25 Weeks

At 25 weeks Lily is a growing girl - from head to toe she's about 13 1/2 inches long and is weighing in at a pound and a half. Basically she's about the size of an eggplant. This week Lily is also starting to develop her new sense of equilibrium - she can actually tell which way is up and which is down!

This week we have purchased both Lily's dresser and glider. It's great to check these pieces off and start to see her room come together. Unfortunately the term 'see' is relative, because both pieces of furniture need to be delivered. So, her dresser will not be here until the end of May and it will be June - or even JULY - before her glider arrives. I'm not sure if they are making these pieces by hand from scratch, but boy is it testing our patience! Don't they know we need a cozy chair to rock and day dream in? And that we have cute little outfits to put away? Needless to say, while we may be making progress toward completing her room, we won't have any physical updates to share for away.

I feel as though I am really starting to round out. Folks that may not have known before are starting to notice that I'm pregnant and that I haven't just developed a fondness for cheeseburgers! Most of my wardrobe is starting to transition to full maternity and I occasionally even catch Jeremy off guard when I turn to the side. I get a good chuckle out of seeing his eyes get big. I have had to warn him about just how enthusiastic his exclamations are over my growing belly. But, I honestly can't say that I haven't uttered a 'Whoa!' or two when I catch myself in the mirror. :)

Only 15 weeks left until we get to meet our daughter. 15 weeks seems like a very short period of time all of a sudden...

25 Weeks:

24 Weeks

As some may already know the 24th week of pregnancy is an important milestone - Viability. While we would never want Lily to arrive so early, should she be born now she would have approximately a 50% chance of survival in the outside world. Many neonatal intensive care units would generally not provide intensive care prior to this point. So again, she needs to keep baking for many many more weeks, but there is a smidgen of comfort in knowing that now she'd have a fighting chance.

Not much went on this week in terms of nursery preparations. I was traveling for work and in Connecticut from Tuesday through Friday. Lily's first pseudo plane rides!

We celebrated Jeremy's birthday this weekend with some of our family and close friends. It was gorgeous weather - perfect for the first fire of the year! All the kiddos were playing in the backyard while us grown ups chatted and hung out in the sunshine. It was the first time many had seen the progress in Lily's room. Jeremy received many many compliments on his hard work! We both love spending quality time with the special people in our lives.

Sunday I spent with Rachel while she taught me to use my new sewing machine. I say 'new' but I've had the machine since before my birthday last year. But, I'm finally putting it to work! Oh the projects I have planned.

Here is the first little project from this afternoon:

A little lovely with ribbons all around the edges. You know how you give a baby a toy and they spend the whole time sucking on the tag? Now she has all the tags she could want! Just made from scraps we had sitting around the house. Now I'm ready to tackle curtains, dresses, and more!

Here I am at 24 weeks:

Really starting to round out and feel pregnant most days. My travels brought with them my first case of swollen feet and ankles. I think as it starts to heat up, I will really need to be sure I'm propping them up more often. But I won't complain, it's all in a days work!

23 Weeks

Our Lily is now over 11 inches long and weighs in at just over a pound! About the size of a large mango.

Her hearing has become more sensitive and she can even feel the movement when we dance. She can recognize the dogs barking and the sound of the vacuum, now when she joins us on the outside - months from now - these noises won't phase her a bit.

This week I saw my belly move for first time. It takes a particularly strong kick, but boy is that crazy to see! She moves more and more these days, some I can even tell are rolls compared to specific jabs. She's really filling the space in there.

Jeremy has finished painting the board and batten in Lily's room. Also, this weekend - we got a crib! We are in love with her room and always looking for a reason to spend time in there. There are little things hanging in her closest and blankets in her baskets. It is amazing to watch it all come together.

23 Weeks:

Jeremy has worked so hard on her room. He's been ever the perfectionist making sure it's just right for Lily.

 Jeremy surprised my Saturday evening and put together her crib!

22 Weeks

Lily is about 11inches long this week and weighs in at almost 1 pound. She's about the size of a papaya or spaghetti squash. Oddly enough, this week she is forming tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her lips and eyes are more developed, and most everything is proportionate now. She's looking like a miniature new born!

I am feeling her move around more and more. It still catches me off guard most of the time! Jeremy has been able to feel her a few more times as well. It's a lot of fun to be able to share those little moments as a family.

The Belly at 22 Weeks:

As you can see behind me, Lily's room has seen a big transformation this week! Jeremy primed the board that was put up last weekend and on Saturday Jerry came up to help us install the molding and batten. Just like any DIY project there were a few tricky moments and a couple trips to the hardware store, but by that evening it was all up! Sunday morning we patched the nail holes and now it just needs a coat (or two) of paint.

It's starting to really take shape and we're both very excited to see it come together. Here's a few photos of the progress we made this week:

 Definitely the first time Jeremy's been excited to paint!

 Saturday morning and the moulding is starting to go up!

 Measure twice!

 Because this time, we didn't. Oops! Thankfully it was our only mis-cut.

 The three of us had a good system down. I measured and marked, Jerry manned the saw, and Jeremy installed the batten. It made it go really fast!

 It looks GREAT! We are thrilled with how it came together.

Jeremy plans to finish the priming and painting this week and then we'll officially be done with this part of Lily's room. I'm happy it turned out so well. Thank you, Jerry, for all of your help! We couldn't have done it without you.

Now it's time for furniture shopping!

21 Weeks

This week Lily is about the size of a large banana! Measuring 7 1/4" long (crown to rump), but well over 10" head to toe. She's getting big in there - weighing in at almost 11 ounces. Her growth isn't as rapid as it was a handful of weeks ago, but instead of rapid growth, things are now focused on maturing her little organs. And the rest gets to go at a nice steady pace.

We're continuing to make progress on Lily's room. I say 'we' pretty loosely, as Jeremy really has done all of the heavy lifting - literally and figuratively speaking. He and Jerry started on the board and batten in her room this Saturday. The board was cut and is now hung and the battens will be following over the next week or so. Here's the inspiration photo:

(source: Just a Girl)

It's exciting to start and see her room come together. Here's a few peeks at our progress thus far:

This board, and the battens that will follow, will all be painted white and capped with molding. Now, if we could just find furniture!

While the menfolk were busy cutting and hanging wood, my mom and I spent time at a local consignment sale. We scored some excellent deals on some really great stuff! Including a pack 'n play for grandma's house! Afterward we stopped by a friends place and she handed down some great clothes for Lily. We've done quite a bit of laundry and there are officially little clothes hanging in her closet!

21 weeks and counting: