Home STRETCH

I made it to the third trimester!!!!!!

And, in honor of that, here's updated pictures:

Thas right. Pregnant women can be sexy, too. In fact, I have never felt more feminine in my life.

Here's my 7 month update: I love my little Nora and I can't wait to meet her. I'm even getting mentally acclimated to the idea of labor. It will happen — it is inevitable — and it will be worth it. I finally made myself sign up for a birthing class today, in fact.

Nora is now settling into a regular routine of waking and sleeping. And when she's awake, boy is she awake — sometimes I time her for half an hour doing what must be straight barrel rolls. She especially loves to be active in the middle of the night. I'm trying to learn to function at my jobs as Zombie Liz.

While the second trimester was a GREAT time for me, I can already tell that the third won't be as easy. I'm tired a LOT. And I hurt as my front stretches and my back muscles scramble to compensate to hold me upright. In the last few weeks, Nora's grown from one pound to about 2.5 pounds! My sciatica is getting worse by the day. I'm starting to get indigestion and bloating if I eat too much or if I eat the wrong thing.

The next three months will be a busy and exciting time for me. I have a few showers to look forward to. I will be celebrating my two-year wedding anniversary in October, and we're looking forward to a little weekend getaway. Jonathan and I need to finish the nursery. Oh, and in October I will also (hopefully) be transitioning to a slightly shorter work schedule in preparation for Nora's arrival. Oh, and to top it off, we're still considering doing a bathroom and/or a kitchen remodel! Hopefully with all my happenings I'll find time to blog!!

You asked for a nursery update!

You wanted a nursery update, well you got it!!! :-) We've been busy bees preparing for the third trimester and Nora's imminent arrival.

Here is a picture of the room before. Be sure to note the paint samples all over the walls (I was really unsure at first and apologize for ever doubting Lezlee!) and the blue painters tape on the floor where we were measuring to make sure the furniture we ordered would fit:

Here's a pic that explains our motivation to call in the professionals:

(We removed the molding & found layers of paint and wallpaper that were causing the walls to ripple!)

Here was the remodel in progress after the first day. They demolished the old crown molding, sanded the baseboards, put up the sheetrock and probably more things that I'm blissfully unaware of!

Oh, and here's the wallpaper found under layers of wall during demolition. Looks like Nora won't be the first baby in this room:

Here's what the room looked like less than a week later when the work crew finished painting the walls and the trim and putting up new crown molding..........

(Another view. Yes, we have 4 doors interrupting this room!!)

(The new crown. It's much bigger than what was there before and it looks much better!)

My mom and I were busy bees (ok, mostly my mom) when last I visited SC. She made Nora a lovely pillow, which will go in our swivel glider, if ever we find an attractive one that we can afford. See:

And a pic of her hard at work that she has no idea I took with my cell phone (hehehe):

Even though we don't have it yet, I thought I'd share a web photo of the nursery furniture we ordered through Babies R Us. We got the Baby Cache Heritage Collection furniture (just the convertible crib and changing table) in espresso, which is pictured below:

Oh, and I can't fail to mention that I did get my diaper bag accessories in the mail from the OiOi people that diapers.com contacted on my behalf. I am so thrilled with the bag now!

We are really making progress!!!! Can't wait for the furniture to arrive so we can attempt to assemble it. Nora's bumper is being made now by Jonathan's mom and grandmother. This nursery will truly have been a team effort when all's said and done.