karaspeak

We spent this week (well, Nathan did at least, since he's off work!) getting ready to paint the nursery for BGT. We thought about keeping the nursery where it was and moving Aiden to another room, but figured in the end, it would make his transition into Big Brother World a little easier if he had some things that were constant in his world with all the changes that will no doubt be on their way soon. So, since Nathan will no longer be needing a home office (still sad about that), we opted to make this room the nursery for BGT. There have been many conversations about colors and such, but we finally opted for something a little outside the box for us semi-traditional home keepers. I'll spare you the decision and the details, but we used the latter half of this week to paint her room and will endevor to paint the rest of the upstairs next week.

I think I like it, but it's still an office, so hard to say for sure how all the details will come together to make it "hers." We also found a GREAT dresser and ordered it, so it should be here the first week of February. That might make it feel more real once we have some furniture in there other than the desk and bookshelves. We probably won't move the rest until the mattress arrives so Aiden isn't sleeping all over the place in the meantime.

I'll get some pictures up, but will wait until the room has less stuff in it before doing so. Still in the process of thinking up names. This decision was so hard for us with Aiden, but we ended up picking a name that truly suits him, his personality, his persona, and his cute little look. I'm confident we'll end up being able to do the same with her, it's just the unknown that makes the decision so hard. We probably overthink things way too much, but there are so many things we take into consideration with how we pick names. I want her name to mean something, so that in the years she finds herself hating it, she can at least know that we chose her name with thought and true intent for her. We've been taking suggestions, but nothing really sticks yet...we'll see where we land in a few weeks.

I'm 31 weeks this week and just now beginning to feel it. And while I am grateful this impatience has just now arrived, it doesn't make it much easier knowing I still have 8 weeks to go. In the same token on the flip side, in less than 8 weeks, we'll be bringing our new little one home. Hard to fathom...it freaks me out as much as it does excite me. In so many ways it feels scary and thrilling in one breath. Although I'll say the scary part is more true as the days wind down. I've begun to feel her move so much more in the past few weeks. Not that I didn't feel her before, but I think because her little space is getting smaller and smaller and she is getting bigger and bigger, I feel her all the more. This movement makes for fun evenings and interesting moments in my day - surprising quick jabs to the ribs as she's already got her head down and feet up in preparation for her arrival!

I get these weekly updates and this week said, "This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long, weighs about 3.3 pounds (four oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt." Great! (sarcasm). She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath the skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. (No joke!) Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Since I won't have an ultrasound at my visit this week (will wait until 33 weeks for that), this is the best chance I've got to see what she might look like in there (even though my "space" is measuring about six weeks behind, she's still growing right on track per my last visit...so I'm sure it looks differently, but this is about all I've got to go on for now!).