Hello December, you sure came fast!

28 weeks and counting...

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family.  I know Mike and I sure did.  We ate lots of yummy food, spent lots of time with family, did lots of shopping and did I mention eating lots of food?  At one point, I had a massive plate of food and thought if I eat the entire thing, I'm going to feel rough.  So naturally I ate the entire plate full, then noticed Mike still had some sweet potato casserole on his plate, so of course I had to eat that too.  It's incredible I'm not up 96 pounds by now.  I'm not sure where all this food goes that I continue to stuff my face with, but boy am I glad it's not sticking (at least not too bad).

I had a doctor's appointment this past Monday, and the doctor tested for gestational diabetes.  I had to drink this super sugary orange drink that was like drinking 9 cups of coffee.  I was jittery for 6 hours after I drank it.  When I told people that I was having the test, more than once I was told to drink the fruit punch flavor over the orange, because the orange is horrible.  Well, apparently my doctor neglected to advise me of these oh so important choices, because I was handed the orange one only.  I'll admit it wasn't completely disgusting.  The first few gulps I thought it tasted kind of like that carbonated orange drink, Slice.  But after I drank about half of it, I changed my mind and it began to resemble carbonated orange coffee that one would wish upon an enemy.

There is good that came from the super gross orange drink.  I tested negative for pregnant diabetes, which is a big plus.  I think if I tested positive I would have to drink that stuff again.  I'm certainly glad I passed that!  The doctor and I listened to Bryson's heartbeat, which was around 146.  The doc says that's good.  Plus she didn't have to mash on him this time to hear the heartbeat.  Bryson and I were thankful for that.  The baby website that sends me weekly updates says Bryson is a little over 2 pounds and is about 15 inches long.  They went on to compare his size to a head of Chinese cabbage.  I'm sure you all know the difference between Chinese and the standard American cabbage, so we have a good idea of how big he is.  Wait, you don't know what Chinese cabbage is?  Yeah, didn't think so...me either.  Way to go baby website, thanks for the great un-information that few of us can follow.  How about comparing his size to a sports ball or even a regular item of food, like just cabbage?

I also learned at the doctor's office that I have gained 17 pounds.  Remember at the top when I said I was glad all that food I am eating isn't staying with me?  Remember when I said Bryson only weighs 2 pounds.  I guess the other 15 is from all that yummy food.  Good thing I'm still venturing my way to the gym.  After I got weighed, I have gone to the gym every day (three days in a row).  Hopefully I can keep that up, because I still have a little ways to go.

Bryson has learned a new trick since the last post.  He found my ribs and has figured out how to lodge himself under them.  It feels like a baseball (or a head of Chinese cabbage) is under my rib cage pushing out to escape.  I won't lie, it's pretty dang painful.  I got a tip to put a cold coke can on my ribs to get him to back off, because he would eventually get cold.  That sounded like a great idea.  I went with it but gave in when I was the one that got cold.  I guess having Bryson under my ribs is better that rib frostbite...so far.  I may change my mind when he gets bigger.   He still moves around in my stomach a lot.  The feeling is growing on me so I can enjoy the movements now instead of getting weirded out from them.  It's comforting to know he's having fun in there.  I tend to worry if I haven't felt him in a while, so I'll get still and concentrate on his moves.  He puts me at ease quickly every time.

Mike and I registered about two weeks ago.  I was so excited to go and pick out all the fun stuff.  We got to Babies R Us, and within 10 minutes of starting, I was almost in tears and having a minor panic attack.  I had NO clue what I was looking for.  Mike continued to say "I have no idea what to get."  "I have no clue what we're looking for."  "I don't know what to do."  So with all these helpful comments and being mutually terrified, I had a moment in the store.  I told Mike if he says one more negative comment, I will cry immediately and that I needed him to be strong for me.  This may seem a bit over dramatic, but what can I say, I had a moment.  Mike did great after that.  He helped calm me down.  Then a dad that was about five feet away from my breakdown came over to save Mike from his crazy pregnant wife.  He proceeded to give us tips on the bottles we were looking at.  I guess it's in the Man Code to save a fellow guy in distress from the prego crazies like myself.  After that, we decided when we needed help (like with car seats and strollers) we would get a Babies R Us employee.  That worked out well.  It took us two and half hours to register, and by the time we were done, we wanted to go to bed.  It was exhausting...but necessary.  Now I need to go back and add about a bazillion more things we missed that people tell me we need.  But at least the hard part is finished.  Yay!

We are still working to get Bryson's room complete.  But here is a sneak peak of one wall...we love this wall.

My back tends to hurt when I sit on our couch upstairs, so I generally warm up a neck pillow in the microwave to put on my lower back when I sit there.  I also have to use a back cushion to support my back since the couch is so large.  While I was typing this, Aspen decided to take over my couch creation.  She added her bedtime toy to tell me she was ready for bed.  That's her thing.  Once she brings out the bobo (her pink toy), it's bedtime for Aspen.  And she gets super cranky if you don't put her to bed fairly soon once the bobo has emerged.

Here is another shot of her passed out on the couch after the Auburn v Alabama game  (notice she tends to steal my neck/back warmer).  I think that game made everyone tired (including Mike, that's him she is laying beside) because of how intense it was, but we won regardless by one whole point.  Whew!  War Eagle!!

 

Well, until next time, thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!!  Love you all!  :)