Nursery preparations underway!

What a fun and productive weekend!!! :-)

Mom and dad came up on Thursday evening and we essentially spent all day Friday and Saturday fixing up things for the nursery (although we are still awaiting for the doors, molding and closet shelves-ugh!). Mom and dad bought Noah and I a glider chair for nursing/rocking the baby....such a lovely gift, and something we'll have forever! It is super comfy and I can already picture myself in it during those late nights with the baby. Noah and dad spent time putting the crib together and they did a great job....it looks fantastic and I'm so pleased to have this job complete! Mom and I painted the nursery dresser a very cute Disney green color....I absolutely love how it came out, and I owe 99% of the credit to mom who spent hours on this tedious project to make it perfect! Dad put together our baby jogger stroller, and Noah and dad together put together the glider chair! Tons of work, but we had a great time too!

Saturday night we went out to Vic's and enjoyed some music and dinner...such a fun area of town! Wally and Lager had a blast together as usual....and were best buddies the entire time! Definitely got some cute pics of the two of them together.

Sunday was the baby shower that some of my friends from here hosted for me! It was absolutely perfect and the food delicious! I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends here in the Twin Cities! I received so many adorable, generous gifts.....baby girl Parker is sure to be spoiled! :-) It was so much fun to have mom there too...and she had a great time meeting all of the girls. I've posted a few pics today, but mom has many more that I plan to add in the week ahead....unfortunately my camera battery died! Noah and dad enjoyed a round of golf together during the shower....of course they both loved that!

Mom and dad left this morning, but fortunately I had taken the day off to relax and get caught up on things...it has been wonderful! Definitely getting progressively more tired as the belly gets larger! Baby girl is still sitting very low in my belly....but still kicking a ton and growing!

Tomorrow it is back to work...however, only for a few days, as we are leaving for NYC on Saturday afternoon.....almost wedding time for my big bro! :-) I can't wait to be on vacation!

Almost 29 weeks down!

Today I had another OB check-up appointment........everything is progressing perfect! I mentioned to the doctor that I had noticed more pressure in the lower belly and I feel that the baby is resting very low.....she felt around and informed me that baby girl is in the head down position. I couldn't believe it as this seems so early...however, she informed me that some babies settle in earlier to this position and get comfortable. Apparently there is no higher risk of premature delivery when the baby is in this position----definitely reassuring to hear!

I am measuring right at 29 weeks and have gained 20 lbs.......wow, sure seems like a lot! :-)

I had my rhogam shot today due to my blood being A-. OUCH......!!! This will protect baby in the case that she is born + and will protect further pregnancies from potential rejection if +. We don't know Noah's blood type, so this is just precaution in case he is +.

Heartbeat still sounds perfect per the MD and it is always such a relief to hear her little heart beating away! She is also moving around tons and tons!! Very active little girl!!

She is moving a ton and I'm starting to feel her kicking my ribs intermittently......that definitely feels odd! Her buttocks is right at my belly button level and can easily be felt. It seems so crazy to me that she is comfortable in that upside down position....but apparently that is how she likes it! The doctor told me she'll probably stay there until delivery!

Mom and dad are coming in town on Thursday evening for a few days! I can't wait to show them the nursery that is just about complete. We are awaiting the electrician Thursday and then the doors and molding will be put up sometime next week. We are planning to put the crib together this weekend and maybe paint the dresser for the room too. Should be a fun weekend!

My baby shower with Minnesota friends and mom is Sunday....so I'll post more pics after!

Chicago Trip!

We had a wonderful, but very busy weekend in Chicago! We drove after work Friday and arrived just before midnight. We spent all day Saturday in the city walking around, having brunch, hanging out with friends at an outdoor bar for the soccer game, and celebrating my friend Ashley's birthday with dinner out. It was such a fun day and so nice to see everyone! Sunday was our baby shower with our Chicago friends.....it was lovely! :-) Ashley prepared a fabulous brunch with fresh fruit, egg casseroles, bagels and cupcakes....everything was delicious! Our friends were so generous and we received so many adorable gifts for our baby girl! I can't wait for the nursery to be finished so that we can start putting some of these things away and setting up! It was so fun to see my friend Liz who is also pregnant with her first and due just over a week before me.....we took belly pics which will be fun to look back on for years to come! We definitely miss our Chitown friends! Enjoy our pics below!

Back on the home front, things are progressing with the nursery! We have all of the drywall up now and they have been working on the electrical stuff. The doors should be coming in the next day or so and the painting will start either tomorrow or the next day. We are still on track for a 2 week finish! :-) Greatly looking forward to getting our place back in order again and having our completed baby room so soon!

Construction under way!!! :-)

The nursery project is in full force! I came home today to an absolutely filthy entry hall and kitchen from the dust and debris; however, the drywall is officially up!!!! :-) The project started Monday with the framing....it was so exciting to come home to this and be able to visualize what this room will look like. The next two days were electrical work and duct work.....and here we are with the drywall completed today!!! Yeah!!! We are so pleased with the work so far....... I have posted some before pics....and look forward to posting some completed pics in just a week or so!!

We are off to Chicago tomorrow for the weekend.....greatly looking forward to spending time with old friends in such a special city to us! :-)

And......I'm starting week 28 today!!!!! Third trimester!!!!!!!!!! :-)

26 1/2 weeks........

We're getting closer to the final trimester......yeah!!!!

Tomorrow at 7am the construction starts on the nursery!!! Tonight we'll be taking our last photos of the current set up and moving everything out of the way......including the huge CRIB box that arrived earlier this week!! It's amazing how things are progressing so quickly! The project will take approximately two weeks....and according to the contractor they will start the painting the beginning of next week. Wally will be heading to daycare this week to get away from the construction....and he'll be Birthday Boy on his first day there tomorrow! Can't believe I have a 2 year old already! :-)

As far as our baby girl....she is kicking like crazy and I'm feeling her more and more each day. She seems to like to hang out relatively low in my uterus. The belly has gotten significantly larger in the last couple weeks and I feel like I'm much more hungry! It's definitely getting a little more hectic to get around at work.......bending over to unplug IV poles and pick up things can be challenging at times for sure.....but I'm getting by. My patients seem to work much harder when they see my big belly so that they won't need so much assistance...which is much appreciated! :-) My parents sent us a lovely "sleeping beauties" newborn picture book and a frame for our first ultrasound picture....both are just precious and such a sweet Mother's Day/Father's Day gift.

Still managing to get some workouts in on the recliner bike, light arm weights and walks with Wally!

We are heading to Chicago on Friday evening after work for a fun weekend catching up with friends and a baby shower brunch on Sunday. Can't wait to see everyone and be back in such a fun city! I'll put some updates on the nursery up later this week!

25 weeks!!! (tomorrow)

I had my OB appointment yesterday and everything is going great!!! My uterus is exactly measuring for 25 weeks, the baby is moving a ton, and the heart sounds clear! I just love going and then leaving with a feeling of relief and happiness that our little one is doing so well.

I've officially gained 15 pounds so far.....my OB said this is just on track for 25-30 pounds which would be ideal. Although I'm feeling huge, I guess I've got more to come! :-)

Friday I have to have my glucose tolerance test, a hemoglobin test and a Vitamin D check....all minor things that are done in every pregnancy.

We met with the contractor last night to finalize plans for the nursery and he is ordering the materials today. We have a date to start construction as June 21, and he said it will take them about 2 weeks total! I'm so excited for this!!!! Now I can get busy working on ordering other things for the room.....so much fun!

I'm looking forward to a 3 day weekend....so exciting!

Enjoy the new belly pic....Noah seems to always catch me when I'm making dinner..... :-)

24.5 weeks!!!!

It has been a while since I've written......but lots of news to share!!!

The baby is growing and so is the belly.....I swear I think it gets bigger each day! :-) I now only fit in to two pairs of scrubs for work and have only maternity clothes to choose from for anything else. Baby girl is kicking a ton and squirming constantly.....mostly in the morning, lunch and after dinner....she must get excited after she eats! :-)

The contractor is coming on Tuesday to finalize our plans for the nursery and then will begin construction the end of June....should only take 1-2 weeks to complete! I can't wait to have it done, so that we can start putting up the crib, painting the dresser and accessorizing! Mom and dad are coming up July 9-12, so hopefully we'll have lots of jobs to share with them that weekend in preparation!

Feeling really well overall.....but I have developed an inguinal hernia that has been sort of a drag the last couple weeks. I went to see the surgeon on Friday who told me that I will have to have surgery post-partum (probably 6 weeks after), but until then they can't do much other than have me wear a hernia belt for activity and tell me to rest a little more so that it doesn't get any larger. It is terribly uncomfortable when unsupported, but the belt seems to help quite a bit at work, so we'll go with it for now. Crazy how he told me that inguinal hernias are only in 1 of 1,000 pregnancies, but many times he sees them in "runners." I can't believe it....who would have thought! Oh well, guess I'll add to the statistics. :-(

Still managing to work out...although pretty much limited to the bike, walking, stretching and very light hand weights at this point....don't want to risk the hernia getting any larger, and to be honest now that the belly is larger it isn't very comfortable to do much else. I may check out the yoga study down the street this weekend and see if prenatal yoga may work for me too. It's so hard not to run and do the things I love so much...but I know my precious little girl will be well worth it! Looking forward to taking her in my BOB stroller and hitting the roads in just a few months! :-)

Noah and I are going to drive down to Chicago the end of June for a quick weekend trip....trying to avoid too much flying, but it will be nice to visit some friends and get away. My best friend Ashley is throwing a little baby shower get together so we'll get a chance to see most people....shall be fun!

Well, I better head up for my evening bike ride....but will write again Tuesday after my OB appointment! :-) and I guess I'm due for a new belly pic too.....