{29 weeks}

Hooray for my glucose test being negative and finding out I didn't have gestational diabetes 2 days before Thanksgiving!

The belly grew a lot this week, probably due to all the food I've eaten over the holiday! I like to think I counter-acted some of that shopping all day on Black Friday =)

Really though, I feel like it's doubled in size over the last couple of weeks. And I'm starting to carry a little bit lower, which makes me have to pee all the time.

I still feel pretty good. Minus waking up with sore hips sometimes, my sleeping has improved a little. The ankle swelling is getting worse though, as is the sciatic pain. And besides that and my patience running thin with pretty much everything, I'm doing alright. Oh well. 11 more weeks.

11 more weeks?!

That's exactly what the text from my husband said the other day when I reminded him that's all we have left (if I go full term). Apparently "11 weeks to go" sounds way more intimidating than "29 weeks down" and he was momentarily freaked out.  But he's so excited about this little guy getting here he wouldn't care if it was tomorrow.

My mom and I did major damage on Black Friday, and other than ordering one present offline (because my husband procrastinates) I am officially done Christmas shopping. In November. 

This never happens.

I think the thought of having to sit in the floor and wrap presents when I'm much bigger than what I am now has motivated me to get my shit together this year. Yay me =)

And I FINALLY bought letters for the nursery to spell out this boy's name! An investment for sure, but they were too perfect to pass up. So they'll get hung after our maternity pictures next week and then hopefully right after Christmas when the wrapping paper is cleaned out of the nursery, I'll post pictures of it all. I must say, it looks adorable!

Speaking of maternity pictures, I'm super excited about those too. Well, in between temporary panic attacks where I'm convinced I have nothing to wear that will look cute. I'm sure I have something  I can wear. But just in case, I ordered a new dress yesterday :). I just hope the weather cooperates.

Oh Christmas Tree!

I'm looking forward to a weekend shopping trip with my mom this weekend, 25 Days of Christmas (Elf!) on TV, and started my bi-weekly doctor appointments next week. We're getting so close!

{28 weeks} and Thanksgiving!

When I first found out I was pregnant, I didn't think I'd EVER get this far!

I mean really, I'm a worrier. So I worried a lot about all the what-ifs that could happen early on in pregnancy. I'm so thankful that everything has gone so well and Baby R is still healthy and growing. I get sappy and a little emotional thinking about it sometimes, but I'm pretty excited to see his little face and hold him. Although not yet, because I'm not near ready and we need lots more stuff for him, so he can hang out in there for a good 10-12 more weeks. Now, instead of worrying about all those first trimester things, I'm worried about early labor!

My doctors' appointment this week went good. I took my glucose test, so I should know the results tomorrow. Fingers crossed it was fine and I can be totally ridiculous on Thanksgiving. We're still measuring a little ahead...big baby =)

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm ready to eat! I'm in charge of desserts, and I'm pumped. There will be Banana Pudding, Double Chocolate Chip cookies, and Brown-Bottom Butterscotch Cashew Cream Pie! All this will put me in a food-induced coma so I will be rested for some Black Friday Madness, which I'm totally ready for. Bring on the swollen ankles!

I've also marked some more things off my to-do lists =)

I have approximately half of my Christmas shopping done. On top of that, I pretty much know what the other half is getting, it just has to be bought. I've also made an appointment with a pediatrician, and our hospital tour is scheduled for January 14th. Hopefully Baby R won't make his arrival before then ;)

I figured I'd wrap things up with some Thankfulness. I'm truly blessed with so many wonderful things in my life that I figured I'd give some shout-outs...

I've been blessed with a wonderful husband. He often drives me crazy, but he is truly my best friend and understands me like no one else does. We always have fun together, which makes life so much more enjoyable. With that, we are both thankful for my health and this sweet baby :) and everything that will come with him!

I (we) also have a wonderful family and support system. This little guy will have the best grandparents and uncles! He will always be spoiled and taken care of, which is all I could ever ask for him and for us as well. I'm also thankful our families get along so well (no in-law drama)!

We also have some of the best friends anyone could ask for! It's nice to know if you ever needed anything, one phone call would have someone by your side. They too will love our little guy like he's their own.

I'm thankful to have a job I enjoy. Critical care nursing is not everyone's forte, but I "fell" into something that I very much enjoy doing. It's a blessing to help people and their families every day. It's not always easy (and certainly not glamorous), but it's what I was meant to do.

I'm very much thankful to have the wonderful life I have. I went shopping for two different angel tree children today (something Cody and I do every year) and it was a reminder of how blessed I've always been to have everything I needed and most of what I wanted. I've never known what it was like to be in need of basic necessities, so I'm glad to help those who are.

With all that out of my system, I'm also thankful for:

Cream cheese frosting

Peppermint

Caramel apples

Anything leopard-print

Yoga pants and leggings

My husband's size large t-shirts

Heating pads

Starbucks

Dr. Pepper

Mexican food

My iPhone

My furbaby Chloe :)

Have a good Thanksgiving!

{27 weeks}

27 weeks and I love yoga pants more and more each day.

It's hard to get dressed up nice when you're pregnant and the closet is limited. I'm pretty glad at this point I have a job where I have to wear scrubs every day.

The wedding rings are officially OFF. No more squeezing them on my swollen fingers every morning. Sigh.

I am looking forward to the doctors appointment this week. According to my scale at home I haven't gained any weight in the last 4 weeks. Trust me, I'm certainly not trying to lose weight. I snack all the time. I think the baby is gaining it all =) So unless my scale is wrong I'll probably get scolded...

Baby R is officially due in 3 months. After this week I'll be in my 3rd trimester (geez!) and I'll be going to the doctor every 2 weeks until January, when I start going weekly.

Definitely looking forward to Thanksgiving this year! Mainly because I'm in charge of desserts =) but I'm always happy for family gatherings. And Black Friday shopping. I still need to come up with gift ideas for about half of the people on my (our) list.

Short post, but here's to a good week!

{26 weeks}

A large, very active zucchini.

I had to look up how to spell zucchini, it's one of those words that never looks right to me.

Baby R is a busy thing in there, kicking all the time. He's still very active late at night and early in the morning, which I'm sure is a preview of what's to come. He's fairly quiet during the day until late afternoon. It's strange that now I can notice his patterns. And when he isn't moving much, my sweet husband likes to poke and jostle my stomach to try to "wake" him. He's going to be that parent. But really, it's cute seeing Cody excited. Those of you that know him know he doesn't show a lot of emotion about anything. So I let him get away with it.

He's the only one I let get away with it. Truly, when you are pregnant your stomach becomes community property. I never understood random people touching pregnant peoples' bellies but apparently they do. And it's weird. So don't be that person. It's uncomfortable having someone who doesn't normally touch you rubbing on your belly. (I never really understood the belly rub anyway, because you can't feel the baby. It's just a stomach.)

Beyond the unwanted touching, pregnancy is still going good although this week has been emotional. Hormonal emotional. Because I get mad/impatient/frustrated very easily these days over little things and I'm not that person. Most of that frustration seems to be stemming from the fact that I can't seem to hold on to anything, I trip over my own 2 feet, my clothes don't fit good. And what's worse than clothes shopping when you're pregnant? Shoe shopping. Because even though your feet and ankles might not look swollen, they're bigger than they were. All the extra fluid circulating in your body increases the size everything on you. And when you go to put on cute boots with the outfit you finally decided on and the boots won't zip, you just might cry.

I've not managed to really get much done on my to-do lists from last week. I still don't know what people want for Christmas =( but I did finish a quilt and 2 people's shopping. Progress.

I want to post pictures of the nursery so bad but it's just not done. Other than being messy, I still decorations for the walls. I have one picture that needs to be hung, but I'm also going to hang a maternity picture (which obviously hasn't been taken yet) and I'm trying to find letters I like to  spell out his name above the crib. I don't want wooden or acrylic, so we're leaning towards metal which are expensive. We may have to splurge =)

November {a month of to-do's}

Holy crap it's November. Like I didn't see that one coming. But really, you wait all of October for Halloween =) and then when it's over it's suddenly the month of Thanksgiving. How does that happen??

And then I pretend like it doesn't happen every year, which it does. But this year it's so much worse because I (we) have so much more to do. At the beginning of the pregnancy, I was thinking "9 months is forever long....look at how much time I have to get all these things done!"

Wrong. So wrong.

So now it's November, and Baby R will be here in approximately 101-ish days (or sooner if he continues growing the way he is). What the hell have I been doing all this time?! Okay, I've been doing plenty and I'm actually being slightly over-dramatic. But this is how my brain works. I do much better under pressure and after small moments of panic. Kicks me into gear. Those of you that know me know I'm a list-maker. One of those "I already did it, but I'll write it down anyway just so I can cross it off my list" list makers. So I think by posting my to-do lists on here, I will be hereby publicly accountable.

Baby Roberts To-Do List

Find a pediatrician

Wall art for the nursery

Wash baby clothes

Open baby items and organize nursery

Find kitchen space for bottles

Re-do bathroom?

Hospital tour/pre-admission paperwork

So when I write them out, not so bad right? 

Finding a pediatrician is my top priority right now. I have suggestions from many of my friends, and think I have an idea of who I want to see in my mind, I just need to schedule an appointment. Now that we've decided on a name, I can get some wall art for the nursery! I want metal letters, I just need to find some that I like that are reasonable.

Washing baby clothes is actually going to have to wait. I've washed blankets, white onesies, and socks. Everything else I'm waiting on because Baby R is measuring big, and who knows what clothes he'll fit into? Is that silly? Should I go ahead and wash the newborn clothes I have?

I'm waiting to organize the nursery too, because I still have 3(!) more showers. Once those are done I'll be able to sort and see what I'm working with.

Finding cabinet space for bottles and things will be a little difficult since we're a little limited on space anyway. Maybe I should wait until I'm nesting??

I can't decided if I'm going to re-do our hall bathroom yet. I guess if I find a shower curtain I fall in love with, I will. But this is our guest bathroom and really, is the baby going to care that the curtain isn't animal print? Doubtful. So it's low on the priority list.

As for the hospital tour, that can be taken care of easily. Probably some time in December. We will deliver at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, which does tours of their L&D units on Wednesday nights. Super helpful because they show you exactly where to park and sign in. And during your tour you fill out paperwork so when you get there and you're actually in labor you have less to do.

Personal To-Do List

Nursing class

Christmas shopping!!

Finish home-made Christmas presents

Maternity pictures (scheduled!)

Pack hospital bags

This one, luckily, is much shorter. Although I feel like I'm leaving about half of it off. I just can't remember what else should be there!

The husband and I decided to opt out of childbirth classes. They're expensive at the hospital where we'll deliver, carried over several weeks, and he will just whine through them. He's already mentally preparing himself for passing out and missing the delivery of our firstborn child. Because of our jobs, we're both certified in adult/infant CPR which makes me feel better about it. However, I talked to a couple of friends who said the most valuable part (or part they wished they'd gone to) was about nursing. So I've signed up for the nursing class at the hospital where I work, and I think that will help me out without causing him distress :)

Christmas shopping. Enough said. I've started and finished one person, and that is all. So we still have approximately 10-ish people to buy for. I love Christmas shopping for people but no one will tell me what they want this year! My other problem is on my days off (like yesterday) I go out to get some of it done, realize I don't know what they want, and buy stuff for myself (like yesterday). So I need to get serious about it.

A couple of people are getting homemade presents (remember I said I was crafty?) so I have a quilt and several scarves to finish. Those are easy things though, and the quilt will probably get done today or this weekend.

Maternity pictures are scheduled! Super excited to be working with Nicole Gagliano for the next year since she's doing our maternity and newborn-1 year pictures! Hope it's not freezing or raining on December 4th!

Ok last but not least, the hospital bag. I know it's waaayyyy to early to pack a back. But I'm a planner, so I already have a list of things typed out that need to be put in my bag and the baby's bag. I've done my homework because clearly I've never done this before and I would have packed entirely too much unnecessary crap, causing my husband to say "Really Rheanne??" as he attempted to drag both bags to the car while I'm in labor. So now that my super-organized (and seriously reduced) lists are made, and that's left to do is pack. That will occur sometime in January. And it does give me the opportunity to find a couple of little luxury items I want, cute new slippers, a new robe, and some button front nightgowns =)

Phew! Ever feel better after you write something out? I think that's why I started blogging to begin with. Is there anything I should be adding to my lists??

Happy November!