28 Weeks

It is only fitting that my first blog post of the New Year is about the biggest and best thing that is happening to us in 2011 - our precious little baby! Although we won't meet him/her until the end of March, there have been a few things we have done recently to prepare for their arrival.

The nursery is looking great! By the way, thanks to The Creative Mommas for the shout-out on their blog about their nursery! 

The room was cleared out, also by my wonderful husband, and painted on Thanksgiving! We went with Honey Beige from Olympic's Audubon Collection because it is warm and neutral, and I have loved seeing it on the wall the past two weeks. As a side note, it is nowhere near as orange as it looks on the computer screen. You don't think a Terp would allow his child's room to be orange do you?!

We spent some time assembling the crib the day after Thanksgiving and I love going in the nursery and just looking at it. Last week I purchased the mattress for the crib and a sheet so it looks for ready for baby now. How did I fit the mattress in the back of my small car? Read on to find out :)

The dresser came in a few weeks earlier than expected and some of the drawers already have goodies in them thanks to friends and family. We'll be using the top as a changing station once we get the changing pad and everything else that is involved.

My handy husband will be building a tall bookshelf for the nursery and we purchased the materials last week. Little Squirt already has more than a dozen books and that doesn't include our childhood books or many new ones. These were gifts from my mom, friends and a few classics from a sale.

There is also an antique family cradle in the nursery from my mother-in-law's family. There is a plaque at the headboard of the names and birthdates of babies who used the cradle, starting with my mother-in-law's older siblings more than 75 years ago. My mother-in-law, husband and his sister are also on the plaque. We aren't using it as an "everyday thing" because of safety, but you can be sure that I will take some photos in it. For the time being, our cat likes to use it as his bed when he isn't in mine.

To be honest, the only crafty thing I have done in for the nursery so far is sew some basic blankets. A few weeks ago I couldn't resist buying gender-specific nursery flannel when it was on sale for $1.29 per yard! What will I do with the boy blankets if we have a girl and the girl blankets if we have a boy? Give them to friends of course! This weekend I got busy sewing and now have four completed blankets and one nursing cover (the vibrant cotton fabric). My husband laughed about that because he said I'll really be drawing attention to myself...maybe I should buy something more simple?? I still need to buy clips and a ribbon to make the nursing cover more than a blanket, but all in due time.

The least exciting thing was my glucose test. I passed with a score of 86 which is well within the 65-139 range. Best part of this besides my body correctly processing sugars? No three hour test! I also went for a RhoGAM injection because I have a negative bloodtype and my husband has a positive bloodtype. It was "more work" than the glucose test but necessary for the health of me and baby.

On a much more exciting note, we bought a new car which we are jokingly referring to as the Squirt (baby's in-utero nickname) mobile. I met a deer on the road a few weeks ago and thankfully it ended much better for me than the deer. Most of you know I had a two-door Pontiac G5 that was a great car, but sadly had been hit a few times by distracted drivers and then hit a deer. So, we took advantage of what was left of the situation and decided to upgrade "my" vehicle now to a Chevy Equinox which is what I had been eyeing for some time.

I continue to feel pretty great most of the time, but the sleepiness has come back quickly, but still not as bad as the first trimester. My belly button still isn't totally out yet but it is funny to see that sometimes it moves when I laugh. We still have a very active baby and some of the kicks are more quick and spaced evenly. Maybe it is hiccups? The movement of the baby is changing and I feel tightening when I think he/she is moving their body around to get more comfortable. I can also feel protruding body parts which is entertaining. I can't identify them yet, but I'm sure I will be able to soon! Sleeping is rather uncomfortable since I lose feeling from my hips halfway down to my knee depending on which side I am lying on. Any tips for relief? This is a picture from new Years Eve and my shirt makes me feel larger then I am.

I go for my 28 week appointment this week right before our first baby shower (yeah!) and I hope the doctor tells me everything is right on track.