Third Trimester

Tomorrow will be the first day of my third trimester of this pregnancy. The aches and pains supposedly start during this time, but my body seems a bit confused. My back and legs have been giving me problems for quite some time now. Sometimes the tiniest movement can send shooting pain through my back and almost bring me to tears. In some ways November can't come soon enough! Here are some more things I'm experiencing right now:

• Heartburn has hit hard. I've been trying to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals, but that's not always easy to do.
• I'm noticing bigger movements from the baby. It cracks me up when I feel him hitting and kicking simultaneously, making opposite sides of my stomach move at the same time.
• When the baby moves, I'm noticing specific body parts. I can't tell if it's a hand or a foot, but it's often easy to find little body parts.
• Sleep is becoming more elusive. Because my back is causing me such problems, I can't find a comfortable sleeping position. I wish we had a bigger room so there was room for a big body pillow. I don't suppose it's very nice to kick my husband out of bed so I have room for the pillow?
• The girls are getting very excited. Last night they felt the baby kicking for the first time. Yesterday Chloe announced that we need to get toys for her baby brother. And they are still working on names for little brother. Julia's current choice is Kyle. Chloe has come up with the name Kin Bin. I have to admit, it has an interesting ring to it. Still not leaving the official name to them though.

I am getting pretty excited myself. There are so many things I want to get done before the baby comes though. I'm currently working on making all kinds of activities for the girls. About a month from now I'll start cooking up meals to put in the freezer. But my biggest goal is to get the majority of Christmas shopping done before this baby is born. Shopping for Christmas presents is not something I want to do with a brand new baby or while I'm sleep-deprived. Wish me luck!

I realized we had our second ultrasound at the beginning of July, but I haven't shared the pictures with many people. Here's a profile picture of our sweet baby boy. If you need help deciphering the picture -- the bright colored big circle in the middle is the outline of the head. The facial features are in the 10:00 position. Look closely and you'll see a little nose at the top, two lips, and a chin.