28w5d

that number sounds scary because as far away as baby still seems, everyone keeps reminding me im in the "home stretch". technically theres about 11 weeks until our due date, but there's only 2 weeks until my family sprinkle, and about a month until our friend/bachelor party/pinup/sprinkle. then its almost christmas and new years, and i feel like after new years, i'm going to be so ready to meet this baby. i know that the rest of this time will most likely fly, but it doesn't feel that way on a daily basis. people are still telling me that i barely look pregnant, and i've determined the cause. i can't remember if i've given my reasons before, but here they are.. 1. i'm not a small person to begin with. 2. my boobs are pretty huge. i try not to refer to them as huge, as i have seen women with bigger boobs, but my boobs are pretty big, and right now they are probably the biggest they've ever been. so given my bigger frame and my huge boobs, my belly barely protrudes past my boobs (at this point), so it gives the illusion that im not that big. whatever, i know i'm showing, i certainly feel my belly size when im moving around. oh, and ive officially begun to annoy myself. i feel like i cant stand up, sit down, bend over, etc without grunting or making some kind of noise that matches the additional effort required to complete the task at hand due to my increased body mass. last night i did it so often while getting onto and off of the couch that i was pretty frustrated with myself. its kind of a funny thing.

i was able to reschedule my sono and nst (non stress test) yesterday and lovedove was able to accompany me since nyc schools are still out. i'll come back to hurricane Sandy and her aftermath. the non stress test was fine, and pretty enjoyable, as all it entails is them strapping 2 fetal monitors to my belly, having me sit in a recliner with my feet up for 20-30 minutes, and pushing a little button when i feel baby move. the nurse said baby's heart rate looked great, and i was happy that they were happy. then i had my sonogram with the newbie again. needless to say, she still sucks. didn't even give me any pictures, which is pretty much fine, because i rather not have crappy sono pics where baby looks like an alien, when i know that she is looking more person-like every day. whatever, im just glad that she is measuring on time and is still smack dab in the middle of the charts. second sono in a row where she is in the 50th %ile, making her perfectly average. honestly i feel like i hope she comes out a little chunky, but that might not the smartest hope since i'd prefer to deliver vaginally. whatever, we all know that i only care about our health in the end.

on to Sandy and her aftermath. luckily, no one i know was hurt in the storm. power lost, yes, many of my friends and family are still without power. damage to homes, yes. one friend's backyard shed wound up in her neighbor's tree. my aunt and uncle had a tree in front of their house fall on the house and a large branch came crashing through their bedroom window, luckily they were downstairs. the worst damage of any friends  i know have to gut the entire first floor of their home, where most of their possessions were. i know how much work they put into that home when they bought it and i feel so sad that they'll have to do it again. they seem to be hanging in there though, and amazingly their spirits seem semi high as they have seen the devastation elsewhere. they've already begun the clean up process, and if i wasn't 7 months pregnant, i'd be jumping in to help. today lovedove and i are going to plow through our closets to find clothes to donate. we plan to donate a bunch of baby clothes since we have so many and we already have our favorites from when Sofia was little. the whole thing is so strange. we didn't lose power for a second. other people lost everything in one second. just a few miles from here, 100 homes burned down in the midst of the hurricane, and in my neighborhood we have power, working stop lights on our streets, and just a few big trees down. once i leave the neighborhood/turn on the tv i can see the more extensive damage, but it feels like im seeing/watching coverage of a different world. im just so thankful that we were so fortunate, and im going to make sure our family does what we can to try to make the healing process easier for families who were not so fortunate.

with that said, ill end this post. wishing everyone a lovely weekend, and praying that those who need assistance in the tri-state area get it quickly. ug. its just so sad.