27 weeks and 5 days

We're 5 days into the third trimester now - time is passing amazingly quickly. Baby is growing a lot these days - as evidenced both by the size of my belly and by the food and water that I'm requiring. S/he is about 2 pounds now and 14.5 inches long. If s/he were born now, there would be a good chance of survival.
We've purchased or been given a good amount of the 'stuff' we'll need for baby. The crib, carseat, diapers, clothes are still in boxes and/or piles, but we're definitely getting close. Last week I was lucky to get a pediatrician booked, which is often a huge challenge with the physician shortage on the big island, particularly if you want alternative vaccination schedules (more on that later - we're still sorting out what we want).
We've been to 5 out of 6 of our 'natural childbirthing' classes, which have been great. The great part is that we went through the class with 3 other fantastic couples, who we'll probably plan to see again after all of our children make an appearance.
One super weird thing that i figured out yesterday is that everyone except us that we know that is pregnant here in Hilo is having a boy. All of the couples in our birthing class and all of the ladies in my yoga class know what they are having and they are all boys. Weird. My cousin Kellie had her mid-pregnancy ultrasound yesterday and she's having a boy too. The only girl that I know of coming is my friend Jamie's! Kellie and Cam remain convinced that our baby is a girl, which would throw some nice balance into the mix of babies that will be coming to the Waimea birthing center in the coming months.
I had my monthly midwife appointment on Friday, and met the last of the practitioners there. There are 2 midwives who deliver babies, 2 docs that are on call for complications, and 3-4 other midwives that just do prenatal visits. I measured about a week and a half smaller than my actual due date (just my belly, not the babe), which she said was common, s/he was probably just turned differently, my weight gain was good, the baby's heartbeat and movement were good. I had bloodwork done to test for blood sugar levels and anemia, as well as the weird Rh- issues. I was scheduled to have the gestational diabetes test done, but refused it after consult, preferring to have my blood sugar levels checked in my bloodwork and not giving the baby the big sugar rush that the glucose test requires. I was also given a shot of RhoGam, which prevents my body (Rh-) from building up antibodies to the baby's blood (probably Rh+).
We finally did register for baby stuff at amazon.com. Since there are no stores here, online baby shopping is our best bet. We've been lucky to get a crib, car seats, and tons of blankets and clothes from friend's kids, so we haven't had to purchase much. I am currently waiting for my obscenely expensive electric breast pump to arrive though - who knew childbirth preparations could be so exciting!
The only major thing that we still need to do is find day care here and in Honolulu - another thing that is grossly under-available. I think I'll be able to work at home a good amount in the early months, so hopefully i'll be able to find somewhere to take the babe only 15-20 hours a week. Once I start coursework in Honolulu, it may be a bit more, but still shouldnt be anywhere close to full time, at least for the first year.
I mostly still feel good. I have what they call "round ligament pain" in my hips in the morning - i'm told it's from the weight of the baby pressing on my ligaments.....and i have the classic lower back pains - but i did find a massage therapist that specializes in prenatal massage, which helped. i also found out that my insurance will cover chiropractors, as long as i get a doc's referral, so hopefully all of the above will keep back pain at bay. I'm still trying to get a fair amount of exercise. I try to either swim, go to yoga, or take sir willie for a walk every day. We have a couple of routes up through the mac nut orchards that are very steep, rocky, and pretty tough - one is about a 2 mile loop, and the other is 4 miles. I used to run the 4 mile loop several times per week - now just walking it kicks my ass. We're choosing the shorter loop more and more often.
What else? I guess just the long-overdue pictures.......

Much love,
Cam, Lisa, and Baby J