Nursery Pictures

These are some pictures of Graham's room, ready and waiting. I know he probably won't be in the nursery much at the beginning because our plan is for him to sleep in the pack 'n play bassinet in our room, but it's still comforting to have a place set up for him. Our favorite accessory in the room is the bear painting (you probably can't tell, but this bear wears the number 50 on his jersey).

Yesterday I had the ultrasound to be sure the baby's still growing well. He is. He's at the 50th percentile in size, weighing about 6 1/2 pounds now. The doctor estimated he'd be 7 1/2 pounds at my due date. Yesterday I made an ipod playlist to take to the hospital and play during labor. I'm sure this doesn't surprise many of you because I've always enjoyed a good mixed tape/CD/playlist (pick your decade). I think this may be a good time to revive "Joy and Pain."

Baby Showers

The past couple weeks have been the most fun part of pregnancy because I've been "showered" with love and baby supplies! I had an amazing shower luncheon with friends at Lucky 32 last weekend. I've also been the grateful recipient of showers by our friends at Trinity Baptist, Drew's parents' friends at Bay Leaf Baptist, and my Chatham County Schools coworkers. We are so appreciative of everything people have done for us that we don't feel like we can possibly show enough thanks. It's been fun hanging out with everyone for the festivities and learning parenting tid-bits from those who know. It can't be a good sign that I still don't have the terminology of baby clothing down pat ("onesies," "rompers," "sleepers," and "outfits" look a lot alike to me!). To the best of my knowledge, I think we are almost prepared with what we need for the little guy's arrival. Drew and I have finished setting up the nursery, and I love it! I think we both take detours into the nursery when we are upstairs...just to look around and take it all in. It's especially fun now that there are actual baby supplies in the closet and drawers.

As far as the pregnancy details, I'm 36 weeks along now. Today my doctor told me it looked like I swallowed a kid-sized basketball. I can definitely feel the weight of that basketball, so I'm trying to move a little more carefully these days. My only complaints are pretty typical of pregnancy -- sharp leg cramps and a billion bathroom breaks a day (and night). Other than that, I'm getting along really well and feeling good. Next week I'll have another ultrasound because my weight hasn't increased lately and they want to be sure the baby's doing fine. I've been eating a lot (as usual), but tonight Drew and I had milkshakes for dessert just to be on the safe side.

Our baby has a name!

Drew and I have been on the name-choosing merry-go-round for months now, and we finally decided it's time to move on. We realized we already had a pretty strong feeling about what name we liked, so why keep dwelling on it? So now, instead of calling our baby by the terms of endearment he's been given along the way (Hardy, Orglethorp, fruits/vegetables of the week, etc.), he can be Graham Worth Hardison. We've been calling him Graham for a couple weeks now, and it seems like it gives him a little more personality than he had as a turnip. Worth is Drew's middle name and was also his maternal granddad's middle name. The letters in the picture are my new project -- we're going to paint them and hang them over the crib. I'm at 34 weeks now, so just 6 more until the due date!

31 Weeks

By request, it's a belly pose. I have to admit that these aren't my favorite, but I know it's neat to see the progress. I'm about 31 weeks pregant now...just over 2 months to go! It's been a busy month. Last week Drew and I went up to Richmond to look at this car for me. We wondered if we'd ever find what we were looking for, but luckily, this was it! I'm sad to say that we left my Nissan there.

We're also now graduates of a CPR class and a Birth and Labor Education class. The B&L Ed class last weekend was considered a "weekend intensive" version, so we spent most of Saturday and Sunday at Wake Med Cary. It was interesting, overwelming, exciting, etc. My favorite moment was when we were supposed to simulate a contraction with a balloon and ping pong ball. The problem was that Drew had stepped on our ping pong ball (aka the baby's head), so our balloon deflated noisily and caused a huge scene. We probably weren't the instructor's favorites. We also toured the hospital, which was really nice (and a little anxiety-provoking). I'm now going to the doctor at 2-week intervals, and everything seems to be going well. I feel strong baby movements and can sometimes see my stomach morphing! Crazy.

The Beginnings of a Nursery

Last weekend Drew and my parents painted one of our guest rooms, and it turned out great! It's a pale blue that really makes the room look cute and fresh I think. Now we're just waiting for our changing table and glider to come in and fill the empty space.

To follow-up on the glucose issue, I got the results back from my fasting glucose tolerance test, and everything was in the normal range. So Kim, I guess I can just blame our Panera lunch to my high blood-sugar in the screening. Note to future pregnant women: no matter whether they tell you to or not, don't eat right before the glucose screening.

Last night Drew and I started the whirlwind of baby planning appointments that we've scheduled over the next couple months. We went to a group meeting for expectant parents at Apex Pediatrics to hear an overview of their practice. The doctor that spoke to us seemed really nice and kid-friendly. My only concern is the fee they charge for each after-hours call to the nursing "triage" system. Knowing me, I'll make that system very profitable! Next we have a CPR class this Sunday. I think we may also treat ourselves to a movie night sometime this weekend because I've been repeatedly encouraged to "Carpe Diem" while we can. I hear "Up In the Air" is good.

28-week Ultrasound

Here's a picture from our ultrasound last week. We were surprised at how much this actually looks like a real baby face! He weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces; and was at the 67th percentile in size.

Christmas Update

Time is flying by, and I can't believe I will be 28 weeks pregnant tomorrow! Things have been going well for us and we had a great Christmas! It was nice to see family and friends and have a chance to do things we haven't had time to do until now. Our crib came in, and Drew and I had a fun New Year's Eve setting that up. We finished just in time for the ball drop! We also got our infant car seat and a stroller frame, so my stuffed Christmas bear has gotten some test drives around the house. Speaking of test drives, we've finally gotten down to business about car-shopping because my old Nissan is not exactly baby-friendly.

At my most recent doctor's appointment, two weeks ago, I took the dreaded glucose screening test. I just found out that my blood-sugar levels were a little high, so now I have to go for a more in-depth glucose tolerance test this week to be sure I don't have gestational diabetes. I shouldn't complain because things have been going so smoothly up until now, but I really hate needles, so I am NOT looking forward to 3 hours of blood testing!! The only other pregnancy issue I've had is nosebleeds over the last couple weeks. The doctor said this is normal, especially with the really dry air, so I'll just be using the humidifier for a while I guess. Other than that, I've been feeling good. My stomach is growing, but I'm still comfortable and excited!