28 Weeks- The Home Stretch!!

We are in the 3rd trimester!  Woo Hoo!! I cannot tell you how exciting it is to know that we have reached the last stage of this pregnancy and in less than 3 months we will be able to meet the little guy!  Of course, with this excitement comes the panic of all the things we have to get done in the next 10 weeks or so.  That said, the "Nesting" phase has truly begun at our house.  (I'd like to be able to blame this phenomena on hormones, but I am honestly not sure whose got a worse case of it, me or Todd...)  In the last week, we have cleaned out both attic spaces upstairs, the future nursery and rid it of all non-baby items, and cleaned and organized the basement and garage.  We are both exhausted!  It only took two car loads to Goodwill and having a huge pile of junk hauled away to finally make our house feel clutter free enough to begin working on the baby's room.  Did I mention that we also got the first pieces of the baby's furniture?  Below are pictures of the beginnings of the nursery:

His Crib:

We want to thank Grandma & Grandpa DeCook & Great Grandma Sophie for their contribution to the crib!

His Dresser:

This is a little child size rocker that was handmade by his Great-Great Grandfather Campbell for his Great-Grandfather Ken.  Great-Grandma Joan and I are going to reupholster it before he comes!

Beyond that, things are progressing well.  I feel fine except for being tired a lot of the time and not being able to sleep well.  The average baby weighs around 2.5 lbs and is around 15 inches long at 28 weeks.  I have read a few places that reading out loud to the baby in utero will help stimulate brain development, so both Todd and I have started reading to the little guy and I have to say- he just goes nuts!  I don't know if it's hearing our voice in a constant stream or the rhythm of it, but he definitely is noticing the new stimuli!  It's pretty cool to know he is really reacting to us.  :)

Here is a picture of us at 28 weeks:

27 Weeks- Countdown to the Belly Button Pop & Todd's 1st Contribution

We had a great doctor's appointment last Friday. The little guy and I are still measuring about a week bigger than how far along we are.  I am not going to lie- I feel huge! The doctor says that we are both healthy and that we will just watch to make sure he doesn't get too big to deliver "comfortably". (This begs the question, is any delivery really "comfortable"??)  We also learned that the baby is positioned head down in my uterus, which is obviously a good thing!  My belly is getting so big that my belly button is now almost flat.  Todd says he thinks it will be 2-3 more weeks before it pops, I am thinking it will be in the next week.  Dr. Ono suggested I get a support band for my belly button...I think I am just going to see what happens.

The "little prince" as his Great-Grandmother, Joan, calls him is increasing his activity, especially at night when I am trying to sleep or during the day when I am trying to rest because I didn't sleep the night before.  As much as I love to feel him kick, punch and throw elbows, I do wish he would choose to get his exercise at a time that is more convenient for his Mommy!

We had our last guests in the guest room last weekend- Grandpa and Grandma Castellano.  In the next couple of days, Todd is going to begin moving all the furniture out of the little guy's future nursery and prep the room for his crib and dresser which are scheduled to be delivered on Monday.  Then we will move on to the painting...We still have a lot of stuff to do for this little guys arrival, and are both feeling like we really need to get going on it.

I realized after I uploaded this photo, that I am wearing the same outfit as last week.  Oops!  At least I am wearing different socks? One of the many challenges of a limited maternity wardrobe :)

Here we are at 27 Weeks:

See below for Todd's first contribution.

From a Dad's point of view: Heather has been tired this week.  Tired of eating and not sleeping.  The little "prince" as Joan, Heather's Grandma, calls the baby has been kicking up a storm.   Vivian has been a good girl the last couple of days.  She is starting to respond to the baby.  Curious thoughts seem to be running through her head as to why Heathers tummy continues to grow.  Last night, she put her snout on Heather's belly when some kicking and punching of Heather's uterus was taking place.  I think I know now where the boxing speed bag concept came from.  In utero, a baby found punching on a uterus was fun and exciting so that memory stuck until the concept was turned in the speed bag later in life.  Sorry, let me get back to the purpose of this blog.  This is likely why I don't get a chance to write in here very often.  So, in the coming week's growth will be the big thing throughout May.  Not only will he be growing, but I will be starting on the nursery remodel this weekend until his arrival.  

26 Weeks- Home Sweet Home :)

Todd, baby boy DeCook and I survived our 11 day journey to NY and the Dominican Republic.  We  had a great time in both places- the last travel day was just a bit much for baby boy DeCook and I. (Nearly 10 hours of flying, plus a 3 hour layover! Not to mention the 3 hour time change...)  It was great to catch up with our friends in NY and the DR, but we are thrilled to be home.  Our four-legged babies missed us as much as we missed them and have been stuck to us like glue since we got home.  I have to say that I am relieved to be back to eating what I am used to so that I can be confident that I am providing our little guy with the best possible nutrition given my limited diet.

Here are photos from our trip:
The Dominican Republic-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865800@N00/sets/72157626493968706/show/
New York-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58865800@N00/sets/72157626369260193/show/

Speaking of the little guy- he gets more and more active with each day!  If you feel my belly, you can feel that he is situated on the left side of it.  He kicks and moves around like crazy, but he always ends up in the same spot.  I think he is trying to make more room in there, because a couple of times a day he tries to "escape"and presses his whole body outwards from my abdomen.  It's not the most comfortable thing, and he really only stops doing it when I rub my belly like a Buddha but it is pretty cool for us to be able feel the whole length of him.  (I also have a sneaking suspicion that he has noticed that he gets a back rub when he does it...our little guy likes back rubs already!)

We have our April doctor's appointment on Friday- it was delayed a couple of weeks because of our trip.  This will be the last monthly appointment we will have.  Starting in May we will be going to see the doctor every two weeks because we will be in the 3rd trimester.  Next week I will have an update as to how big we have both gotten.

As you can see from the photo below, we are both definitely growing!

25 Weeks! HOLA Bambino!

Hello from the Dominican Republic!  This will be a short post, and the week 25 photo will follow when we are back in the States because we aren't sure how to upload the photo from here.  I am typing this on a very different Spanish keyboard...so bear with me!  The weather here is great, just the dose of sun that Todd and I needed.  There was a small snafu with our hotel reservations, but we have managed to work things out.  Right now we are focusing on relaxing and tanning our selves and trying not to burn the belly!

All the Dominicans are very excited when they notice I am pregnant...unfortunately most of them don't notice until AFTER they have handed me a cocktail...which has made not drinking the fabulous tropical drinks that Todd is enjoying even MORE torturous.  We have started simply saying Bambino and pointing to the my noticeable bump whenever we walk into a restaurant to avoid the torture.  Luckily, all the resorts here are all inclusive so I have had plenty of food to munch on while Todd is drinking away.  Although, I will say that the food is not the caliber or nutritional level that I have been maintaining throughout my pregnancy...the baby and I are going to have to go on a nutritional cleanse when we get back to Oregon.  Double doses of fruit and green juice EVERY day for at least a couple of weeks!!

Talk to you all soon!

Heather and Todd

Update:

25 Weeks and enjoying the Beach!