Photo Card

Faith Love Family Religious

Creating Christmas cards have never been this easy.

View the entire collection of cards.

I'm moving!

Well, the blog is.  Most of the blogs I read are hosted on Tumblr and with all of the issues people have had posting comments on this blog I figured it was time to make the switch to see if it helps.  I was able to import the whole blog onto the new tumblr site so the only thing missing is comments made on this blog.  Therefore - I will keep this one active, just update the other one.  Hope that makes sense :-)

New blog found here

Peace out blogger - it's been real.

Still stubborn! And also a crib update

  James and I returned to Prenatal Peek in Durham today for take 2 of operation see baby D.  He was...IN THE SAME POSITION.  Hand over face - followed by all feet and hands over face.  She did tell us that we should be prepared to snuggle as he appears to reeeallly like snuggling.  Um, no problem there.  He did move a bit and we got a few "sorta" pictures.  She tried for 35 minutes this time flipping me from side to side and shaking him around but he wasn't having it; he even stuck his tongue out at us at one point.  Apparently he wants to keep the entire picture of his face a surprise until December.  I suppose that will be fine :-)
  After the appointment I went to Babies R Us.  After thinking about it all day yesterday I decided that I simply couldn't get over not having the furniture I wanted, especially because I reallllly don't like the matching dresser.  So, I took the paperwork in and (politely) asked to speak to a manager.  She came over and I explained the situation - she went back to see if they had the crib we wanted in stock and they didn't so she ordered it.  She said they didn't have a way to deliver or set it up BUT I was able to order the dresser and we'll be able to make one trip back to the store to return the wrong crib and pick up the new crib and dresser.  Also, before I could ask she gave me a refund that ended up working out to about 25% of what we paid.  So, because we used a 15% off coupon to buy it and she gave us money back we ended up spending about $100 less than we planned.  I'LL TAKE IT!  Because we don't have to return the wrong one right away we can take our time this weekend to disassemble it and get it back in the box.  I'm satisfied with the outcome and definitely excited that we're going to have the furniture I want!

A little smile

Trying to talk to us...look at that little button nose!

 Puuuhhhhlease!  No pictures!

 The little white arrow is pointing to his tongue sticking out

 Wide open mouth

 A bundle of arms and legs blocking his face...this might prove my theory about him having 6 elbows and knees!

Braxton Hicks

  I left this out of my last update but I have started noticing Braxton Hicks contractions!  Last Tuesday we went to dinner with some friends who are moving away and they have a 4.5 month old son.  I was asking her what BH feel like and whether I would actually know it was happening.  She described it as a tightening feeling.  The next night when we got home the whole top part of my stomach (uterus...that thing is pretty much my ENTIRE mid section at this point...) had a very tight and hard feeling.  The only way I can describe it is the feeling you get when your back tightens and you want to stretch to release some of the tension.  It also felt like I had eaten too much and was uncomfortably full.  From what I remember it didn't last too long but I did mention it to James.  It didn't dawn on me until a day or two later when it happened again that it might be BH.  So, I looked it up to see how early it can happen and the get more info. on what it feels like.  Seems to be what I'm having!  It happened again once over the weekend and I described it to some of the ladies in my life group last night who all seemed to agree that it's BH.  They said it could be that I'm not drinking enough water or that I need to take it a bit easier.  I can see where (especially this weekend with the water drinking) either of those options could be the reason.  Generally speaking I drink a TON of water but if you'll recall, by the 3rd trimester my amniotic fluid is completely replacing itself every THREE HOURS!  I don't even know if it's possible to drink enough water to keep up with that but I'm trying.  So, not surprisingly my uterus has fallen in line with the over-the-top-crazy forward-thinking preparation mentality my brain suffers on a daily basis and is already practicing for contractions.  I wouldn't mind if this guy came a *little early* (read-December 1st-5th-ish) but none of us (ESPECIALLY him!) are ready yet so hopefully these practice contractions will continue being *just* practice for quite a bit longer.

Week 29

  Time is certainly moving faster than ever before!  I feel like I'm writing these weekly updates every few days instead of ... weekly.  My excitement about meeting baby D (who is STILL nameless...we are working on it, I promise) is growing exponentially at this point.  I no longer have the problem of not feeling connected to our baby.  He is SO active that it's impossible to forget he's there.  Seeing him (kind of) on the ultrasound last week doing cute baby things was a solid reminder that we'll soon be able to watch him do cute baby things whenever we want!  This week he is approaching 3 pounds and 16-17 inches long.  He is getting close to his birth length (I think I mentioned that last week) but will obviously fatten up over the next 11 weeks.  Weight comparison this week is to a butternut squash which I will happily tell you that I'm very familiar with.  Butternut squash "puree" is a mashed potato sub. in this house almost weekly - YUM!  He LOVES to eat (just like mom!) and I swear he knows when I'm coming downstairs for breakfast.  He starts rolling around pretty good as I'm preparing it.  It's been a while since I've given a weight update but I'm now up about 19-20 pounds which is definitely in the "good" range but it also means I'll be gaining more in the neighborhood of 30 pounds total (as opposed to 25) but it's for a good cause so everything will be just fine! :-)
  This weekend I had a GREAT visit in Atlanta with one of my bestest friends Meghan.  This was the last flight on my "catch up with friends before it gets much harder to travel" tour.  I got to see my cousin Travis too, who picked me up from the airport and then came over to visit (with his super cute GF Jenny) during halftime of the Georgia Tech/Carolina game we went to.  We also had some great food and Meghan helped me shop/plan for the upcoming maternity shoot.  She probably almost fell out of her chair when she got an e-mail from me the week before my visit REQUESTING to go shopping....as you all know I HATE shopping.  But she was a good partner and I feel we got a lot accomplished even through my whining and eye rolls.  Got to spend some time with her family on Sunday before coming home which was also awesome.  We realized that we've officially known each other for TEN YEARS (since our freshman year in college) which will make a person feel old really fast.

  Luckily all travel was uneventful and I made it home safely last night.  The only other point of interest this week is an irritation and adjustment I am apparently going to have to make.  James picked up the crib a week or two ago and did a lot of work this weekend while I was gone finishing the chair rail, touching up paint, cleaning up the baseboards and putting together the crib!  He sent me a picture message once it was put together and I was sooooo excited EXCEPT....notice anything "off" about this crib?

Okay, it's pretty (and how AWESOME does the paint and chair rail look?!) buuuuut, please remember that this:

is the crib we picked out.  Ugh.  The box the crib came in has the name of a different style of the same brand but the pick up sticker with our name on it has the correct style listed.  ALSO, the one we picked out (and PAID FOR) is more expensive than the one we received.  James likes the one we have now (I'm sure that's partially due to the fact that he's already put it together) but I'm having a hard time adjusting my "vision"...especially because I really don't like the dresser that goes with the crib we have now.  So, do I storm Babies R Us to tell them what a huge mistake they made and demand not only a refund for the overpayment but also more toward the dresser for the inconvenience all while being disappointed it's not what I wanted and trying to get over it?  Or, do I totally irritate the hubs by having him completely disassemble what he's already put together and go back to get what I want (and ask for SOMETHING for our trouble...I mean honestly, how hard is it to match up the style on the sticker with the style on the box!?)  I haven't decided yet but I know I need to soon and I know what James wants to do ;-P
  I hate to leave on a bitter note but that's all I've got today and I've worked myself into a frenzy over this again by writing about it so I need to go find my chill pills.

A peek(ish) at our baby boy

Sooooo, our stubborn little cuss sure was difficult today!  We had a packed house in the ultrasound room - James, mom, dad, Jill, Jordan, Christa, mamaw, Clayton and his mom Angie.  When the ultrasound tech rolled over his head he had his hand up over his face.  Shortly after that he proved that he can double his difficultness by contorting himself and bringing his foot up to his face too!  He was grabbing his foot which was cute, but blocking his face.  She had me move from side to side but nothing I was doing was making him move at all.  She moved up and down his little body - we got to see his heart (he also had the hiccups at one point - super cute) and got even more confirmation that we are indeed having a boy (see below...there is simply no way it's NOT a boy...heehee).  Finally, after I drank some cold water and ate some of Christa's goo goos (goldfish) and he still wasn't moving she told us that she didn't have another appointment for a while so we should go out and walk around a bit.  Jill asked if there was anywhere to get a candy bar or something with sugar and there just happened to be a pastry shop/gelato place right around the corner within walking distance.  So off we went and I got some mint chocolate chip gelato.  I inhaled it like it was my job.  It was super hard to force myself to eat it seeing how I hate mint chocolate chip ice cream but I took one for the team.  We walked back and he was still pretty much in the same position.  After moving side to side a few more times he at least moved his feet down and we got a bit of a face view.  HE certainly loved the ice cream - he was opening and closing his little mouth, sucking and then was licking the umbilical cord (which was funny because I had just told a story about how a friend of mine was just at this same place getting a 3D/4D ultrasound a few weeks ago and her little girl was licking the umbilical cord).  So - here is what she got below but the good thing is she offered to let me come back next week to try again!  So, next Tuesday and 1:30 James and I will go back in and hopefully get a better view of his face.  For now he looks like he has nice full lips and a little button nose.  And, for the record, Prenatal Peek in Durham ROCKS!

 All she could get before we went for ice cream (half a face)

 A bit better afterward

 Not surprisingly, he already has hair!

 Seeeee?  No question there!

Glucose screen...check

Bottoms up!  The timing yesterday was a bit ridiculous so I had to work backward from my appointment time to figure out when to eat breakfast (1 hour before drinking half the bottle), drink the Glucola (30 minutes before arriving for my appointment) and leave the house.  Breakfast a bit after 7, drink at 8:10, appointment started at 8:30 and blood draw was at 9:10 (I knew I'd have to wait an hour after drinking it to have the blood draw and wanted to make sure I had enough time for my appointment before it was time for the blood draw...I did).  The appointment was super short as usual but I was a bit tripped up because though I was seeing "Michele Quinn" a 20-something year old guy walked in.  Med student I think.  I don't do well with dude docs...they make me nervous and squirmy.  Luckily all he had to do was listen to the heartbeat and ask if everything was going okay (yes, it is...and even if it weren't I probably wouldn't have told him anything different...bad, I know).  Heartbeat is still strong and solid.  Had to wait a few minutes until 9:10 to get the blood draw which went well because when I said, "If you can just tell me when you're done that would be great" and she actually understood that I meant DON'T SAY "You're going to feel a pinch".  The results were just posted and my level was 107 mg/DL (reference # for normal is 70-140).  I do have mild anemia but most pregnant women have mild anemia so I'm not concerned about it.  It's very slight and I'm sure they'll call me if I need to add an iron supplement.  That's all for today!

Some things I've noticed, part five

  I will start with a warning - some of this stuff falls squarely in the "TMI" category.  That being said, the first one in particular caught me quite off guard so if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the future you should know.
  Last week (which would put me at around 27.5 weeks) seemingly overnight I got really weird sore.  I woke up and felt like I had ridden a horse for hours and hours.  I figured I had probably done something work related that I shouldn't have the day before and just assumed that I was getting out of shape...but what could have possibly caused horse-riding soreness?!  It got a bit worse throughout the day and hung around for a few days and nights.  My back joined in for a day or two as well and one night I was sure I wouldn't get a wink of sleep because I couldn't find a position where my back didn't feel like I had a pinched nerve.  I asked a friend if the soreness was baby related and did some research to find that the answer is YES.  Essentially my joints and ligaments are already loosing in preparation to get him OUT.  It has gone away for now but I'm sure it'll revisit several times in the next few weeks.  The back seems to be tied to how much I do or don't take it easy.  A big day of just standing (or cleaning) seems to lead to more back pain at night.  I guess that makes sense.
  Second, my hips are gone.  I noticed a while back that while the outward growth is pretty much concentrated throughout the front of me I've gone from a noticeable inward/outward curve where my jeans (used to) sit to nearly a straight line from top to bottom.  My hips are joining in the loosing - a little weird and creepy but also truly amazing 1) that my body KNOWS what to do and 2) that my body is capable of doing it (and all in perfect timing).
  Third, I rest my arm on top of my belly without realizing I'm doing it.  I've been comforted by watching other pregnant women and seeing them do the same thing.  It happens when I sit and when I stand.  Maybe since my hips have disappeared I just naturally found something else to rest on (instead of hand on hip it's arm across belly).  In the same vein, I also almost always put my hand on my belly to feel him moving once he starts moving.  I love to feel it inside and outside at the same time.  I love imagining him happy as a clam floating and twisting around in there without a care in the world.
  Fourth, I think I've covered this before, I am SO congested!  I haven't noticed swelling anywhere else really but my nasal membranes must be all kinds of swollen because I wake up totally stopped up most of the time and it continues throughout the day.
  Fifth, I haven't determined if this is pregnancy related but we'll say yes.  I have been getting so many ingrown hairs it's ridiculous.  My right armpit looks like it has teenage acne.  It's gross.  And it hurts.  I've also gotten them on my legs. A friend who is a pharmacist recommended ichthammol and after a bit of a search I found a CVS that had some in stock.  The directions say to put it on a bandage or gauze once or twice a day and not to rub it in.  It was CERTAINLY not what I expected!  It's a black paste that looks like tar and smells....awful...instant gagging kind of awful (James says like axle grease...I'll take his word for it).  He helped me bandage up my pit and then I tried to sleep with my nose as far away from that armpit as possible.  I'm pretty sure I actually woke myself up at one point because I changed positions and got a whiff of it.  I am happy to report however that she did not lead me astray.  Even after one night it looks better and has continued to look better.  I haven't mustered up the courage to do it again but I will in the next week or so because my dress for Jill's wedding is a halter and enough attention will be drawn to me as it is without having pit zits.  Gross.  Moving on.
  Sixth, it is unfortunately true that some bladder control is lost during pregnancy.  I have to squeeze my legs together when I sneeze or cough because I know there is a possibility I might get more than I bargained for.  This phenomenon used to be hilarious to me.  It is no longer funny at all.  Joining club sneeze-and-pee is definitely an unfortunate side effect of carrying this little man around.  And before you even ask, I'm trying to do Kegels but I still don't think I'm doing it right so it just feels like a waste of time and effort.  And it INSTANTLY makes me have to pee...which circles us around to the original problem...without proper bladder control it is not in my best interest to do anything to make me have to go even more than I already do.
  Finally, I think I've completely lost my ability to balance my focus.  I'm either floating off in lala land not accomplishing anything (unless someone added staring into space or walking around aimlessly to my to do list) or checking things off the list with laser beam focus and lightning speed.  Checking things off is great but those trips to lala land are costing me valuable time that I don't really have to waste.
  I know I already said "finally" but this last thing isn't really something I've noticed, it's just something that happened.  I closed the door on my belly today at the doctor's office.  STILL not aware of how far I'm sticking out.  I mean really - closing a finger in the door I understand but a whole belly?!  Guess I need to start over exaggerating what I do so that he doesn't come out black and blue and dented (James is convinced he's coming out dented anyway because of how much I poke him to get him to move :)

Week 28

 
  Baby boy and I are both 28!  The difference is that he weighs more than 2 pounds/less than 3 pounds and I weigh....more than 3 pounds :-)  But to be fair his weight is ADDING to mine so that should count for something.  I won't even bother telling you that the weight comparison is to that of a Chinese cabbage because...lame.  He is tipping the rulers at about 15 inches and in a week or 2 he'll be within 3 or so inches of his BIRTH LENGTH!  Then he'll start getting fatter instead of longer every week.  I did feel the hiccups briefly again this morning and even though it was the second time I was still surprised by how fast they were.  He now has eye lashes and "blinks", adding to his ever growing list of tricks: "breathing", coughing, sucking and hiccupping. 
  We went to Charlotte for Christa's 2nd birthday party this weekend and the whole Hull clan got plenty of opportunities to feel him not only kicking/punching but also doing that weird drag-a-body-part-across-the-belly thing.  Even dad felt it while making comments about how weird it was.  It appears he is also competing with me for "biggest belly"...no further comments necessary there:

  This week is a big one - glucose test tomorrow and 3D/4D ultrasound with the family in attendance on Thursday.  Will hopefully have time to post about stuff as it happens so be on the lookout.  The crib is also ready to be picked up at Babies R Us so I'm looking forward to seeing it put together!  Will share pics when that happens.  Other than that not much to report except that we did get Time Warner out here last week and moved the office completely out of the nursery.  Hooray!

We have a glider!!

I was so excited last night that I quite possibly could have peed myself (and look out for my next edition of "some things I've noticed" coming soon, it's a wonder I DIDN'T ;-P)
I'll start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).  James and I started our Babies R Us registry after we found out that baby D was a boy and one of the things we put on it was a glider and ottoman.  I'd say a pretty common thing to want in a nursery.  What I didn't know is how important certain glider features will be.  Jill called me after seeing which one we registered for and told me that I simply must have a glider that also reclines.  So I thought, "no problem, I'll just log on, find one on the website and change the registry"...WRONG!  Turns out that gliders that recline are like delicious low-calorie ice cream...they are pretty much impossible to find.  I did find one or two brands that offered them but once you added that feature the price jumped up to at least $400...some of them more around the $600-$800 range.  We, like most people, simply couldnot/wouldnot spend that much on a chair.  So after I pouted for a bit I started thinking about what to do next.  By that time it had been made clear to me by more than one person that I simply MUST have a glider that reclines...and while my rational side knew that I would surely survive if we ended up with a glider like most everyone else has, my non-rational pregnant brain was shut down to the idea of anything LESS than the $400-$800 chairs I had in my sights.
So, what do non-millionaires who want something expensive do??  We go in search of millionaires who are tired of their expensive toys and looking to get rid of them at normal people prices...TO CRAIGSLIST!  I've been searching a specific brand (Dutailier) for at least a month and have found a few (though most are light or dark wood, not very many white ones) but they sell so quickly I couldn't ever even make an appointment to go see one.  Until yesterday that is!  I e-mailed a non-descriptive post and it turned out it was white and still available.  I asked if we could come last night to see it and she lives in the neighborhood behind ours!  Side note- she also knows a lot of people we know...small small world.  Anyhow, we got there and it was out in her garage - it needs a good cleaning and I need to either recover the cushions or get new ones but this model retails for $650...has all the options (glide, recline, multi-position lock and swivel) including a gliding and locking ottoman and we picked it up for $150!!!  Including the cost of changing the cushions it will end up costing us about the same as the one we originally registered for that didn't have any cool features!  I had no idea I could be THIS excited about a piece of furniture but I am by-golly and I'm even excited about cleaning it!

It may not look like much (and, I know, those cushions...) but trust me, it's like sitting on a cloud surrounded by harp playing angels while eating ice cream that won't make you fat.  If you don't believe me you should come over and give it a glide - but please call first, I might be busy gliding in it myself :-)

Hiccups!

This morning James got up to take Madigan out a little after 6 and apparently I was in a coma-type sleep because I didn't hear her at all.  I woke up when he got up and while he was downstairs I realized that something was going on in my belly.  It almost felt like a heartbeat but when I put my hand on it I could feel it that way too.  It took me a minute to realize that it might be the hiccups for three reasons- 1) I was still half asleep 2) it was MUCH faster than I thought it would be 3) it lasted longer than I thought it would.  We're talking a jolt almost every second for well over 5 minutes.  But it was very rhythmic and I can't imagine what else it could have been.  James did get to feel it for a minute.  It was also an interesting way to see how much he is really moving around in there!  The jolts moved from spot to spot and were "harder" and "softer" depending (I assume) on how he was positioned.  It will be interesting to see how often he hiccups now :-)

Welcome to the family you giant....Durango

After 2 months (more than 2 months...he started looking well before we actually sold my car) of searching, scouring, debating, weeding out and compromising (with himself) James has FINALLY chosen the Driscoll's "new" car!  Dodge-check.  Blue-check  3rd row seat-check.  Less than 100K miles-check.  Hemi-ugh.check.  Less than what we sold my car for-barely but check.  Built in navigation with screen and DVD player-bonus!  Ultimately it's a perfectly fine car.  James will take it to work so we can save the miles on the Nitro.  I'm just glad to have a car again.  One MAJOR "to do" checked off the list of "MUST be done before December 10th!"  Good job babe...I know it took you a lot of time and I know you had to compromise a bit...we love you!

Week 27 - the 3rd and final trimester begins!

  I canNOT believe we are starting the 3rd trimester this week.  The past 27 (actually 23 since we found out...see this post for an elongated description of the nonsense that is pregnancy timing) weeks have absolutely flown by.  While it makes me a little sad that we're getting so close so fast to the end of me being pregnant I do realize that the end of me being pregnant means meeting our little guy and starting our life as a family of 3 (FOUR....of 4...sorry Madigan).
  This week baby D is, depending on which source you use, between almost 2 pounds and over 2 pounds.  Would you believe that this week he weighs as much as a head of cauliflower?!  That's something I've actually held before!  It's a baby/vegetable miracle!  He is between 14.5 and 15 inches long and some days I'm certain, stretched out that long.  The big body part that we concluded was probably his butt has moved on from my mid-right side.  It was there for several days and a very noticeable hard spot on my somewhat squishy belly.  I had a friend pushing around trying to ID body parts on Friday night (she is pregnant with her 3rd child...an expert to say the least) and she thinks at that point his spine was up against my belly.  He's still wiggling and making tons of waves and I still love every single second of it.  I'm going to guess that will be one of the things I miss most after he's born because it's just so cool.  He supposedly has a waking/sleeping cycle now but I've noticed that sometimes I'm not paying attention and I'll think "I haven't felt him in a while!" and always within the next 5 minutes I'll feel him.  Which leads me to believe that I've already acquired the power of tuning him out ;-P  I'm assuming he wiggles throughout the night but he still isn't waking me up so I don't know.
  Just for the record I hovered at 15 pounds up between week 24 and 26.5.  I've gone up another pound or two in the past few days so around 16-17 pounds total.  On a worrisome note, I seem to fit quite perfectly in my bridesmaids dress for Jill's wedding NOW...which would be great except we're still about 4 weeks away from the wedding.  Ummmm, I'll let you know how that works out, but if I end up walking around with my dress only half zipped don't judge me - pay attention to Jill...she'll look GREAT in her dress :-)
  And finally - I have HAD IT with not having any jeans.  People, I LIVE in jeans.  It really doesn't matter how hot it is outside, I love to wear jeans.  James and I went out to dinner tonight (thank you Groupon) and were right near a Kohl's so I decided to see if they had any maternity stuff.  And wouldn't you know, they had one dark pair in my size and they were on typical Kohl's sale!  Original price: $64 ... marked sale price: $45 ... final sale price: $36!  I have no idea why they were marked down further but I didn't ask questions.  I promise to get $36 worth of wear out of these things in the next 3 (+?) months...check out how cute they are!

The only time it's even remotely acceptable to talk about boy parts....

...and I almost miss it!  I forgot to put in the week 26 post that baby D's "testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take two to three days."  I feel like I'm taking on the job of embarrassing my baby boy before he's even around for his little cheeks to turn red.  I also think there are a lot of jokes to be made around this particular milestone but I'll leave them to you.  Our boy is becoming a .... boy!!

Week 26

  Gooooood morning and happy Labor Day!!  I think it's great to honor those who work hard to provide for themselves and their families with a day off, but don't forget about the stay at home parent who works hard to keep the family running!  Make sure if you're off work today and home with your stay-at-home partner/spouse you help her (or him!) enjoy some time off her/his job too!  So there is my two cents....on to baby D!
  The still unnamed child flopping around my innards is 1.6-2 pounds this week and 14 inches long!  After hearing 14 inches long I'm sure you've already guessed that our veggie of the week is the English hothouse cucumber!  Could we please pick a more obscure reference?  Perhaps next week we can compare him to a unicorn's horn or Goliath's pinky finger.  Everyone knows how big those things are, right?!  Anyhow, the little guy's ears are in full swing now, picking up conversations I'm having and other noises around me.  So please, watch your language....I don't want him flying out of my uterus with a string of "potty words" to describe the rough journey (I'm sure I'll take care of that).  Sidebar - how ridiculously awesome would it be if he could talk, just for a minute after he was born?  I would LOVE to know his thoughts on uterine living.  (This is getting weird, maybe my best and most succinct blogging is done at night...)  He has also begun "breathing" - same motion we use just on a much smaller scale and he's taking in and breathing out amniotic fluid instead of oxygen.  Super great for lung development and also the reason for hiccups (which I haven't felt yet).
  The coolest/weirdest development this week (I think it started on Saturday) is that the movements are not only "fluttery" with a quick and sudden punch or kick, but now they are starting to sometimes feel like a whole body part slithering across my belly.  He's running out of room in there so I'm feeling each motion more and more and it's really cool.  James and I have a little nightly routine where after we get in bed he'll put his hand on my belly for a bit.  Last night I had him put both hands on - one on each side of my belly button - and he was feeling motion on both hands.  I am feeling great and still sleeping decently - waking up a few times to glup water (still can't get over how dry my mouth and throat get) and go to the bathroom.  One annoyance, seems like every time I cough I get a sharp (SHARP!) pain on my right side.  Unfortunately my clumsy nature extends to drinking water and I "choke" rather frequently causing a coughing fit.  I'm really working on that because owwww.  My nose has stayed stopped up for several weeks caused, I'm assuming, by the swelling membranes.  Nothing is off limits when it comes to swelling.
  On that note, I should probably wrap it up.  It promises to be a very busy laboring day off in the Driscoll household - we are in full baby preparation mode!  James plans to put the chair rail up today and my list of errands has been growing since I opened my eyes this morning.  Have a great day and a GREAT 4 day week!

The beginnings of a nursery

Mom's here!  Yay!  James worked hard at the end of this week to get the office furniture put together (pics of that tomorrow) and we cleaned out the desk upstairs.  Got all the office stuff down here just to realize that there isn't a cable outlet on the wall we put the office stuff on - the phone and internet both have to be plugged into a modem/cable outlet!  And, oops, we have Directv!  So the only outlet in the house that is still Time Warner Cable is the one in the now-baby's room.  Hummmmm.  We are going to have to call Time Warner and find out how much it will be to add another outlet.  Yuck.  Anyhow - here are a few pictures of kind of before (James was too fast last weekend and got the bookcase out of the office/baby's room before I could take real before pictures) and a few not-quite after pictures.  James will be working on the chair rail tomorrow but he did get the crib ordered today.  Baby D says,  "THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK GIGI!"

Fuzzi Bunz

I am beyond excited about using cloth diapers.  I think they are so cool and super cute.  I've been doing SO MUCH research on all the different brands and styles and types of cloth diapers and came to one very important conclusion....they are too expensive to buy a whole start up kit without ever having held one in your hand!  I have decided that I want to use a one size diaper vs. a perfect fit diaper so that we only have to buy one size rather than needing new ones as he gets bigger.
So, I got a single diaper from Totsy a while back -from Trend Lab.  I really liked the idea of gender specific liners and as with all of the brands there were mixed reviews.  I was so excited when it arrived but that faded quickly.  It's GIANT.  The liner itself is pretty bulky and snaps in (rather than being stuffed into a pocket) - and it only snaps in the front. 

I can imagine the liner not staying in place once the baby is even a bit mobile!  There are buttons and snaps covering the front because that is the only way to adjust the size.  Overall without having actually put it ON a baby, not a fan.
That being said, I've been leaning toward Fuzzi Bunz since the beginning.  I finally won a reasonably priced Ebay auction and my "sample" arrived in the mail today.  LOVE IT!  It has the pocket for the liner and can be stuffed with more than one for extra protection.

Instead of adjusting the size by "shrinking" the front of the diaper (using all the buttons and snaps on the trend lab), there are barely noticeable elastic bands running down the size which have numbered button holes. 

You adjust there to fit the baby which I think will make for a snugger fit around the legs (less chance for leaking!).  The whole diaper is smaller and less bulky than the trend lab too. 

So, I think we're going to take the plunge (I say that like James has a say in the matter) into Fuzzi Bunz land!  Anyone out there use cloth diapers?  Thoughts on these brands or any others?

One more thing

Somehow I forgot to mention yesterday that we booked our 3D/4D ultrasound!  Before I got pregnant we didn't think getting this extra unnecessary ultrasound was an expense we cared to add to the already crazy costs of pregnancy (and infertility!).  However, now that we have had a taste of this little boy's yummy face (yes -very skeletal, but still SO cute!) at our anatomy ultrasound I WANT MORE!  My sister had it done when she was pregnant and it was very cool.  Also, we found that both clinics around Raleigh have a "mid-week special" - yes please!  So, we are booked for our viewing party on September 21st.  My family will be coming up to "watch" and we'll all get a better peek at what he'll look like when he gets here.  I'll be 28.5 weeks at that point and he will be much more newborn-like (which means much less alien-like by default).  Can't wait!

Week 25

 
  I'm sooooo excited...people we've reached the week of.....THE RUTABAGA!  At least that's the weight comparison...from what I understand he is more baby-shaped than vegetable-shaped (not going to lie, had to look up whether a rutabaga was a fruit or a vegetable).  I've (obviously) never seen one but I sure do love saying it.  He is about 13.5 inches long (from his toes to the top of his head) and weighs about 1.5 pounds.  Last week baby D had his first big concert experience.  The verdict is in and he loves Britney Spears.  I did find myself covering my stomach as much as possible essentially trying to cover his little ears I guess.  He has been jumping around allll week - I've been laying around with my shirt pulled up watching my belly twitch and bounce.  I guess it's fitting that my uterus is now the size of a SOCCER BALL considering how much he is bouncing around in there! :)  Super weird - super cool.
  In other news, we thankfully weren't really affected all that much by the hurricane this weekend.  Rain and wind overnight on Friday and quite windy on Saturday with a few more periods of rain.  We ventured out Saturday in spite of the storm to start the baby room transformation.  We went to Office Max and the first desk we saw was the one for us.  And bonus, everything we picked out was on sale!  So, new desk, lateral file, desk chair and mat for underneath the chair were purchased.  When the desk and lateral file get here mid week we'll move my office downstairs and clean the rest of that room out so it can be painted next weekend.  Sherwin Williams paint went on sale today so I went into to do the color match with the bedding.  Turns out that even though their website says, "Just bring in the item you wish to match - a rug, a pillow, fabric swatch, even a competitor's paint swatch. Now, instead of having to settle for a color that's merely "close" to what you need, you can get exactly the color you want." what they actually mean is, we can't really match anything other than another paint - definitely not fabric.  We went to Lowe's and pick out some "pre-made" colors that match quite well so we'll see how the final product looks.  We also picked out the chair rail we want to use so James will be able to go buy that once he has measured the room.  I joked with him early that his nesting instinct has seriously kicked in this weekend!  He not only cleaned out and took apart the bar to make room for the new "office" but he also cleaned out the guest bedroom closet (to store the now-in-pieces bar) and cleaned out the front closet so there would be room for the bookshelf from upstairs.  Really, it makes me tired just typing it :-)  I helped with bits and pieces but mostly I just cleaned today.  I did manage to clean out and organize the floor of the pantry last night which, trust me, was a bigger task than one might think.  Madigan is running around like a crazy person dog extremely concerned about what is going on.  All of this shiftiness makes her nervous.  I'll post before and after pictures once I actually have the after pictures of all of James' hard work.  Good job daddy - the rutabaga is wildly cheering you on while nestled comfortably inside his noisy soccer ball home.
  And finally, Madigan has discovered that mom's giant pillow is the greatest thing ever - especially once she kicks us out of bed and has the whole thing to herself: