Patrick- 28 Weeks

I have officially entered into the third trimester! yay! We had our 28 week appointment today and the doctor thought everything looked and measured great! So that's good news. I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks now, which is a big change. Below is a 28 week bump picture.

Every year the church asks someone who was born in each year since 1973 (when abortion became legal) to represent that year. The ceremony is a celebration of life and its a really sweet ceremony. Michael was asked to represent the year 1983 and I was asked to represent the year 2011 on behalf of baby Patrick this week at church. We all line up in order and walk down the aisle with a lit candle. I went last and it was really cute to walk behind all the little ones that were born in recent years. It was an honor to be asked and such a precious ceremony.

Also, Patrick's baby furniture came in! It's all still in boxes, so Michael has a big job ahead of him setting it all up. Hopefully, i'll get a picture of his room up soon!

Tidbits

I thought I would post some tidbits about my pregnancy since it might be fun to look back on in future years.

A lot of people have asked if I have craved anything in particular and the answer is not as much as I thought I would. There are only two things I have consistently craved throughout my entire pregnancy one of which is fruit juice, especially lemonade. I think I drink gallons of lemonade a week. The other thing I consistently crave is milk. I hate milk, but I have cravings for glasses of milk. I haven't been able to make myself stomach it but I do try and drink a milkshake, eat ice cream or something else high in calcium since I assume that is why I am craving the milk. Otherwise, I like to eat lots of salty foods. Before I was pregnant I ate lots of chocolate, but I have been surprised that I don't really crave sweets that much.

The other thing I have been amazed by recently is my appetite. I literally cannot get enough to eat. I never thought I would say this, but I am so tired of eating all the time. I thought eating all the time would be one of the benefits of being pregnant, but I constantly have to worry about keeping a million snacks at my desk at work so I don't starve! One of the girls who sits next to me commented that I eat so frequently that I make her hungry all the time. I've tried to eat quieter snacks since then! I also have dreams about food. I had heard that your dreams become more vivid during pregnancy. Unfortunately, I can't remember anything about my dreams except for which food I dreamt of.

I was able to feel Patrick moving in the first trimester, but recently I have been able to actually see the kicks and punches in my stomach. It's pretty fun to sit there and watch my stomach contort. Patrick is also a very consistent kicker. I can pretty much predict what times he will kick every day and most of the time its right before meal or snack time. He normally only kicks when I am hungry, Turk or Bailey curl up really close to my stomach or when I am anxious. Another thing that I have noticed is that he kicks really hard when I have a decaf vanilla latte. I only get one every now and then, but every time I have gotten one he has kicked like crazy.

Sleeping is also becoming kind of difficult. I get so thirsty in the middle of the night that I have to keep 2 or 3 water bottles by my bedside at all times. Michael says that I just take frequent little naps all night because I have to get up so much. I guess its just preparing us for little Patrick's arrival!

In other non-pregnancy news, I woke up yesterday morning and let Turk and Bailey outside thinking they would go outside for a minute and then come back in because of the cold. I kept hearing them bark, but thought they were just letting some energy out and barking at each other. I went upstairs to make my lunch and glanced out the window to see if they were playing a game and noticed that they had a huge raccoon cornered! I immediately freaked out and yelled for Michael. He wasn't really sure what to do either, so he yelled at them and when they turned their heads the raccoon jumped around them and climbed up a tree. They are half tree-walker coonhounds, so its in their nature to "tree coons." They both started treeing the raccoon and baying really loud. It was pretty funny to watch. I'm also thankful neither of my dogs were bitten by the raccoon. I'm glad we caught them when we did because Turk looked like he was about to pounce on the raccoon! I'm scared to know what would have happened if he did! Ever since the incident all T and B want to do is go outside and look for the raccoon. I'm pretty sure it won't be coming back, but it keeps them entertained at least. I didn't get a picture of Turk and Bailey, but below are a couple of pictures of the raccoon in the tree.

Childbirth Classes and Snow

Nashville received lots of snow this week and with the hill we live on it definitely made me pretty nervous! Our driveway is very steep so if I wanted to leave the house I had to hike up the yard to the top of the street where our car was parked. So, I decided that it was a little too risky that I would fall with Patrick in tow and decided to work from home for 2 days which was really nice! So glad my job allows me to do that! The National Championship was Monday night which was the night we got all of the snow. I was a little bummed that I couldn't make it out to see my team, so our good friends Andrea and Ben came over to make homemade pizzas and watch the game. It was really fun and so nice of them to hike down the hill to watch it with us! War Eagle!

We also had our childbirth classes this weekend. I had kind of been dreading it for fear they would show graphic videos, but the class was so great! I am definitely glad we did it and feel so much more prepared now! They focused on the father's a lot too, so I don't think it was as horrible for Michael as I thought it would be.

This week is my last week in the second trimester. I am excited to enter into the third trimester although I have been told that it comes with its own set of challenges! I just keep telling myself that it can't be worse than the first trimester, right? At least that's what i'm hoping :)

Exciting Friday!

My friday started off so wonderful today! I realized I only have 100 more days until my due date, which makes me pretty happy! I also found out that I officially have childcare! yay!!! This is way earlier than I was expecting to hear back. I have heard so many horror stories from friends at work about people not getting into daycare so it has been a constant anxiety for me!

One of the ladies on our street keeps a few infants and she let me know that she will have a spot for Patrick. Our good friends Rachel and Hunter send their little boy there, so I am excited about Patrick having a little buddy. Zane will be about 10 months older than Patrick, so I know he will look up to him! It is also such a relief because it is our cheapest option for daycare and its the most convenient option. Michael and I have been looking at my work schedule and thinking about trying to go to 37 hours a week. This would allow me to leave early every day to beat the downtown traffic and spend at least 30 extra minutes with my sweet boy every day! We weren't sure we were going to be able to make it work, but with our new childcare development it is looking that much more promising! This is just such a relief because my work can be pretty demanding and after going to our working mom's network meetings and hearing other mom's stories I was getting really nervous about it. But being on a set schedule and not working any overtime would be so wonderful, so I really hope we can make it work! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Pediatrician Appointments

We met with two pediatrician's this week. One at Old Harding Pediatrics, where Michael and I both went as children, and one at Green Hills Pediatrics. We we liked them both and it is going to be hard to pick!

One of my good friends also had her baby this week! Grace and Curt Johnson had baby Hannah Grace. She is so beautiful and I know they are so excited to finally have her here! It was also fun for me to go and visit them, since I will be in baptist in a few short months with Patrick. It made me so anxious to have my sweet little one. I can't wait!

In other non-baby news, Michael's office building caught on fire this week. His office is above Table 3 (a restaurant in green hills) and there was lots of smoke damage. Luckily, it was around 5 in the morning and no one was hurt. They have been out of the office this whole week and I know it has been stressful for Michael with his busiest time of the year approaching really fast! Hopefully they can safely get back into their building soon and it doesn't smell too bad!

Music City Bowl and New Years Eve

Michael's dad gave him and his brothers tickets to the Music City Bowl for Christmas. Michael tailgated with his family the whole day and it looks like he had a great time. I had decided not to go since it was outside in the middle of December, but they ended up having great weather! It was 60 degrees, so I was kind of bummed I decided not to go. Below are some of the pictures his mom took of the family.

Last night was New Years Eve and Michael and I just wanted something low-key and it ended up being exactly that! We went to dinner at Tokyo Japanese steakhouse and then went over to the Young's to have dessert. I forgot to take pictures, but it was really fun to see everyone and exactly the kind of New Year's we had in mind!