Counting Down...

     It's been too long since I've updated! I haven't felt the need since not much has changed recently. Nothing too exciting anyway. This coming Tuesday I will be 33 weeks along!A lot has happened the past few weeks so I will update you all on some of that :)

Baby Update: 

  Jacet is still growing strong. At the last appointment (just about 1.5 weeks ago), he was a little bigger than average, weighing about 4.2 lbs and about 18 inches. He seems to be healthy. His heart is beating strongly, he's kicking me nonstop all day, every day, and moving around just fine. I can't wait to meet him!

 It's not a very clear ultrasound picture, but you can see his eye socket and if you look closely you can see his nose in the right frame. His hand is up by his mouth. The left frame shows the ribs and the shading part is his heart I believe. Or maybe his stomach. I don't know!




Me Update: 

   My belly hasn't grown very much recently. It's only grown about 1 or 2 cm in a month. I was a little worried at first, but since Jacet seems to be growing fine and the doctor hasn't mentioned anything, then I guess I'm fine. I guess I just carry small :) My blood pressure was a little high at the last visit so I was prescribed some Calcium pills which is supposed to help. At least that's what the doctor said. Hopefully it goes down next time!

 The first two belly pictures are from 31.5 weeks, the last is from today....about 32.3 weeks. I think most of my weight gain is going to my butt! 

   We registered at the hospital and have a birthing class this coming and the next Tuesday. It's free and provided by the hospital which is nice. Afterwards is a hospital tour which I'm looking forward to. The pictures in the brochure and website seem so...cold and old-fashioned. I hope that the rooms look more comforting and warm in person since I have to stay there for a week!

Other Stuff:

     Now for some more general baby related stuff, as well as some life in Japan stuff.

Tomo had a 2 week vacation so we took advantage of that and did a good amount of stuff.
      First we searched for an apartment. We're moving to a city about 30-40 minutes away. It's closer to my job and it's also still close enough to my hospital so I don't have to change doctors, which is awesome. Since the last 2 moves we were too far away to really pick an apartment on our own, we had fun browsing the internet for available places and then going to see them before picking. The apartment we decided on is very nice. It's a 6 floor building and ours is the 4th floor. It's a 3 room apartment: 2 western rooms, 1 Japanese style room. It's very modern. There's an elevator, a lobby, a park nearby. The train station is about a 10 min walk (which is closer than the current 23 minute walk). Basically everything is about a 10 minute walk away, which is totally fine once I want to lose all the pregnancy weight! Anyway, I will be taking pictures once we move at the end of the month!

     Second, Tomo went snowboarding with our friend Ryuoh as a sort of last hurrah for the boys before Jacet is here. Ryuoh stayed over and we drove him to his hometown (which is nearby) where we met his mother. She generously gave us a type of Moses(?) basket for the baby!
     Tomo's mother and sister then came to visit for the night and next day. They were in Tokyo from Hokkaido to look at apartments since his sister will be moving there for a job. We had a nice dinner with them and then the next day we went shopping for baby! We bought a lot of necessary things and I'm so grateful. It was very exciting as that was the first time we actively went shopping for him. I realized that we still need SO MUCH STUFF. It also made me realize just how close the due date actually is!
    A list of things we bought: some onesies/undershirts; a few bibs; bath towels and small face towels; a baby blanket; a baby dress thing that covers his feet to keep him warm; a baby carrier; a car seat; nursing bras and some nursing tops; other maternity stuff for me; slippers for the hospital that I apparently need to bring; PJs for the hospital; a baby bag. I think that's about it. I still need a lot more stuff, but we'll worry about that after moving. Now for pictures!

Tomo really wanted the "America" shirts since Jacet will be half American....

           

(sorry for the not so very eye appealing line-up of pictures. The blog site is super annoying and doesn't let me put them where I want....)

The next day, Tomo and I took a short 1 night 2 day onsen (hot spring) trip. We stayed in a nice hotel and had a lovely soak in the hot water. It was our last relaxing 'trip' together before we have to start bringing a little baby with us everywhere :)

That's all for now! My next doctor's appointment is on Tuesday but I probably won't update for awhile because nothing much will be changing. Next time will probably be after we move, so look forward to new apartment pictures :)