Progressing Nicely

I am 22 weeks 2 days today and am starting to feel very pregnant. My belly is just starting to interfere with daily things, which is perfectly fine with me, but definitely something to get used to. Mainly, a front-loading washer would be fantastic at this point! I went for a checkup today and everything was great. Barrett's heartrate was 150, which seems to be about average for him the past couple of months. I was informed by the doctor that I will be getting a 3D ultrasound at 34 weeks, which I am ecstatic about! Barrett was breech last time so they want to make sure he turns around. Only 3% of babies that are found to be breech at the 18-20 week mark, will actually stay breech. But, they still want to check on him and said it's a good "excuse" to see the baby again! The night after my last post, Ty felt Barrett kick, which was so great. Last night, we saw my stomach move when he kicked, which makes it even more real. He's had a burst of energy since last night and has been really active since. Every time they've listened to him using the doppler at the doctor's office, I get the comment, "he's a busy baby" so I'm thinking I might have my hands full in 4 months. I started feeling really weak and dizzy last week so I called the doctor and the phone nurse told me I just needed to eat more and that it's a normal part of pregnancy. It got worse as the day went on so I decided to go to Convenient Care and just make sure I wasn't anemic and sure enough, I am. Not too bad but just enough to keep an eye on. So, that meant I got to start back on my iron, which made me so sick in the beginning. So far though, I've done fine with it and it seems it may already be helping me a little.

We finally got the nursery painted and got his furniture and basics in place. I am in love with the way it turned out! I've ordered a couple of things for his walls and still need to get a glider and some kind of rug for his room but I'm just glad I got the basics down. I've scheduled our childbirth classes for the entire month of September. I believe it's 2.5 hours long, one night a week, for 4 weeks. Then we'll have 1 infant class that lasts a couple of hours but only one night in October. I've got a few different showers in the works. As of now, I've got one set for the end of September and am so excited for it! I know my 3 best friends (2 sisters and 1 practically-adopted sister) will do a great job planning it! I see the doctor again in 4 weeks for a checkup. After that, I believe they will have me come every 3 weeks. At the visit after next (in about 7 weeks), I have to take my sugar test. I'm scared to death that I'll fail, only because I've had some odd sugar problems in the past. Occassionally, it would be around 130 after fasting but it wasn't frequent enough to make any diagnoses. At one point, it was 250 but my doctor at the time did a repeat test and I was within normal limits. Just as a comparison, sugar levels after fasting shouldn't be over about 110. At any point in time, the level shouldn't be over 180. I just pray that I can miraculously pass this test! Other than that, things are progressing smoothly and I look forward to seeing this baby again in a few months.

Getting things done!

It's such a relief to mark things off of my to-do list! I've got all of Barrett's furniture and crib bedding. The room is empty and just waiting to be painted and then the furniture will be set up! I am so happy with it all! I got his bassinet, which is just too cute. I registered for a Childbirth class that will last one night a week, for 4 weeks, in September and I've also registered us for an Infant Class that meets once in October. I figure we can use all the help we can get! I've found an excellent photographer that I'm in the process of booking an exact day, to get my maternity pics done. I'm looking at the first week in October and can't wait to get them done! I've registered at Babys R' Us, Target, and Wal-Mart, since I've got quite a few showers lined up. I so wish we had a Babys R' Us here because Wal-Mart is a total joke and Target can't keep baby stuff long enough to keep on a registry. I'll have to go back through all of them in a month or two, since I'm sure some things won't be in stock anymore. As my belly gets bigger, Barrett's movements are getting stronger. Ty thinks he's felt him a couple of times but it's still hard for him to tell the difference in me just breathing and the baby kicking. Speaking of Ty, he'll turn 27 on August 1st! I can't believe we're getting this old! It seems like yesterday, we celebrated our 21st birthdays. He has been so supportive throughout this pregnancy. He doesn't gripe when I want to just sit home or if I have an odd food request. It's crazy how having a baby changes your perspective so much. Some things that I used to think were so important, have now become irrelevant. I go back to the doctor next week and will update again!

20 weeks!

Today marks exactly 20 weeks for me! It's a relief to know I've gotten this far! I spent ALL day Saturday emptying Barrett's room and closet to get ready to decorate. His furniture should be in at Toys R' Us any day now and his bedding will be here by the 14th. I was going to get the bedding custom made but it ended up being more of a hassle than what it was worth. I found an adorable set on Sears' website, believe it or not, and just ordered it. So far, I've bought him about 6 outfits and a brown diaper bag with his name embroidered in green. Some things are just too cute to pass up. I ordered his bassinet Friday, which I cannot wait to see in person! It's kind of old-fashioned looking with a long pleated skirt. The nausea I had in the first trimester is still here but usually only in the mornings. Right now my main problem is sciatica and back pain, acid reflux, headaches, and my sleep pattern is way off. For some reason, I wake up around 3am and stay up for a few hours, then want to sleep til noon. That sleep schedule doesn't work well when I need to be at work the next morning but luckily, my boss (husband) is pretty understanding and let's me be late quite a bit ;). I had my first "pregnancy brain" moment this weekend while I was getting the washer ready to put in our bed sheets. I started by putting the detergent where fabric softener should go and then proceeded to put the fabric softener where bleach is supposed to go. I stopped by after a little while and realized I never even put the sheets in, which I guess was a good thing since they wouldn't have gotten clean that way anyways. That's when I realized I had started the dryer as well...with nothing in it. I wonder how many other crazy things I've done without realizing! In the next few weeks, I need to schedule my childbirth class. I WILL be getting all the pain assistance I can during labor but figured the class is still a good idea. Not to mention, it's a way to pull Ty away from the Playstation 1 night a week for 4 weeks! I've thought about taking the Infant Class even though I think I'd make it just fine with my mom and 2 sister's advice but the class might save me from having to call them every 10 minutes! I don't know what I'd do without their advice!

Getting ready for Barrett

I had a great weekend and got lots of stuff done. Barrett's furniture is officially on it's way and I'm calling today about getting his bedding made. I looked in Jackson at baby furniture and didn't find anything at all so we ended up going to Babys R Us in Memphis on Saturday and they had a huge selection. I'm in love with what we ordered! I put the colors and patterns together for his bedding since I wanted something different and bright. Hopefully we will have all of his bedding within a month. Once we get it, I'll be able to paint his room, which my wonderful stepdad will be doing for us! Not quite sure what color the walls will be, since I'm still deciding between a couple of different bedding designs. I've definitely noticed a small increase in his movement this weekend. It's getting a little stronger and more frequent. I can't wait for Ty to be able to feel him kick! This week, we're going to start moving everything out of Barrett's room. Where we're going to find the space for all of this stuff, who knows! His room is now being used as an extra sitting area, with a futon, TV, and tables. Luckily, I think I've sold everything in that room, so it will all be getting picked up soon. We would really love to build a bigger house but the whole process just makes me exhausted, thinking about it. We do have 3 bedrooms right now, but they're all really small and our closet space is pretty ridiculous. However, we can definitely make it work for the time being. My next appointment is on July 28th, so I will update then.