26 Weeks

It's getting hot in herrre!! So Thursday night we got home late from a rehearsal dinner in Ft Worth and went straight to bed. I woke up so uncomfortably hot and sweaty multiple times, but didn't think too much of it. Then I realized the AC was broken when I heard Jon climb into the attic at 7 am. Well of course this happens on the hottest week of the year so far! The AC guy didn't make it out until 5 on Friday and since we need a whole new outdoor unit, they couldn't fix it then. In the mean time we have to figure out how the heck to afford this! We have a home owner's warranty, but apparently it doesn't cover jack when it comes to our situation. Thank God we have an awesome family that lent us window units to keep it bearable in here for now. Hopefully they can come fix it by the end of the week.

This just puts a damper on nursery plans which is a major bummer, because I've had my eye on a pretty amazing and expensive glider/recliner that I just convinced my cheap ass into splurging on. That's ok, baby will still have everything she NEEDS by the time she gets here, I am pretty sure. That includes a cool and comfortable house. I also bought a cute bookcase at Ikea this weekend with an attachment to make it a changing table. This was too perfect, because I was shopping for a bookcase and a changing table, but this is a space and money saver. Plus changing tables become useless within a few short months. This way I can take the attachment off when I no longer need it, but Avery can still have the storage for books and toys for a long time. I also bought a nightstand that I was planning to put next to my beautiful glider chair of the future, but I might end up taking it back. If I don't get a chair, then I don't really need it. Tell me mommies out there, how essential is a rocker/glider chair for the nursery, especially if I plan on nursing? There are cheaper ones out there, but I only really like the look of the upholstered ones vs. the wooden ones.

Besides the heat, I am feeling pretty good this week. The heartburn that has been haunting me around the clock has been pretty calm, and I think the physical therapy is helping my hips already. We went to childbirth class last Wednesday, which was long but pretty informative! I have my gestational diabetes test this Wednesday, which I've heard is terrible, but I'm still looking forward to my appointment. I get excited about seeing how much weight I've gained and love to hear her heartbeat! After that, I begin going to my check-ups every 2 weeks instead of 4, because I am entering the 3rd trimester!

Here are some pics of the nursery so far.

Daddy painting

My refinished outlets/Pinterest project

Painted room and dresser

Chandelier and painting that will hang above the crib

25 Weeks

This week has been so exciting! I found out that 2 of my good friends (that will remain nameless for now) are also pregnant!! Even though they are a few months behind me, I couldn't be happier to have friends to share this experience with!! It is going to be so great for Avery and me to have some more playmates and mommy friends!!

I've been so busy trying to get things done before school starts back, because it'll be time before I know it. Today I began physical therapy, because my hips are starting to make me really uncomfortable and my previous hip problems are not helping!! I am already sore from it, but hopefully it will help me out through the rest of my pregnancy and through the whole scary birth process. Tonight we will also take our prepared childbirth class that I am really excited about.

We have been continuing to work on the nursery too. Jon and his friends hung up the chandelier for me, and thanks to Pinterest I got the idea to redo all of the old ugly outlet covers with scrapbook paper. It's starting to come together and we are ready for the furniture!! I pretty much have everything picked out, but we are just buying one thing at a time for now. I'll add some progress pictures soon.

We have been completely overwhelmed with how invested everyone has been in little Avery already. My inlaws have been amazing. They have told us that they are planning to buy her crib, and they got me an awesome new camera for my birthday so we can get lots of images of our sweet babe. My best friend Shannon has been working with my sister, aunt and sisters-n-law getting everything ready for my shower next month. I saw the invites last night and they are super cute!! I can't wait for these next 3 1/2 months to fly by so we can finally meet our little girl!!

As the Bump Grows

Here are my belly pics so far! I've tried to get one every week, but some weeks fly by and I totally forget. :) Also, in the first trimester, I obviously was too tired to put on make-up I guess?

24 weeks

I am starting this blog because I don't want to be one of those people to flood your FaceBook newsfeed with constant updates and photos of my pregnancy and baby. Because we are already obsessed with her, I want a place to share with those family and friends that care how our little one is doing.

So here's the latest scoop on Baby Mercer…

I am 24 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Our sweet babe is a GIRL and we have decided to name her Avery Parris Mercer. We are keeping my maiden name as her middle name, since my dad didn't have any boys to keep the name alive. I do have one boy cousin though, so I guess it's up to him. :) Besides that, we think it's pretty and we have decided to make her nursery a bit of a Parisian theme.

Avery is moving around like crazy inside my belly each day now, and it is the coolest, most amazing feeling I've ever felt in my life! It's so surreal to think that Jon and I have created a HUMAN and she is one of a kind. It blows my mind to think she is half of me, half of him and even if we have another child/ren down the road, they will not be exactly like her.

This past month we have begun to get things ready for baby. Avery's nursery will be grey, pale pink and white, with an antique/feminine/Parisian theme to it. We refinished a dresser that used to be mine, and my dad's before that. We painted it an antique white, with a pink undertone and crystal knobs. We have painted the nursery grey, bought a chandelier that needs to be installed and are looking online at furniture and stuff. Getting everything ready is going to take all the time we have left. It's so fun, but the expense of making everything look how I've pictured is pretty stressful. I've been told more than once in my life that I have champagne taste on a beer budget, but aside from that, baby stuff is pretty dang expensive!! Luckily I have received many hand-me-downs from my sister, in the way of cute girly clothes and my friend Candace that just had a baby in February has loaned me a pretty nice collection of maternity clothes. I am so grateful for these 2 women, as they've given me invaluable advice and help so far!!

This week I also got registered for my baby shower at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us, which was a big check off of my to-do list. My friend Candace went with me for that, which was a huge help, because those baby stores are so overwhelming. Especially when it comes to essentials…slow-flow vs. fast-flow bottle nipples and orthodontic pacifiers can be scary for moms-to-be! I can't believe my shower is just a little over a month away!! So exciting!!