The other good end of the "sandwich" was Saturday when my Mom threw a surprise, rocket ship themed baby shower for family and a few of my girlfriends. A number of the ladies invited to the shower (mostly relatives) live out of state and weren't able to make the trip, but were very thoughtful to mail something down for Max. He's one lucky baby to have so many people looking forward to meeting him!
(not pictured: friend Julie who had to leave early and co-hostess Chris who was taking the photo)
Ben and I are so thankful for everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity in "showering" Max with love at both showers (and in general, of course!). We've been overwhelmed with all the thoughtful, creative, and practical gifts that have been given and sent, and wish there was a better way to say "thank you" other than sending a note in the mail!
In between those two fun and thoughtful gatherings was probably my worst week of the whole pregnancy. :-( On Sunday I felt a little headache-y, but it wasn't a big deal. By Monday morning, however, it morphed in to a full blown migraine and I felt like I had a knife in the left side of my head. As the day went on the pain spread to my inner ear and eventually my jaw. Unfortunately, none of my prescription migraine medicines are safe to take during pregnancy, and the strongest thing I could safely take was Tylenol. I've been trying to avoid medicine during pregnancy (even if it is deemed "safe"), but I did take two doses throughout the day. It didn't make it go away, but it at least took the edge off a little bit.
On Thursday I woke up feeling fine, but got really queasy as I drove down to a client in Atlanta (I am prone to getting a little car sick, but it usually only happens when I am a passenger). I ended up feeling queasy and car sick all day, even when I was resting. It happened again on Saturday morning after we got back from a run (well, Ben ran and I walked!), and I just felt shaky and queasy. After taking a cold shower I was fortunately able to take a nap before going to the surprise baby shower which helped me feel a bit better. Both instances made me even more thankful that I haven't dealt with morning sickness throughout the pregnancy!
On a happier note, here is what Max is up to:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
