The Nursery

It's still a bit of a work in progress, but it's starting to actually look like a nursery!

We definitely need curtains. I taped the valance up for effect.

We finally got to pick up our chair today. I LOVE it! (This wall still needs decorations, too.)

I Passed!

No GD for me! I can now fully enjoy my pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby without worry. :)

I've been feeling extremely impatient today. I had a dream last night that baby was here, and I had him in a bouncer trying to get him to sleep. There were a bunch of different music settings and I was trying to find one that he liked. When I woke up I was so disappointed that he wasn't really here yet. Sigh. Is it April yet?

Ouch!

Holy crap! Nobody warned me how big the RhoGAM needle was going to be! The nurse asked me to turn on my side so she could pinch some fat on my lower waist. While I laid there, I asked Brian if the needle looked better or worse than my IVF needles. He kind of shrugged and said, "Better." I didn't buy it, but appreciated his effort to not freak me out. Um, yeah. That needle was freakin' huge! I did a whole body jerk when she jabbed it in. After it was over she showed me the needle. It looked a lot like the PIO needles that some of you other bloggers have posted pictures of. Boy am I glad I didn't have to do those!

I also had the glucose test today. I've always had a sweet tooth, so I didn't really mind how sugary the drink was, although I probably wouldn't drink something like that for fun. The rest of the appointment was very quick. We heard his heartbeat which was in the 140s, and measured my size. Everything is right on track. My weight gain is good and still very steady. Since September I have gained 18 pounds, so I'm now up to 128.8. I've been gaining about a pound per week on the nose. The doctor warned that weight gain can get out of control in the third tri, but I'm not worried at this point. My next appointment will be a 32 week u/s to check my placenta and the little guy's kidneys. Hopefully both issues have resolved! I really don't want to have to schedule a c-section!

28w0d

We had a rough night last night. It's one thing when you lose to the better team. It's quite another when you beat yourselves into submission. Five turnovers? Ugh, it was so painful. Such is the life of a Vikings fan. We're all a bunch of masochists. But this is supposed to be an IVF/Pregnancy blog, so enough football talk.

This weekend we decided to do a little nursery decoration shopping. We picked up a super cute painting of an owl to go with our forest animals theme, along with a raccoon wall decoration that goes with our bedding. We also bought a window valance. Now we need curtains, lighting, and the swivel glider so we can put the room together. Can you believe our house doesn't have any overhead lighting in the bedrooms? So weird.

I continue to feel bigger and bigger, and so does our little man. His movements are becoming very strong. Instead of little kicks and punches, now I feel whole limbs moving across my tummy. It kind of feels like those back massager things against my hand. And to watch it happen is even crazier! Sometimes when at work I'm afraid a little kid is going to freak out if they notice the giant bump moving along my stomach. It's like something out of Alien. A lot of coworkers have started asking if I'm ready to be done yet. I really do enjoy being pregnant, and I feel lucky for how well I've felt throughout. But yes, I'm starting to feel a little impatient. I just want to meet my son and hold him in my arms!

28 week update:

Current cravings: Root Beer

Current mood: Relaxed

Current appetite: Normal

Current energy level: Sleep is getting less and less comfortable, so I feel a little more tired most nights.

Baby movement: See above

Contractions: I've been making an effort to drink more water, and it seems to keep the Braxton-Hicks away.

The Third Trimester!!! (27w0d)

Different books and websites say different things, but at least three sources say Trimester 3 starts today and I'm going with it! I am so excited to be here! I can't believe we're in the final stage of pregnancy. Some days it feels like it's crawling, but then today when I reflect back, it's hard to believe we're within three months of meeting our son. And in less than three months, I will be done with work until August. It can't come fast enough! I'm going to put in for my last day to be April 9. It's a good feeling to have decided, and now I can start counting the days. :)

We have lots left to do to prepare. We still need to sign up for a breastfeeding class. The nursery needs decorations, lighting, and window treatments, and we need a lot more random supplies before baby gets here. My only shower prior to him being born is set for March 21, and I'm not anticipating getting a lot off the registry. I don't have a large group of friends, and all of my family lives in MN. Since I've banned travel, there's no hope of a family and friends shower with MN people, so I have just the one shower to count on. In the summer we plan to go back to MN in June or July, and my mom is going to plan a shower then. It will still help since I know you can never have enough, before OR after the baby is here. In the meantime, my dad gave us a generous gift card to BabiesRUs, so hopefully that will help in the beginning. And my mom and her best friend are planning a Bad Girls Road Trip out here over our spring break in late March to help with last minute preparations. I'm already looking forward to it! (Even if I won't be able to indulge in margaritas with them.)

27 week update:

Current cravings: I have an unhealthy Runts addiction right now.

Current mood: Excited and content

Current appetite: Good

Current energy level: I'm enjoying having energy while it lasts. I'm sure it will decrease soon.

Baby movement: Still quite active, and I love it!

Contractions: I think I've definitely experienced some Braxton-Hicks. Every once in a while, it feels like he balls himself up on one side of my belly button and my tummy gets very firm. It lasts for no more than 15 seconds and then goes away. It always makes me laugh a little because I get the craziest lopsided bump when it happens.

Oh yeah, and SKOL VIKINGS!!! Who dat say they gonna beat dem saints??? MINNESOTA BABY!!!!!

26w0d

I signed up for Childbirth Preparation classes this afternoon. We'll be going in early March. We've talked about signing up for another class called "Babies, Baths, and Bundles" which goes over basic baby skills. Neither Brian or I have ever changed a diaper, and I never babysat, so I feel like we could use all the help we can get! Sometimes I wonder if I will have any clue what the heck to do when we bring our little guy home.

26 week update:

Current cravings: Nada

Current energy level: Good

Current mood: A little anxious

Baby movement: He's still very active. Sometimes at night it's really distracting when I'm trying to get to sleep. He also frequently kicks what I think is my cervix, which always weirds me out. Not the most comfortable place to be kicked.

Woohoo!

We're less than 100 days away from meeting our little man! (Unless of course he's a slow poke like his mommy.) It's an exciting day for other reasons, too. One of my friends gave birth to her son early this morning. I'm a little envious, but my time will come soon enough! I'm also getting together with a friend who has offered to throw me a shower to work out some details. It's finally my turn!

Work this week was funny. So many little kids have started to really figure out that "there's a baby in there." I had one little kindergarten girl start banging on my tummy, and she said, "Whoah! That's so hard, I bet it's his head!" I just laughed and told her, "Then you should probably stop hitting him!" And I finally got one of the dreaded questions from a little boy in the same class, "How did he get in there?" I've decided to tell little ones that a doctor put him in there. One, it's true, and two, it seems like a safe answer. So far no one has questioned me any further. I was worried he would press on and ask out he gets out, but the little girl piped up and said, "I bet it will hurt when the doctor takes him out!" Yes, I'm sure it will. :)

25w0d

It was back to work with me today. I wasn't too excited, but I'm trying to approach the spring semester as the final countdown. Just 15 weeks until maternity leave (if I decide to hang in til my due date). Hopefully it will go quickly. I'm definitely starting to feel a little impatient. The second trimester has felt much longer than the first. And I must have grown a bit over the break because I got a ton of comments on my "volleyball" and "basketball" tummy today.

25 week update:

Current cravings: I want to find a chocolate orange to eat

Current energy level: Not bad. Two weeks of sleeping in was much appreciated.

Current mood: I have a slight case of the back-to-work blues

Current weight: I was 124.9 at my appointment on Thursday.

Baby movement: He likes to use my bladder as a punching/kicking bag as soon as anything accumulates in there. I think I've maybe felt some hiccups too, but I'm not sure.