Baby's Room Started

We started the Baby's room this weekend and I was so excited!! Dave painted on Saturday and he offered to put together the crib tonight! What a great Daddy he'll be, I'm so lucky to have a great guy. Here is the crib all put together and we decorated with the few turtle things we have so far. We still have to go pick up the other two pieces of the furniture set this week and then the room will be complete for a while.

The "Oops" Month

So, according to the nurse today, the "oops month" is a common expression for women in their pregnancy and although I'll take her word for it, it doesn't make me feel any better! Yes, I am talking about that scary topic of 'weigh-in' at each appointment that I so fear! Does anyone remember on a previous blog when I mentioned that I'm supposed to gain an average of 1 lb/week?? Let's just say that I gave double the effort this past month! Yes, that's right, I've gained 8 lbs. in the last 4 weeks. Now, everyone keeps telling me that I'm "all baby" so let's hope this doesn't correlate to our child coming out weighing in at say 10lbs. or something!! Kind of funny that as soon as we got back from the appointment tonight, Dave went to the gym and I went for a half-hour walk!! I had been doing so well with 2 walks a night; one with Sasha and one with just me or with Dave. I guess I need to get my schedule back and get to work! So, there's the most shocking news I had all day!! On to the other items of interest from the appointment, the baby was so active today while I was at work and this continued at the appointment. The nurse had to try 3 different times to keep a steady heartbeat because the baby kept moving around so she couldn't hold a steady count! In the end, it was 156, so definitely on the higher side compared to past appointments! When the doctor came in, he asked if Dave had been able to feel the baby and he told him that he's been able to feel for about a month now and the doctor was impressed and said we have a "strong" kid....definitely strong like daddy, maybe we ARE having a boy! I also got my belly measured again and it's right on where it should be, so that's another good sign.

Not much else to tell, I have another blood test to take in a week or so to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes and to check a few other things. Other than that, it's an appointment in another 4 weeks and then after that, I'll start going every 2 weeks.

Started to Register!

Last night I went to Babies R Us with a friend and started to register. Oh my, what an overwhelming task!! Between the number of different types of bottles and the variety of strollers, swings and portable cribs, I was exhausted after the 2 hours and decided I'd come back a second day to do more. Let me tell you, after going to register, I did see how knowing the sex of the baby might be helpful, as there is only so much yellow and green I can handle...I was amazed at the complexity of even picking out a bib for the baby not knowing the sex, but I found a few cute neutral ones to add to the list. I think I did pretty good at getting most of the basics covered, but I definitely need to go back one more time. At least I've gotten this task started and I think I'll take Dave along with me next time for support. I also got to look at our furniture when I went in yesterday and we hope to pick it up this week (they make you look at the furniture after it comes in to make sure there are no defects, which is nice). The only piece Dave has to put together is the crib, because the two dresser pieces are already together. We finally picked a paint color for the bedroom also, it's a very light green, called Celery Spice or something like that. So, we'll do that Friday evening!! Ugh, do I really have to wait 3 1/2 more months for our baby to get here!!

24 Weeks - Pre Father's Day

Baby Update at 24 Weeks:

Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week. Since she's almost a foot long, that makes for a pretty lean figure, but her body's filling out proportionally. Your baby's brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds may be working now. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily. Your baby can hear more now, and you may even notice her startle at loud, sudden noises. But she's probably getting used to the regular noises she hears around the house, such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner.

Dave and I had a great Father's Day Weekend. We celebrated with the Hickman side on Friday evening with dinner and ice cream...mmmm! Saturday was a busy day, as we had our annual Hickman Party with about 40 people that showed up. Quite the party animal I was, being able to stay up until 1a.m. (after getting up at 6am that morning to start making food). Sunday, we had a nice breakfast with my Dad and hung out for a few hours. Of course Dave was wished a Happy Father's Day also!!

Good news, I believe we'll be painting the Baby's room this next weekend, since our furniture got in already! So much for waiting 1-2 weeks, it only took 3 business days! We still haven't picked up the furniture, but hopefully we'll get it in the next week! My next doctor's appointment is Thursday, so we'll see how that goes!

Baby Accessories

Kind of silly I know, but I took pictures of all the little things we've gotten for the Baby so far, because I think this stuff is so cute!! Yesterday, I was excited to come home to the Wall hanging set and little pillows that match the bedding we registered for. I decided to go ahead and order this stuff through JCPenney because I thought it was adorable! I also purchased a picture frame last week from Kohl's that is ready and waiting for a picture of the little one. And, last but DEFINITELY not least, we were given the gift of a baby book to track all the information for Baby Hickman from birth through high school from my friend Rachel. Like a diligent mom-to-be, I've already started to keep track of the family tree information (although I'll definitely need help from the grandparents-to-be) and tracking all the information about my appointments etc.

Baby Room Decisions

This past week Dave and I finally decided on a theme for Baby's room, it's going to be Turtles! We found the cutest little bedding at Babies R Us!! We also went and ordered the furniture last Thursday night and we only have to wait 1-2 weeks for it to come in. So, hopefully sometime this month we can get the room painted and then start getting the room all set up. I'm wanting to do something creative with the painting with the turtle theme, but we'll have to see what we can come up with. I believe next week I'm going with a friend to register for the rest of the stuff at Babies R Us; I figure bringing a Mom with kids will be helpful to tell me what I do and don't need to have.

This past weekend was again an eventful one. Saturday Dave and his friend started the electrical work in the garage and then we went to dinner with a group of friend's to celebrate a birthday! Sunday we spent all day in Joliet at the Top Fuel drag races. I think that our baby will sleep through anything, because I didn't really have much movement until the very end, which I was a bit worried about. Every time a car went down the track, I put both arms around my tummy like I was hugging myself to hopefully provide more of a sound barrier.

22 Weeks

Another two weeks has passed by, so I figured some are anxious to see another picture. Don't mind my casual outfit and hair...it's a weekend! Not much new to report, still feeling GREAT! We still have another 2 1/2 weeks before our next appointment, so just a waiting game on that. The baby has been moving a lot more this past week and I even think Baby had hiccups a couple days ago. I felt a constant movement every few seconds, which is I guess what it feels like.

This weekend Dave finished the Camaro stall with the epoxy flooring, so luckily that's over. I believe next weekend will finally be dedicated to shopping for Baby's bedroom furniture! Yipee!! Dave and I went on a dinner date on Saturday, which was nice. We went to Key Wester and had a great meal. We were going to try for a movie as well, but we didn't want to sit through the 3 hour long Pirates of the Caribbean movie starting at 8:30 (although, not sure I could've stayed awake that long either).