Ugly Babies

Yes, they do exist.  I also have no problem pointing them out.  I have been known to say things like:

"Oh my gosh, Hannes, you have to see how ugly this baby is!"

"Why does she keep posting pictures of her baby?  It is not cute!"

"Oh man, I really hope our baby doesn't look like that!"

"What is wrong with that baby's face?"

Sometimes my honesty can be a little too much.  I wonder if I'm just being hypercritical because I'm pregnant and obviously want my baby to be the cutest ever?!  Who knows?  However, as the day of Baby B's arrival gets closer and closer I can't help but think about what he will look like.  Will he have red hair or dark hair?  I had almost black hair when I was born and Emily and Tyler both had very dark hair.  Will he get Hannes' nose or chin or thighs?  Will his eyes be blue or green?  I am so curious!  I'm not really scared that he'll be an ugly baby.  I mean he could be.  What I'm scared of is that he will be an ugly baby, but I'll be in denial and just think he's the cutest thing ever.  And post pictures all over the internet and gush about my baby like he's the cutest thing on the planet all while people make comments like, "Doesn't he look like an alien?"

If he looks better than a crazed dictator plotting to take over the world then I'll be happy!

Wild One

I've been saying for a while that Baby B is one active fetus.  I finally have some proof!  Hannes took this video of my belly and while it's only a few seconds long this is a regular occurrence.  He loves to get his feet up in my rib cage, too.

He's also a big fan of hiccups.  He gets them several times a day, especially around bedtime.  Now he's big enough that you can feel them from the outside!  All of the books I've read and my baby app say that they don't mind the hiccups.  However, Baby B hates them!  At least, I think he does.  He moves a lot and does a lot of kicking and covering his face when he gets the hiccups.  Which, I interpret as him not liking them.  I guess I'll never really know for sure.

Empty Nest

I am guessing this is how people feel when their children grow up and move away.  It's a very strange feeling to go from a full house to an empty nest.

We had our first visitors this past week and it was kind of a tight fit in our small apartment and we had a wild toddler!  There was lots of noise and running and playing, some getting annoyed and a little arguing, of course.  Overall, I think everyone had a great week; we were able to do a lot of things!  We spent a night in Copenhagen and a night in Gothenburg.  We spent a few nights here in Jönköping/Huskvarna.  We did a lot of walking!  I mean a lot!!!  I'm kind of surprised I was able to make it, especially since I feel like this baby belly of mine has doubled in the past week.  He's getting really heavy to carry around and I still have 8 weeks left!  I am really not sure if/how I am going to make it.  I kind of feel like Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, after she ate that gum and turned into a giant blueberry!  I am waiting for the Oompah Loompahs to come and roll me out to be juiced...I think I would feel a lot better!

Try not to look too closely at the picture.  It is sans makeup after a 2 hour drive from Gothenburg, but since I skipped last week and feel like being lazy all weekend I figured it was the best it was going to get.  Lately, I find that my belly "dips" into a lot of stuff; like, the kitchen and bathroom sink, the counter top and other places, and I get stuff on me under the belly.  Which, of course, I cannot see so I end up walking around with a wet or dirty stripe under my belly all of the time.  I'm sure it's pretty funny to other people.

We Have a New Baby

Gotcha!  We kind of have a new baby.  Hannes and I bought a car this weekend!  Although, we truly appreciated the car his grandma gave him when he was 16 and that his parents have been letting us use these last months, it feels good to say goodbye to the 1996 Nissan Almera!  And to say hello to our new 2009 Volvo V70!  One of the main reasons we chose this car is for the trunk space.  We can easily fit suitcases, a stroller and anything else we want in that trunk!  We also think the three kids will have space in the back seat.  The color is perfect for Sweden, especially Swedish winters, dirt will blend right in!  Then, of course, there's the fact that Volvos are Swedish and when living in Sweden do what the Swedes do, right?  It just felt right to buy a Swedish car.

Here is the 30 week picture!  It is not the most flattering picture ever.  Either my face really has gotten as fat as it feels, or the natural light is unflattering, or it's not the best angle, or some combination of all of those things.

I still feel pretty good.  The belly is starting to get heavy and sleeping is something I can only dream about.  Between not being able to get comfortable and Baby B's acrobatics it is almost impossible to sleep all night.  Lately, I've been waking up at 2am or 4am and I feel great!  I am all ready to get up and get going for the day and I cannot sleep anymore.  However, at around 2pm I feel like death and am so past ready for bed.  I guess I'm just getting myself prepared for the lack of sleep that I will have for the next several years; hopefully, it's really not that long!  We also had a doctor's appointment on Thursday.  Last time, 5 weeks ago my belly was measuring 24 cm, right on the normal curve.  This past appointment, it measured 29 cm, way above the curve!  I guess I wasn't imagining that my belly had doubled in size over the last few weeks.  Yikes!  Looking forward to single digit weeks left next week.

We are also preparing for a very important visit next week!  Jessie, Matt and Ellie Grace are coming to stay for a week!

Uh oh...

Baby B had his second trip to the hospital today.  The first trip was for the ultrasound.  The second trip was because his Dad broke his nose!  On Tuesday, during soccer practice, Hannes got elbowed in the nose.  He heard a crack, was pretty sure it was broken and spent some time in the ER.  He went back today to have it looked at.  They weren't sure what to do because the swelling had been pretty bad on Tuesday.  They decided they were going to try to straighten it out.  That involved a little bit of what I like to call, "porcupine nose".

Apparently, all of those sticks contained numbing cream so the "popping back in" wouldn't hurt so bad.  He sat around like that for about an hour before the doctor came back to take care of business.  I waited outside during the fixing part, but Hannes said it hurt pretty badly.  I believe him!  This is what he looked like afterwards.

Notice that the smile is gone.  That yoghurt drink was the first thing he had to eat or drink since before bedtime on Wednesday.  He had to fast just in case they had to put him under for surgery.

Another exciting thing happened this week...I made it to 29 weeks and got a major haircut!  I was planning on having Emily take another picture of me, but things got crazy on Tuesday night and it just never happened.  So, you're stuck with a picture I took of myself in the bedroom mirror.  I know, everyone is getting tired of these, at least I am, but what can you do?

The belly seems to have doubled overnight.  Baby B is getting big and strong and his kicks and punches can be seen from the outside!  It's fun for the whole family, but I am not enjoying it so much.  I'm really looking forward to week 31 because then the weeks left will be in the single digits!  Yay!

Belly Shots

It was my intention to do a photo every week with a cute little sign to track Baby B's progress.  Clearly, that hasn't happened.  I am going to make more of an effort these last 12 weeks or so to do it.  I decided to go ahead and put together all of the pictures that I have.  They are in order, but not all of them have adorable signs, and I am not sure of the exact weeks of all of them either...sorry!

Also, here are the ultrasound photos, taken at 20 weeks.

Still Hanging On...

My belly button is still hanging on.  It wants to pop out, but hasn’t yet.

I have a feeling in the next few weeks my innie will be an outie!  Baby Bäckström is also getting big and strong, and harder to fool!  Even if I lie down at 8:30 he knows that I’m not really trying to sleep and always wants to party from 9:30 until 11:30.  Which has made me extremely exhausted all the time!  On the weekends I rarely leave the house, or even my bed.  It feels so nice to be able to lie around and nap.  Especially since in the last few weeks sitting has begun to give me bad back pain.  I am really starting to count down the weeks until June, I think I can breathe easier when I get to single digits in a few weeks.  Although, I really can’t complain.  I have not had any major symptoms or pains or problems with this pregnancy.  Baby B is a little hyperactive at times, but I am trying to look at that as a positive thing, and hopefully it is not a sign of what he will be like as a newborn or toddler!