Gettin' our learn on

Now that we've entered the third trimester (whoa!) it's time to get serious about enrolling in some of the voluntary classes our hospital has to offer.

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of appointments/classes I now have...January and February are going to be busy!!

We are scheduled for a breastfeeding class (the thought still makes me giggle), an infant and child safety class, "what to expect in labor and pain management" and a tour of the labor suites. We'll keep ya posted as we complete the classes...

When it comes to labor I tread lightly in the research department. I know myself, and I know that sometimes ignorance is bliss :)

I did however buy a book about "active birth" which for the most part discusses getting your mind in the right place on that day....totally did NOT anticipate there being photos....of women....delivering babies....on all fours. Wowzers. I could have done without the visuals!!!

I prefer to read funny books about parenting, and there are a lot out there. One of them had a a few pages talking about how "babies basically try and commit suicide everyday....they roll off changing tables, stick their finger in outlets....what's wrong with them?!"  Crap. hahahah.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

 

We are so blessed and thankful for our wonderful friends and family. Around here, we are celebrating 26.5 weeks of healthy pregnancy.

 

 

Hope everyone enjoys the holidays! XoXo

 

Craft Time!

I MADE SOMETHING!!

A few weeks ago, me and a friend got together and decided we were going to teach ourselves to knit and would make a hat that day. No big deal right? "We've got this." One of the website's said "allow yourself about 30 minutes to complete the project." LIARS.

Ummm....6 hours later the only thing we had mastered was casting on, and it turns out you can't make anything when that's all you know how to do.

We spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and looking for easy patterns but we just weren't getting it. We both admitted that had we been trying this venture alone, we would have given up within the first hour haha.

We decided to call it a day and vowed to try again in a few days. Well, those few days helped. I finally had my "aha!" moment, and things started to make sense. Speed is certainly not my thing, and my accuracy is a little lacking too (I often forgot if I was supposed to be using the knit stitch or the purl stitch, but I just rolled with it). However, I have to say I'm pretty proud of my creation.

And because we bought 5 skeins of yarn (we're amateurs okay? I swear one of the patterns said we needed 300 something yards, lol) I have enough left to perhaps make myself a matching scarf, that might be done in time for next winter ;-)

Here's hoping the hat fits, and doesn't fall apart when we put it on her head. She better LOVE it and pass it down to her grandchildren one day. That's not TOO much to ask right?

99!!

Ninety-nine.....no, that's not the amount of pounds I've gained so far, but some days it sure feels like it!

Ninety-nine is the number of days left until the little girl's due date. We've officially hit the double digits - this is big news folks!!! It also means I've started to hit the worry-and-wonder-about-everything stage. 

The weirdo in me could not stop thinking about the number 99 today. I've got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one  and OCD may be one. Here's some insight into a few things that crossed my mind today....

When our daughter is 99 years old, the year will be 2112. Wowzers.

She'll probably go through 99 diapers in the first 2 weeks of her life. Holy crap.

Wouldn't it be LOVELY if my labor only lasted 99 minutes? Ha!

Wait...what if she weighs 9.9 pounds when she is born? Yikes....

She'll be here in approximately 99 days, and I have approximately NINE HUNDRED and 99 things to do before then, but for tonight I think I'll just kick back, relax and think about how far we've come :)

Nope, not sick. Just pregnant....

Who doesn't love a stuffy nose?!  Everyone has a sexy voice when they are congested, right? Not so much.

The good news, I'm not sick - I'm just pregnant. And thankfully, last I checked pregnancy isn't contagious. The super scientific name for this condition is "rhinitis of pregnancy." Haha. I've read that in many women it starts as early as 8 weeks in and lasts the whollllllllle pregnancy, so I guess I won't whine if I only have to deal with it for the next three months. Okay, I won't whine TOO much. Three months sounds like a long time.

Apparently, higher amounts of estrogen during pregnancy can contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and even cause you to make more mucus. Plus, the amount of blood in your body increases during pregnancy, which can cause swelling in the tiny blood vessels in the lining of your nose and congestion in the surrounding tissue. Man, GROWING A CHILD really does play games with your whole body.

Truthfully, it's not bothersome...just noticeable (more so in the morning). Oh, and there are the occasional (very) mild nose bleeds. It could be worse!

Guard Dogs

Rocky and Taylor have definitely figured out that there is a baby in my belly. They are attached to my hip 24/7. When I'm laying down they especially love to snuggle next to the bump. Maybe it's them being jealous but I prefer to think of it as them being protective :)

Oh, and Rocky is making sure the baby girl gets to know his bark, that's for sure. He's been rather vocal lately.

A friend of ours shared a great article about preparing the dogs for bringing baby home, so we're going to start practicing in the hopes of an easy transition (AKA Rocky and Taylor better learn to not mess with nap time).

Love these punks.

Cindy Lou Who

Today was the ultrasound to see if baby would cooperate and give us the last spinal photo the doctors needed. Luckily they got it with no issues, and checked on everything else while we were there. They said she looks great!! Woo hoo!

We got a few more profile photos like this one:

Doesn't her little profile remind you of none other than the sweet Cindy Lou Who?

Or maybe these cuties from the old Puffs Plus commercials?

 

How can you not fall in love with that little nose?!

Soccer Mom

According to my pregnancy tracker my uterus is the size of a soccer ball. Ummm....has anyone come into contact with a soccer ball lately? They aren't small!!!

When I wake up in the morning my tum-tum tends to look and feel smaller, but as the day progresses the bump grows. By the end of the day I have such a sense of fullness, and I certainly can't pinch an inch on this belly.

I thought this was scary, but then I realized it's going to get bigger.  Terrifying territory up next.

Oh and, what about the other organs in my abdominal cavity?!? Thanks to the baby cavity, they have to be squished right?? In the words of OMC, how bizarre, how bizarre.

Speaking of soccer, someone's kicks sure are getting more powerful...

The bean is now more like the size of a beanSTALK. She's about a pound and half and 12 inches long. Footlong anyone?

I wonder what she's up to in there all day. Tim thinks she's trying to break outta there and that's what all the movement is. Maybe. Or maybe she's doing yoga. Or breakdancing. Or preparing her gymnastics routine for the 2032 Olympics.

24 week appointment

Today was our 24 week appointment. The little girl is absolutely perfect - growing just right, strong heartbeat.

Although...I think she was a BIT pouty that her daddy couldn't make it to the appointment, because she had her back turned to us during the sonogram, which she has never done before! Little punk.

My weight gain is on track (doesn't make the amount any less scary though!) and good news is that my blood pressure was the lowest it has been the whole pregnancy! Whoop whoop.

We talked about epidurals and labor pain management. Ahh! This is happening. I was traumatized by my first period, the word cervix makes me physically ill and I break out in hives when I see "medical tools." The doctor told me about labor tubs and I asked if I could wear a bathing suit. I'm sure this is going to go realllllllllllllllly well.

Thank goodness I love the heck out of our little girl, because I wouldn't go through this for just anyone ;-)

The Nursery

While I was in Florida last month visiting family, the hubs made some major progress on the nursery.

Before I left we bought a few paint samples (a light gray, a very pale pink, a more bold and sassy pink, and a very pale green-yellow color) and stared at them on wall in different lighting for awhile. I was pretty set on gray before we got the samples, because almost all the "inspiration nurseries" I looked at had gray paint. Tim was the one that encouraged getting pink samples, and after mulling over it for a day or two we both fell in love with the champagne pink color (pale pink)!

Not only did Tim paint while I was away (woo-hoo!) and purchase and hang the chandelier we'd been eye-ing,  he also researched baby furniture (safety, durability etc.) and bought a gorgeous white wood convertible crib and a white wood dresser. (He's the best). The furniture is so charming and looks adorable against the champagne pink walls.

Once I got back we also bought the matching changing table. Originally we had no intention of getting one, but after researching promotions it actually ended up being virtually free!

Here are some pictures of the pieces. The paint doesn't photograph true to color so ya'll are just going to have to come see it in person for yourselves :)

 

Oh, and the gray material on top of the changing table...those are the curtains we will soon hang.

In the coming weeks (or months probably) I'm going to add all the fun details to the room, including some gray paint stripes on an accent wall, artwork, bookshelves etc.

We've got our eye on this glider which we found at Target (online only) and Babies R Us. But haven't taken the plunge to purchase it yet. Won't it look adorable with the other gray and white accents?

One last thing, how cute is this owl that I had to snag for the baby girl from Pier One this weekend?

Super excited.