Did you know...

that the umbilical cord averages about 20 inches in length and can be up to four feet long (that’s just crazy!!)? The blood rushing through the umbilical cord travels at around 4 miles per hour.

Violet Cuteness of the Week

We are completely aware that we spoil Violet with love and cuddles...I would like to see you try to resist her cute little face and see where it gets you. Here she is chilling with me and her little sis. I think she enjoys my belly as a platform but it doesn't seem to phase her when Cashina kicks or moves. Chris is worried that she won't get as much cuddle time once Cashina arrives but considering how high-maintenance she is, I am not too worried.

Baby Pool!!

Let's have some fun and take part in some friendly competition by guessing when Bambina Ciano will be born, how much she will weigh and how long she will be. Hey, you can even go out on a limb and guess that she is actually a boy. Enter your guess using this link and we will see who the winner is come delivery day!!

32 Week Belly Shot

Already time for a 32 week belly shot with a comparison of my 16, 20, 24 and 28 week shots. I couldn't bring myself to wear the same purple sweater on a beautiful sunny, 70 degree day. It definitely seems like my belly is much rounder/fuller and less pointy then previous shots.

Belly Comparison

Am I Pregnant?

Everyone tells me that I don't look pregnant from behind so I couldn't resist taking a photo (gosh, I have NO hips!!). Now, are there women that actually look pregnant from behind? I don't think I could tell if someone was preggers from just looking at their back side.

Pregnancy Progress: Week 32

Today, I am 32 weeks pregnant!! Only 56 days (about) to go and only 1 week until my baby shower!! I’m excited for Cashina to hear her Auntie K and Grandpa’s voices in “person”. I’m hoping that they even get to feel her “partying” while they are visiting. I have a feeling that once the shower is over it will really hit me that Chris and I are actually having a baby in less than 2 months. I had dinner with a friend the other night and when I hugged him goodbye I said, “Take a look at me now because this is the fattest you will ever see me [in person]. The next time I see you, I’m going to have a baby!!”. It is just so weird and still so surreal for me that I am carrying around my very own little miracle of life.

Still no big complaints from me other then heartburn, right hip pain, some pain in my pubic bone, occasional low back pain, finding it difficult to get out of bed (literally) or getting up off the floor after giving Violet belly rubs, putting socks on or tying my shoes…and other things that are probably TMI for the blog. And my fave pregnancy symptom is back….nasal congestion. I thought I was through with this after getting rid of my horrible 1st trimester cold that wouldn’t quit, but I was proven wrong. Uggh….

This week, Cashina weighs approximately 3 ¾ lbs and is about 16.7” in total length. All of my pregnancy sources say Cashina and I will really start packing on the pounds this week…maybe up to a pound a week (with roughly ½ lb going to Cashina). She is likely to gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival in the outside world. So for all of you that are trying to guess how much she will weigh at birth, do you think she will be in the 7lb or 8lb range?

In other developmental news, this week marks a big milestone for Cashina as her lungs will have started to produce a substance called surfactant, which stops them from sticking together and helps them to expand. In other words, she is more likely to be able to take a breath of air unaided than ever before. YAY Cashina!! Now, she better not get any ideas about arriving this early…we still have 5 weeks before she is term so we want her to stay cozy and continue on her path of development to ensure her lungs and brain are ready.

Cashina is busy blinking, looking around, grabbing things (especially my bladder it seems!!), making faces, practicing her breathing, peeing and listening to everything around her which is pretty much what she’ll be doing for the first 3 months of life outside of the womb, otherwise known as the 4th trimester. Research has show that, at this point in her development, she is behaving almost exactly as a newborn and will continue to do so until her birth day.

On tap for this week, the second installment of our childbirth class, finish with the paint in the nursery and another pre-natal appointment/meeting with the scale. Oh, and I can’t forget to take a 32 week belly shot!!

Pregnancy Weight Gain

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been getting a lot of, “You’re all baby” comments. Well, I hope that Cashina doesn’t weigh 19.5 pounds already!! I found this chart which does a much better job at explaining where all my weight gain is potentially going/will go.


Pregnancy weight gain is amazing and seeing the breakdown of where the weight goes is cool as well as reassuring to know it isn’t all just fat build-up...on my body that is. I definitely think I eat more than I did pre-pregnancy (no, not eating for 2 as people love to say) but it may be all in my head considering I now eat 6-7 small meals/snacks a day instead of the 3-4 larger meals I would have had pre-pregnancy.

I’m pretty sure that I will gain the recommended 25-35 pounds by the end of pregnancy which doesn’t bother me. As long as Cashina isn’t one of those huge 10 pounders (or maybe even a 9 pounder) I should be okay. Here is my poundage breakdown to date:

From 0-16 weeks: Up 3 pounds
From 16-21 weeks: Up 7 pounds – yowsa, what was I eating?
From 21-25 weeks: Up 3 pounds
From 25-29 weeks: Up 5 pounds
From 29-31 weeks: Up 1 ½ pounds
Total to date: 19 ½ pounds

Less Than 60 Days....

Holy crapola...only 59 days until my estimate due date!! I can't believe that my journey to motherhood is approaching its end so rapidly. Will Cashina be early, late or on time? Will she be petite or a porker? Will she look like her mama or her papa or a combination? The suspense is killing me and although I know I will miss being pregnant and continue to take it all in and enjoy each moment, I can't wait to meet her!!

The nursery painting is in progress and so far I am happy with the color we chose, but boy is paint stinky. Even the low VOC, good for the environment kind. You think they could put something in it to make it smell like peppermint, lavender or something yummy. I think there could be a market for that. Below is a pic from Chris being his cute self once again. He was smart and didn't paint our potential name choice!!

Violet Cuteness of the Week

Why Violet likes to go behind our rocking chair is beyond me. At least she wasn't licking it like she usually does!! Either way, she is too cute!!

Pregnancy Progress: Week 31

Today, I am 31 weeks pregnant!! Only 63 days (about) to go!! I think that each week is going by faster then the one before. With each week that passes I get more and more anxious about making sure that everything is done that needs to be done….poor Chris has to deal with my lists and demands (sorry beb!!). We all know how OCD I can be and how I like everything to be organized so, with that, I have put the pressure on myself to make sure that everything is in place BEFORE Cashina enters the world so I won’t have to worry about it once we bring her home. I’m not naïve and realize that there will be some things I just can’t get to but I will try my best while still trying to partake in lots of relaxation time. I just like to be prepared since we all know there will be new things to occupy Chris and my time once home with our little one.

This week, Cashina weighs approximately 3 ½ lbs and is about 16” in total length. Her lungs and brain will continue to mature this week and her skin, which has been wrinkled, now will become pink and smooth as fat cells fill out her body. Her bones are now fully developed (although still soft) and she’ll begin building up her owns stores of iron and calcium which means I need to make sure I get enough myself.

Cashina is also starting to run out of space so her movements have transitioned from dramatic movements and kicks to more rolling, slow movements (which I sometimes refer to as her kneading dough) without as much kicking. She often startles me or causes me to look at my belly in an effort to figure out what in the heck she is actually doing in there. I still haven’t seen a foot imprint but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did soon. Anyone looking at my belly during one of her active periods would be able to see it shifting around or even changing shape. Maybe I should try to capture it on video.

At my pre-natal appointment this week Cashina’s heartbeat was beating strong in the 150s and she was still head down facing right. At this point, my midwife thinks she will stay in a head down position which hopefully will be the case. She will still need to get in the correct position for delivery but we won’t worry about that just yet. I only gained another 1 ½ lbs since my last appointment 2 weeks ago which puts me up 19 ½ pounds.

Our first childbirth class this weekend kicks off a busy next month which will include painting, decorating, childbirth and newborn preparation classes, baby shower (and finding a home for all of the baby gear in our house!!), maternity photo shoot, dealing with my nesting instinct, etc. By the time May 16th rolls around, I think I will be in need of a massage (hint, hint). All of this will be happening as Cashina packs on the pounds and my tummy continues to expand.

I "Heart" You

I finally had to breakdown and purchase a body pillow since my legs and back weren't feeling the greatest at night. Although I am not thrilled that it hogs the bed and makes it more difficult to get in and out of bed, it does have its perks, such as:

• I wake up less during the night which means fewer bathroom visits
• It is super comfy as a pillow for my head as well
• It gives the sensation of spooning with Chris even if he isn't in the bed

And the best perk....coming home from work to a cute body pillow heart design. Awwww...

Pregnancy Progress: Week 30

Today, I am 30 weeks pregnant!! Only 70 days (about) to go!! I have definitely felt hungrier this week but trying to curb my refined sugar intake since my glucose tolerance test results weren’t the best. I didn’t have to go in for the 3 hour test and don’t have gestational diabetes thankfully but I still want to make sure I am getting the best nutrition I can and don’t think that DQ every night would be in my best interest or the best interest of Cashina.

As for Cashina, she weighs approximately 3lbs and is about 15.7” in total length. Her growth in length will begin to slow down now, but she’ll continue to gain about a ½ lb per week from now until 37 weeks (I’m not ready to know what happens after that yet!!).

This week, her bone marrow will start to take over production of red blood cells and her brain will continue to develop. Much of the time her eyes are open and she is looking around, checking out the dark and limited environment. I am sure the most interesting thing is the umbilical cord or maybe even her own feet and hands. She can recognize my voice as distinct from other peoples now. In fact, research has shown that fetel heart rate slows down when the mother speaks, suggesting that babies not only hear and recognize their mother’s voice, but are also calmed by it. We shall see.

In other news, Cashina now has the ability to create tears, pees about a ½ liter of amniotic fluid each day, and has formed her first bowl movement, known as meconium, in her intestines. The meconium is made up of fine lanugo hair, mucous, amniotic fluid and old skin cells. She’ll pass it in the first 24 hours or so after birth and it will be a dark green and sticky…gross.

We have a tour of the Newton-Wellesley maternity unit tonight which should be interesting. Maybe we will get to see some little newborns and I am hoping we don’t hear any painful natural childbirth going on. We do need to get cracking on painting the nursery (we decided to just do it ourselves since the estimate from the painter was a little much), finding a pediatrician and finalizing our birth plan so these are at the top of the to-do list for the next couple of weeks.

In the Buff

In honor of approaching my 30th week of pregnancy, I thought I would take a couple of bare belly shots. I have been enjoying my belly growth and think it is such beautiful part of me especially knowing there is a life inside kicking, tumbling and pushing away. Maybe I will be able to make out a foot soon but for now it just looks like Cashina’s back, knees or elbows.

My belly button is still just flat but you can notice it has popped out a bit when I am wearing a fitted top….I think it is cute. I also have a solid linea nigra (Latin for black line) under my belly button which has been there for most of the pregnancy and from the looks of it has started to form above my belly button…or maybe that is just a long stretch mark but hoping not. The linea nigra will slowly fade after birth but it may never disappear entirely. I suspect it will stick around since I had a slight version before I even got pregnant thanks to my olive skin tone. I don’t mind it but I will mind stretch marks (no sign of any just yet, knock on wood) and the extra hair that has been growing on my belly. Let’s hope those both go away!!

Give Me Some Bacon, Baby!!

Who would even think if developing a product such as bacon flavored baby formula? Seriously, what is this world coming too? Granted, the packaging is super cute with the diapered pig enjoying a bottle, but I think I will stick with the plan to breast feed. I’ve been eating enough BLTs to give Cashina her share of bacon flavor over the past 6-7 months that I don’t think I'll need to supplement with this formula once she is born :-)

Pregnancy Progress: Week 29

Today, I am 29 weeks pregnant!! Only 77 days (about) to go!! June is going to be here in no time and I can’t wait for my shower in May (mostly because I will get to see Auntie K and Grandpa)…not that I won’t love being around family and friends while getting “showered” with gifts of course.

Cashina has matured from the size of an eggplant to the size of a squash (not sure what kind of squash) and will remain squash-like until around 32 weeks. She is weighs approximately 2lbs 12ozs and is about 15 ½” in total length - about the length of a loaf of bread. If she were born this week, she would have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival, which is fantastic news!! BUT…we still want her to keep baking away inside my growing belly until at least 37 or 38 weeks. Her growth has begun to slow down now, but she will still gain roughly 4-5 pounds between now and birth.

Cashina’s brain can now control her breathing and body temperature. She can also cough, and her sucking abilities have been perfected…look out me J If we could observe her, we would be able to see her making faces, frowning, grimacing and making what looks like a smile (although a true smile won’t occur until she is at least 6 weeks old). All five of her senses are developing well. She is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste and smell and she may even indicate preferences for particular tastes and odors by giving me a swift kick. Whatever I eat will flavor the amniotic fluid which she drinks lots of each day.

I continue to have no complaints. I’m enjoying the pregnancy and spending time with my little mover everyday. I consider it a special time between the two of us since once she is born, I will have to share her with everyone else!!

Fun Day!!

Yesterday my mom came down for a visit to tag along to my 28-week appointment. She was excited to meet one of the midwives I’ve been seeing, ask questions and check-in on Cashina with me (I was excited to have her there too). It was a fun day filled with yummy lunch and a positive appointment all capped off with baby girl clothes shopping…I think we could have bought the entire store but we tried to restrain ourselves.

I can’t believe it is already that time when I need to start going in every 2 weeks instead of once a month. This is really happening!! In less then 3 months I am going to be a “mommy” and Chris a papa.

I gained 5 more pounds since my last appointment which puts me up 18 pounds. If I were to take a guess, I would think by delivery day, I will have gained about 30 pounds. A little more then I had planned but still in healthy range. We will have to see.

Cashina had a nice heartbeat in the 140-150 range and she was head down (let’s hope she stays that way!!) and facing right. My mom got to feel for her as well and she thinks she is an average size baby which is good news. I just think it is amazing that they (my midwife and my mom) were able to tell her position just by feeling my belly externally. That is a talent.

It was a great day and I was glad to spend it with my “mommy” and baby. I think it will be even more fun once Cashina is here in the flesh…..not much longer now!!