A family affair

Yesterday Jonathan's family came over to help paint the baby's room. It looks awesome, and I love the color. Jennifer, June and I did most of it but I think everyone was involved in some way.

Jonathan made up snacks and went to get another gallon of paint, and everyone else had a paint brush or roller at some point. Today I did some touch up spots and cleaned everything up and it's all done. Now we can work on actually getting things in there.

Here are my helpers, hard a work:

Even Emily helped, she was very excited to get to help paint her cousin's room.

And She was so cute!
Thanks everyone! I could have never done that myself.

23 weeks

Yesterday makes 23 weeks. The little guy has been quiet today, but I've been moving around a lot. I've gotten to where I always have to have tums around, otherwise I'm miserable. Other than that, no new symptoms. My feet still hurt and my hips are sore but I don't think those things are going to go away.

The baby's hearing is fine. The other night I was in bed and I heard this huge sound coming from something inside me. It was loud to me so I can only imagine how loud it was to him. After the second time it happened he started kicking around. He had been sleeping but that woke him up.

He's getting stronger and I've felt him move from the outside a few times, still not very often though.

This week:

• Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat.
• Bones located in the middle ear harden.
• Your baby is able to hear.
  
• The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
• The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. He has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
• If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day.
• The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.

so much to be thankful for

I was going to do a post and list all the things that I'm thankful for, but the list just got too long :-)

Tomorrow we're going to pain the baby's room and then maybe we'll be able to start pulling it together... I hope.

96 years

Today would have been my Nanny's 96th birthday. It's funny, I still can't find the right words to say about her, nothing seems good enough. She had a long life, a great life, and I'm grateful for that, but she didn't think she was done living. In her mind, she still had so much she was looking forward to. Her body may have been old, but her mind and her spirit still had so much and that's what makes it hard. When you see someone suffer with illness or fade over time it can be comforting when they finally go, but Nanny wasn't like that. She was the spunkiest little old lady I knew and by far the sharpest resident at that nursing home. I am so thankful that she didn't suffer, she wasn't crippled by the stroke, and that it was quick but no matter how I try and justify it, I would so much rather just have her back.

Nanny took care of me every day after school, from kindergarten through high school. She was always there. When she'd pick me up from school I'd always ask for a chocolate malt and french frys. Sometimes we'd go out for them, and sometimes she'd make them at home. I didn't get them all the time, it was a treat, but I always think of her when I have a chocolate malt.

Anyways, I could go on forever here, tell tons of stories, share lots of pictures (which I will put a few up in the next few days) but I'm too tried right now. I just got back from having dinner with my family at her favorite restraunt, Catfish Parlor. We would have been there tonight with her and I think she'd be thrilled to know that 20 of us got together to celebrate.

Another one bits the dust

Yes internet, that's right, things are still breaking around here. Only things around here seem to have a slow death, we can see them coming and watch them suffer and die miserably. This time it's our 5 disc DVD player. We've cleaned it, blown air into it, and now we're down to banging on it when it doesn't work. We're not replacing it any time soon. We have a one disc DVD player that will do in its place. It means we'll have to walk from the couch to the TV more often, which doesn't seem bad, but when you've been spoiled by being able to switch between DVD's and have two different people have what they want in there and pregnancy suck your butt into the couch like a magnet, it's a bummer.

22 Weeks!

It seems like time is flying now, thank God. I hope it continues this way. Not much is new, but the acid reflux and heart burn are getting worse. I don't expect them to get any better until this is over with. The headaches are mostly gone, which is great. My feet hurt but if I wear shoes most of the time it helps.

I love feeling him move around. Jonathan can't wait to feel him, he's just too little still. Jonathan often talks to him, reads to him, and sings or resits poetry to him. It's very cute.

This week:

• Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
• Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
• Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
  
• Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
• Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth.
  
• With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
• If your baby is male his testes begin their descent to the scrotum.
• Primitive sperm have formed and he is producing testosterone.
• Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).

refrigerator woes, and a belly shot

This is being delivered on Sunday. We're just praying that things are done breaking around here. We're having to put some projects on hold and re-arrange things to make everything work, but at least I'm still working for a little while longer. And now our refrigerator will match the rest of our appliances.

Also, here's a belly picture. As you can see, I'm getting big! I had a stranger mention something to me at the grocery store the other day. At least I don't just look fat anymore.