30 Weeks - Early Labor?

Well we have had a couple of scary days. Yesterday I was not feeling well and I went to my 30 week checkup. I talked to my doctor about how I was feeling and was expecting the usual "that is part of pregnancy" response, but I didn't get that yesterday. My doctor said that all my symptoms were classic pre-term labor signs. She did some additional testing to see if I was dilated or having contractions...thankfully I was not! However, there was some concern about my cervix. She put me on a restricted level - basically slow down, no active or strenuous activities. She also had me go today for a high level sono to measure some things. The reports were good today - thank goodness! For now I don't have to go on bed rest, which is great news. It looks like I will have to repeat these tests in 3-4 weeks and we'll see what happens.
Thanks to all of you that were praying about this, God is good! Please continue to pray that little baby Holm will continue to "bake in the oven" for as long as possible. And I am going to be more serious about taking it easy...I guess it's time to milk it for all its worth.

Time Is Flying By...

I have not been faithful to updating our blog because we have been soooo busy the last few weeks! I can't believe that I will be 30 weeks as of Tuesday...all of a sudden time is flying by.
I survived my big convention at work last weekend, it went well...but I obviously didn't have the stamina that normally would have so I was exhausted throughout.
Nathan & I are doing the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Univ class. We are really enjoying it and learning so much! If you don't know about it the class is 13 weeks long and involves finacial planning and helps you form new habits. It has given us a new hope of being debt free and a plan to build a great retirement and wealth. We have 3 other couples that are doing it with us and it is great fun. We would recommend it to anyone!
This Tuesday we start our child birth classes at the hospital. I am not really expecting to learn anything profound, but I am hoping that the class gives me a sense of comfort about the hospital. Mostly just to know where to go and know what to expect from the nurses and hospital will ease my mind. This class lasts 7 weeks, so I am sure I will have funny stories in the weeks to come about our experiences there. Amidst all of these classes we are taking and working our jobs we are also in search of a family car...ugh! I hate looking for a car! My car is a 2 door so it must go...the car seat just won't work with a 2 door car. We have been looking for several months, but nothing has worked out yet. Patience is what we need, but it is another item on the "to do" list that just isn't getting checked off.
All in all we cannot complain...I am having a very normal pregnancy and we have lots to be thankful for! Until next time...

27 Week Check-Up

Today was another uneventful doctor's appointment...which actually is something to be thankful for! All is well and normal with our little girl - it was the usual urine sample, weight, blood pressure, baby's heartrate, measure and that was pretty much it. I have one more monthly check-up in March and then I start going every 2 weeks. I can't believe it is going so quickly now...at the beginning of this pregnancy it was so slow. But every since we found out the sex time has been flying by! I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all we have left to do to prepare for her arrival, but I try to tell myself we have 13 weeks left and that we have plenty of time! Let's just hope we do have the full 13 weeks!

Practice Makes Perfect

I thought you might like to see how Nathan is "practicing" for the baby's arrival! As many of you know we have 2 precious dogs: Molly (Maltese) and Jack (Minitature Schnauzer). They are very good dogs and are excited about their sister's arrival. Nathan particularly likes to "torture" Molly by making her do things that dogs just shouldn't have to do...and so we have Molly a.k.a. Phouf in the Baby Bjorn.

Also, for the belly update... I am feeling bigger and bigger every day! Here is my 26 week picture.

Pink Paint!

It was a pink painting weekend! After several weekends of Nathan & I doing prep work, my mom came this weekend and we got some paint on the walls. We painted everything the light pink and then did an accent wall of stripes with another darker pink.Painting the stripes turned out to be easier than we thought. Much of Friday's discussion was about how each of us thought we should go about drawing the stripes and painting them in...long story short we took a combination of all 3 of our ideas and made it work. It turned out really cute! I have some pictures below of what is now actually looking like a nursery. The crib looks great on the accent wall...I can't wait for the bedding and curtains to be made! The fabrics are so cute, I have attached a picture of them as well. I am so glad we went with the pink & lime green and the jungle animals are going to be cute too! The real credit this weekend goes to Nathan & Mom - who worked very hard! I was mostly the supervisor/runner for getting all the supplies.

Making Progress

We have made some progress in the last week or so in the nursery. Nathan got the dimmer switch/remote installed in the ceiling fan. And over the weekend we cleaned out the closet that is in the nursery. We had nasty cold and wet weather all weekend so it was the perfect time to get inside projects completed! The closet in that room had all shelves in it, so we took out a shelf and added a long clothes bar. It seems to be coming together little by little. We also went yesterday to Babies-R-Us and registered. That was actually more fun than we anticipated... Nathan had a really good time picking out TOYS! Does that surprise anyone?
Next weekend the plan is to paint all the trim work and repair some cracks in the walls. Then we should be all ready for the last weekend in January when my mom is coming to paint the walls. We have decided on a theme for the nursery... it is going to be jungle animals (elephants, giraffes and monkeys) in pink and green. My mom, a.k.a the decorator (and out of control grandmother-to-be), has found the cutest fabrics for us to use. I am very excited about the bedding!


Last but not least here is a belly shot...I was hesitant, but I have had several requests for one so here you go... 22 weeks!

Nursery 101

Well, I realized after Christmas that we are half way through this pregnancy and I have done nothing to prepare for the nursery. Yikes! Since Nathan & I were both off work last week we worked on cleaning out closets and moving our "office" into the guest bedroom. The guestroom is a little full, but it doesn't look bad. There is still plenty of room for visitors - so don't be shy!
We do have a crib, however, it is still in a box in the garage. And my cousin, Jessica, is lending me her changing table - so we brought that home with us from Houston last weekend.
My mom and I are currently "strategizing" our decorating plan, but we are leaning towards pink & green for the colors. Now all we have to do is paint and get everything organized! I'll try to remember to take some before & after pictures for you all to see. Since we haven't done anything to that room after moving in whatever we do will be an improvement!
I am taking suggestions on what you think are the "must have's" or what your favorite things are about your nursery.