Frandtastic!

Wow! 36 Weeks! Only one more of these monthly updates left!

-The highlight of the last few weeks was my last doctors appointment. We had a growth ultrasound (I didn't think I'd have any more ultrasounds after 20 weeks) and it was so neat to see our baby boy (definitely a boy!) and get an idea of how he's doing. He had hiccups during the ultrasound which was fun to see while I was feeling them. He liked having his hands right up by his face but the doctor was still able to show us a 3D view of his cute profile which was a great mix of adorable and creepy.

-The movements have been big and strong, he likes to shape-shift my whole belly. I also feel his hiccups usually twice a day. The doctor said they are strengthening his diaphragm and getting him ready for air breathing. :)

- I got my first "How did the baby get in your tummy?" question and was glad the cute little questioner's mom was there to handle the answer.

-I'm having lots of Braxton Hicks, and convinced myself I was in labor one morning when they were just a few minutes apart and consistent. Paul was in Portland, Oregon for a conference so I think I was being extra paranoid. Luckily, no more flights/travels are in his near future.

-Growth is the only real change I am noticing now. My belly sticks out a little more everyday, and based on the ultrasound, we've got a good sized baby in there! My belly button is now a partial outie and is off center by a good half-inch.

-The big non-pregnancy news is that we are moving! Paul accepted a position to work at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, so we will be moving there at the end of December. We are excited for the next few weeks to prepare for a baby, enjoy the holidays, and then a move! A lot is going on in our Frandsen family to end 2014 with a bang. :) Wish us luck!

photo credit

This photo captures so much of what I love about cyclocross. Paul - working hard, being exhausted, but still loving the race. Supportive family members coming along to cheer, ring cowbells, take pictures, and show him some love. Look how proud we all are!

Some more of Paul riding through heat, mud, rain, and pain the past few months:

• Nice long walks have become my favorite form of exercise. I've been enjoying walking around our pretty campus, especially in the morning and at sunset. I've been trying to get out for one everyday, because sitting at a desk at work is just no bueno and my back feels so much better when I can get moving.
•  The baby's hiccups! It almost feels like a pulse, but stronger and a little bit irregular. One time they lasted for a good 15 minutes!
• Capturing some good rolls and kicks on video, and having sister-in-laws and nieces feel him show off. I feel his moves all day everyday, but it's usually this little secret going on inside of me. I love the chance to share it and have other people join in the experience of this happy moving baby. Yesterday I described the movements to Paul as a pinball game with a giant ball going on in my stomach.
• One day I had swollen feet and ankles and felt so sad that that symptom had finally hit, but then it went away and hasn't come back! Crossing my non-swollen, wedding-ring-wearing fingers for that luck to continue.
• My one and only pregnancy "craving" (or I guess you could call it an addiction): Orange Dream Machine smoothies from Jamba Juice.
• I actually like getting dressed more now than I did a month or two ago. Even though the belly is bigger, I feel like it's easier to flatter than when it was smallish/in between.
• Last Friday I only woke up ONE TIME the whole 8 hours of sleep. It was a miracle.
• I've been having really itchy ankles, especially at night. (NOT a highlight). Has anyone else had this in pregnancy?
• My parents bought plane tickets for the little dude's arrival! I am so happy they will be able to meet him and help us out in those first few weeks. Having a baby due around the holidays is tricky so I'm grateful they were willing to make it work!
• I got my flu and tDap shots - I think vaccines are a miracle so I thought I'd mention them here. :)
• I turned 27 years old!
• This was my favorite (and maybe the only?) stranger conversation of the past few weeks. There is this lady, typically very ornery, who makes the Italian cream soda I get once in a while at the student center. I guess she just loves the pregnant ladies because her mood changed quickly when she saw my belly sticking out. Word for word:
• “Oh! You pregnant?!”
  “Yeah! I am!”
  “How many months?”
  “Seven”
  “You SMALL for seven!!!”

• Getting a few nice pictures of this maternity stage with the "real" camera. First, I had Abby (sister-in-law and photographer extraordinaire) take a few when they were visiting on birthday weekend. We just laughed the whole time about how awkward maternity pictures are - I am just the worst model and can't be serious in pictures. We didn't have great lighting but Abby made it work! I also took some 1-year-old pictures of my friend Kristin's baby girl this past weekend and when the lightening was nice I handed over the camera to Kristin and had her snap a few shots for me.. Even though it feels pretty awkward, I think it's a neat and important stage of life to document - especially with those pretty fall colors to back me up!

One more post about our amazing summer in Germany - this time featuring the city we loved and spent the most time in (because we lived there!), BONN!

The last few days we were there I tried to really soak up all the best things that we had enjoyed, and one day I brought my camera along to document some of my favorites.

This was a pretty typical morning for me: an hour or so at the botanical gardens, a bike ride down Poppelsdorf, under the train tracks and past the crepe stand, the bike route to the museum (passing our 610 bus and my favorite red and yellow house), and then the museum where I'd meet Paul for the outdoor lunch barbeque.

























We are so grateful we had this amazing opportunity to work and live abroad for a little while. Just today Paul texted me from a conference he's at and said, "Traveling really makes it easier to relate with people". Paul and I grew so close through the experience and we met some great people and experienced so many new and exciting things.

We miss you Bonn!

Wow! A lot has happened in the past four weeks. Here is my monthly recap of what is going on with me and the baby:

• I have a real belly! By about 25 weeks I felt like I had officially popped. During the time we were in Utah I feel like my bump got upgraded from a "small" to a "medium". 

• Our time in the Utah and Idaho was so perfect. Something that has been important to me is that I keep finding how capable a pregnant body is. At 26 weeks pregnant I did an 8 mile hike with my family to Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon and waterskiied at Pineview (very gently and cautiously) even without cutting I didn’t stop smiling the entire time!

• We found out my sister Celeste is pregnant! I am so happy our little dude will have at least two cousins close in age (with my sister-in-law Demi being pregnant with a little boy as well!).

• My sisters and mom threw me the cutest “around the world” themed shower on September 13th. It was an open house at my parent's house in Sandy and we had such great support from our families and friends. I loved seeing all these people come together from different parts of my life to celebrate our little boy. We got some really cute little outfits, books, and blankets. It made me feel so much more prepared and excited for him to come soon. My sweet sister-in-law Kimberly took and posted some pictures of the fun day here.

• While we were in Idaho, Donna and I got started on a cute little baby quilt. It was fun to scout out designs, pick out fabrics, and start to see it come together. I can't wait for the finished product!

• I got my first “You look like you’re expecting” comment from a stranger (a sweet older lady in Paul's home ward) and on our flight back home we were de-boarding and a flight attendant said, "Have a nice night, and good luck!"

• Having the baby boy move so often (and so noticeably!) makes me feel like he's really "there" and part of our family. One time Paul put his hand on my stomach and gave the baby a few name choices. He kicked once, REALLY hard right, when Paul mentioned my currently favorite name. :) Many times when I'm lying on my side he seems to "jump on the bed", pushing down where my stomach touches the mattress which makes his head hit the opposite of my belly. I don't know if that's really what's going on in there but it sure feels funny. I also love watching my belly dance around - sometimes he really goes nuts!

• I had my monthly appointment yesterday and everything seems to be going well. I had the glucose screening, but other than that they just checked the babe's heartbeat (154!), my weight, and blood pressure, and that's about all. My doctor calls these the "dog days" of pregnancy. From now on I will have bi-weekly appointments, which is kind of exciting.

• There are definitely some harder parts of pregnancy (acid reflux, back pain, cramps in my calves that wake me up, trouble sleeping and subsequent fatigue, and currently - a nasty head cold) but overall I really enjoy being pregnant and feel really grateful and joyful to have this chance to be and become a mom. I read this quote that has really been sticking with me lately:

When we realized we would be living in Europe during our 6 year anniversary, and that the anniversary was on a weekend - we started thinking of all the great places we could visit for the occasion. Then, Paul found out the Tour de France finished in Paris the same weekend and our plans were set.

I was nervous that Paris is overrated and crowded and sometimes I like mountains better than cities, but it ended up being a really really great weekend!

We took a train from Bonn Friday night. Paul's international data plan stopped working and we had a few moments of freaking out since we had no idea how to get to our hotel at 11 pm in a shady neighborhood of Paris. Luckily we figured it out with the sweet blessing of train wi-fi and arrived at our hotel safely.

Saturday we spent a lot of the day at the Palace of Versailles. It was opulent and nuts, and neat to see but we ended up feeling much more comfortable in the quiet gardens and little servant villages and farms that were out on the grounds. We walked 15,000 miles or so through the 17 acres and at the time I thought my feet would never be the same again, but it was WORTH IT.



I was just starting to get a tiny bump (19 weeks and 2 days pregnant here) and we thought these bushes looked kind of pregnant too. 

HOGGIES!

 


Saturday night we checked into our "Knight Bus" hotel (tall, skinny, and quirky), the Hotel Roubaix and rode the tiny, old fashioned elevator to our room. Then went to an amazing restaurant, L'ange 20, for our anniversary dinner. We didn't have reservations but luckily a reservation fell through and they let us in! We had stuffed King Prawns as an appetizer, then for the main dishes I had lamb that had been slow cooked for 24 hours and Paul had rabbit stuffed with chorizo. The sides were perfect. We shared pistachio creme brulee for dessert. I've never seen plates eaten that clean! Everything tasted so perfect.

After dinner we went down to see the Eiffel Tower. We arrived close to sunset and sat on the lawn and chatted for a while until we could watch the Tower lit up. Besides being asked if we wanted to buy champagne and souvenirs every couple minutes, it was the perfect chance to sit and reminisce on the past 6 years together.


 

(stinking strangers and their blurry picture taking skills! oh well! this restaurant had to be documented.)

Sunday we walked from our hotel to "downtown" Paris to see the Louvre. We walked through the Touileres Gardens and staked out a spot there for the Women's race and then the Tour! We ended up with a great spot overlooking the Champs-Elysses. We borrowed the green chairs from the Gardens so we weren't standing all day. We took turns walking around the city (while one saved our spots), and bringing each other ice cream. It was no neat to see my high school/ward friend Tayler Wiles compete on cycling's biggest stage with her team Specialized-Lululemon. Watching the final stage of the men's race was great too! It was a really neat experience to be at something so iconic.

That's Tayler! Leading the Peloton!!)

 






After the race we had some daylight left to see some other iconic sites in Paris. There were some stressful moments at Notre Dame with hunger, fatigue, and an urgent need for a restroom but we survived and checked out the gargoyles and loved walking along the Seine.






We ate dinner at a little restaurant on our walk back to the hotel. Paul got pizza and I got the worst risotto ever. It put me in a grumpy mood for the next hour or two until Paul convinced me that I couldn't let that be my last taste of Paris and we scouted out some gelato. :)

Monday morning we had a rainy walk to the train station then took a very early train back to Bonn and said au revoir to the city of love.