Nursery Progress

Slowly but surely this nursery is coming along! Thought I would post the progress of the room so far:
Please excuse my short and fat Eiffel Tower. I assure you the This is Paris book got the portions more accurate. I thought about repainting it, but then I figured it's quirky so I left it. Plus if the Punisher wants to know more about it I'm sure K and I are going to encourage him to go visit in person! It's not one of those famous landmarks that disappoints, and is one of my favorite places to visit!The book version:
My attempt at the Pantheon in Rome. I made a few adjustments to this painting as well, fewer cars and dark gray skies. Why the dark skies? When K insisted we visit this site on our honeymoon he ignored my warnings about a coming storm. We got lost trying to find the Pantheon and ended up caught in a torrential downpour. Now, growing up in Oregon, I'm used to rain, but I'm pretty sure this was a monsoon! We ducked into a local coffee shop (where I learned for the first time that when you order a latte overseas you don't get nice creamy espresso, you get plain steamed milk). After an hour of waiting, the rain still had not let up, so we bought a cheap umbrella from the street guys who come out of cracks with umbrellas to sell, cozied up together under this tiny umbrella and finished our adventure to the Pantheon.
This is Rome (the book):
The view from the closet:
Our glider!
From the room entrance:
The crib I adore! I am thinking of buying a few hanging paper lanterns to hang above the crib instead of a mobile (what do you think?):

Like I said, it's definitely a work in progress but it's coming together quite nicely.

31 Weeks, 1 Day

Weekly Survey: 31 Weeks

Sixty-three days. That's how many days until the estimated due date of this little bundle! Sixty-three. And I have a feeling they are going to just zoom by! Keenan and I start our birth classes next Wednesday, that's how close we are getting to the big day! Wow.
I think I have started my nesting phase. I'm starting to get things done around here, finishing some of the big projects. Infact, this last week I finished a blanket and two more paintings! I'm going to take pictures of them tonight and I'll post them soon! My goal is to have his nursery mostly completed for when my friend Kate hosts a friends baby shower here in October. I have six more weeks to really get things done if I want to accomplish that goal.
We have decided to share the first letter of The Punisher's real name (only because the blanket I made for his nursery is super cute and has it stitched on it, so if I want to share pictures of that, then we have to reveal the initial.) Be warned, however, that we will not divulge any more information on the subject and will not say "yes" or "no" to any guesses (although feel free to leave your guesses in the comments section! I'd love to hear your ideas!). You all have to just wait until the big day =) Our baby's first name begins with...drum roll please... "C".
Like I promised earlier, I'll post pictures soon, but for now, I leave you with the weekly survey:

How far along: 31 weeks
Maternity Clothes: I have a closet full.
Stretch Marks: Yes, but not on my belly.
Sleep: I sleep on my left side and I hate that I have to roll over for my nightly visits to the porcelain throne. The belly gets all lopsided and it's quite the production. I can only imagine what the next few weeks may bring.
Best Moment this Week: Date day with the hubs on Saturday! We tried a new bagel shop for lunch, went shopping, watched a movie and then had dinner out. Good day!
Movement: He just settled down after being a wiggle worm for 30 minutes.
Food Cravings: Hmmmm, not really craving anything at the moment.
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nothing this week
Belly Button: There is a small portion that sticks out a bit if I'm standing, but still more of an "innie" than an "outie"
What I Miss: Being able to get on the ground quickly when photographing kids
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: My doctor appointment on Thursday (the last one was canceled) and my baby shower this weekend!
Weekly Wisdom: Always make use of the nearest bathroom. You never know when you will find another one.

Weekly Survey: 30 Weeks

Man, the clock is really counting day these days! 10 more weeks, 10! I can do the count down on my fingers now! Exciting and scary at the same time!

How far along: 30 weeks
Maternity Clothes: Yup
Stretch Marks: Yes, but not on my belly.
Sleep: Getting harder these days. Can't get comfortable very easy, and when I do it only lasts about 30 minutes before something either starts to ache or go numb. Then when I do fall asleep, I have crazy dreams about hurricanes, torpedoes and purposefully pouring leftover beer on the guest bed
Best Moment this Week: Having a girl's day last Wednesday with my cousin and brother in law's girlfriend, being lazy with my husband all weekend
Movement: Oh yes! Now he likes to jab my right side with his feet.
Food Cravings: Last Friday I really, really craved pancakes at midnight! Unfortunately McDonalds wasn't serving their breakfast menu yet, so I had to settle for an Eggo waffle instead. However, my husband made me breakfast in bed the next morning...with pancakes!
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nothing this week
Belly Button: Half in, half flush with the rest of my stomach. At least it's not an outtie...yet.
What I Miss: Walking at a normal speed, being able to use my ab muscles
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Well, I was looking forward to my doctor appointment until it got canceled =( But that leaves all week open to make serious progress with baby projects!
Weekly Wisdom: Never tell a pregnant woman she looks like she's going to pop. It's never a pleasant feeling, especially when you have a few months left to go!

Fruit of the Month & Weekly Survey: Week 29

Only eleven more weeks? You have got to be kidding me! I feel like I've been really productive lately with all of my photo shoots (have to squeeze all those clients in before mat leave!), baby projects, etc, but it looks like I'm going to have to step it up another notch or two if I want to finish everything in time! Luckily my mom and dad came up this weekend and we were able to get some of the sewing projects completed.
Baby has been growing like crazy, and I now feel him kicking my ribs. He is taking up so much space in there, that I am easily breathless because my lungs are so squished. And I've been having a few braxton hick contractions, but those are perfectly normal and nothing really to be alarmed about. Just nature's way of preparing for birth (which I'm still trying to block out of my mind). This month, baby moves up to a squash!
How far along: 29 weeks
Maternity Clothes: Basically the only things that fit these days
Stretch Marks: Yes, but not on my belly.
Sleep: Still having some really odd dreams. This last week I dreamt that Michael Jackson was still alive, but that I accidently ran him over with my SUV and killed him. Oops
Best Moment this Week: Finishing some projects with my mom and dinner last night with my cousin and her family
Movement: Definitely, but the little stinker won't perform on command
Food Cravings: Anything sweet, since I've been told to cut back
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope, not really. Just a few small braxton hicks that didn't even hurt.
Belly Button: Half in, half flush with the rest of my stomach. At least it's not an outtie...yet.
What I Miss: Being able to eat anything with sugar and not feel guilty.
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Finishing editing my latest 3 photo sessions, shopping with my cousin, and hopefully making a small dent in the remaining projects.
Weekly Wisdom: Fresh out of wisdom today...I've been staring at the computer for far too long.

My First Big Breakdown

I've been kind of sad the past few days. It all started when I got out of a nice warm bath and noticed my first stretch marks...(warning, this blog is about the become PG-13) on my ass! I now have an ugly ass =(
The next day I went to the doctor and received even more bad news. I should preface this by saying Baby A is fine, has a strong heartbeat of 150 and is measuring right on track. What was not so fine was I gained another 6 lbs in the last 4 weeks (bringing my total up to 14 lbs), the doctor told me I barely passed my gestational diabetes test last time so I have to really limit my refined sugars, and I had to get another Rhogam shot in my now ugly ass.
The weight thing was kind of a shocker. I was trying to keep track by my home scale, and according to that I had only gained 3-4 lbs. And I was not thrilled when the nurse (not the normal one I usually see who I love, this new one didn't even try to make small talk!), called me in for my weight check after I had just drank a ton of water (my doctor was called in for an emergency c-section, so I waited it out by going to Starbucks). I really wish the nurse would have let me pee first.
The borderline GD thing was a bummer to hear, especially since I thought that since I passed the test that I was fine. I would definitely have a doctor though who takes precautions and tells me to limit the sugars just in case rather than one who might not say anything since I technically passed the test. I totally wasn't prepared to hear that though.
I was really in a funk last night, trying to process all this information. And to be honest, I'm still a little overwhelmed. I mean, when I found out I was slightly anemic, they told me to drink a glass of juice with Vitamin C in it to help absorb the iron pill, yet yesterday I was being told to limit my juice intake. And trying to figure out what I can drink besides water and milk makes me crazy. On the positive side, at least I might not gain as much unnecessary weight by limiting my cookie intake. And I'll do whatever I can to make sure this little guy remains healthy.

28 weeks, 3 days

Weekly Survey: 28 Weeks

Yikes! Twelve more weeks until The Punisher gets here!!! There's sooooo much to accomplish in that time that it's just going to zoom by! And that's assuming he stays put until the whole 40 weeks (you never know, since he's supposed to be a big baby, he could get cramped and decide to come a few weeks early). Luckily Grandma B is coming up this weekend to help work on some of the numerous projects.
I have finished one of my projects: his coming home sweater. I'm hoping I knitted it correctly and that it will fit him okay. I plan to stick him in a onesie, put the sweater on him and hopefully I can find a pair of newborn khaki pants. I'm going to try to knit a little hat and booties to match, and it time allows, even a teddy bear with matching sweater.
I tackled the glider this weekend, and K started on his bookshelf last night. I think he is planning on finishing it tonight, and I told him that when he does, he can stick the Oregon Duck helmet on the shelf. It doesn't quite go with the traveling theme, but it's the team that Daddy loves and it will be Daddy's touch in the nursery =) Nya staked out her place in the dresser to watch Dad put together the bookshelf. Even she knows that it's one of those things you have to see to believe =)


I also decided to take a few more bump pictures. It's getting quite big these days and I can't believe I have another 3 months to go! How am I ever going to walk that last month?


How far along: 28 weeks
Maternity Clothes: Looking for a few more tops that cover this growing belly!
Stretch Marks: Not yet (knock on wood)
Sleep: I sleep good, but it's getting harder to drag myself out of bed for those 2-3 bathroom breaks at night.
Best Moment this Week: I had a really fun photo shoot on Sunday with two of the women from my married womens group.
Movement: I think I can now start determining which is an arm and which is a leg.
Food Cravings: Chocolate birthday cake (still haven't had this yet)
Gender: Definite boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nope! Let's keep it that way for awhile.
Belly Button: Half in, half flush with the rest of my stomach. At least it's not an outtie...yet.
What I Miss: Nights where I can sleep the whole night through without waking up to go to the bathroom
What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: My doctor appointment on Thursday, and my parents coming up this weekend
Weekly Wisdom: Watch out, preggers can be grouchy when they don't get adequate sleep.