Sorry for the delay...

So apparently its been 28 days since my last post. The crazy thing is I haven't heard one reminder from Shonna, just going on my own intuition... :)

I'm sure everyone has been on pins and needles waiting to find out how all of the renovations have been going, so I'll give you an update. Stripes are painted AND approved! Once I received approval, We (I) removed all of the closet items into the living room, and the hardwood floor was installed. We (I) then moved all of the master bedroom furniture into the finished baby room, and moved the closet shelving into the living room. We (I) then painted our bedroom, ripped the carpet out, and had the hardwood floor installed. We (I) then moved our bedroom furniture back into the master bedroom so that we could at least live comfortably :)

Soooo at this time, the bulk of the rooms renovations were now complete. The only additional changes we (we:) finished were "light switch and plug modernization" from the horribly bad-tooth-yellow fixtures to white. Looks great!

Does this seem like a lot of work? Well... we still have to finish both closets and at least one bathroom. It might take me another 28 days to complete this project and write again...

Cheers,
Paul

August 30th, 2009: 30 weeks down, 10 to go!

Check out the countdown below... only 70 days until our due date! Hard to imagine that 30 weeks has gone by and September is right around the corner. We haven't made too much progress on the house this week because Paul was in Alabama for work during most of it and we've spent most of the weekend running around for BBQs. We're looking forward to spending some concentrated time on it over labor day weekend.

Otherwise there isn't much to report this week. Our party invitations came in, so hopefully we'll get those out soon. I've been pretty tired and back to requiring naps, but no new symptoms to report.

August 23rd, 2009: 29 Weeks

We had our first biweekly doctor's appointment on Thursday with Dr. Masel, which was just one of three medical encounters this week. I had to get my glucose screening, Rhogam shot, and medical exam for life insurance. The glucose screening involved drinking a cup of syrup (nasty), waiting an hour, and then having my blood drawn. I got the results on Thursday and I'm in the clear. Normal is 135 or below and I was at 88. They did discover, however, that I am slightly anemic. They think it will go back to normal after I give birth but for now I'm taking extra iron supplements. As for the Rhogam, I had to have my blood drawn (again) on Thursday morning before my doctor's appointment. When they drew my blood I heard a hiss and looked down and I had gushed blood! The doctor had to wipe blood off of my arm and the chair -- kind of gross. I then had to go back after my doctor's appointment (after an hour and a half) to get the Rhogam shot. If she's rh positive when she's born, I'll have to get another shot. The doctor's appointment went well. They gave me the results of the glusoce screen and we heard the heartbeat. Nothing else really to report. The measurements are good and the heartbeat is strong. On Friday we had our medical exams for our life insurance and had the pleasure of having my blood drawn for the thrid time in three days! My blood pressure is still really low -- 110/60 in one arm and 110/65 in the other.

On the house front, the hardwood floors are pretty much done upstairs (except for a little bit of trim where we ran out) and both rooms are painted. Now we're going to order some materials to redo the closets and we've been pricing out bathroom renovations. At that point we'll be pretty much done for a while. We went to look at rings today because my fingers are starting to swell enough where it's no longer very comfortable to wear my wedding rings. I have to trade 'em in or prepare to have them cut off!

Hopefully Paul will have a chance to write soon!

August 16th, 2009: 28 Weeks

Progress is being made! Paul officially finished all of the stripes and the wood we ordered to replace the carpet upstairs finally came in! Sergio (our fabulous handyman) started the installation this weekend. With the exception of the trim, the floor in the baby's room and the hallway is done and we've cleared out 95% of the stuff from our bedroom to start painting in there. Sergio will then do the floor in there and the stairs. Next on the list is the closet and bathroom attached to the baby's room.

This week hasn't been too bad in terms of pregger symptoms. I worked really long days this week and found that my feet and legs were really swollen by the end of the day on Monday and Tuesday. They gave me a foot rest though to help elevate my feet, which has helped a lot. I was pretty tired this weekend, but it may have just been residual from during the work week. All of the other symptoms have been pretty good - no more heart burn or anything. My hips and back hurt some, but I'm still able to be pretty active as long as I watch my balance. The woman next to me in yoga on Saturday was 39 weeks, so that gives me something to strive for!

Looks like we're pretty well set on having the baby party (in lieu of a traditional shower) at Crush in Baltimore on October 10th. It will be a joint party for Jacy and Joel and us and we're looking forward to the excuse to get everyone together! Look for your invitation in the next 2 or 3 weeks!

August 9th, 2009: Welcome to the 3rd (last!) Trimester!

Today we hit the 27 week mark and got back from our trip to Seattle to see my parents (aka Nonni and Grumps). We had a lovely trip and they have already gotten hard to work on spoiling their newest grand daughter! We spent most of the time eating (http://www.siprestaurant.com/ 3 nights in a row!) and shopping. We went to Gig Harbor, McChord AFB, and Olympia. We left with a duffle bag (literally!) full of goodies, including clothes, stuffed animals, bottles, a breast pump, and so on.

I'm still feeling good and getting around pretty well. I had a doctor's appointment right before we left at VHC on August 6th with Karen King (the midwife). She was okay, but not in our top three (we love Drs. Crowther, Rossi, and Masel). It was a pretty quick appointment -- just long enough for them to weigh me in (!!!) and hear the heart beat. The doctor suggested that I cut back on sweets to make sure my weight gain doesn't maintain the same rate for the next 13 weeks, so I guess the party is over! No more georgetown cupcakes for me! The doctor also said that my measurements are good though and I'm "hiding her" well. I seem to be carrying her sideways most of the time, so I guess for 6 months I'm not sticking out too badly. I have to get my glucose screen next week and go back to see Dr. Masel in two weeks for a checkup and have to get my shot for being rh negative.

My feet are swelling just a little bit when I travel and the baby is definitely moving around a lot. Otherwise, not too much has changed now that we're officially in the last trimester. Hopefully we will spend most of next weekend (and the days in between) getting things done around the house to get ready for her. Paul still has one more stripe and some touch ups to do! Jacy and Joel already have the painting done and the crib assembled so we are definitely behind!

August 2nd, 2009: 26 Weeks

I guess this is technically the last week of the second trimester. Hard to imagine! Time is going by really quickly and people at work are starting to come up to me and shout that I'm showing. Our accumulation of baby stuff is growing (thanks, Mom!) and reality is setting in.

Reflections on the second trimester: What they say is true - it was definitely the best so far! I had a LOT more energy than the first trimester (although that has been changing in the last couple of weeks). I had some other symptoms start up like problems with my sciatic nerve and more lower back pain, but overall I've been really lucky. I'm starting to notice more problems with circulation (feet swelling at the data collection and numbness on the plane) but I think I still have ankles and I'm getting around pretty well! One of the new developments has been the pregger-squat (having to spread your legs to be able to bend down and pick something up). I'm generally just feeling happy and excited about the baby coming, but I do have periodic moments on panic. Paul has still been great - very involved and getting stuff done to get ready for her. Continue the countdown!

Yes I have been great! And yes there have been periodic moments of panic...
My coworker who just had a baby girl 2 weeks ago and today mentioned that his wife started "nesting" about 2 months before the baby was born. As he described it, "all of the sudden the baby room had to be completed OR ELSE. She must have known that the baby was arriving 3 weeks early."
Um, well, if that's the case with us, Shonna will have the baby sometime in the next couple of days! Just kidding honey :) I'll get the room finished...

Speaking of the room, I wrote a description at the bottom of Shonna's week 25 post, but as I mentioned in a comment, probably too late for anyone to go back and read. The room is full of stripes. Now I just need to fix the stripes. Ok, its not THAT bad. Just a touch-up here and there. Next up: wood floor, bathroom, and closet. Not necessarily in that order, but (glasses up) here's to hoping the wood comes in soon so we can have the furniture delivered.

No Waddling Yet

Shonna thought she'd be waddling when she returned from her trip....

Well I was hoping I could relive our Disney vacation , but dammit, she is not waddling yet :(.
If you didn't know, we believe there are more waddlers per capita @ Disney World than any other place on earth... with the possible exeption being the Minnesota State Fair.

Shonna is showing, but not like most other 6 month preggers. As you can see by her 25 week picture, she still has a ways to go before people can walk up to her with 100% certainty and say "oh, you're pregnant? When are you due?". As I guy, I hold out until at least the 8th month or 7th if the mother is carrying twins before making any preggo comments...

Do we really have just 14 weeks to go? I've said this before, but... I better go and do stuff.