they are still there.)

No "cat in the hat" in our house...but we do have a "cat in the ass". Poor Mansi has been made the butt (pun intended) of the joke in this picture Mr Siili took. This from my husband who abhores potty humour sure jokes about it and shares more of it than I (the American) ever do!

This week's bump pictures can be seen in the Paxlet Pictures tab. And I finally got the last couple of pictures posted (yesterday). There is no week 28, as it just never got taken.
Week 30 has been updated!!!
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Smart phone + net Blogger = painful

Today is Wednesday and I should do but weekly update, but that just isn't going to happen. I'm home alone this evening because Mr Siili has some sort of work function. And the desk top computer is not set up because we had to move everything away from the windows last night so the guy could come and install our curtain rails, which should have been done before we moved in, but there was a miscommunication. I did type up most of the post while at work, but not all of it. I tried to finish typing my last using the Blogger app on my phone, but it can't seem to access my saved post. I then went to the full/online version of Blogger, but it wouldn't allow me to type anything new into my post.
So, in other (shorter) words, no update today.
On a plus note, I did finally update the last 3 weeks of Paxlet pictures.

Chicken soup and triple chocolate cookies

I have been thinking about baking for some time now. We've been in our new place for just over 3 weeks, the oven has been tested (sweet potato fries and regular fries) and I've been meaning to bake. I've even promised to myself that this time around I'll actually take some of the baked goods to work. (Last time I ate almost the entire batch of cookies before Monday morning rolled around.) So, yesterday I finally got around to baking some cookies along with making chicken soup for dinner. Although, I made myself an omelet (spinach, mushroom, spring onion & cheese) because it sounded good and honestly when I read that Ana and Christian were having one for breakfast in Fifty Shades - Freed, I had to have one too.

The chicken soup was easy to make. I just chopped up some potatoes, onion and carrot and put them in the pot of water to boil. I added one vegetarian bullion cube (because I didn't have any chicken). When the veggies were almost cooked, I moved the pot off the burner and fried up the shredded honey marinated chicken. Then I tossed the cooked chicken into the pot to cook a bit longer with everything else. When I deemed the soup ready, I added a bit of cream cheese. Voila, dinner is served.

The cookies were just as easy. Years ago I brought a bag of Reese's Pieces to Finland from the USA and on the back of the package was the following recipe I used yesterday. But because I didn't have any Reese's pieces (ok, I have a few small snack packes, but not enough for cookies) I chopped up a white and dark chocolate bars instead turning these into Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies!



REESE'S Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not over bake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

PAN RECIPE: Spread batter in greased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.


The batter smelled so good and looked so tempting and when I got some of it on my fingers, I just had to eat some of it raw. Yes, I know I shouldn't be eating raw egg, but I couldn't help myself!

By the time I got the cookie dough made up, I was starting to feel tired and heavy in the tummy, so I made the pan version for the first time. It was easy and the cookies turned out great. I was able to cut the cookies into bite size pieces, which is great for taking them to work. The more the merrier! And yes, about half the cookies made it to work this time. Although, I did have my own little container at my desk so I didn't have to share. LOL

Look what I got yesterday!

My co-workers are the greatest!! This is what they gave me (and another one like it, with different colors, to our co-worker who is just as pregnant as me) yesterday.

~ * ^ * ~

I've worked at this company for just over 4 years and I still like what I do and who I work with! Our team has a good working atmosphere and we all seem to get along quite well. Lots of joking, helping one another out and chatting all around. Sure there has been the occasional person that has bugged me more than normal, but that has been few and far and inbetween.

~ * ^ * ~

There was a meeting that me and the other pregnant lady weren't invited to yesterday. I hadn't really noticed that our section of the floor had cleared out and was very quite, but one of our team mates stopped by my desk with the other pregnant girl and told me there was a meeting right then. *Strange* I told her I wasn't notified of it and that I was busy doing stuff. She got a bit flustered and said I had to come to the meeting. I lightly huffed and said I'd join, but first I had to make a pit stop in the bathroom. The other pregnant girl agreed and made a pit stop too. *Strange* We were the last two up to the meeting room and everyone was waiting outside the door. As we walked up to the group, one of the guys gestured to us to go in...and I knew for sure something was up! As we the two of us opened the door, we saw our diaper cakes sitting right there on the end of the table for us. Talk about a great moment of surprise and happiness!

29 weeks

So many thoughts and so little time.

*My week and a half holiday is over, but it sure wasn't much of a holiday as I spent almost all of it moving, unpacking and organizing and we're still not done.

*Co-worker and I were discussing pregnancy stuff and he re-told me about his wife's off handed remark to her doctor at 38 weeks how she had itchy palms. the doctor took her immediately in for some tests and it turned out to be quite series as that is one sign of liver issues (and I am too lazy to look up the proper name for the issue).

*I can't believe that I'll be starting maternity leave in just over a month. So many things to do at work and at home before I feel like I can even start to feel ready.

*More things, but it is late and I really need to get this published so I can get some sleep. It's been a loooong day.


Total Weight Loss/Gain: No weight gain this week. +11kg total

Maternity Clothes: I tried to wear some of my regular jeans (because I don't have any maternity jeans), with a belly band, but sitting for any period of time was just uncomfortable.

I found a cute summery non-maternity dress at the second hand store this week, but it fits great!

Stretch marks: Still none, but my belly button sure is getting flat.

Sleep: Sleep is generally only interrupted by having to go pee, but luckily as usual, there are no issues going back to sleep afterward.

Movement: Paxlet's movements are getting stronger and stronger. Just the other day he stretched in two directions at once. One of those directions was directly onto my bladder! He has since then kicked my bladder a couple of more times. Talk about "ack" moments. LOL

Today, Paxlet has been moving A LOT! In some respects it seems like it has been non-stop, but I know that isn't true.

Cravings/Aversions: Sweet stuff, but not really cravings. Mainly I'm just hungry a lot of the time.

Gender: It's a boy!!
We still have no names what-so-ever. We haven't even started discussing names and it is starting to stress me out.

Symptoms: Besides the big tummy, hunger, feeling like I am waddling and other regular stuff, I can't think of anything special to mention, although I do remember having a thought about this earlier in the week, but of course I didn't write it down, so it has been forgotten.

What I miss: Nothing.

What I look forward to: If I had actually typed this up at work earlier inthe day, I was going to write about parenting course Mr Siili and I were going to after work, but now that it is after the course and way late at night, I'm not going to write more about it at this time.

I look forward to my next holiday in just over a week. It'll be Juhannus (mid-summer) at the end of that week.

Moods: Stressed. Very stressed at times. Today being the worst of it all. Mr Siili is very stressed that we haven't gotten everything organized and it its proper place in the new house and that we have too much crap. I feel like I did almost nothing but try to unpack and organize during my holiday. And so it came to a big boiling point tonight and I spent much of is crying. I am sure I'll feel better after some sleep tonight, but I know it won't be much sleep, as it is late already.

Milestones: Paxlet is the size of a squash! The picture on the ticker looks like a mini-pumpkin to me! How cute! He's definitely getting bigger, at least people tell me I look bigger once they saw me again at work after a week and a half off.

Medical concerns: Allergies are so much better! We got lots of rain, which washed a lot of the pollen away. The minor allergies I do have are very livable! I can even breathe!


This week's bump pictures can be seen in the Paxlet Pictures tab.
No pictures last week, and this week's picture will have to be taken tomorrow.

28 weeks
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7 weeks

My dad's coming to visit!

I Skyped with my dad (and sister) a couple of days ago and my dad told me that he is definitely coming to visit at the beginning of September. He isn't sure if anyone else will be coming, but I'm totally thrilled that at least he will be coming! Now, let's just hope Paxlet decides to make his appearance on time so that I'm not spending time in the hospital when my dad is here!

Less than 3 months to EDD. OMG!