26 Weeks

and only 14 to go.  So long as Baby Ferg decides he/she likes it in there for the full time.  Even though we've started to work on the nursery it is definitely no where near done, nor do we have anything for the little one, so I sometimes worry about Baby Ferg deciding to come a little early.  Or in this case, a lot early.  Then mild panic sets in and I feel more motivated to get things done.  So the end result is good, I suppose, just not how I get there.
Tim and I have already put at least two IKEA employees' children through college and I'm making another trip tomorrow to help out a third.  The whole organizing/purging/cleaning thing feels great and we're starting to make some headway in clearing out the nursery.  No pictures on here yet, because it's not quite ready for public viewing. (read: I'm embarrassed at all the random junk still in there.)
My doctor's appointment last Tuesday went well.  The scale and my chart conspired together to give me a weight gain of 13 pounds.  Yowzers.  Although the more I think about it, I think they might've started me off a little low for my beginning weight.  I'm at 125 right now, but was between 110 and 115 before Baby Ferg.  The majority of things still fit, albeit somewhat snugly.  But my barometer of how things are going is that if my doctor is happy, I'm happy.  And she was.  The doctor I saw had an in vitro fertilization procedure done and so we were able to chat for a couple of minutes about our respective stories.
Tim and I hope to get away sometime soon and take a last 'just the two of us' vacation.  We thought about the beach, but then I quickly realized that March is prime Spring Break season.  Um, yeah, I don't think so.  So we're still planning.
I started doing my registry today.  Holy smokes there's a ton of stuff!  I'm able to do it online, so I thought I would just register and browse a bit.  I'm amazed at everything available.  My Facebook friends have been very helpful with their advice of the top three things I should register for.  A boppy is by far the most popular answer.  I'm sure I'll be working on it for a while.  I'm registered at Target and Babies R Us, but not much is there yet, so don't get too excited.
Lastly, here's the Baby Ferg bump at 26 weeks.  Everyone-and I almost literally mean everyone-at church today was so excited.  "Oh!  You finally look pregnant!"  "You're so cute!"  It's fun.  And the belly-touchers are pretty much non-existent, which is wonderful.

Baby Dreams

I had my first baby dream last night.  We had a boy, but in the dream I had no recollection of going to the hospital or even actually having the baby.  The first thing I remember is being handed this little messy bundle and seeing that it was a boy.  I thought, "wow, that wasn't bad at all, and I didn't even have an epidural."  The nurse told me that I was in labor for only four minutes.  Weirder still, the baby was growing at this incredible rate and within a couple of hours looked like a 12 month-old.  He was also talking and said that he didn't really like either of the names we were deciding between.  Tim wasn't in the dream at all, but the baby had a friend who was an older boy and was teaching him to play cards.
I'm not one of those 'everything has a hidden meaning' people, so I just think it's funny.  Definitely weird, but funny. 
Baby Ferg has been bouncing around all day.  Starting at 4:30 this morning.  I was definitely more forgiving of her doing that than our cat, who decided that my pillow was a fun place to play at 4:30am. 

24 Weeks!

**Warning: super long post ahead.**
Baby Ferg is officially 24 weeks old today.  And he/she is growing strong.  The month since my last post (I apologize for my delinquency) has been filled with many exciting things.  This baby is a wiggler and every day is filled with bumps and nudges and sometimes it seems complete 360 degree rolls.  I guess there's still enough room in there for all that fun.  Thankfully, she (random pronoun) is fairly quiet at night.  Although I think I've been disrupting her sleep when I've gotten up to go to the bathroom the past couple nights because I feel a very definite kick under my left-side ribs as I roll over to get out of bed.  She definitely enjoys using my organs as trampolines and doesn't neglect any of them, bladder and kidneys included.  Earlier this week I didn't feel her until around lunchtime and I was trying not to be worried, but since she's always so active I was a little concerned.  I went to eat lunch with Tim at his office that day and apparently the tuna sandwich got her moving.
Speaking of food, I've had a relapse of all-day sickness for the past week or so.  It's a little discouraging, but I take comfort in the fact that I can really eat whatever I want right now.  How many times in your life can you say that?  So I munch on Life cereal, grapes, goldfish crackers, chocolate-covered raisins, strawberry jello, potato chips and dip, Spaghettios, soup, chocolate ho-hos.  And lemonade.  Tons of lemonade.  That's pretty much my 8am to 4pm menu lately.  I cook a decent dinner and have a pretty good appetite then.  Pizza is back on the menu now, thanks to the Zantac doing its job.

Baby Ferg bump

I'm still able to wear the vast majority of my 'normal' clothes.  Most of my pants need to be either pinned or fastened with a hair tie.  I was given a lot of maternity pants, but they're still a little too big.  Everyone at our church was so excited to see me in one of my maternity sweaters a couple of weeks ago.  (Ok, not everyone.  The Pastor didn't make me stand up in the service or anything.)  I don't feel too big yet, but my tight pants are a reminder that it's coming.  It might be my naivete peeking through here, but when I stop and think about it, it's pretty amazing how the body changes to accommodate the little one.  I mean, just the skin.  It stretches and stretches and then snaps most of the way back after the baby is born.  Not to mention the organs and what they have to do.  It is truly amazing.  Continuing on with the 'body' theme, my nails are growing super fast now, which is nice.  My ankles have just started to give me the indication that I've been on my feet for too long. 
Our work on the nursery is starting, albeit slowly.  I realized that we have to find a place for all the stuff that's in there right now, so I have to clean up 'that' part of the basement to move it there, but we need to organize first and then find a place for all of that stuff.  So....a trip to IKEA is scheduled for Monday.  Yay!  We love that store.
We've been tossing some names around and have 99% settled on a girl's name, but still haven't found a boy's name that both of us love.
My last doctor's appointment was January 23 and went well.  I actually had lost two pounds, but my doctor wasn't concerned.  She called the baby 'a little parasite' right now, just taking what she needs from momma.  I'll see her, well, one of her colleagues on the 28th.  I have to schedule a diabetes screening test after that.  I feel very blessed that everything is going really well so far.  The nausea is annoying, but it could be a lot worse. 
My new goal is to update every Saturday, as Baby Ferg gets one week further along.  Unfortunately the pictures are somewhat scarce now, but as the nursery develops and as my belly develops I'll be sure to post more.
Thanks for following!