Fun Photoshoot!

A freelance designer I work with on and off is also a part-time photographer, and she wanted maternity shots for her portfolio... so I got tons of awesome artsy photos taken of me for free! So far she's just sent me a few of the photos, but I love them. I can't wait to see more and more and more and more! Too bad she has more to do with her life than sift through all the pics and retouch them. I suppose I'll get all the good ones within a few weeks, but these were my sneak peeks. :)

I'm 31 weeks, 4 days.

View more photos on her blog.

Baby shower fun!

Well, I had my first baby shower over the weekend. It was thrown by my coworkers, and spouses and rugrats were welcome. It was sooo much fun. There were five children, but I swear it seemed like 20, especially when two were screaming at the same time. Seeing all these little ones, when two years ago only one of them was even born, made it really hit home for me that I'm going to have my own little girl very soon, and she's going to grow up very fast! Here's a link to my facebook photo album. Check it out to see how much fun it was. There are plenty of cute baby pictures to oo and ahh at. :)

Below are a few of the gifts I received. I loved everything I got!

Gorgeous hand-made quilt from Andrea:

Hungry Catterpillar stacking rings was the hit of the party with the kids:

I am going to have to get a smaller size of this adorable 3T dress. I can't wait 3 years to put Aly in it:

PINK butterfly dress. Mom will love putting Aly in this:

And we're in the final stretch!

Yesterday marked the start of week 28, which means I have begun the third trimester. It's true what they say: Pregnancy really does go by faster than you think. I still feel like June will take forever to get here, but hey, I do have two thirds of my pregnancy behind me. What's one more third?

This morning I had to take my 1-hour glucose test to find out if I have gestational diabetes. Aly really enjoyed those first 10 minutes after I drank what tasted like a flat Sunkist. She was bouncing off the walls of her little home, and I swear I heard a teeny "wahoo!" from under my skin. Then, my tiny little child with way too much sugar in her system did what all kids will do — she crashed. I didn't feel her for the last 50 minutes of waiting or while I was being drained of blood. I only felt her after I got home, because she got the hiccups. Now she's sleeping again. Poor little sugar-filled baby.

I don't think I'll know until my next OB appt. (next week) about whether I have gestational diabetes. I don't think I do, but the test will tell for sure! (Or it will tell for maybe, and I'll have to go back for a 3-hour test.)

Maternity Tour

Today I had childbirth/infant care class, followed by a tour of the maternity ward at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. I'm very impressed with the private mother-baby suites. There currently are 12 rooms in which mother labors, delivers, and recovers, and there will be many more ready by June or July.


At Shady Grove, they never separate mother and baby (unless you do C-section, and then it's only for a very short time), so the baby even sleeps in the room. They have jacuzzi tubs in every room, which you're welcome to labor in. They can equip the rooms with squatting bars if you want to attempt giving birth that way. They also allow you to control the lights (high vs. dim) and play any music or dvds you want to in order to keep yourself relaxed.They have birthing balls (just a few) if you want to use those to keep relaxed, but suggest you bring your own in case they're all in use. All in all, I was very impressed and am looking forward to giving birth there.

Basically, the environment is much like being at home and you have freedom to labor in any way that you'd like to try. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try both the jacuzzi while laboring and the squatting for delivery. I'm really happy I chose this hospital and am looking forward to a "pleasant" birthing experience. Of course pleasant is in quotes, because I do know the reality of the pain and hard work involved!

Nursery's complete!

I finally received my glider, so I decided it was time to finish up the nursery. I finished putting stuff on the walls, organized the book shelf, and of course vacuumed the floor. It looks so great. I can't wait to sit in there rocking my little girl. I tested it out with the Pooh bear that's in the crib, but it wasn't the same.

The Pregnancy Lull

Well, it's more than halfway over. I'm 23 weeks. In an ideal world, that means I only have 17 weeks to go! I know I'm having a girl, her room is mostly ready to go, there are clothes and other baby items accumulating, but all in all it's a slow time. The next big things to look forward to aren't for another month. In March, I have my birthing classes, my hospital tour, my first baby shower, and a fun belly photo shoot for a designer/photographer's portfolio. But what do I do in the meantime?

I need to get my bed into storage so I can bring in a smaller bed for my room and have room for a bassinet. I also need to take a chair from Aly's room to storage so I have room for the glider I'm itching to buy. But taking furniture to storage requires outside help. I'm not supposed to be lifting heavy objects. I asked my best friend if she and her boyfriend could help, and she said they could, but I haven't heard from her about when. My bro and his gf said they could help, but who knows when they'll actually be free. Besides that, the storage unit is a disaster area and it needs to be reorganized before I can start shoving everything in. Ho hum. I don't even really want to think about the logistics, I just want it to happen.

So, I'm in a pregnancy lull. Nothing exciting going on, except that my mom got to see my belly dance this morning and feel her kick for the first time. I've been wanting her to feel it for a month, so it was about time! Now, I have to find some way to pass the time. It feels like it's going slow right now.

Aly's New Crib

Aly's crib arrived today, and I am sooo excited. Originally, the plan was to use the crib Mom bought when Jonathan was born, but I really wanted a crib that matched the other cherry furniture in the room. I was stubborn about it, and even though I could spend my money on other necessities, I got the darn crib!

It's a 4-in-1 Convertible, so it will eventually become a toddler bed, a day bed, and a full bed. A frame and mattress will be needed for the full bed, but that's a couple years off.

The crib took me the duration of Rent to put together (and I did it all by myself, thank you very much!), and I am so happy with it. I am paying the price though... my back is in total spasm. The Thermacare isn't helping much, but it's better than nothing.