Less than a month and counting!

EIGHT months PG! Wow! Time flies. Yes, the horizontal stripes were probably a bad decision, but here's the latest belly shot. I'm feeling quite big these days and getting pretty uncomfortable. I've had pretty bad indigestion, back aches, more frequent braxton hicks contractions, much stronger baby kicks/pushes (less amniotic fluid), pregnancy nose congestion, and I don't sleep very well at night. I don't have a hard time getting to sleep at first. It's just that after I get up to go potty in the middle of the night I can't get BACK to sleep because my mind is racing about things that I still need to get done. I haven't had any major "nesting" tendencies yet and I think that's part of the problem why I still feel like I have SO much to do.

I guess the most important thing to remember is that whenever she does come into this world, early, on time, or late, she'll be welcomed with loving arms from her mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends... We may not have cute curtains hanging or even all the nursery furniture yet, but that won't matter as long as her needs are met and she's LOVED unconditionally. I can't wait!

Things I have LOVED about being pregnant: knowing that my body is being used to fill the measure of its creation, feeling the baby move, all the attention from complete strangers giving me advice and guessing which gender it is by the way I'm carrying, doctors appointments to hear the babies heart beat and see how big I'm measuring, new clothes (in the form of "maternity" of course), counting down weeks/days until she gets here, reading and learning about the miracles of pregnancy and child birth, sharing ALL of these with DAN! :) I'm sure he has a list of things he's loved about the past 8 months... You'll have to ask him about it though.

When I said I was feeling quite big... I guess it could be worse- right?

Dan's way of "nesting" to get ready for this baby has been to do home improvement projects. We previously posted about our new bathroom sink, fixing leaks, and installing new lights. The most recent project was our new counter tops. These aren't the best pictures due to our lack of a REAL camera, but you get the idea. We had professionals make and install the counters. But my hunk of a husband, with all his bulging muscles, unhooked our sink and took out the old counter tops and carried them to the garage ALL BY HIMSELF! :) That little job saved us like $150! I'm so lucky to have him in my life.

Before

During

After

Since we knew we wouldn't be staying in this condo forever, and since the only way to have the counters be a "real estate upgrade" is with granite or quartz, we decided to save a BUNCH of money and go with laminate instead. We are quite pleased with the results!

Stay tuned for pictures of our soon-to-be finished laundry room as well, nursery chair, and baby showers! :)