My little Riverdancer

Last night, I realized what my son's profession will be: a professional Riverdancer. Eric and I could not believe how wild Graham was acting! His legs/arms were going bonkers, and we both could see and feel them going to town. I have felt and seen Graham kick many times before, but to actually see a protrusion from my tummy in the shape of a foot is completely insane!!! Eric told me this morning that he felt Graham kicking him in the back all night long (my big ole belly must have been against him) and I did not sleep much at all because he was so active. I didn't mind though- it was fun laying there feeling him move all night. I am so excited because my first baby shower is this weekend!!! Yay!!! I will get to see many friends that have not seen me since I have been pregnant so I am super pumped. My family is coming down and bringing our crib which finally came in, Thank the Lord!!! Eric and my dad will be putting the crib together while my mom, my sister, and I are at the shower! I cannot wait to see the finished nursery- it will look complete once the crib is up. I feel like Graham has really dropped this past week. I have to go to the bathroom on the hour, and my stomach feels so heavy and low everytime I stand up. The swelling in my feet has improved so so much- I cut out most of the salt in my diet and it has done the trick! I caught a terrible cold this week, and have been struggling with a sore throat and major congestion so I had my Dr. call in some meds to get me feeling better before the weekend. I will let everyone know how our breastfeeding class and Dr's appt goes today- Wish us luck haha!! Here is my 31 week belly pic:

I Am Now Prepared.....

So this past weekend Eric and I spent our Saturday at St. Vincent's Hospital "Planning for Parenhood". This course basically covers head to toe all aspects of labor and newborn care. Aside from taking up my entire Saturday, I really enjoyed the class. I definitely learned alot about labor that raises my anxiety levels a bit (contractions, tearing, PAIN, to name a few) but I also feel more prepared to have a baby. It was hilarious when we took "potty breaks" and 24 VERY pregnant ladies were lined up to go potty haha. I feel like Eric got alot out of the class too- he is even more excited now! I think the meconium diaper freaked him out most, which was suprising because I assumed that the gruesome delivery videos would scare him! We got to tour the birth suites, which are really nice! Our teacher also taught us how to swaddle, bathe and diaper newborns, which Eric is still bragging about because his diaper skills were better than mine! I told him that he better remember this when he has to change poopie diapers in a few weeks. After the class, my mom and dad travelled down from Florence to bring us our glider that came in! We worked on the nursery for the rest of the weekend so basically everything is ready- we just need a crib and a baby! See pics below of the progress we made!

More exciting news: Lesley and Jake are having a baby girl! They got to have an ultrasound yesterday and they said that since Les is only 14 weeks along they weren't 100% certain, but that it looked very much little a little girl so that means Graham already has a wife lined up! I cannot wait to meet the little princess in a few months! Last night Lesley, Jake, Graham, and I went to see John Mayer. We got box seats through our work so it was super nice getting to relax and enjoy the show! I think Graham really liked the music because he would kick and move everytime a good song was played. He really seemed to jam out when Michael Franti played so I think he is going to be a little "rasta man" haha. I hope everyone has a great week! Happy Valentine's day- I will be spending it with my 3 babies as Eric has to work on Sunday!

Ring of Fire

Zantac 150 and Tums are my very best friends. I depend on them with my well being and sanity, and I don't even think about going anywhere without them! Seriously, the "Ring of Fire" also known as my esophagus has given me more grief than I could have imagined! I am getting desperate here! I don't want to eat because of the heartburn, but I am starving! I cannot finish meals because of it, but I am not full! Starting this week, I have been waking up in the middle of the night with my throat on fire, so now I have to figure out how to sleep sitting straight up! I definitely understand the scientific reasoning behind heartburn during pregnancy: baby is pushing all of your organs up to make room, therefore your stomach acid starts creeping back up your esophagus. Mark my words right now- This is the worst symptom I have experienced thus far! I am going to have to face reality in that Graham is going to double in size over the next 2 months and take any leftover room that my stomach has, so I guess I better suck it up and prepare to eat porridge and sleep in the dining room chair (haha I am exaggerating). I am doing great with the exception of the heartburn, the cankles, and the exhaustion that is slowly returning. Although sleeping at night is getting ridiculously uncomfortable, I have been given the best gift EVER: a maternity pillow. Words cannot describe how fantastic this candy cane shaped pillow is! Lesley bought it a few weeks ago at Babies R Us and hated it, so she gave it to me to try and I would pay big bucks for this bad boy! I have read other's blogs about how they liked their maternity pillow but I was trying to get around buying one; let me tell you it is worth it! Eric hates it because now instead of laying beside his wife every night, he is barricaded away from me with this huge tube of cotton. I love him dearly, but frankly for better sleep and comfort he will have to settle with spooning my pillow for a few more weeks! I cannot believe I have been pregnant for almost 30 weeks now! Only 10 more weeks left! We are continuing to get the nursery ready- our crib bedding and chair is on its way, our mobile arrived, and we purchased our dresser this past weekend. Here is a picture of part of the nursery so far (ignore the painters tape haha):

Apparently our crib still has not come in although I was told it would be here in 3-4 weeks and it has now been 6 weeks. I have heard from several people that the store I ordered from tends to procrastinate about getting things in and actually have gotten things in after the baby is born. I hope they know who they are dealing with here, and I will be nice for a period of time, but there is an expiration date on my patience these days. Just don't tell me, a psycho pregnant lady, that something is going to be in if it is not! Simple as that!

Here are some belly pics. I did slack off on taking pics for awhile there during the holidays but from now on I will take a weekly pic! Have a great week and wish Eric and I luck as we go to our Planning for Parenthood class on Saturday!

20 weeks:

27 weeks:

29 Weeks: