BIG Changes!

This week marks 24 weeks of pregnancy!  I can hardly believe it, but the proof is in the pudding...or at least, my belly!  It has grown so significantly over the last week that I wish I had taken a picture of the bump at 23 weeks for that simple comparison.  BUT, laziness took over.  I am very proud to say that I finally look pregnant, and less like I have a beer belly! :)  It's about darn time...my maternity clothes finally fit!  (Thank goodness because my normal clothes quit fitting a while ago)

Some fun changes:

• If I stand with good posture and look down at my toes, I cannot see them. 
• Baby Keagan's movements are getting stronger and more often.
• Josh has felt Keagan move while I am actually SEEING him move in my belly! (now that's weird)
• He moves a lot at night, and has managed to keep me awake (not so much a fun change).
• The girls have finally started to grow...and no longer hurt! 
• I can safely say that nausea is a thing of the past (exhaustion isn't, but I deal with it).

Some not-so-fun changes:

• I don't sleep terribly well at night between constantly getting up to pee and my inability to get comfy. (pair these with Keagan's strengthening movements...)
• I have a slight bit of back/side pain if I don't have good posture 100% of the time!
• Exhaustion.
• My bum has definitely widened...Definitely.

In anticipation of the arrival of our son, Josh and I began a search for a mommy-mobile.  I currently drive a Toyota Corolla, and it is entirely too small for me to climb in/out of with an infant.  I also have concerns about putting my growing family in such a small vehicle.  This was made clear when we purchased this car, but it has been a wonderful car.  Josh is now going to be driving it to/from work because we have purchased a new car for me!!  Meet my Mommy-Mobile: 

We didn't have plans to purchase so quickly, but Toyota had a wonderful deal of 0% financing for 60 months.  It was a sign.  So, we went on and got exactly what I wanted:  a 2010 Toyota Highlander.  Josh picked her up yesterday!  

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We finally found the furniture for Baby Keagan's room, it has been quite the search because A) I am picky! (I cannot tell a lie!), B) I have expensive taste, and C) We weren't going to spend an arm-and-a-leg on baby furniture.  Oh, and I forgot one: I found something I LOVED at Pottery Barn Kids but refused to spend $1000 on a crib (well, Josh refused!) so everything I found at a reasonable price was compared back to the PBK crib.  The standard was set pretty high.  Well, we finally found some furniture at JC Penney and broke down and ordered it.  The crib arrived yesterday and Josh put it together this afternoon.  I love it and have nearly forgotten about the PBK crib!  We are waiting on the dresser/changer to come in and I am still looking for a rocker/glider (any suggestions?). 

About the bedding:  I found some bedding that I LOVED in the PBK catalog over a year ago, and of course by the time we finally got pregnant and then found out we were having a boy, the bedding was gone, no longer available!  I was so bummed, but Ebay and Craigslist to the rescue: I found all the bedding, brand new, and we have managed to piece it all together!  We have everything, except the minor details of wall decor, etc, which I don't care about.  The theme: No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  It is so cute!  Here is the PBK picture (you'll recognize the paint!):

(of course, the name above the bed will not be Tristan...just in case you were wondering!)

Home Improvement

This past weekend, my wonderful family drove all the way from Texas to help us out with some home improvement before Keagan's arrival.  Unfortunately I have been down with the worst chest cold in my life (no joke!) since last Thursday, so my visit with them wasn't what I had hoped for.  They were troopers, though, and dealt with my continuous hacking and multiple naps.  Mom, Wesley, and Hannah painted the nursery while Dad and Josh ripped out the carpet in the living room in preparation for wood floor installation.  It was so nice to have everyone's help, and even better that it was my family.  I really wish they lived closer, not for the home improvement, but just because.  Here are some before-and-after pics from the home improvement weekend:

Living Room - Before

Living Room - After

The new wood floors aren't a perfect match, that is nearly impossible.  However, we are incredibly pleased with how good they look and how they expand the area!  Oscar isn't really happy, he has a hard time jumping up on the couch now because he can't get any traction on the slick floor!  So, we have to find him a rug...and we need a rug to pull the room together (but mainly for Oscar!)

"Pink Room" - Before

"Pink Room" Transformation

"Pink Room" no longer!  Welcome to Keagan's Room!

We have purchased nursery furniture, it just isn't here yet!  Once it is, I will take pics of the bedding and all and you will see why the colors are what they are...it will all make sense! :)

It was fun to talk to Mom and Dad about their future grandchild, and even Hannah and Wes seem excited about having a nephew.  Wes is pretty easy going about everything and didn't say a lot, Hannah asked to be in the delivery room in one instant and was "grossed out" by my belly in the next!  It was funny, but she is 13 so I guess it is a normal reaction?  Despite my cold-from-hell, the visit was nice and I can't wait to see them again!!  The next time they visit Kentucky, there will be a new addition to our family! 

Meet My Furry Child

This weekend marks 21 weeks.  If you divide this by 4 weeks, I am 5 months and 1 week!  I don't know if this pregnancy math is correct because I am still confused by pregnancy numbers!  I know 40 weeks is full term but this equates to 10 months of gestation in my mind, not 9 months!  Anyways, because I honestly have baby brain, I don't think about this much beyond the above explaination! 

21 Weeks

Speaking of "baby brain," I didn't realize how true this term was until the past couple of weeks, when I swear I have become a fumbling idiot!  I lose my train of thought easily, change subjects on a whim during conversation, and cannot think of generic words that I use daily.  It is really quite sad.  Today, I went and saw Beauty and the Beast in Paducah and I rode with my friend Stacey and her mom.  When they came to pick me up, I just walked out of the house and got in their car like it was any other day.  It wasn't until about 20 minutes later I got a phone call from Josh, he said: Where ARE you?  I forgot to say good-bye!!  He had no idea I had left and it didn't cross my mind to tell him I was leaving!  Totally not me.  Baby Brain.

For my birthday I received a generous amount of money from my mom to put towards a jogging stroller.  I have mulled over thousands of strollers online and in stores and finally decided on the Bob Revolution jogging stroller.  I got online to order it and was pleased to find Babies R'Us had a free shipping promo going on!  (whoo hoo!)  It came to our doorstep the other day and Josh was pumped about putting it together:

I cannot wait to start jogging again, and am thrilled about this jogger because you can purchase an attachment for an infant carrier so you can walk/jog with a little one instead of waiting until he is 6 months old!  I am not the only one who is thrilled, however; Oscar really took a liking to the stroller and we walked all over the house.  He didn't really want to get out of it! 

So funny, he "told me" that he is mad that he didn't have one of these when he was a baby, but is glad that he has one to ride in now.  Better late than never I suppose.  I didn't let Oscar know this was "for the baby," ignorance is bliss in this case, and Oscar was definitely blissful about our Springtime walks in this stroller!  He'll soon find out that he has to share.  All in good time!

Fetal Growth and Development + Maternity Wear

I have finally surpassed the 20 week mark!  It feels good and, most importantly, I FEEL GOOD!!!  I don't know what happened and what flipped the switch, but I'm not asking questions because I am loving it!  Yes, I still have the weird taste in my mouth and am still tired, but all-in-all I feel wonderful and occasionally even have that second-trimester energy burst!  This past weekend I went and visited Lindsy in Lexington and she helped me do some mega maternity clothes shopping (b/c I have officially retired the rest of my clothes!) and I definitely racked up.  I wasn't enthralled with the idea of buying a whole new wardrobe for my changing body, but now that I have spent a small fortune I am super excited about dressing my bump!  I have finally embraced my new figure and am excited about my bump getting more obvious!
Today I had another doctor's appointment, a big one!  I had a 45 minute ultrasound to check Keagan's growth and development.  Everything was checked, from his brain to his belly to his toes.  And, thankfully, everything looked normal.  He is weighing in at 12 ounces (how they know this beats me!), is currently in the breach position, and is shy.  He kept his hands clasped in front of his face throughout the ultrasound as if there was a bright light in front of his eyes, and he really wouldn't change positions (so the pics aren't the best).  Despite this, baby Keagan appears to have music going through his head because we caught a 30 second glimpse of his foot tapping (as if tapping to a beat) and toes wiggling.  It had everyone in the room laughing; it really was so cute!  Here are some of the pics from the day's events:

A very strong heartbeat and profile of his spine

Hands clasped--can you see it?  (look below)

Another view of clasped hands--he's praying already!  So sweet!

3-vessels of the umbilical cord after it enters his body (black hole in the center is his bladder)

4 chambers of the heart

Such a cute foot! Does he have my long middle toe?  Hard to tell, but it's looking good for the home team! (Josh's toes go straight across!)

Profile of the blood flow through the heart and into aorta (running along spine)

Playing peek-a-boo!  Can you see his face? (look below)

Keagan wiggling his toes (as seen from the side, it's blurry b/c he's moving)

Foot tappin' good time (can you see the big toe up? so funny!)

Looks like he is getting ready to suck his thumb here!

All else with the doctor's appointment went well, my weight gain seems to be on target and my blood pressure and urinalysis (for glucose??) are normal.  The doctor seemed to be pleased and said that Keagan is measuring within 3 days of his due date, so he's growing right on schedule!  (we are so proud!)