A lot of people have been asking me lately if I'm ready for Baby Lump's arrival.� I always get a little thrown off by the question - do they mean ready emotionally or ready materialistically?

Materialistically, James and I would definitely be able to get by if Baby Lump were to grace us with his/her presence tomorrow.� For the most part, we have a lot of the essentials thanks to the baby shower in PA - a place for Baby Lump to sleep, a stroller, a carseat, some diapers, some clothes, bathing products, etc.

Answering whether I am emotionally ready is slightly more difficult.� In some ways I think I am, and in others, maybe not so much.� I think I'm teetering on the edge right now.� I'm getting very excited for Baby Lump to finally be here, yet I'd be caught pretty off-guard if he/she were to show up in the next few days. Plus - we still need a boy's name!

[caption id="attachment_356" align="alignright" width="361" caption="Graco Pack and Play in Nouvelle Pattern"][/caption]

Still, the nesting instinct has definitely been catching up with me.� I have such an urge to start getting the "nursery" ready, but right now it's too busy serving as both James' office and the guest room.� Plus, we're kind of lacking on the furniture front at the moment, so there wouldn't be much I could do anyway.� I was, however, able to convince James to help me set up the pack and play last night, which will serve as Baby Lump's crib/changing area/play pen as long as we're living in this apartment.� It's hanging out in our bedroom for the time being.� I definitely swallowed a big, heaping dose of reality last night when I peered over at the pack and play from my bed and imagined the many times I'll be hearing a baby's cry coming from its general direction.� Baby Lump could be here as early as next month and not be considered premature!� (Crazy!)

I know I'm a little late posting this week, but here is a summary of Baby Lump's 30-week stats:

Measurement/Weight: not much progress here - still about 3-4 lbs. and 15-16 inches

Other Highlights: Most of Baby Lump's developemental energy this past week has been focused on rapid brain cell growth.� Additionally, his/her fingernails and toenails are now fully formed, and he/she is starting to shed the lanugo (a fine layer of hair that has been covering the skin), which means Baby Lump is becoming less and less of a furbaby.

Oven Timer: 30 weeks, 3 days

Here's something fun for you to chew on in honor of the upcoming election.� After I posted my call for help in naming Baby Lump last week, one of my twitter pals, @petertdavis made me promise I wouldn't do something like this ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1lM5JLN1hI&hl=en&fs=1]

Can you believe that guy?� What a nimrod!� Let me tell you, if James ever pulled a stunt like that, he'd get a lot more than two weeks in the doghouse.� Let's see, which name would you give your child - Sarah McCain-Palin or Ava Grace?

By the way, I think I've come up with a pretty good boy name for Baby Lump - how about Joe Obama-Biden?

In other news, yesterday I hit a pretty big milestone, at least from my point of view.� It was the first time a person gave up his seat on the T for me on account of my preggo belly.� Hooray, baby bump!� It's definitely becoming more substantial.� Have you seen this week's pic compared to last week's?� There's definitely a noticeable difference.

So I'm coming up on week 30 - can you believe it?� It's getting so close!� Baby Lump should now be using all five of his/her senses, his/her toenails are fully formed, and Lump's noggin is pretty much in proportion to the rest of his/her body.� Baby Lump measures between 15 and 16 inches (think a loaf of bread) and weighs between 3 and 4 pounds (think a Macbook Air).

My Little Lump also seems to be a lot more active lately, as if to say "LET ME OUT!"� Apparently, that's because of all the energizing fat he/she has been developing.� In fact, if Lump were born sometime this week, he/she would have a 9 out of 10 chance of survival.� Still, I think we'll keep him/her in there to bake a little while longer ...

Oven Timer: 29 weeks, 2 days

Okay everyone - here's the deal.� We've embarked on the third trimester of our pregnancy journey and are still at a loss for baby boy names.� James and I are pretty certain of a name if Baby Lump is a little lady, but we aren't quite in love with or agreeing upon any names if Lump is a little gentleman.

This is where you come in.� Gurgle.com has a fun little facebook application called "Name My Baby," and I've just added it to my profile.� It allows you to suggest a baby name or vote on names that have already been suggested.� Unfortunately, the application isn't without its flaws.� It will only allow users to suggest names already loaded into its database.� For example, I couldn't add Atticus (What do you think of that one, btw?� I think it's pretty awesome - "Atticus Vaughan?").� Still, I think it will be interesting to see what you all come up with.� Maybe one of you will suggest the perfect name that James and I have overlooked.� Or maybe one of you will add a name like "Thygor" and crack us up.� Either way, I think it's a win-win situation.� Remember, we're only looking for boys/unisex names here.

For those of you without facebook (or are too lazy to make the extra trip), feel free to suggest a name in this post's comments section, and I'll be sure to add it to the list on facebook.� If enough of you get involved with suggesting names, I'll add another page to the blog that outlines everyone's suggestions/votes, much like I've done with the Birth Stats page.� For now, I'll add the link to the facebook application to the blog's sidebar.

Thanks in advance for helping us name Baby Lump!

Click here to visit my profile and suggest/vote on a name on facebook.� Click on the "view suggested names" or "suggest a name" text in the "Name My Baby" application on the left sidebar of my profile.




Oven Timer: 28 weeks, 4 days

"German Engineering" is not just a great song by Maritime.� It's also the reason James and I are having a baby.� Forget Brooke Shields and her "have a baby for love" mantra, James' and my actual motivation for getting pregnant was Volkswagen's Routan minivan ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDZSxFLcMVg&hl=en&fs=1]

Okay, okay, all kidding aside, time to update you on Baby Lump's developmental touch points for this week.� At this point, he/she should be about 15 inches long, weigh almost 3 pounds and be starting to form some eyelashes and eyebrows.� One Web site I refer to describes the baby's length as similar to an amusement park cinnamon-sugar-coated churro.� Mmm ...

I had my glucose screening on Monday, which checks for gestational diabetes.� Everything I've read about it prepared me to drink a nasty "glucose cocktail" before my blood was taken, but it honestly wasn't bad at all.� It basically tasted like a very sweet but flat cup of Pepsi.� Anyway, I heard from the doctor today that I passed, although my iron is low (no news here, it always has been), which means I'll be taking an iron supplement from now on.� No biggie.

Well, it seems like we're in the home stretch now folks.� The frequency of my doctor visitations has now been increased to once every two weeks until week 36, at which point I'll check in once a week until delivery.

Does anyone else think time has gone by at a ridiculously fast pace?

Oven Timer: 28 weeks, 2 days