24w5d

Today was my day to not shower and live in my pajamas. My original plan was to do some touchups in the baby's room but I wasn't even that productive. I did manage to wash a few loads of laundry and watch a few old movies.

Around noon after I had turned down invitations from two of my friends to actually leave my comfortable butt mold on the couch I did manage to put on clothes and go over to my Father-in-law's new wife's old house (are you lost yet?). She has three granddaughters and their father always bought them boy clothes that their mother never let them wear. So, consequently she had a bunch of boy clothes that were barely worn that they were giving away.

SO... FINALLY... he as a few outfits. Of course, I'm sure he will get more for the showers but it is nice to get started. Although looking at the clothes makes me realize that he will really be here and there is still so much to get done. Eeek!!

24w4d

Today was apparently the day to see what happens if you kick mommy over and over again in the same spot.

Here's the answer... she gets slightly annoyed. I've also discovered that it is VERY hard to concentrate at work when you are continually being pummeled in the same spot. Is it possible to bruise from the inside?? ;-)

Actually the only benefit to him deciding that kicking me under my ribs was just the most fun thing EVER was that Jake finally got to feel him kicking. Since he did it OVER and OVER (did I mention that?) I just told Jake to keep his hand there for about 5 minutes and sure enough he kicked again.

24w2d

Today I realized that I think the baby got his dad's athletic abilities. Or at least he got someone's athletic abilities and they certainly weren't mine. About 11:30 I started to get a little hungry but thought I could wait awhile to eat.

I was quickly reminded who was in charge as I was pummeled from the inside for about 15 minutes before I finally gave in and just went to lunch. After I fed him he seemed to calm down for a little while but later this afternoon the acrobatics continued.

All the baby books I look at say that at 24 weeks he should be running out of room but I feel more movement now than ever.

By the time work was over I was exhausted as usual but sometime around 7:00 I got my second wind and decided to do a little work in the baby's room. I fixed the lopsided strip as well as did a few touchups to the first stripe we untaped. I also removed the tape from a second wall.

By 9:00 I had enough and settled into bed for the night.

23w6d

Today we decided that Jake would do his thing and my sister and I would work on the stripe. See, I'm letting my friend help me design the nursery and she has this fabulous idea to put a 12" stripe just above center in the room.

Which SOUNDS lovely in theory but I had a feeling was going to be a pain in the ass in practice. Since my patience for the stripe painting was questionable at best I knew Jake's would be non-existent. So off he went to shoot his bow and arrow and off I went to my parents house to gather a few things.

When I returned around 11:00 my nephews pulled in right after me and we set about trying to decide how to tape off the room for this stripe. I had brought a laser level, but it only shoots points of light, not a straight line, so it wasn't much help to us. In the end we decided just measuring and marking a few places and then connecting with tape would be our best option.

So, while the boys taped my sister and I painted. The walls are textured so I had a feeling that even though we taped them a little bit of the paint may leak in places. We had finished about half of the first coat by around 12:30 when my mom arrived with food. At that point I sat down to eat and never really got back up again.

My legs are REALLY sore from all of the squatting to paint around the baseboards and the bottoms of the windows yesterday so when my mom took over my rolling duties I did not put up much of a fight. Since the paint dries pretty quickly we had both coats on by around 2:00 and my sister headed out.

My mom and I ran a few errand and then decided to try to take the tape off of one area and see what it looked like. The first thing we noticed was that we should have waited a little longer because pieces of the paint started to peel up with the tape. The second thing, I was right and the paint did seep in a few areas.

From what I can tell it is not too terribly bad and I don't know if I will bother to try to make it look perfect since from a distance it looks just fine. After my mom left I relaxed for a few hours and then I pulled off a little more of the tape. That is when I noticed the little section that went from 12" to 11 3/4" in about two feet. Now that section I think we will have to fix.

I gave up after untaping one whole wall and resigned myself to the couch for the remainder of the evening, all the while babying my ever increasingly sore and stiff upper legs. :-(

23w5d

Today was a day of painting, painting, and oh yeah... more painting. And before you ask....

Yes I helped paint...

Yes the room was well ventalated...

No I do not think it will harm the baby....

No I do not need your opinion to the contrary....

Moving on. We got up around 10:00 and promptly headed straight to Hy-Vee to stuff ourselves with eggs and pancakes and hashbrowns. Once breakfast was over I was feeling more like napping than painting but I knew it needed to be done.

Jake finished the first coat of primer on the un-primed two walls while I headed off to Menards to get thicker rollers and an extender handle. Once I returned we began the second coat. He painted about half of the first wall before I decided that rather than just stand there I should just do something.

So he took the high trim work and I took the low trim work. I detailed around the baseboards and the bottom of the windows while he did around the cieling and the tops of the windows and also ran the roller. Yes, I know that's not even work. Life is not fair. :-)

With both of us painting we had the second coat of primer on in about an hour and fifteen minutes. At about 2:30 I laid down to rest while he headed off to shoot his bow and arrow for a few hours.

We reconviened about 5:30 and by 6:00 we were painting again. This time with the wall color. We finished with the first coat around 7:15 and then I ran to get some dinner. When I got back my parents were there and they had started the second coat. Since there were three painters now, I got to be the supervisor and tarp mover. A job I really much prefer.

We finally finished witht he second coat around 9:30 and we all colapsed onto the couches downstairs. Around 10:15 my parents peeled themselves up and headed home while I headed upstairs to crash.

Tomorrow is stripe day and I think I'm going to need all the sleep I can get!!

23w3d

Today I went to Olive Garden for lunch. When I got back to work by belly felt like the baby was working on his gymnastic skills. At one point when I looked down I thought I saw my shirt move. So, I lifted up my shirt (yeah... I have no modesty) and just watched my belly.

Amazingly enough he kicked again and I could see my stomach bounce. It was the most amazing thing to know that inside of my stomach is a little person and he is bouncing and moving around. I watched for a few more seconds and he did it one more time and then quieted down.

Right now I can just see my skin move, I can only imagine how amazing it will be when I can actually see and imprint of a foot or an elbow or something.

While I was at work Jake was at home starting work on the baby's room. It rained today so it was too wet for him to start building the garage they were working on. So, instead of doing that he stayed home and taped off all of the woodwork and then moved the GINORMOUS (yes that's a word.... at least in my dictionary) amount of baby stuff we have already accumulated.

By the time I arrived home he had most of the stuff either out of the room or moved towards the middle and he had already begun applying primer to two of the walls. Much to my dismay the purple is showing through so it looks like it will take two coats of primer before we paint this weekend.

22w3d

This morning started out with contractions. I had been having them off and on for the last few days and I even asked Jake's sister Molly what Braxton-Hicks contractions felt like so I could try to tell if that's what they were. From her description and what I was feeling that was my assumption as to what they were. That is until this morning.

This morning I had two or three in a row and I was really starting to get worried. Sometimes being pretty educated about pregnancy has it's disadvantages and this would be one of those times. I'm very well aware that viability happens somewhere around 24 weeks and even then most babies are VERY sick if they are born that early. So at 22 weeks all I could think about was what if something happens and I'm in pre-term labor. He's not big enough and I'm not far enough along.

Luckily once I got to work and ate and drank something things seemed to calm down. I already had my 22 week appointment scheduled for 11:30 today so I just waited it out. At the appointment I was back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, grow baby grow, and my blood pressure was 120/62 which they told me was normal.

As for the contractions, the doctor assured me that it was not too early for braxton-hicks contractions and that was most likely what I was feeling. He said as long as I don't feel more than 4 or 5 in one hour that I shouldn't worry. However, if they become regular or very painful I should call them. In the meantime he recommended that I sit or lie down if I have one and am uncomfortable and not to be surprised if a sudden change in position brings one on.

So, I feel MUCH better now. So much, in fact, that we took this evening to do our registering. We went to Target and Babies R Us and I feel so much more relaxed just knowing that is out of the way. Now if we want to change anything we can do it on-line and the people who are having the baby showers for us can put where we are registered in the invitations.

Of course after we were done I was exhausted but we had taped Survivor and I couldn't miss the first night of the new season so we stayed up until about 10:30 watching it. I hope this baby likes Survivor because his parents are ADDICTED!!

20w4d

To my son:

Today we got to meet you and find out that you are, in fact a boy. Although with as strong of a feeling as I have had since 5 weeks I'm not really sure we would have needed the ultrasound to begin painting and decorating for a boy.

I can honestly say that I can not remember a time in my life when I have felt such awe and wonder. Before we got to the ultrasound room I was a little nervous, as I always am before they listen to your heartbeat or show you to me on ultrasound. I love you SO much already that my whole world would crumble around my feet if anything were to happen to you. Therefore there is always that brief moment, right before I hear or see you that my heart skips a beat waiting for the sound of yours.

Today, I'm pretty sure my heart grew 10 sizes. There was so much debate about whether we should have a second ultrasound but I can tell you right now that even if it costs me a $1,000 it will be the best money I have ever spent. To be able to see your nose and your little toes and hands fills me with more joy than I thought I could ever feel.

Of course your daddy was also there to see you. He's a tough one to read but as soon as the ultrasound technician said you were a boy the smile on his face was un-mistakable. Now don't get me wrong, he would have been just as happy if you were a girl, but I think secretly every man wants a son first. From that point on he was too busy calling every person in the free world to tell them the news to pay much attention to what the ultrasound tech was doing.

But don't you worry. I was paying enough attention for the both of us. From the time that wand touched my stomach to the time she took it away the tears did not stop flowing from my eyes and I was glued to that screen. Even though I got to see you for almost 30 minutes when it was all over a little piece of my heart ached to see you again.

Luckily, we won't have to wait too long until you are here with us for good. Now we just have to get your room ready for you and get you something to wear and we will be all set. So my little one, enjoy your warm cozy home for the next four months or so. We will be here trying to get this one all ready for you.

But also please know that while the world out here is a little more chaotic, it is filled with all kinds of people who love you so very much and you can't wait to see your little face and count your little toes!!

Love always,
Your mommy