Third Trimester...can you believe it?!?

Last Friday, we reached a major milestone in this pregnancy: the third trimester! We had our 28 week appointment with Dr. Beingesser and everything looks great: no gestational diabetes, baby's development is good, my weight is good...all is going perfectly! The baby him/herself seems happy; he/she is movin' and groovin...we can finally see his/her movements on the outside of my belly now! I have also noticed his/her routine: his/her most active times are 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM--and when I wake up to pee one-three times a night, as I fall asleep, I can feel the little one kicking away.

With only 12 weeks to go, we have put preparations into high gear! We are signed up for childbirth classes: one with our OB's group and another with a local hypnobirthing coach. We just selected our doula--she will support both Doug and I throughout labor, birth and will also serve as our lactation consultant. Jacque is highly recommended by EVERYONE...including our OB! We are so excited that things seem to be coming together...

Speaking of which, take a look at these photos! Tracy and Mike came to visit this weekend and together we made major progress on two of our major house-projects: the bathroom and the baby's room! The baby's room is definitely looking like such, particularly with the addition of his/her crib:


With the addition of the crib, it makes our impending parenthood that much more real, to say the very least. We still have a lot to do to prepare for baby's arrival but having a crib in the house makes his/her arrival seem so, so close. I still sometimes stop and in a semi-panic think, "is this really happening?" For the most part, however I am just so excited to meet him/her. I have a feeling that he/she will seem to arrive in no time: the next couple of months are shaping up to be busy! We have three baby showers to attend, childbirth classes to begin, my grad class to finish and just our regular lives to lead: work, friends, church and maybe some more frequent date nights before time together becomes a bit more limited.

The excitement continues...

Pregnancy goes on...

And on and on...just like the heat...which, by the way, is not a good mix. We have had some of the hottest weather here lately, almost every day has reached over 100 degrees. I was never a big fan of the heat but Fresno heat...I could handle. Not anymore. I rarely go outside, in fact! On day, I realized that I had only been outside to take out the recyling and that was bad enough. Again, I thank my lucky stars that I don't really need to go anywhere most of the time...I do my work from our lovely, air-conditioned home. I am not the only one, by the way, exhausted from the heat and this pregnancy:


One good thing about the heat is that the paint in the baby's room dries extra-quickly and as a result, it is nearly done! Here is a picture of the room, in progress:

The difference between the old room and this one is remarkable...just a couple of new coats of paint (see the old room here) changed it completely. Doug continues to paint...I think he will be done fairly soon! We received our crib last week, which waits to be set up after all painting is complete.

As you may see, we are progressing! I am getting bigger and bigger (although still not too big...when you start out pretty big, a little baby doesn't make too much of a splash, I guess) and the baby is more and more active. He or she is constantly moving, kicking, turning...I don't actually know what he or she is doing but sometimes makes such a ruckus that it nearly stops me in my tracks. I was trying to explain how it feels to Doug but could not adequately express: tickling? vibrating? girgling? Like right now, I feel kicks at the bottom of my ribcage that are almost bubbly...like as if I had to burp, sort of. While I am not one of those women who praise the miracle of pregnancy everyday (most of the time it is too exhausting), feeling the baby kick and tumble makes the whole thing more than worth it. Here we are at week 25:


Even if I don't really look it...I do feel six months pregnant and sometimes I can't remember what it feels like to NOT be pregnant. Soon enough, however...it will be over and I'll have bigger fish to fry than sensitivity to the heat and wanting to sleep all of the time. Well, maybe the sleepiness will persist for awhile...