38 weeks and counting

38 weeks and counting....Here is the most up to date picture of my belly.  I think with each day there is less and less space between my belly and my upper half.  This became very apparent during a 45 minute car ride yesterday.  With such a short amount of time left I have found myself "cramming" as if I have a final test coming up.  I guess in a way I do and just like my student self, I am starting to get nervous about doing well.  I will admit that I have not been the best about reading up on what's to come.  I've bought the books, read the first couple of pages, and then lost interest.  Maybe it's because I have yet to try and apply what I've read?  I know I have a huge learning curve ahead of me and I am trying my best to suppress some of my type A personality as I know it will be better for my mental state in the long wrong.  But still I can't help but want to get a few more "study sessions" in before the big day.  I discovered a great website tonight that was created by a Mom of 5 and she demonstrates everything...I mean everything.  From using a breast pump, to storing milk, to easy ways to dress for nursing in public...she has a video for it all. And I didn't even make it past the first topic.  I think I found my new lecture series and possible study buddy. 

The Name Game

The  name game....something that Joe and I have played even before thinking about children.  We have a very big difference in opinion in what constitutes a "good name."  It was a given that our son's first name would be Joseph but we are anticipating calling him by his middle name (I feel very strongly that our little guy needs to have his own identity) so we wanted to make sure we gave it some thought and it was something that we could both agree on.  Surprisingly, the middle name came early on in our search but it took me a while to commit to it as I kept thinking "what if it isn't a good fit?"  Well the letters have been pasted and framed (I've been having fun with picture projects) so I guess this is it. We haven't been outwardly sharing as I have been bombarded often from people I don't know (i.e. the cashier at the grocery store, the worker at Dunkin' Donuts, ladies at the gym, mother's at work) with the question "Have you chosen a name?"  I don't mind sharing but I'd at least like to know you first.  I have become very accustomed to responding with "we are still deciding" or "it will probably be a last minute decision," or "we have to meet him first."  I have encountered such nice people since displaying my bump- the smiles I get, the sharing of excitement, the compliments of "cute" and "adorable."  It has been very sweet.  But I'd hate to disappoint someone with a name that they don't like so it's just been better to keep it to ourselves.  Here are his initials....For those that don't know- wonder if you can guess the middle name? :-)

One Month and Counting....

With 1 month to go I am finding it harder to get out of bed, off the couch, and out of the little chairs that I sit in at work.  I think I have perfected the "roll up" as that seems to be the easiest way to get on and off low places.
We went for our hospital tour this past weekend.  Seeing the different rooms and hearing about labor and delivery definitely made the end result of this seem more real.  The woman walking laps around the hospital while speaking loudly into her cell phone about how uncomfortable she was did little to calm my nerves but at least now we have a better idea of what to expect once we arrive at the hospital.
I've started to put together my hospital bag and have found that I have packed more things for him than for me.  I worry about how cold it is going to be when we leave the hospital, what size clothes he'll fit into when he's born, and of course what can he wear for his photo shoot post birth.  We have so many cute things to choose from it's hard to decide!

Nursery

Little by little we have been getting things in place in the nursery.  Here are a few pictures of what we have done so far.  I really enjoyed looking for pictures to frame as we wanted to create some variety on the wall.  Can you tell we hope to instill our love of travel on our little guy?