Week 26

I'm down to double digits!!!! WOW...time is flying! I had my last monthly OB appt last week and everything looks GREAT. I am now starting to go every 2 weeks...yikes! My sugar test is scheduled for next week so let's hope I pass this one.

My poor Erik had nose surgery on Wed and has been struggling big time ever since. He is so clogged up that he can not breathe at all and has a constant nose bleed. Sleeping is not an option for him because of how clogged he is. He is not allowed to blow his nose for one week and not allowed to take any other medications other than the pain killers prescribed. He has had a fever ever since the surgery and just feeling like crap. He doesn't even want to get up to do a little cleaning around the house and if anyone knows my husband, you KNOW that he is not feeling well. He is calling the doctor this morning because he really feels that there is an infection of some type in there. Poor guy!

I was busy trying to do some cleaning around the house along with finishing up things in the nursery. My dad was unable to come this weekend to install the chair rail but said he would try his best to get it done during the week. I hope so because I am so ready to get this furniture put in there so I can start decorating! The carpets got cleaned on Friday and boy they look awesome! I can't believe how dirty they really were.

Childbirth classes resume this week and we are starting level 2. I'm excited to learn some labor/breathing techniques and also get a tour of the birth place. : )

Fetal Development
Your baby's developed oil and sweat glands are now functioning. His fingernails, toenails, eyebrows and eyelashes are now fully present and will continue to grow until birth. He can respond to sound and can hear you and those around you. Although we assume that the uterus is a quiet place, the baby has been surrounded by noise for a long time. Things like your heartbeat, digestion, other body functions and external noises are heard by the baby. In fact, you may feel the baby jump at a sudden noise. Your baby is now about 14 inches and weighs a little less than two pounds.

The uterus also allows some light to be seen so your baby is aware of light and dark. Your baby's skin is wrinkled and translucent and may have a reddish color due to the presence of dermal blood vessels. Veins are visible through your baby's skin, although it is quickly changing from transparent to opaque. The following months will see increase in body fat. The lungs continue to mature with the development of air sacs and also begin to secrete surfactant (a substance that will help your baby's lungs expand at birth). At this stage of development the various organs have formed. About 4 out of 10 babies born now may survive (with intensive care services).

My Symptoms
- Round ligament pains
- Shortness of breath

26 week belly pic!

Week 25

What a busy week! Erik and I have been so busy getting the nursery ready. We are just about done and ready for the furniture to be delivered. My dad just needs to come over and install the chair rail and we have a little trim work to paint yet. The carpets are getting cleaned on Friday this week so hopefully by next week I can call to get the furniture delivered. YAY!

The weather this past weekend was absolutely gorgeous so we took advantage of getting all of our yard work done. What a job!!! We spent the entire morning/afternoon both Sat and Sun cleaning things up and pulling weeds. We have such large gardens around our property that it takes a LOT of hard work to keep it maintained. The hardest part is over (cleaning up after fall/winter) but maintaining it every weekend is hard work too. I really notice how I can't do as much as I used to. I'm dealing with round ligament pains so bending, sitting, walking are all getting difficult. Poor Erik had to do most of the yard work himself but I was helping the best I could without hurting myself (I basically held the garbage bag..lol). Our evenings this weekend were spent painting the nursery and buying the chair rails. Busy, busy, busy!!

Fetal Development
The structures of your baby's spine are beginning to form while the blood vessels of the lungs develop as well. Also, his nostrils are beginning to open. Your baby now has fully formed fingerprints and his bones are continuing to harden. If your baby were delivered now it would have a chance of surviving due to some great advances in medicine. The premature baby could survive in an incubator for few months. His taste buds are forming, and he may be developing a weakness for sweets. He is about 13 inches long and weighs a pound and a half.

My Symptoms
- Round ligament pain (ouch!)
- Fatigue is hitting again
- Shortness of breath

25 week belly pic!

Week 24

Happy V-Day to me!! V-Day means Viability Day (when the baby has the capacity for sustained survival outside the uterus). That is a big milestone...YAY!! This past week has been spent shopping for furniture and deciding on paint colors. My bedding FINALLY arrived last week so I was excited to move forward with my nursery plans. This week we will paint the room and get things ready for the chair rail to be installed (by my awesome dad). Other than that, I am feeling pretty good and excited that the warmer weather is coming so I can wear my cute spring maternity clothes. : )

Fetal Development
Your baby is almost completely formed. He is now between 1.25 and 1.5 pounds and is about a foot long.

He will continue to gain weight in muscles, developing organs and the deposit of brown fat. The purpose of the brown fat is to retain body heat. Newborns are notoriously bad at regulating body temperature at first. This is particularly a problem for a baby born early. Changes are occurring in lung development so that some babies are able to survive (with intensive care services). Surviving babies may have disabilities and require long-term intensive care. A good estimate is that a baby born now would usually stay in the NICU until their official due date.

Your baby is totally unaffected by the Braxton Hicks contractions (a usually painless tightening of the uterus not affiliated with labor) you may be having as well.

My Symptoms
- Pelvic pain (like my bones are so sore)
- Out of breath when taking long walks

24 week belly pic!

Furniture Ordered...CHECK!

Saturday my mom and I went down to Rock-A-Bye Baby to order my furniture. As I mentioned before, my MIL is buying all of our furniture as a gift. We feel so blessed to be given this wonderful gift!!! My MIL insisted that I get all the pieces that come with the set so I don't miss out on anything. So....I picked out a convertible crib (got toddler rails and full size bed rails for later), chest of drawers (5 drawers), dresser with hutch piece, 2 nightstands (to use when he gets older), and the most comfortable slider chair EVER!! I can't WAIT to get it all in the room. I was also lucky that everything was in stock (except the nightstands and chair) so whenever I am done painting the nursery, I can call them to deliver the pieces. YAY! We are hoping to have the entire room painted with a chair rail installed in the next 2 weeks. I also would like to get the carpets cleaned so everything is perfect! : ) Here is what we ordered.

This chair was ordered in "coffee" color with "chocolate" for the piping. Basically it is a tan/khaki color with dark brown for piping. It is the most comfortable chair EVER and it glides PLUS reclines.

Week 23

Things are really starting to get busy! We really need to get our butt in gear with ordering furniture (so it arrives in time) and I'm STILL waiting for my bedding to arrive so I can match paint samples. I feel like we are at a stand still and if anyone knows me...they know that I'm going nuts! I like to keep moving forward with things so waiting around is frustrating. We did do some furniture shopping and I have it narrowed down to a couple choices. I'm sure delivery time will have something to do with my decision but there really are so many great choices at Rock-A-Bye Baby that I can't go wrong with any of them.

We also started our registry so at least something is getting done. It was a fun yet frustrating experience but we enjoyed it nonetheless. : )

This week I plan to call a couple pediatricians and finally figure out what I'm doing about maternity leave. My parents are willing to work with me so I'm sure we will come up with something nice! We also have our "bare essentials" class on Thursday where we will get all of our paperwork filled out so we are ready when I go into labor. They will also be going over car seat safety in this class.

Fetal Development

The body of your baby is getting plumper but his skin is still fairly wrinkled due to the lack of subcutaneous fat. He's starting to drink the amniotic fluid he's floating in, and his digestive system is mature enough to absorb nutrients. And not only is your baby starting to drink and taste, but all of his sensory systems are maturing as well. Your baby's face and body is looking more and more like those of an infant, the bones of his inner ear are beginning to harden and his pancreas is developing (the pancreas is very important in the production of insulin). Your baby's fingernails are almost fully formed and the lanugo (fine hair) that covers his body is getting darker. Your baby continues to grow in preparation for the journey of birth. You baby is now more than 11 inches long and weighs over a pound.

My Symptoms

- Round ligament pain (this really hurts too)

- Backaches

23 week belly pic

Furniture Shopping & Registering

Saturday we spent the day doing "baby" things!! We traveled down to Rock-A-Bye Baby in Annville and what a wonderful store it was...highly recommend to those looking for nursery furniture. The quality is EXCELLENT and the prices are very reasonable. We saw a couple sets that we really liked and plan to order something real soon since it could take awhile to arrive. My MIL so graciously offered to buy us all the nursery furniture we wanted so I've been talking/emailing her about what we like. She really wants to see everything in person so she is trying to make a trip out here in the next week or two to check it out. We are so blessed to have my inlaws giving us this wonderful gift!

After furniture shopping, we stopped at Babies R Us to start our registry. Boy, what a fun and stressful experience all at the same time. So much information is thrown at you and some aisles we spent staring at eachother wondering what the items were for...LOL! We have a pretty good registry started and plan to add more to it online as we go. Overall though...it was fun!

Here are some pictures from our shopping trip to Rock-A-Bye Baby.

Erik being goofy.