Baby Artwork

I am getting very antsy about finishing the nursery. We have MOST of what we need, but I am feeling like I just want to get everything so that we are all ready. This is the artwork I ordered for the nursery today. I know it's probably not the biggest priority, but I couldn't resist.

Our bedding also came today! How exciting! It looks really cute, and somehow it looks like it was made to go with the bins I bought before. Perfect.

Silly Nieces and Nephews

My sister, Linda, and her family are coming here for a few days on Monday. The last time I saw some of my nieces and nephews, my nephew, Henry, kept staring at my belly and asking, "Now, where is the baby again?" He kept wanting me to show him, but when I pointed at the bump, he just didn't get it. He didn't understand that it was IN my belly and he wouldn't be able to see it for a while. Later on, when we were eating, I told him that I needed to eat a lot of good food so that I could feed the baby. So, he started handing me all sorts of food and telling me to feed the baby. When I would eat the food, he would get all mad, and say, "No! Feed the baby!" So, playing along, I would put the food by my belly and THEN eat it, but that wasn't good enough. He literally wanted me to somehow put the food in the baby's mouth. He got very frustrated with me, and kept trying to figure out why he couldn't see the actual baby. Finally, he asked me, "Well, did you eat the baby?" I think it was the absolute only thing that made sense to him.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing what Linda's kids have to say about my belly when they are here...especially when it starts moving around like a creature.

Reading

Kristin recommended "The Birth Book" as something I should read before giving birth. When I first started reading it, I almost felt like I didn't want to read anymore because I would rather be blissfully ignorant about all things having to do with birth. In other words, I felt like I was one of those people who doesn't know anything about birth or medicine, so I felt like I would rather just go into it with no knowledge and just trust my body and my doctor. But, this book has really grown on me. It has made me think about so many things and it has made me question a lot of things that I thought I knew my opinions about.

It also encouraged me to talk to people around me about their own personal birth experiences. Luckily, I have three older sisters who have all given birth, a Mom who has given birth to six children, and a sister-in-law who JUST gave birth, so it was easy for me to get all of the juicy details from them, as well as their true feelings about everything that happened to them. It was amazing to hear about all of their different experiences (and each story and experience was SO different)!

Anyway, as I keep reading (and become more obsessed with this book) and hearing about birth experiences, I am getting SO excited! None of it, even hearing the horror stories, makes me scared...in fact, it just makes me want to go in right now and have the baby! I have a feeling that I am going to start getting antsy VERY soon. :)

But, I have 11 weeks to go, so for now, I will just enjoy being pregnant, read my book, and TRY to keep my feet up.

Progress

Well, last night we were over at Pete's parents' house for dinner, and he saw the baby kick. It was moving around (as usual), so I made Pete just stare at my belly for a couple minutes because I wanted him to see or feel it so badly. And, he saw it! He saw a couple of big kicks AND just some weird moving around in there. And, he was able to feel a couple of movements too.

So, that's progress. It still feels like as soon as Pete puts his hand on my belly the baby stops moving around, but at least Pete can always say that he felt it and saw it and heard it at one point or another. But, I get the feeling that Pete is NOT as excited about these movements and kicks anymore...I feel like he is getting a little antsy and impatient because he wants to be holding the actual baby. :)

Uncooperative Baby

So, as I wrote previously, the baby kicks all the time. And not just little tiny kicks, but big kicks that move my whole belly. But, Pete has had a hard time feeling them. It's almost like every time he reaches over to feel it, the baby stops kicking! And then, of course, right when he takes his hand away, the baby kicks again. Today the doctor said that maybe Pete just has a naturally calming effect on the baby. The funny thing is that the same thing happened when Kristin tried to feel it...maybe it is something in their blood. :)

Anyway, today when the doctor was listening to the baby's heart, it gave a big kick, and we ALL heard it. So, at least Pete got to HEAR a kick even if he hasn't had much luck feeling them.

28-Week Appointment

Today we went in for our 28-week appointment. Again, nothing special happened. I did have my glucose tolerance test, and I will get the results tomorrow. Apparently some people complain about the orange drink you have to drink for the test, but I actually thought it was good. It tasted like orange pop. :)

Other than that, they just checked my blood pressure (which was good), measured my belly (which she said was perfect), and listened to the baby's heart rate (which was 140). It's funny because I read that the theory is that it is a boy if the heart rate is under 140 and a girl if the heart rate is over 140, so obviously our baby's heart rate isn't telling us much at this point.

The doctor was slightly concerned about my swelling/water weight gain, so I have been instructed to keep my feet up as much as possible. I am going to really force myself to keep them up, but it is hard!

From now on, we have appointments every two weeks. We are on the home stretch!