30 Weeks - Nursery Painting Party 2012!

I really do have the best friends! Two of my loveliest friends volunteered to spend their Saturday helping me paint the nursery. We enjoyed popsicles, Malibu rum beverages (mine was virgin), and fun conversations. AND the nursery got painted! Since the bedroom was previously used as our storage/office space, we spent the entire week prior getting the room ready, including Jeff having to move a huge bookshelf and dozens of books to the basement by himself...I'm useless when it comes to manual labor, but at least I'm still good at cleaning things.

The downside of having 4 huge projects going at once? The whole house basically looks like this right now.

Before

We used Valspar paint in Cliveden Gray Morning. It is such a soothing color, which is important in a room that will soon house a crying infant. When we were done, I kept peeking my head through the door, loving how peaceful the walls looked with the new shade. I cannot wait to rock the baby to sleep as I stare at these walls. 

After

We had too much fun

After the girls left, I walked around the room multiple times with a paintbrush in hand, looking for any spots we might have missed. I could just see myself three months down the road rocking in the chair and staring at a spot we missed, but not having the energy to fix it. So I decided it was best to just be a psycho painting lady and quadruple check my work before I officially sealed the paint can.

And guess what...Jeff just finished painting the entire basement. I helped a little, but he did a majority of the work on his weekends. Since we need to move much of what was in the spare bedroom to the basement, we thought it would be a good idea to make the downstairs space more welcoming. Before, the area was raw concrete. Since finishing the basement is currently not possible with our time limitations or our finances, we just threw on a layer of paint to make it look less like a dungeon.

Breakdown

How do I feel?
Pregnancy is a funny thing. Once you start feeling great, a whole new [weird] symptom pops up. I woke up screaming Friday night because I was experiencing my first pregnancy leg cramp. OhMyGawd it was excruciating. My calf is still sore days later. The next morning, I looked down to see my entire left thigh had turned into a...I don't know how to describe it. It looked like varicose veins, but it was a red and blue spiderweb that was about a foot long and four inches wide. It looked like all the blood vessels in the leg had popped. It went away after a few hours, and luckily I figured out the cause of both these episodes. Pregnant women are encouraged not to lay on their backs because the weight of the baby can cut off circulation from the heart to the lower extremities. When I woke up with the cramp, I had rolled onto my back in my sleep. Before my weird leg thing on Saturday, I was laying on my back for about 10 minutes so I could feel the baby moving. I always thought people were being dramatic when they said you should not lay on your back while pregnant. Live and learn. On the bright side, I think my hips are done expanding for the time being, meaning my waddle has lessened dramatically.

Weight gain?
19.8 lbs. The nurse was impressed with how much bigger I looked without having gained much weight from my previous appointment. I guess the 2 donuts I ate earlier that day - as well as the three huge cookies from the day before, and the 5-large-meals-a-day plan I've been on for the last month - did not do as much damage as I thought.

Food cravings?
I really need to start eating better. I seriously cannot stop stuffing my face with cookies and pastries. I'm still eating my grains, fruits, and vegetables, it's just that I have to chase anything healthy with a bowl of ice cream. Also, I can't stop thinking about Belgian waffles. Know of a good place? Don't say Ihop.

Food aversions?
Nope.

Sleep?
I think I've slept through the night once in the last few weeks. I am usually up in the middle of the night for at least 2 hours. I just lay there and think about things I can do the next day. Turns out nesting instincts are annoying.

Movement?
He's still moving. It's pretty fun to feel, which is why I was laying on my back when the veins in my leg almost exploded.

I decided to add the next two sections now that my belly is getting bigger.

Stretch marks?
Not yet, but I definitely had a dream about them last night.

Bellybutton?
In!

Gender?
So remember how I had that rash on my stomach a couple weeks ago? Well, I recently learned this symptom is most common in women having boys. Science is cool.

What have I learned?
During this crazy time of transition, it is important to maintain some normalcy in life. This means you shouldn't hole yourself up when you have a baby bump. Even though I cannot drink when I go out with friends, I sincerely love being a designated driver. Drinking a Shirley Temple is just as much fun as it was when I was 10! We have been busy getting the house ready for the baby, but we have also been busy making connections while we are able. It gives me so much joy to be around friends and family, so our calendars have been booked with many-a social affair. I am glad I made this decision. I have a few friends who dropped off the face of the earth once they found out they were pregnant. I can completely understand why. In fact, a few weeks ago, I thought about quitting my book club. But why would I do this when it gives me a great excuse to hang out with good friends? Maybe I won't have time to finish the book, but at least I have a social outing planned in advance.

30 week bump...post long work day, pre yoga class. I don't usually look this greasy.