Week 28 - LOTS to share!!! :)

Holy cow - first of all, I get to label this 3rd trimester.  Crazy!!!

This week went by FAST (again)!  I'm feeling pretty good though my heartburn is back and I have to be REALLY careful about it or I'm miserable.  Other than that, I'm getting tired pretty quickly again and getting swelling in my feet and hands (especially if I don't walk around).  That is totally ok though!  I've been feeling kind of crummy today - really tired and hot - again I think that is just fine.  Yesterday I think Grace found a spot to rest that was great for her and terribly painful for me - I had one spot at the bottom of my belly that HURT - ouch.  But this morning it was just fine!  

Grace kicks and moves a LOT.  It's pretty cool.  I'm now having trouble remembering when I DIDN'T feel her kicking throughout the day and evening. :)  Sometimes those little kicks are kind of shocking!

In terms of development, from http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-28-weeks_1117.bc?read_more=1&scid=mbtw_preg28:1077&pe=2UvuHCR:

"  By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)"

It also talked about the fact I'm in the "home stretch" - T3 - 3rd trimester.  It is BIZARRE to think that we have ~10 weeks left as of this evening!  Wow.  Apparently Grace now has a 90% chance of survival if she were born today.

Babyzone.com talked about names.  Since we know we're going to name her Grace Audry, I thought I'd share a bit about her namesakes. :)

This is Blake's Grandma Grace (his grandma on his Dad's side) as a young woman:

She was Miss Magna! :)  

Blake always speaks very fondly of her and talks about how she was very tough - no one messed with her.  He says she would take them to the Sizzler and tell them they could get "anything they wanted".  He said she would line her purse with tin foil and take things home from the salad bar. :)

He says she could swear like a sailor and had no problem speaking her mind - he told me that she marched into the kitchen at the Assisted Living Center she lived at and demanded better food.

He said she always wore pink, smelled like White Diamonds perfume, and natural gas. :)  (They had some kind of a gas leak at her house which no one could ever pinpoint!)

Blake said she was VERY kind to her grand kids.  I am sad I didn't get to meet her - she sounds like such a character!  I hope she will be happy we chose to use her name for Gracie!

This is my Nannan (my grandma on my Mom's side), Audry, as a young woman:

I love my Nannan - she was very quiet and kind, but had a feisty side to her!  She was sent to Leadville, Colorado when she was in her late teens to live with her sister since she got mad, picked up her stepmother, and set her on the wood burning stove!  For her to do that, I really think her stepmother must have been the wicked kind... Anyway she had many brothers and sisters and grew up in West Virginia.  She met and married my Grandpa George in Leadville.  

She learned to drive after her children were grown because (I believe) she won a Ford Pinto in a contest of some kind! :)  She bought a Cadillac in the late 80s and it was her prized possession until she could no longer drive due to her Alzheimer's.

My Nannan had a funny sense of humor and I believe she loved to laugh. :)  She was very generous with us.  I remember she wrote me a letter in college that said she loved me and would always be there for me - to hear that from a woman of few words meant a lot!  Here is a picture of me with her when she was winding down living with my Mom, but still pretty coherent:

We both miss our grandmas and love them a lot!  Obviously much more we could share, but hopefully it gives a little bit of insight into these wonderfully human, beautiful ladies. :)

OK so Saturday we took our "Super Saturday Childbirth Preparation class" - it was good and calmed me down quite a bit.  I came to the conclusion that:

• People should take these classes if only to people watch and observe :)
• If I wasn't induced, I might consider going natural
• I'm pretty sure I'll be asking for an epidural :)

We went through some fun relaxation techniques and exercises to demonstrate how we cope with things.  I cracked up at the two men in my group for one exercise - the scenario/question for us was:  "You are building something and hit your thumb with the hammer.  What do you do to cope?"  My immediate thought was "I'd take a deep breath in, swear, and figure out if I could keep going".  Both of them started talking very analytically about how they might go to the doctor, or get ice, or go to the hospital.  I thought it was funny, shared my thoughts, and pointed out that we were seeing an interesting demonstration of (perhaps) male vs. female perspectives, and encouraged them to remember their wives just might not see things the way they were. :)

Anyway we toured the assessment, labor and delivery, and post-partum suites - they were all very nice and recently remodeled, and I think it will be a great place to be for this event!

OK - and now for more fun stuff - pics of the nursery so far! 

We took this right after Blake finished painting - it's a nice, warm, caramel color!

This is when we got back with the goods from Ikea... :)

This is a wonderful picture my sister sent us - I believe it is a print of a Van Gogh painting.  It will go above the crib - we're not 100% sure of exactly where yet...

Blake assembling furniture - he is an expert with Ikea instructions!

... This rocking chair was Blake's Grandpa Ray's. :)  You can see the tree below just behind it.

This is the dresser with Grace's beautiful quilt!  As you see below, her Grandma Vicki and Aunt Danielle made it for her.  I absolutely LOVE it - it is such a wonderful keepsake - I loved getting to pick the pattern, fabrics, etc. and seeing the care and love put into it to make it so amazing! :)

 ... some close-ups of the stars and Irish chain. :)

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This is the opposite wall - we bought the wardrobe to make it a proper closet, and the bookshelf for storage.

 We're so excited!  I think Blake did a great job putting things together.  Also - if the pics are crooked, it's because I didn't do a good job of leveling them!!! :)

OK and last... updated belly shots.  I'd actually call it week 29 since they're from tonight and tomorrow is week 29! :)

I think we're growing... :)

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound and follow-up appt with Dr. Silver - I go in every 2 wks now.  Then Fri I have a fetal echocardiogram at Primary Children's (routine for diabetic moms) - then we go to Denver for our first baby shower!

Hope you all are great!  More soon...

PS Before I forget to mention it... my friend who was told she was miscarrying had a miracle - she is still pregnant!  Talk about roller coaster of emotions!!!