Kicking off the Third Trimester (28 Weeks)

Well, I guess I'm in the home stretch now.  Entering the third trimester this week is very exciting!!  Harrison's movements in my belly are stronger than ever, and I know they'll continue to get stronger as he continues to grow.

By now, he probably weighs 2 and a quarter pounds and is about 14.8 inches from head to toe.  He can blink his eyes now, and he's sporting eyelashes (I hope they're like his daddy's!).  With his eyesight developing, he might be able to sense light that filters through the womb. Billions of neurons are continuing to develop in his brain, and he's continuing to put on more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.  This is what he probably looks like this week.

As for me, things are still going great.  I feel great, my weight gain is on track, and my belly is just getting bigger each week like it's supposed to.

I had my monthly check-up this past Thursday (4/29) and got a good report.  Harrison's heartbeat was a strong 144 beats per minute, and the doc said I'm measuring in at 28 weeks which means that his growth is right on track!!  I was excited to get the news that I do not have gestational diabetes, and I'm not anemic.  I was a little worried that I might be anemic because before getting pregnant, I had some problems with anemia and took iron supplements to help correct it.  Anyway, that was the last of my monthly check-ups...I now start going every two weeks; I'll do this until week 36, at which point I'll go every week until delivery.  I will also start rotating between the other doctors in the practice now so that I can get familiar with them in case they are on call when I get ready to deliver.

We attended the first of our five childbirth classes this past Wednesday night.  The night started off on a rough foot because I had a VERY stressful day at work and was pretty emotional and we ended up going to the wrong hospital; however, we finally made it to the right place (Thanks Katee!!!) and the class was good.  The hospital that Jeff and I both have been thinking was Florida Hospital Winter Park is actually Florida Hospital Orlando...we totally went to the Orlando campus, but thank God I called Katee to ask where she parked because she helped us realize we were not even at the right place...LOL!

There are about 12 or 13 couples of first time parents in the class.  The class started off with introductions and men/women break-out groups to discuss the joys and challenges of pregnancy...that was fun!  The majority of the women in the class are having girls, a few are having boys, and two are waiting to find out until delivery; there is one couple that is having twins...they're both boys, and she said the doctor thinks they're identical.  We learned about the importance of health and nutrition as well as signs of pre-term labor and some breathing/relaxation techniques.  I'm looking forward to what we'll learn in the remainder of the classes and also looking forward to getting to know some other first time parents and hopefully make some lasting friendships.

We got our new camera yesterday, and I am SO excited.  We started looking at cameras a couple of weeks ago because for those of you that know me well, know that I LOVE taking pictures.  I do not claim to be great at it, but I love pictures.  Between boxes underneath my bed, in my closet, and pictures online at Shutterfly.com, I have more pictures that I could ever possibly count or know what to do with...on Shutterfly alone, I have over 1,000!  Anyway, the main reason we wanted to invest in a really good camera is because Harrison will be here soon.  We want to be able to start capturing memories starting with the moments immediately following his delivery, all of his movements, faces (clean/dirty, awake/asleep), and once he becomes more mobile and starts crawling and walking, and eventually playing sports, we want to have a good camera to capture all of that!!

Here is a picture of the camera...I can't wait to figure out all the nuts and bolts of it.  I've already mastered the basic shooting function, but I'm looking forward to understanding all the different shooting scenes and settings so I can start snapping pictures everywhere I go.  Thank you mama for helping us get such a great deal on the camera!!!

Harrison's room is finally complete (meaning the painting and arrangement of furniture).  Jeff worked so hard putting together the furniture, staining the rocking chair to match the furniture, and painting; and with the help of our friend Brett, he hung a chair rail, and the room looks great!!!  The only thing left for me to do is get the rocking chair cushions recovered.  Here are a couple pictures, but it just looks so much better in person!

On Thursday of this week, (5/6), mama will be turning the BIG 5-0!!!  She is so looking forward to the big day and the awesome birthday bash we have planned for her two days later on 5/8.  She is such an amazing person and so deserves a wonderful birthday.  We'll be driving up to Dothan on Thursday and will return on Sunday.  I'm excited that Jeff and I, Stephanie and Thomas, Carman and Shay and their families, and the rest of our family and mama's friends will all be able to get together to celebrate mama!!  I'll have all kinds of pictures when we return from the big weekend.

My post for next week will be delayed by a few days because we won't be back in town until late Sunday evening, and I have a big real estate certification class for short sales and distressed properties on Monday and Tuesday.

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead!!!