Twenty-Six *and* Twenty-Seven Weeks

Two weeks for the price of one, coming right up!

Week 26


Highlights from the week included progress on the nursery, the beginning of a crafty project for the baby (and her parents), and another trip to the west coast!

• R made some significant progress on the nursery during Week 26. For starters, he finished installing the new recessed lights and replacing the ceiling fan. The bright, modern feeling in the room is a refreshing change. R is really proud of the lighting and can't wait to install new lighting in our room next (maybe this weekend?). He also started painting. One wall of the nursery is "Iris Bliss" and the other three are "Violet Pearl." (Coincidentally, these are both names we're now considering for the baby. KIDDING!) The colors are so lovely! 

 

R started with the gray color and was surprised/dismayed to realize it had a hint of purple to it. His reaction: "Well now it had really better be a girl. I just kept thinking if we were surprised by a boy, I would only have to repaint one wall!"

• For some reason, out of the blue, I decided that it would be nice to make something for the baby's room. (Mom says I'm nesting. Maybe I was envious of R's efforts in the nursery and wanted to leave my own mark?) I got my heart set on making an afghan to curl up with while rocking the baby in the glider, so there was only one thing to do: teach myself to crochet! I ran off to Crafty Planet and bought balls of yarn in the perfect colors to complement the nursery. 

Before I knew it, I was on my way. I'm now officially hooked and spend some time most nights working away on the blanket. It makes me really happy to imagine wrapping up with the blanket while snuggling my sweet little girl late at night. The very thought keeps me knotting away night after night. 

• Baby girl and I zipped off to California last week for a business trip. That long flight and the accompanying two nights away from home weight more heavily on me each time I go, so I'm looking forward to my last trip in the near future. My feet and legs swell so badly, I feel like a little sausage lady! Two noteworthy stories from this trip include meeting a woman at MSP who - with no encouragement - asked me when I'm due. She's due in March with her first, and it was fun to be someone else's "further-along pregnant lady"! Upon my return home, a woman who was trailing me out to th eparking ramp announced to me, "Say hon, you look just darling. I love pregnant gals and you just look so adorable." I've said it a hundred time, but I cry easily these days, and that woman's sweet comments made me cry once I made it to my car - such a simple gesture, but it was so powerful.

Week 27

• Upon arriving back from CA, I needed to hit the grocery store to make sure we had food in the house. R told me he didn't need or particularly want anything, so to just go ahead and pick up whatever sounded good to me. Apparently fruit sounded good, as I left the store with two bags of organic grapes, a giant tub of cubed organic watermelon, organic heirloom tomatoes, a Sweet Tango apple, and orange juice. What's more, I ate the *entire* container of watermelon on my way home from the store. Yikes!
• R finished painting the nursery this week, and oh, but it is so beautiful! We also ordered the decal for the purple wall from LittleLion Studio. It should be here next week - we can't wait! Photos coming next week!
• My parents arrived in state this week. They're staying at Grandpa & Grandma's to help with the re-shingling project happening there this week, but Mom came up on Saturday to help pick out fabric for the nursery projects she's taking on. She's making crib sheets, a crib skirt, a pillow for the glider, curtains for the windows and curtains for the closet. Most exciting of all, though, is the quilt she is making! Our fabric shopping trip (also to Crafty Planet) was an adventure, and we totally hit the jackpot! Here are the fabrics we picked out:

• Mom also went shopping with R & I to the Room & Board Outlet to finish furnishing our new sitting porch. We had fun picking up the perfect items to round out the space. The room came together perfectly and it is among our most loved spots in the house now - so relaxing and comfortable! I will post a photo here this weekend when we get a chance to snap one.
• We spent Sunday down at G&G's house visiting with family and feasting during a big shingling effort. It never fails that times spent with my big, extended family are some of my favorite times and memories, and this trip was no exception. 
• I made my maternity leave plans official today: 12 weeks of leave followed by 8 weeks of phasing back (part time, rather than jumping in cold turkey). It's starting to hit me that this huge life event is sneaking up on us, and looking at a calendar today to figure out the dates in question was really eye-opening. Baby Girl will be here before we know it!
• Finally, not to end on a down note, but I've been hurting lately. The pelvic pain I'm dealing with is pretty extreme and is radiating into back and leg pain as well. I hobble around like someone considerably older than I actually am, and I tire out fairly quickly. I feel the third trimester sneaking up on me - it begins in just a few days now! The time is certainly coming to slow down and take it a bit easier as we near the end of the pregnancy and the beginning of parenthood.

Okay, time for the tracker before I fall asleep (again)!

Weeks: 26 & 27

Weight: +13 so far (as of our Week Almost-25 official doctor weigh-in) 

Baby is the Size of a(n): English Cucumber (26 - length) and Cauliflower (27 - weight)

Symptoms: still always hungry, twinging round ligament and general "growing" pains, really achy pelvis (SPD), tailbone pain, shortness of breath, mental lapses (I traveled to CA without the power cord for my laptop - *sigh*), wacky dreams (woke up crying from a dream this week about people butchering poor Oliver in order to eat him), and moodiness (noteworthy breakdown: I already mentioned the crying jag after the lady at the airport was nice to me)

Current Obsession: watermelon, oatmeal, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, all the vegetables from our farm share, apples, applesauce, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, milk, and lemonade

Current Aversion: not much, but seafood is still not my favorite

Thinking About: who our little girl will take after; what her personality will be; working on the nursery; finding a pediatrician; getting maternity/newborn photos scheduled; choosing a hospital for delivery; and still pondering names (I have a feeling this will be true until we meet our little girl!).

Picture(s):