26.5 weeks

Sorry to be MIA since early April; I guess it feels like not a whole lot has changed. Acorn continues to do the can-can pretty much daily, which I'm getting used to and still feel with some amusement. Acorn's strength has clearly increased because Steve has finally been able to feel him/her consistently, at one point even growing wide-eyed when the kid gave him a good, solid, undeniable karate chop. Steve being able to feel it has been one of the more gratifying moments.
I think I mentioned to some of you that at the ultrasound we found out that I have an "anterior placenta," which simply means that instead of attaching to the back wall of my uterus it attached to the front. This doesn't cause any harm, but because the placenta is a cushiony mass of nutrients and tissue, it did make it harder for Steve to feel Acorn moving from the outside, and may have been why it took me a while too. (The placenta should not be confused with the amniotic sac, which is what the baby is actually "in"; the placenta is attached to it but does not itself surround the baby.)
And at one point I was watching tv and was able to see my belly moving from the outside...which to be honest is kind of creepy! We're not talking seeing hand or foot imprints or anything, but it is indeed very odd to have my belly, which is pretty solidly a belly these days*, twitch erratically before my very eyes. I'm still waiting for the dog to notice. :)
In the next week or so I will do the gestational diabetes test, which I'm hopeful will come out negative, and be able to put that concern to rest (or address it, if need be, but after all my caution and concern around sugar, I just want to know).
And then I'll graduate with an MSW and be able to truly focus on my own health, well being, emotions, and planning planning, planning.
And then in late June I will go for my last appointment in Denver at 32 weeks, after which my mom and I will drive the Subaru on over to CT, where I will start new (YAY!!!!) health insurance courtesy of my new employers and will begin going to the OB more frequently for checkups. Steve will hopefully be shortly to follow.
And as of 36 to 37 weeks, this baby can show up any darn time it wants. But no sooner. Y'got that, Acorn??**
Oh but that does remind me, now is about the time in my pregnancy where my body tests out the occasional Braxton-Hicks contraction, and boy are those bizarre. A painless but noticeable tightening of the uterus. I think of them as practice runs for my body, and they are so far easily mitigated by lying down and drinking extra water. I only wish ALL of my impending labor could be as easy!

*I know I'm overdue for more recent belly bump photos. We'll post some soon.
**I am willfully unconcerned about pre-term labor; between my mom and aunt carrying past their due date and a study done on upper-middle class Caucasian women in CT that literally statistically shows they usually go at least a week over their due date, I'm feeling pretty calm and collected.