Preggers Update

We are officially at 28 weeks now.  Only one trimester to go!  The 2nd trimester went by fast! Once again, it seems like it's been forever since we started this pregnancy thing, but each week seems to be going by faster and faster these days.  With our childbirth classes lasting into the end of October and 3 showers next month as well, I think that our last trimester is going to be very busy and fly by.  We have a lot of nursery set-up to do still as we receive gifts and I'm trying to get myself in the mindset that there will be another person living with us permanently in less than 12 weeks.

On my birthday a couple of weeks ago we went and got a 3D sonogram of our little guy.  It was so fun to get a glimpse of him on screen for about 15 min.  He wiggled around and had his hands in his face the majority of the time.  He likes to flex his biceps alot.  For our 20 week sono, the only good pic of him that we got was of his bicep b/c he was face down.  So this seems to be a theme with him...it will be funny to see if it continues outside the womb.


I feel like this is the most accurate photo of how he looked the majority of the time.  No, that is not hair on his head, the sono only shows tissue...so we can only imagine what color his hair is! The longer we watched him, the more we thought he looks like my dad.  So crazy.




Bicep boy!  His face looks really spread out in this pic.  His nose looks more like a Lewis nose for now, but his lips definitely look more like Ryan's!



Funny boy!  He was yawning the whole time.  This is his post yawn, scrunched up, elf face.  I think he's going to have a fun sense of humor.

My friends who have had 3D sonos say that they look pretty much exactly like the baby when they are first born.  So that will be neat to see.
 
Baby A has been moving around CONSTANTLY.  Sometimes I wonder when he sleeps!  Also, he seems to only prefer the right side of my womb.  I feel like he is growing out my side sometimes.  I'll kinda push him over back toward the middle of my tummy, and then he just claws his way back over to the right.  Whatever man!  I can't win!

Ryan has still been fantastic through everything.  He gets so excited about everything and it's really great.  I love him so much!!

I've been feeling good still.  However, I've been experiencing some restless leg symptoms in my sleep and it can be really painful and annoying since I'm constantly tossing and turning and can't get comfortable.  But my friends and I have been praying about it and my legs have felt much better the past two nights, praise God!  I've also had some tinges of nausea first thing in the AM, but as soon as I eat something I goes away.  Nothing to complain about...especially compared to first trimester!

Also, I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight plus a few pounds.  I wasn't super happy with my pre-pregnancy weight before, so its not really saying much.  I kinda miss my oddly thin frame from around the 3-4 month mark, but hoping that with time I can work back to it, especially if I don't just completely blimp up these next few months! 

Other bodily changes:
- Baby Bump.  My baby bump has really taken off in the past 4-6 weeks.  People like to comment on its growth.  Not always the most tactful of comments, but I get past them. Still pretty much can't tell I'm pregnant from the back, but I'm sure that's going to change soon. 
- Acne.  Welcome back. I've struggled with acne my whole life it seems.  Since being pregnant, the acne has come with a vengeance and also gone away completely depending on the week.  I can handle that.  One lady who gave me a facial said that based on the amount and type of acne on my face, that it was a boy b/c of the boy hormones in my body (and that was before we knew his sex).  Not sure if that's true or not, but I did feel Baby A's first kick during that facial, so that's cool.  Now the acne seems to be lingering.  Maybe that's just a sign that I need another facial! ;)
- Maternity clothes. Need them.  Wearing them now.
- Feet.  Yeah, not as much swelling of the extremities, except at night sometimes.  But my feet seem to be doing that expanding thing that you hear about.  It's really funny b/c my right foot has always been a tiny bit larger than my left foot, and so now it's like my right shoes don't fit, but my left shoes are just a little tighter.  A simple pair of new black flats are next on the to-buy list since the weather seems to be changing (finally) and I won't be able to wear sandals much longer!  Closed-toed shoes are the enemy right now. 
- Acid Reflux.  Getting more frequent in the evenings.  But I've had acid reflux since I was about 12 so I can handle it.
- Hair.  It stopped growing so fast.  That's kinda a blessing b/c I was having to shave my legs so often.  It also seems that I'm back to normal shedding again.  I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until after baby is born, but whatever. 
- Baby Brain.  Check. But thinking that I've learned to manage it a little better.  Lists at work have helped a lot.

Baby Blanket

My favorite coworker, Sheri, is a knitter.  I've always liked that about her.  She will knit during boring meetings a lot.  Sometimes that makes me jealous b/c I can't knit!  But I've especially enjoyed watching her knit since I've been pregnant since it reminds me of how "God is the knitter of babies," as I like to say (Psalm 139:13).

She made Baby A a beautiful baby blanket to match the color scheme of his room.  It is also gender neutral so that we can use it again w/some different ribbon in the future if needed.

It looks good with his little bed so far!

Duke likes it too!

We haven't had any showers yet so we're waiting to buy more nursery stuff until we see what we get from them.  We have three scheduled for next month! Wowsers! Can't wait. 

We are at 28 weeks...only one trimester left before we meet our little one face to face! He's SOOO ACTIVE in there.  I love him so much!

Love is Waiting

My friend Heather and her husband Aaron are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia.  She is one of the most creative people I know and is putting her design skills to work to raise money for their adoption.  Check out her online store and make a purchase of a shirt or sticker.

First Cowboy Game of the Season

We are all exhausted from our weekend.

Ryan & I went to the sweltering Rangers game today (see previous post).

And Duke is still pooped from his day yesterday playing with his friend Champ (see pic below).

Duke & Champ at their pool party

Now as we veg in front of the Cowboys, this is what I see...

Relaxed...

Go Cowboys!

Rangers Game

This afternoon we went to the Rangers game with family. Julianne and Linden also joined us!

We played the Yankees and got to watch Cliff Lee pitch!  We won 4 to 1 and swept the series.  Woo hoo!  It was really hot but I stayed well hydrated and had my whole body lathered in SPF 50, so we survived.

Baby A is going to be a baseball player I think b/c he was kicking and moving the ENTIRE time.  He really liked it I think!  Yay baby!

Some of these pics were taken w/ my blackberry so forgive me for the poor quality.

We are in love.

Friends

Antlers

Maternity Photographer?

Does anyone know of a good photographer who does maternity shoots? I'd like to shop around since we are on a budget! I didn't know if we were going to do them or not, but upon the suggestions of friends who have had babies, it seems like they are worth it eventually. I'm hoping to schedule it soon considering I'm still kinda cute looking and haven't blimped up completely YET. My belly seems to be growing rapidly now though, so I'm scared to wait much longer! ALSO, please make sure to check on the other 54 posts I made today (see below). It's my fault for not staying up to date on my blogging!

Camo Baby!

We got this in the mail from my sister Elise today!

I thought it was quite fitting since today is the first day of dove season and Ryan is all pumped up/geared up and on his way to hunt with my soon-to-be brother-in-law in his hometown of Hamilton, Tx. So cute! And it has a little A&M logo on it. Gig Em! Baby A will be stylin'!

Snoogle Bug

Ryan calls me Snoogle Bug when I'm in bed now since purchasing the Snoogle pregnancy pillow by Leachco. A friend who is approaching her due date in the next 2 weeks recommended it and said it helps a lot with her back pain. Since my back pain just started flaring up within the past 3-4 weeks or so, I figured it was worth the chance, even though it's a bit pricey! I looked up reviews for a lot of different pregnancy pillows on the Babies R Us website and finally chose this one. I got it at Buy Buy Baby b/c I had a 20% off coupon and they have them in-stock, unlike Babies R Us. As you can see, it looks like a big C and it snugs up against your back! It goes between your legs for help with hip positioning. There are like 6 different ways you can use it! I use it 2 different ways each night. It took me a couple of nights to get used to it, but I love it now!

Baby Belly!

Ok, so I was feeling silly in my "Sprocket Outfit" yesterday before I put on my cute shirt/dress (I call it that b/c of that old sketch from SNL) and I took some pics of my body/belly.

As you can see, I'm mostly pregnant in the front! Which is exciting for now. I always thought I would be as big as a house! There's still time for that though. We are at 24 weeks now.

Side view! He's starting to pop out! And he's super active. Oh brother!

Crib is up!

After some research, we finally went looking specifically for cribs a couple of weekends ago. We didn't plan on buying it that day, but we got the lowest price we had found on the one we liked plus a coupon for that weekend. Yay!

Ryan & Duke assembling the crib

Finished product!

    We chose a convertible crib and are saving up to get the matching dresser as well. It's very nice furniture that Baby A can use when he's not a baby anymore!

    As you can see in the pictures, we also got a nice 8x10 carpet/rug to go in Baby A's room to help with sound absorption since we have hardwoods throughout the house with a pier and beam foundation. It can get a bit noisy at times! Duke really likes the new carpet and goes in there and lays by the crib periodically. We put the baby gate up so that we don't get lots of dog hair in there just yet!

    It's so fun to walk by the room and see its beginnings and know that soon there will be a little person in there! We are super excited.

    But the clean room came with quite the price! Since the nursery was the guest room before, we had to combine the guest room with the office. I had the largest bookcase you've ever seen (it took up an entire wall) and it had to go in order to fit the bed in the office. That meant that I had to get rid of A LOT of my books. I took many of my seminary books back to DTS to the book resale room and I'm hoping to make some money there since classes just started! The rest went to Half Price Books where we got pennies for each book. Sad day. But at least I know that they won't go to waste and that they will likely be read again in the future!

    My back ached for days with all the cleaning out of closets and going through all the clutter! Luckily we got a flier for the Cancer Foundation who was coming to pick up clothes and other items in our neighborhood the following week. So we didn't even have to take the rest of our junk anywhere, they came and picked it up! YAY!

    There is still more nesting and de-cluttering to be done, but we are well on our way to preparing for Baby A's arrival!