29 Weeks: Project Nursery

This past week was a great week!  Jeremy really wanted to get a smoker for Christmas, but somehow the back splash won out (this was not my decision btw!).  So Jeremy decided he wanted to try smoking a brisket on the grill. 
     We invited our friends Mike and Tanya over.  We test out all kinds of recipes on them.  Jeremy learned the hard way that he's allergic to pecan wood, so he won't be using pecan chips to smoke again any time soon. 
     We all thought it turned out great, although Jeremy was a bit more critical of it.  He thought the smoke ring could have been better (whatever that means).  So, his friend Bruce is on the look out for a good sale on one of those egg shaped smokers.

We also worked on the nursery this weekend.  We finished painting last weekend, and although our samples looked a bit blue, we went with a medium grey tone.  We will be keeping the rest of the furniture white, and add an accent color once the little one arrives. 

Here is Jeremy putting the crib together.  We picked it up at Ikea, and love the simplicity of it.  It will also transition into a toddler bed.  I'll take additional, more detailed pictures once we finish everything up.  Originally I thought I wanted a white dresser from Ikea as well, but  liked the thought of adding in a bit of character.  I had been searching on Craigslist for weeks, and finally found this little gem.  We both fell in love with the shape and details.  I think we'll also use this as our changing table.  I can't wait to start looking for some rustic accessories to fill the space.  I know it's going to be challenging to keep it gender neutral, but I'm always up for a challenge.

 

The cat's loved exploring our new additions.  Their new favorite place is hiding under the crib.

Last but not least, pregnancy update.  Now that I'm in my third trimester, I'm definitely starting to feel some new things.  Earlier in the week I was in quite a bit of pain in my low back and hips, making sleep very difficult.  I tried hot baths, but came to the conclusion that I needed to do a bit of strengthening and stretching to resolve the problem.

I started a 21 day challenge with a handful of girlfriends.  Not that I think I need to lose weight (obviously), but it takes 21 days to make a habit, and my muscles need some assistance carrying around this additional weight.  So I've been attempting to get in 30 minutes of some sort of physical activity every day.  I have a workout video by Tracy Anderson for strengthening, prenatal yoga videos from YouTube to stretch, and am walking around the neighborhood. 

This has definitely helped with my pain level.  I'm continuing to take baths as well, up to 4 a week.  It helps me relax as well as soak my sore muscles.  I put spa radio on Pandora, and light a few candles, and am in Heaven.

We also went hiking with our friends Bruce and Casey, and I think that's probably the last time we'll go.  I'm having to go to the bathroom so much more often these days, that I had to turn back early from the group and race back to the parking lot!  No fun :(  I've also experienced a bit of pelvic pain, pressure from this growing baby.  Hopefully that remains minimal through the next 10 weeks.

Baby update: Baby Rials is the size of an acorn squash, measuring in at 15-17 inches, and 2.5-3.5 pounds.  The baby will triple in body weight by the time he/she is born!  Baby is continuing to move a lot; kicks, jabs, and somersaults.  I didn't think I was feeling any hiccups, but now that I look back on the past week, I've been feeling these movements that I thought was just my heartbeat in my belly, because it was rhythmic that way, but just now I'm putting it together that it was more of a subtle movement and probably hiccups!  I'll have to pay more attention next time. 

That's it for this week!