Bump*

Remember this?

That was the very first picture I shared of the baby bump, way back in late October. I thought I was really started to show. That sure seems silly now, especially when you look at the picture of the BUMP today.

Holy moly!

*Bump - a swelling

Empower*

In addition to my nutrition class this weekend, I attended a meditation class. Although I've never been one for meditation (My mind does not seem to want to shut off. Ever.) I felt like I really got something out of the class. If nothing else, I got an hour of quiet time. I came out of the class feeling calm and feeling pretty good about life in general.

From my class, I headed over to the fitness expo. Mostly, vendors were selling workout clothes and fitness DVDs and CDs. But one booth stood out. A business called Canvas. She just recently opened so there's not a whole lot to her site, but I still want to give her a shout out.

Among the things she was selling were recycled paper beads. Here are the bracelets I bought.

Handmade by women in Uganda, the beads can be a means to creating a better life. Bead For Life works to empower women in Uganda by giving them opportunities to become economically self-sufficient through the sale of bead jewelry and other products.

Outreach Uganda is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Colorado and dedicated to helping empower poor people in Uganda.

Both companies sell beads online.

Maybe it was my relaxed state. Maybe it's that I was feeling especially lucky today, but I felt the need to by these bracelets and do a (very) small part to help empower women who don't have it as good as I do. Whatever the reason, it gave me a little sense of empowerment, too.

You can see how these beads are made by clicking here.


*Empower - to give power or authority to

Nutrition*

As I mentioned yesterday, I attended a conference to earn a certificate in sports nutrition. After a day full of lectures, I took my test. I won't know for sure for a little while but I'm pretty confident I passed.

An interesting statistic from today's class: People born between 2000 and 2003 have a 25 percent chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It really made me think about how we'll feed our child. I don't want to be super strict about his diet, but I want him to be healthy and live a long life. We will try to feed him wholesome foods while allowing him to also have some treats that may not be the healthiest thing (cookies, candy, etc.).

The key (and this should be a no-brainer) is moderation. I'm not going to preach about nutrition here. I just want to say how sad it is that so many children struggle with obesity today. Were our parents (or parents of previous generations) really more conscientious about our diets? Are we that lazy? Or has it been a downward spiral?


*Nutrition - the science or study of, or a course of study in, nutrition, especially of humans.

Rotund*

Everyone keeps telling me how tiny I am. I don't feel tiny. I feel huge. I am attending a fitness conference this weekend and planning to get my sports nutrition consultant certification (more on that later), and even the super fit folks there are telling me I don't look like I'm going to have a baby in two months. It's nice to hear that I look good.

But part of me thinks everyone is just being nice. Because I feel big enough to have my own zip code.

*Rotund - round in shape; rounded; plump; fat.

Adore*

I received this in the mail a couple days ago. It's from my Most-Amazing Sister-in-Law. I adore it. And I adore her. (She has a pretty amazing husband and son, and I adore them, too.)

*Adore -- to regard with the utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor; to like or admire very much

Irresistible*

Baby's official due date is four days after Easter, but I just had to have this for him. Besides chances are he'll be here a little before Easter. In which case, he will need this.

*Irresistible - enticing; tempting to possess

Week 32: Ossification*

I now officially have two months left in this pregnancy. And while, my email newsletter from Fit Pregnancy says it may be starting to lose some of its glow, I'm going to disagree. I'm pretty sure Baby is practicing his bicycle kicks and may even be throwing a party in there, I'm still enamored by the process. Sure I'm having trouble sleeping but no more than I've had for the past six months. (Plus, if I'm being completely honest, I'm not totally ready to be a mom with a real-live baby out here.)

After attending our childbirth class, we have a partially packed bag ready to go for labor. Even if I'm not completely ready, Baby is getting close.

Your baby weighs about 4 pounds and is about fifteen to seventeen inches tall. Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. Her skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses.

I was going to post of video of my tummy while Baby kicks and squirms, but as I've mentioned before, he doesn't like to perform on demand and stayed perfectly still while the camera was on him.

 *ossification - the formation of or conversion into bone

By the way, I am going to try to participate in NaBloPoMo for March and the theme is "In a Word." Let's see how that goes, shall we.