Playing House

Wow, Helen Grace has a room! We got so much done tonight...the furniture is now all in place and dusted, the bedding is on her crib, the books are on the bookshelf, and we attempted to install the fan (long story but blame it on our builder) and the table (but the tableskirt is too long). It looks like a nursery at last! Many thanks to my parents who worked their booties off to help pull it all together!

28.5 Weeks

Here's a recent shot of my baby bump at 28.5 weeks. I'm starting to see the looks from random people that I've heard pregnant ladies get, and it's weird for me to know how to respond. I'm still waiting on the polite, helpful gestures that I hear start happening for moms-to-be. :) After about an hour of holding on the line and playing phone tag with my doctor's office, I finally got our 4D ultrasound appointment scheduled for April 13th. Please keep your fingers crossed that she won't have her hands in front of her face so that we can see her precious little features! Kosta finished the fourth- and last, I hope- coat of pink paint tonight. He'll be back tomorrow to work on the trim, and then we'll be able to start setting up house in Helen Grace's room- yippee!!

PINK!!!

Helen Grace has a pink nursery!!!! Kosta came on Saturday, and now our little princess' room- and Mocha- are pink! Mocha got a little too close to the wet wall, so he had a faint pink patch on his hip and the tips of his whiskers. Don't worry though- it's gone now! Kosta will come back on Monday for one more coat and to clean up the trim, and then we can get started putting furniture in place. I have been losing sleep about how the furniture should be arranged, so Moma, Daddy, and John helped move the pieces around this afternoon (BIG THANKS to them!) and I think we have finally found the perfect place for everything. We are still waiting on the chair to arrive- it should be here within a week or two.

While John helped Kosta get the painting underway, Moma, Daddy, and I made a day trip to Jackson on Saturday so that GG, Lary, and Gloria could see my baby bump, and I got to squeeze in quick visits with Whitney, Haney, and Ryves. Whit showed me some of the cutest baby shops, and I finally gave in to my shopping desires and bought Helen Grace some of the CUTEST SHOES!! Ryves has grown up so much and is getting ready to start med school in the fall. It's so cute- and surreal- when he explains to me how Helen Grace is growing and what is going on with her. My, how things have changed!

Today, we have had a nice lazy day and visited with all of our parents and even accomplished some yard work!! Next weekend will be busy with our labor and delivery class from 9-5 on Saturday, but then we'll get to celebrate Hayes' 6th birthday so that will be fun.

Check out the PINK! We're very happy with the shade- pale but still colorful. One more coat tomorrow, and we'll be done!

Here are the ADORABLE shoes that Helen Grace got this weekend (thanks to Aunt Whitney's shopping genius), and also, a SWEET teddy bear from one of my favorite consultants. It plays womb and nature noises, which really confuses Rebel. :)

Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Trip to the Doc

So I had my 28-week appointment today, and I was scheduled for the glucose test. I was really nervous about blowing it, so I ate no carbs or sugar after lunch on Sunday. I did have some sugar-free Jello and Crystal Lite for breakfast, but that was it. I drank the way-too-sugary orange drink 30 minutes before my appointment and headed to the doctor's officer. An hour later, they took three vials of blood for the glucose test and I got to see my doctor.

I was going through my normal list of questions with my doctor when I asked her about the blood test I remembered reading about that was necessary if the mother had a certain type of blood. She responded that a Rhlg shot was only needed if the mother was Rh negative and I was Rh positive...as she flips through my chart...oh wait, I'm actually RH NEGATIVE!! Minor issue!!

Luckily, the shot is needed around 28 weeks (it lasts for 12 weeks), and I just happened to be at 27 weeks and some days. From what I understand, the shot is essentially a booster shot of antibodies so that in case Helen Grace's blood is Rh positive, my antibodies won't start attacking hers. I've done some research today, and if at her birth, we discover she has Rh positive blood, I'll have to get another shot to get me through breastfeeding.

So today was the magic day to get the fun Rhlg shot...which meant more blood work...and no food on Sha's tummy!! Needless to say, after the blood work, I got lightheaded and hot and nauseated, so they wheeled me down the hall into an empty exam room and let me lay down for a while. Then, the sweet nurse came in with a shot and told me to roll on over- GASP! I had to get it in my bottom!!!! And it HURT! Gosh, I was just mentally exhausted after that trip to the doctor! I have celebrated with potato soup, sweet tea, cake, pasta, and ice cream...heehee!

This weekend was eventful too. Kosta came over on Saturday morning and got the primer on the walls. He'll come back in the next week or so for the pink coat. While I was kicked out of the house for a few hours for the fumes to air out, I went to Moma and Daddy's, and Moma got out my baby book. I was so inspired by all of her hard work that I got out Helen Grace's later that night and got to work. I've been printing out pics as we go, so I had fun finally put those all in place and putting some dates to them. We also learned about the importance of a health notebook in our parenting class, so I found a neat binder at Target and got that all organized for future doctors' appointments and made sure the Poison Control sticker was right on the front. Very productive weekend!

Here's Helen Grace's room with the primer on the walls and all the furniture in the middle of the room. We are so thankful that Kosta is a pro and could make it work!

I have been secretly lusting after a glass lamp that I found online but it was ridiculously expensive. Then, I found this look-alike lamp while wandering around Target- and it was only $30!!! And then I found the cute lampshade at Pottery Barn- love it!

Busy Weekend

Helen Grace's furniture has arrived!!! AND we survived our first parenting class this weekend!

I had been told that the all-day labor and delivery course at the hospital didn't include infant CPR and that we needed to go to a separate half-day class for that info. But when we walked into the classroom on Saturday morning, and we had a plastic baby, diapers, and a baby blanket in our chairs, we started thinking that something wasn't right...they actually include about 10 minutes of infant CPR in the Expectant Parents class, and the rest of the three hours is spent on feeding, burping, bathing, changing diapers, and loads of other *fun* stuff. The nurses that taught it were hilarious and made it fun, and John at least did a good job of acting like he wasn't bored to tears.

After our class, we grabbed a quick bite and headed home to meet the furniture guys- and ran into them as they turned into the neighborhood! They were in and out in 10 minutes. I highly recommend Bartlett Home Furnishings, and I LOVE the furniture! Kosta is coming to paint the room next weekend and we still have half of the guest room furniture in there, so please excuse the mess...but here's a sneak peak! And a pic of my Helen Grace bump this week...

26.5 Weeks

Snow!!!

Where else but Memphis could it be 70 degrees one day and snow 4 inches the next? We all really doubted that any precipitation was headed our way yesterday, but sure enough white stuff started falling from the sky early afternoon. I spent the afternoon laying in bed with Mocha and watching the snow fall...perfect day! At bedtime, the driveway and streets were still clear, but this morning they were covered with a few inches of fresh slush/ice. We met our parents for a delicious brunch this morning and came back to snap some pics of the kitties. John set chairs next to the dining room windows so that they could get a good look out at the snow, and then we took a 24.5 weeks picture for you to see some slight progress.