Still Playing Catch Up From My Last Post

This post will be a recap of the birthing class we had today, recent photos & anything I forgot to mention last night since I clearly shouldn't write these close to bed time. Sorry for anything that may not have made sense. I would apologize for any typos as well, but let's be honest-those are going to happened even when I am at my most alert.

This is the latest belly picture-from last week.

 Christmas this year was spent in Delray with my parents and brother. It was super relaxing and a great change of scenery and weather...

 Got to visit with a couple of friends from high school and their families. So good to see Tiina & her husband Dave. And visiting with Connor and his family is always fun and insightful. He and Ryan are such great parents.
We went stroller shopping with mom and dad. Turns out dad spent quite a bit of time researching strollers, and knew way more about them than J & I ever knew possible. Merry Christmas to us & Graycen-the new stroller arrived last week & we can't wait to wheel her around in it. Thanks mom & dad!!

Graycen had quite the Christmas and she is not even here yet!! First, I have to share with you what I think is just the cutest...turns out daddy has discovered what shopping for a little girl is like. Once he started, he couldn't stop...

She is a daddy's girl already...

 Some of the other awesome gifts she got during the holidays: (and this isn't all of them, so please forgive me for not including all of them-everything she has gotten has been AMAZING)

from Auntie Jill

 

 

Graycen's 1st book from the Adams'.

Sweet bloomers & blanket from Aunt Shelly & Uncle Lee.

Swaddlers, burp bibs & sleep sacks from Aunt Melissa.

more goodies from Aunt Melissa

 And one little gift I bought myself. I know I may never pull it out of my hospital bag, but I do love the way the snaps open the chest for immediate skin to skin time. It is a labor and delivery gown. And lets face it-I'm going to need any any "cuteness" help I can get in the moment-because its guaranteed labor is far from cute.

 Speaking of labor- today's birthing class was great. I know some people choose to do it and some don't. With most everything in my life-the more I know, the more prepared I feel so we wanted to do it. Instead of doing the one hour a week for six weeks we did it in one day, six hours. We covered everything from the epidural to c-sections, breathing techniques, breastfeeding, etc. The videos actually weren't as bad as I anticipated. In fact, I have found much worse on youtube-but that is another story for another blogpost.
Anywho, it was just like what we pictured. Blankets and pillows on the floor, J sitting behind me as we practiced breathing and massage techniques. I could not keep a straight face or keep the giggles in. About three months from now I am probably going to wish I had taken that part a little more seriously. The majority of the class was in a lecture room, passing around instruments and taking notes. We both learned and heard some things we hadn't heard before. It also made us excited for where we are delivering. Sounds like a great hospital with all private rooms, some with tubs for your comfort, none of which we may see before hand since the flu has cancelled all maternity ward tours. We are scheduled for one just before our due date if it doesn't get cancelled again, and we make it that far. On that note, I am glad we aren't delivering until later. For those delivering between now and mid-March, they have closed the hospital to all visitors unless they are the immediate grandparents. They said back during H1N1 even grandparents weren't allowed. Yikes!! Here is to hoping that for more reasons than one the flu doesn't continue to get worse and that it goes away quickly. Regardless, we are pretty pumped to deliver at the smaller of the INOVA hospitals, hoping that makes the process easier and more comfortable.

Okay, I have to sign off now. Baby girl is doing jumping jacks and it may be because I am slightly late in eating dinner...Taco Bell would be amazing right now...I wonder if they deliver...
xoxo

Way Overdue...My blogpost, not me!!

Oh my goodness-the weeks have FLOWN by. I've heard that happens.
It has been so long since my last post I don't know where to begin, and I am sure I will leave some things out.

The first major update we have is that Rosey Cheeks has a name...

Graycen Affleck Roseborough

Jamie thought of the name one evening while we were driving home and I fell in love. I always thought I would want to keep the name a secret-but I loved it so much that I couldn't wait to share it. And let the monogramming begin of course. What I love most about her name is that I love all of the different variations that she may be called throughout her life. I love Gray, Grayce, Graycie and of course just sticking with Graycen. The middle name is something I have always imagined I would share with my first born. Affleck is my middle name, my dad's middle name, and his mother's maiden name. It is so special to me that I share that name with my dad and now his first grandbaby will have his name as well.

Here is something I haven't done in several posts- the typical pregnancy update:
How far along are you?  27 weeks
How big is the baby? 14.5" and about 2 lbs. the size of cauliflower is what my app says
Any weight gain/loss?  quite a bit since the last post, a week ago I clocked in at 136, averaging 5 lbs per month
Maternity clothes?  oh yah-actually starting to grow out of some of the first maternity purchases
Sleep?  only waking up once or twice to turn over
Baby Movement? yep-mostly when I'm sitting or laying down
Belly Button?  pretty close to being an outtie
Cravings?  no serious "stop traffic" cravings, but am loving fruit-especially blueberries
Aversions?  avocado/guacamole - still
Gender?  girl
Labor signs?  nope
Symptoms?  frequent potty breaks & the occasional skin stretching that feels like she is trying to push out of my belly
What I miss?  brie cheese
Upcoming appointments?  Thursday the ^17th.
What is next on the To-Do list?  birthing class tomorrow

Baby Gray moves quite a bit-sometimes more than others. 
She has moments where I can only imagine what she is up to in there...these are the images that come to mind.
 
Sometimes, while laying down, J can tap around on my belly and she'll respond back. It's as if they have their own little Morse Code going on. The other one in our house who has taken to feeling Baby Gray move is Tucker, our cat. Starting several weeks ago, almost any time I sit or lay down he will come curl up on my lap or belly, and I know he can feel her when she kicks. Its pretty funny as he has always been super independent and never really a cuddler. Tucker is 10 years old and suddenly becoming a Mama's Boy.

This week we checked a few major things off of our Prepping for Baby list.
Monday we visited a handful of daycares in the area. It was quite the experience and a little overwhelming as neither of us have stepped foot in a daycare since we were the ones attending. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but the first few places we both walked out unsure and a little speechless. I personally was having an issue with all of the crusty, snotty noses-which I know...I will just have to get over. However, the last one we went to was very different and gave us the comfortable, clean, good feeling we were looking for. It is so hard to know where is going to be best for her when you are shopping on the internet because they all have positive and negative reviews. We knew going into our visits that we were probably going to need to rely almost entirely on gut instinct. For the most part, that kicked in and I think we both really feel good about where Graycen will spend her days come August. A deposit was put down later in the week and we now have a spot for next school year.
The nursery is coming together. J finished painting and it looks awesome!! Today we got a crib and a dresser/changing table that we found on Craigslist. The seller even delivered it and helped us get it into the nursery. It is so exciting to have the nursery coming together and I can't wait to post pictures when it is done.

We have a few other baby things happening this next week.
Tomorrow is our birthing class at the hospital...I am a little conflicted with how much am I really hoping to learn about the birth process. I am one of those who loves to hear everyone's stories-the good, the bad, and the ugly-in hopes that I won't be surprised by anything when it is my turn. However, hearing those stories and seeing videos of those stories are two different things and I am not sure what kind of videos may be involved in tomorrow's class...But don't worry-I'll be sure to share with you.
Wednesday is my first Prenatal Yoga-Pilates Fusion class. I am so happy that I am following through with this. It is something I always said I would do, but unlike the daily workouts I also planned on, I seem to be following through on this one. :-)
Thursday is the start of my 2 week appointments. Oddly enough these are doctor appointments that I actually look forward to the appointments. Although, this next one won't be my favorite- I have to do the glucose test. But otherwise, I always look forward to hearing updates, even if it is my weight, and hearing Little One's heartbeat. This last appointment everything looked great, however, she was a little surprised that my belly is measuring two weeks ahead of what I am. She said it could just be a growth spurt and even out over the next few weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed that she is right. I am not sure that I am prepared for a due date shift to before April 9, and I am certainly not prepared for a 10 lbs. baby...

Alright, that last paragraph was a little hard to finish as I kept falling asleep mid-typing. This mama clearly has to go to bed. I will post again tomorrow with anything I forgot to add tonight, a recap of the birthing class, and a bunch of photos from over the past several weeks.
xoxo