Week 26+

Another trip to the doctor today! All is well... Things are progressing along as scheduled. I actually got measured for the first time today...stomach, that is... He said that I measured between 26&27 weeks, which is right on schedule! The heartbeat, which was found on the FIRST try this time (woo hoo), was between 140-150.
I did get spoken to about my lack of weight gain throughout this pregnancy. I didn't get the feeling that I was in trouble at all, but he just reminded me to eat several small meals a day, especially since I'm not interested in food at all and fill quite easily. He suggested that I supplement my calories with an Ensure or a Boost each day to help with calories and to get some essential vitamins that I may be missing from my issues with many foods. We'll see... I don't want to do anything to hurt the baby, of course, so we'll see how things go! :)
We go back to the "lab" next week for the infamous "blood glucose test." This is to test for gestational diabetes. I get to drink a very sweet drink (orange flavor :)), and after an hour, I will have my blood taken to test my sugar level. If I fail the test, I get to go back for the same test again, but the retest would last for over 3 hours. Ryan informed me that he wouldn't be sitting there with me for over 3 hours, so we'll hope and pray that I pass on the first try, or I'll have one very grumpy husband! :) hehe :)
Well, I must sign off... One of my favorite shows, The Closer, is having its season premier in just about 4 minutes... :) Yeah!!!!! :)
:)
Hope all is well! :) Lots of love to all! :)

It's becoming more real!

On Monday, Ry and I traveled to Fredricksburg, VA to officially begin the "baby shopping" life... We had lunch at the Olive Garden! (yum!) Then we shopped a little around at various stores before heading to Burlington Coat Factory's Baby Depot. We had heard that their cribs and other items were significantly cheaper than places like Babies 'R' Us and other comparable stores, so we decided to take the road trip to find out...
We spent over 3 hours in the baby section. I kept saying how overwhelming it was to see everything...it was like we didn't know where to start!
We did register for some items there...things like a stroller, a pack 'n' play, a bouncer seat, etc.
We didn't find lots of clothing items or blankets, though, so we'll register at a place like Target and/or Babies 'R' Us for those items... It was neat to register; we've never had the chance to do that! :) Ryan enjoyed going around and using the scanner on each bar code... :) I think we may have registered for around 50 items...
We also made a decision for the crib... We walked around looking at the cribs and other matching furniture about 10 times...only to find another area with more furniture! The "hidden" area was where we found the crib and hutch we ended up deciding on...it was so pretty! It seemed much nicer than some of the others...and we liked the other 2 furniture choices that matched with the crib. So, we brought home the crib, a mattress, and the hutch... The hutch will work as a bureau first...and then we'll attach the shelves. The hutch will be the changing table, too, which is good...it looks really nice! It's a natural wood finish with a honey tone. (I've posted pictures below...)
We also picked out the bedding - Winnie the Pooh's "Hunting for Hunny." It's really cute...and it features Eeyore, one of our favorite characters! :) It seemed non-gender specific and is a cute, bright, and cheery choice!
I realized a few things while we were shopping...
First, it's really hard to find items for a baby that you don't know the gender of just yet... It's very obvious that retailers cater to those who find out the sex of their little one. I kept telling Ryan that it would nice to know what we were having after shopping at the Carter Outlet and at Burlington! :) He didn't see my humor... I still stand by the wonder and amazement of having a wonderful surprise in October... I think it will be so neat! :) Plus, we have a lifetime of choosing clothes for the baby after it's born... :)
Second, buying things for a baby is really expensive!! :)
Third, there are soooooooooooooooo many things out there for babies! We we were amazed at the choices out there... Wow! :)
Finally, there are lots of nice people who shop in the baby section! :) We met a nice lady with an 11 month old little girl (who was very cute, by the way :)). We were wearily looking at the 15 bouncer seats...and I just said to Ryan, "Choose which one you like the best...I don't really care" after not knowing which to pick! This lady was looking at car seats close to us and asked if we wanted her advice...and thus began our conversation! :) She gave us ideas and her evaluation of things from a more experienced point of view...after all, she knows a lot more than we do at this point! :) She not only helped us with the bouncie seat, but she also told us about the strollers, various brands, and the Consumer Report information she knew about different products. :) She was so helpful... :)
At 8:30, We left Burlington a little exhausted...but I kept glancing at the packed van (with the furniture) and grinned... It's really real... :) I'm getting more excited... :)

America...

As many of you know, we traveled to the mid-west to visit with my grandmother last week. It is a long trip but well worth the time with one of the most amazing ladies I know! :) It takes us around 13-14 hours to make it from VA to little old Fairmount, IL. :)
We decided to break the trip up this year (we usually drive straight through) as we traveled to and from my grandma's. We left IL to return back home home on July 3rd and stopped in Cross Lanes, WV. We had around 5 hours of our trip remaining when we left on July 4th. While driving somewhere in Eastern WV or Western VA, we were surrounded by mountains covered with trees and little streams. As I was looking out the window admiring the beauty, I spotted one of the most amazing birds I've ever seen...a large bald eagle perched on a leafless tree. I've never seen a bald eagle in the wild before...I wish we weren't driving 65 mph so that I could have gotten a picture. So, you'll just have to imagine the eagle...an appropriate symbol of America on this 4th of July. :)