29 weeks: 17 questions

1) How far along? 29 weeks!  I can't believe I'm almost at 30 WEEKS!  We're almost 75% through until the baby girl comes.  I remember how slowly the first 15 weeks passed by when I was anxious about it all together, and now we're on the homestretch! 

2) Total weight gain? Maybe 142?  I'm supposed to gain up to 1/2 a pound per week now.  
3) Maternity clothes? Not lately.  I wore a larger-sized dress for my baby shower, but now that I'm done with trying to fit in my regular-sized dressy clothes for school, I am eager to wear tee-shirts, athletic shorts and stretchy skirts for the hot Tennessee summer weather.

4) Stretch marks? No marks yet, and hopefully not ever, but the skin on my belly is very taut! 

5) Sleep? I stayed up late to party with our families this weekend, so I'm tired, but it was worth it.  I'm looking forward to some afternoon and weekend naps this summer. 

6) Best moment this week? Again Friday, because this Friday was our official last day of school when we administered the last exam!  Also, David and I traveled up with Hank Dog and our friend, Tyler, to his hometown, Culver, in Indiana to visit both of our families for our annual Memorial Day weekend with a Sunday visit to the Indianapolis 500 Race. While the boys played their first round of golf in the morning on the Mystic Hills Golf Course, the ladies and I headed over to the pretty house of our good friend, Jeanne, where she was so nice to host a baby shower for me with lots of our lady friends from Culver and elsewhere in Indiana to celebrate (Photo credit above to my friend, Courtney).  Thanks to Jeanne for hosting a fun Saturday luncheon party and to our Indiana girlfriends for a great afternoon with lots of catching up and perfect gifts for Baby Girl Haase!  I didn't go to the Indy 500 race this year because my doctor said the extreme heat and loud noise of the cars would not be good for a pregnant woman. So instead I had a relaxing day with some naps and dog-sitting (thanks to our friend, Blair, for helping me with the dogs!), and I even got to catch movement of kicks seen outside my belly with the video camera on my phone while I was in between naps!

7) Miss Anything? I'll tell you what I DON'T miss... teaching as an uncomfortable pregnant woman in her 3rd trimester!  I'm done with school until late October!  Of course, I have to work on 3 month's worth of lesson plans this summer for my substitute during my maternity leave.

8) Movement? YES!  A LOT!  And I don't care that it takes me a little while to fall asleep or that it wakes me up a little earlier in the morning!  It's such a great feeling to get jabs and kicks and know she's very active in there! :)

9) Food cravings? Hamburgers and meat.  Maybe that's why I'm slightly anemic and it's a sign that I need to eat more iron!

10) Anything making you queasy or sick?  Just at night, I seem to get pickier with what I eat.  And I still prefer the watermelon toothpaste. 

11) Gender? Girl! 

12) Labor Signs? No

13) Symptoms? Still weird dreams... For example, the other night, David said that I recited my phone number to someone in a dream!  I have always been a sleep-talker.

14) Belly Button in or out? Out

15) Wedding rings on or off? On

16) Happy or Moody? Happy!  The weather has been wonderful, I had a great doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we saw both of our families for Memorial Day Weekend in northern Indiana, our dear friend, Jeanne, hosted a delightful baby shower on Saturday, I saw some old friends and mentors at a party in Culver, and, finally, David accepted an offer for a full-time job at a country club where he loves the people he works with and where he will be doing what he loves and knows so much about, golf! 

17) Looking forward to what? Believe it or not, I am motivated right now to finish up grading exams and getting my lesson plans ready for the substitute teacher for my maternity leave in the fall already!  Then, I can have fun with organizing the "nursery" in our second guest bedroom and just relaxing for the beginning of the summer before things get crazy in July/August!

Coming back to Culver also made me miss a friend who has been so good to me over these past few years since we met each other in 2008, and I hope that I have been as good of a friend to her.  Her sweet dog, Zola, passed away earlier this week, and his absence has been weighing heavily on my mind, as he was such a great companion to her and even came to my wedding weekend celebration in Culver with her two years ago.  She wasn't able to spend the Memorial Day Weekend as a regular member of our "Indy 500 Group," but I'm glad that she went back home to spend time with family and friends.  I know that Zola gave her some great memories these past five years, and I know that he loved having her as a friend, too.  I gave my own dog, Hank, some extra hugs this week.

Photo credit above: Caroline

 

 29-week belly pictures:

Here are some photos from our Memorial Day Weekend in Culver, Indiana: 

Below is a picture of the brick on the "brick yard" at the Indianapolis 500 race track.  My brother, Charlie, and my dad found this brick that my cousins Kristin and Buck gave to me and David as a wedding gift.  David and I first met in 2008, which is the year on the brick.  We finally found the brick!

 My dad is pointing to our brick.

The Ritt family is relaxing on the Haase porch.