Misc. Updates

Life has been busy lately and I haven't been good about putting together a coherent, one-topic blog post.  I feel like I have ADD of the mind, with a million thoughts running around in my head.  Here's the best I can do at the moment with a bunch of different updates:

House project #1: This was painting 2 upstairs rooms, and thanks to my dad coming to town, this project is complete.  I just took after pictures, so I will be posting the before and after ones shortly.  We now have a nursery somewhat established and all of Baby's items are mostly in one room now.  We still have some things to finish up, but hopefully we will continue to make progress this next month.

House project #2: This was finishing 3 rooms in the basement.  Sadly, this project is not complete at the moment.  The rooms have been framed and sheetrocked, but we are still waiting for them to be taped, mudded, painted, finished, and have flooring put in.  We are 3 weeks into a project that was supposed to take 3 weeks (at least that's what we were initially told).  We are hoping it will be done in the next 2 weeks.  Pictures will come when everything is finished.

Braxton-Hicks Contractions: Apparently, I've been having these practice contractions for awhile now and not realizing it. It's perfectly normal to have them after 20 weeks, and I kept wondering what was wrong with my body because I wasn't feeling them yet.  At my 34 week doctor appointment, she was asking if I was having any as she was measuring fundal height and felt me having a contraction.  She asked if I felt it (no, not really) and then was able to explain what they are.  Since then, I've felt more, which is normal.  I guess I just thought it was Baby moving!

Maternity pictures: We had maternity pictures taken last night, which is pretty amazing considering I didn't get in touch with a photographer until Monday, and then the one that I really liked wasn't available.  Also, most will suggest having your pictures taken before 36 weeks (I'm almost 35 weeks now), so I was worried I'd be too big and too uncomfortable because I had waited so long.  She found the perfect spot outside for us.  I said we wanted something outdoors because I love the natural scenery where we live and got many more scenic shots than I even imagined. We got pictures with snow-capped mountains in the background, a field of dried cattails, against old buildings, on train tracks, on a dock besides water and mountains, near a wood fence, silhouetted with the sun going down, etc.  I was seriously loving every single location we walked to.  I can't wait to see how the photos turned out.  She only sends us 20-25 of the best shots (she took 300+), but still, that's more than we would have if left up to ourselves for photos.  And plus, even if we don't look good, we have amazing scenery in the background!

Baby to-do list: my list keeps growing as time keeps decreasing.  Some of the major items we still have left to do are find a pediatrician for Baby, get the car seat bases installed and then checked by a professional, and buy and install a room-darkening shade for Baby's room. Of course, we have a lot of smaller things I would like to get done as well. 

Lamaze:  We finished our 6-week class at the hospital, and while it was informative and helpful, I don't exactly feel ready for labor and delivery.  We need to practice the breathing and relaxation techniques and should probably start thinking about packing our bag for the hospital as well.  We do start meeting with our doula this next week, so maybe that will help me feel a little more prepared as we talk with her and write up our birth plan.  (A doula is a labor coach.  She will be with us through the entire labor, helping Scott to coach me and helping me to stay calm.  Her goal is to make labor and delivery a positive experience for both of us.  The nurses and doctor will still be the ones to do everything medical-related in the hospital.)

Leg cramps: Anyone have any remedies for leg cramps?  This seems to be my biggest complaint of late in the pregnancy.  Regardless of how active I am during the day walking around or going to the gym, when I lay down in the evening, my legs feel as if they want to go running (the rest of my body has no desire for a run, mind you).  I've tried upping my potassium with more bananas, trying to get more magnesium in my diet, drinking Gatorade, using a roller to massage through those leg muscles, etc.  My doctor says this is all normal given the extra pressure and weight on those muscles and nerves, but still, I would sleep decently through the night at this point if I could get my legs to settle down.

Taxes: We finally did our taxes. We sat down one night this week and pounded through Turbo Tax to finish them all in one evening.  That is definitely record breaking speed for us as taxes usually seem to drag on and on when we do them.  And the best news of all is that we're getting a refund...quite unexpected as we usually end up having to pay each year because we never seem to pay enough with our estimated quarterly payments.  Still, of all years to get a refund, this is the perfect year for one.

Holy Week: I can't believe tomorrow marks the beginning of Holy Week!  This Lent has flown by- probably because we've been so dang busy.  It'll be a busy week for both of us with extra things going on at church, and then once Easter is passed, we'll be in full on Baby preparation mode with all the last-minute little things we still would like to do.