Nursery Photos!

Okay, as promised, here are some photos of the nursery... it's still a work-in-progress, but we got a lot done this weekend!

Oh, and I'm 30 weeks pregnant today! Woohoo!!!

In this picture you can see the cubbies that we bought at IKEA (on the left), the dresser/changing table, and the curtains. I bought the curtains and added the polka dot fabric at the bottom.



In this picture you can see the crib with the crib skirt that my mother and I made as well as the glider and ottoman! This is the Dutailier glider that a friend from work gave me (see picture here). It was white and had a yellow/blue plaid pattern on the cushions. MrKLB stripped, sanded, stained, and finished the glider for me and my mother recovered the cushions. I love it!



And I just thought this picture was too cute because the dogs came into the nursery when I was taking pictures. They are waiting for their little brother to come home!



Finally, here is a picture that MrKLB took when we were visiting his family in NC last weekend. We had just finished a nice 2.5 mile run and I almost look skinny since the dogs are hiding my baby bump! :)

Happy Monday!

Well,last week was a good week followed by a fantastic weekend! I feel like I got so many things marked off my list this weekend! That's a good thing because I'm going to be out of town for work most of this week and then I have friends coming to town for my baby shower this weekend.

Let's see... We attended our childbirth class on Saturday and it was actually pretty interesting and not nearly as boring as we thought it would be. Our teacher was good and she went over a lot of what you may or may not encounter during labor, talked about medications, breathing techniques, labor positions, etc. It brought up a few things for us to ask my OB about and generally made me feel a little more prepared or the whole experience. Anyway, I'm glad we took the class and now that is marked off the list!

We also had our 3D ultrasound on Sunday! This was actually a "make-up" session because the last time we went we couldn't get a good look at him because he had his head buried in my placenta. Anyway, he was a little more cooperative this time and we got a few good looks. Here are a couple of pictures:

This is a shot of him head-on:


And here is his profile...


It was fun to get a look at him. We're excited to meet him in about 10 weeks!

What else? MrKLB has finished working on the glider and ottoman and my mother brought the cushions for it that she recovered and they all look great! I'll take some pictures tonight so that I can post them here. My mother came up on Sunday and we had a day of sewing for the nursery. We made a crib skirt (with the blue/brown/tan polka dot fabric) and also added the polka dots to the bottom of the curtains so that they not only coordinate with the room but are also now the correct length. They all turned out great! I'll post pics soon. Oh, and we got a few more things for the nursery and it is really starting to come together!

I leave tomorrow to go to NJ for work for a few days. Then I come back and it's time for my shower! I'm so excited to see my girlfriends!

MrKLB is employed!

Well, MrKLB got the job offer and worked out the terms yesterday and is actually at work today! That was fast! He wanted to start Monday but apparently someone he needed to meet with won't be there next week so he had to go in today. He's not really excited about going back to work, but he is excited about a paycheck! As I said in my previous post, it's not his dream job, but it will do for now. Since he has essentially joined as a contractor for 3 months (temp-to-perm position) he's going to keep looking for another job to see if anything else comes along. So, we'll see. Either way, it's nice not to have to stress so much about money for a while. Now we can concentrate on the baby... just over 10 weeks away!

I passed!

I passed the 3 hr glucose test this morning! Yay! It actually wasn't all that bad. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything other than water after midnight last night so I was hungry this morning. When I arrived they took my blood to get my fasting glucose level and then I drank the sugary drink. Then they tested my blood again after 1 hour and I passed that one. She said that if I passed after 2 hours I could leave. Which I did! So, I was actually only there just over 2 hours. MrKLB met me for lunch to celebrate!

Speaking of MrKLB, his interview went well yesterday and it sounds like they are going to be making him an offer! I'm so excited for him, but it's also a very difficult situation. The job is not something that he really wants to do (it's back to the type of engineering he did in past jobs), but it does pay well and right now he really just needs a job. So, we'll see. They are talking about a temp-to-perm position which may end up being ideal for him because he'd essentially be a contractor for 3 months and then both he and the company could decide if he will move to a permanent position after that. So, if he is miserable then he can decide not to go permanent and look for another job (hopefully he'd be doing this prior to the 3 months being up!). If he does like it - or at least can tolerate it - then he may decide to stay and go back to school to get his MBA while working there. This is something he's talked about in the past and it seems like it might be the right time. Of course, working full time and going to school will be a challenge with a new baby... but he has to do what is right for him, so I'm sure he'll figure it all out. Anyway, I'll update when the offer is "official".

Much better week so far

Good morning! I just returned from our long weekend in North Carolina last night and so far this week is going much better than last week. First of all, MrKLB is in a job interview as we speak! I'm so excited for him! He got the call on Friday afternoon, had a phone screen, and setup the interview for this morning since we were out of town Monday and Tuesday. He was in such a good mood all weekend just because he finally had the prospect of *something* happening on the job front! I don't know if it will be the ideal job for him or if he'll get the job, but I'm so thankful that at least this is giving him some renewed hope that he WILL find a job! So, keep your fingers crossed for him!

MrKLB and I went to a wedding in Chapel Hill this weekend. We had a great time and MrKLB enjoyed seeing a bunch of old friends from when he lived there. Here is a photo of us at the wedding... you can see my 29 week belly bump here!



Oh, and I got the curtains I was looking for on Friday and they look great in the nursery! We are going to add some of the polka dot fabric to the bottom of them that we are using for the bedding. I need to start working on that!

I go in tomorrow for my 3 hour glucose test so hopefully that will go well. That's really all I have as an update for now because I have to go to a meeting!

What a week!

So, this was a busy week that didn't go quite as planned. On Wednesday I went to my OB appointment and had the glucose screening test. And I FAILED! What? Yes, apparently I failed the test so I have to go back next week for a THREE HOUR test. Yuck. I'm not at all happy about this, but apparently most people pass the 3 hour test after failing the 1 hour. So, hopefully I'll fall into that category.

Last night MrKLB and I went to have our 3D ultrasound. It was pretty cool, but also kinda disappointing. Our little boy was in there moving around quite a bit, but he kept his head nestled against my placenta the entire time, so we couldn't really get a good look at his face. We did get some profile views but it just wasn't as awe inspiring as I had expected. Fortunately, though, the place we went has a "redo" policy if you don't get a good look at the baby, so we decided to take them up on that and are going back in a couple of weeks to try again. That's exciting because we'll get to see him again and hopefully get a better view of his face. I know that no matter what we still won't *really* get a good look at him until he is born... but it's still cool to see him moving around in there.

So, it's finally Friday and I couldn't be happier! MrKLB and I are heading to a wedding in North Carolina this weekend and then over to see his parents for a couple of days. So, I'll be working remotely on Monday and Tuesday. Then Thursday I go back for the glucose test and next Saturday we are taking the childbirth class at the hospital.

Oh, and I may have found the curtains I wanted for the nursery! They were delivered today and MrKLB says they look like the right color, so when I get home from work I'll check them out. It would be nice to get that checked off my list! Seriously, what would the baby do without curtains? LOL! (I should note this will be the first and only room in our house to have curtains... ha!)

Hello Third Trimester!

I am 28 weeks pregnant today and am officially in the third trimester! It's actually very difficult to figure out exactly when the third trimester begins because if you look it up you'll get a bunch of different answers since pregnancy isn't 36 weeks! Anyway, no doubt about it, now that I'm 28 weeks I'm definitely in the third trimester!

So, what's going on with me? I thought I'd make a few notes...

Weight - I am steadily gaining weight, though I think that for the most part it is still mostly concentrated around my belly.

Belly button - Speaking of "belly"... my belly button is almost nonexistent now! It's not an outtie yet, but it's basically flat on my stomach now. MrKLB gets a kick out of this.

Swelling - I'm starting to notice that my legs/feet have started to swell up on days that I sit at my desk for too long without remembering to get up and walk around. (Making a mental note to do that more frequently!)

Sleep - It is getting a little more difficult to sleep these days. I'm not supposed to lay on my back and I bought a body pillow to use when sleeping on my side, but I've found that I usually ditch that in the middle of the night.

Exercise - I am still exercising pretty regularly. I alternate between jogging (2-3 miles), going to the gym (I usually do the elliptical or bike there plus weight training), and my prenatal yoga DVD. Hopefully I can keep up some form of physical activity for the next couple of months.

Nursery - We have furniture in the nursery and MrKLB is still working on the glider and ottoman. We decorated the walls with brown and blue polka dots. I have the crib bumper, 2 crib sheets, and the fabric for the crib skirt. I am still in search of baby blue curtains - these have proven to be quite elusive! We still plan to buy some cubbies for the nursery and need a clothes hamper. Anyway, we definitely have some more things to get, but it's coming along.

Classes - We've signed up for a Childbirth class at the hospital as well as a Breastfeeding class.

Showers - The shower dates have been set and I'm excited! My girlfriends are throwing a shower for me here and my girl cousins are throwing a "family" shower for me in my hometown. I'm excited to see everyone at both!

Hmmm... so that's about all I can think of for now. I'll post an update later this week and hopefully have a good 3D Ultrasound photo to post! It will be fun to see how our little guy looks at 28 weeks!

Finally time to post!

I have been trying to make a blog post all week but just have not found the time! So, it's Friday afternoon and I've given up on getting any more work done today, and here I am!

I am almost 28 weeks pregnant! That is amazing! I thought I'd post a pic of my belly to compare to 4 weeks ago. So, here is the comparison:



The little guy is growing in there!

This weekend I am going to see my Dad because he is leaving in a few weeks to go on a mission trip to Africa. This is a man who has only been out of the country a handful of times and that was only to Canada or to the Caribbean for my brother's wedding. So, Africa is a HUGE adventure for him. I can't remember specifically where they will be, but they will be trying to spread the word of God to people of different faiths... including some who may not appreciate their being there. I think he is a little worried about the trip (and I know my step-mother is worried) so he really wants to see me before he leaves. Plus, I haven't seen him since I started showing. Anyway, for those of you that pray, please add my father to your prayer list because he will be leaving April 22 and be gone for about two weeks. Pray for his health and safety while he is gone and that he has a wonderful experience doing what he feels he has been called to do.

Anyway, I'm also going to see my friend A this weekend. She had a baby girl in January and I haven't had a chance to meet the little one yet. I'm looking forward to seeing her!

Oh, MrKLB and I have started decorating the nursery! It's a work in progress, but here's a sneak peek of the polka dots we're doing on the walls...



More pictures to come!

Well, it's a quick update but I promise to write more next week. I have the glucose test on Wednesday and the 3D ultrasound on Thursday. So, it will be an exciting week!

Quick Update

Well, I'm 26w2d pregnant.... less than 100 days to go! That is very exciting. The baby has been moving a lot lately. He seems to kick the most at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. MrKLB likes it because then he can feel him kick while I'm laying in bed... I'm not so fond of the timing because I want to sleep. I'm glad he's moving around, though, to remind me he is in there and growing strong!

MrKLB is officially unemployed this week. The job search has started but it is going slowly. There are jobs out there, but not that many. I hope he starts getting some responses back soon, though, so that he doesn't get discouraged. It's hard when you apply for jobs and send out resumes and hear nothing back.

In the meantime, MrKLB is working hard on the glider and ottoman for the nursery. He did finish completely stripping the paint from all the pieces and has put all of the coats of stain on it. Once that drys for a few days he'll have to put several coats of polyurethane on it. Here are a few more in-progress pictures:

This is the chair completely stripped of white paint:


Here is the back of the chair with a few coats of stain on it (not completed):


And here are the rest of the pieces of chair and ottoman with a few coats of stain (not completed):


My mother is now working on re-covering the cushions for the glider and ottoman, so I'm excited to see those when she is done!

Let's see... other than that, we are working on getting the materials we need to make the curtains and bedding for the nursery as well as some other decorations for the walls. I'll post pictures as we start to decorate the nursery.