Welcome back!!! Mom again... Like I said before, I like bloggin'!!

Oooo... it's getting soooo close!!! We only have 9 weeks left - we're at 31 weeks and it feels like it was just yesterday when we found out we had a little one on the way!! Time really does fly by.... we are so TRULY blessed - blessed beyond measure....

On November 3, we went to our 2nd childbirth class at Baptist Hospital and this one was way more, um, informative, than the first. During this class we watched a video of an unmedicated vaginal birth, and WOW those women are strong... In my mind (and I might have mentioned this before), I was going to have a 1950's birth - you know, go to the hospital, go to sleep, wake up and then the baby is there!! TA-DA!!! I'm finding out that that's not really and option now.... hahaha.... Originally I was considering natural childbirth, but now, I am pretty sure I'm keeping my options open.... We pray about it everyday!!! =o)

Wednesday the 4th we were supposed to start an Expectant Parent Training class at church. (Anyone else think it's funny that the initials are EPT for a parenting class?! hahaha) Dr. Steve Johnson is a member of the church and is also a pediatrician. He teaches this class for expectant first-time parents to basically prepare them for their new arrival. The class usually consist of topics like feeding the baby, childproofing, shots, sleep patterns, development, and anything else the parents can think of to ask.....Well, when we arrived (and we were sure there were other couples) we thought, maybe they were all late, or they're out on a tour of the infant areas of the church. Nope, it's just us!!! That can be a good and bad thing..... Bad because there are no other parents in the class to bounce topics off of and get additional information from; Good because we have one on one time with a pediatrician for an hour each week before our little boy comes!! So we're choosing to look at it in a positive light!

We met with a "potential" pediatrician for our little guy on Thursday, Dr. Patricia Robinson of Goodlettsville Pediatrics. We really liked the office, and the staff was wonderful with everyone, parents & patients alike. They have separate waiting areas for well and sick children and a special waiting area for newborns - I really liked that! It was hard to sit and wait for Dr. Robinson while hearing some of the little ones get their flu shots. One little boy cried and panicked so much that it had ME in tears!! The only thing that helped was that the movie Cars was on in the waiting room - you have to love 'Mater!! =o)

Friday was a slow day, just off to work, then to Walmart for a few things, then home. We love those days! We also found out that my sister and her family (Aunt Chrissy, Uncle Johnny, cousin Johnny and cousin Abigail) are moving back to Tennessee from Montana very soon. My brother-in-law has completed his time in the Air Force and they will be back BEFORE our little boy is born. Originally they were going to stay in Montana until after the first of the year, but looks like things have been moved up on the time line. We're really excited!!

We spent the day Saturday watching football and cleaning and "nesting". I was really trying to get all of the little guy's laundry done - clothes, sheets, blankets, all that stuff - so that it could be folded or hung up and put away. Between that, and cleaning, I was pooped by about 4:00. That was a VERY long day!!! But I was able to pull it together by game time - Florida and Vandy played at 6:15!! And once again, a win is a win is a win - Gators beat the 'Dores 27-3!! Winning never gets old, hehehe....=o)

Sunday was such a lazy day for us. I was really sore from doing way too much (yes Daddy, you were right) and throughout the night Saturday night into Sunday morning I was in some serious pain. Hips were hurting, and my back and ribs were sore. Taking one Tylenol seemed to help, but not quite enough. So we spent most of the day on the loveseat propped up with pillows and Daddy took good care of us. He made breakfast (and that included coffee, which he does NOT drink - Go daddy!!) and went to pick up lunch for us also! Mommy and the little boy were really spoiled that day!! So to thank him, and because we were feeling better, we made Swedish meatballs for dinner - YUM!!!

The sweet little guy at 31 weeks is still growing like a weed!! He's already about 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds (that's about the same size at 4 navel oranges!!!) He's apparently in a grown spurt now because he's starting to plump up in his arms, legs and body. He can turn his head side to side too. He's starting to move around a lot now, including kicks, hiccups, and what feels like jumping jacks!! That's good though because it's a sign the little guy is active and healthy!! Here's a picture of what he might look like at 31 weeks - so sweet!!!

Check in with us next week!!! Starting at 32 weeks we begin our twice weekly visits for ultrasounds and fetal monitoring on Tuesdays and dr visits on Thursdays. We're really excited to be able to see the little guy again.. We may even be able to get another 3D picture (but we're not making any promises!).

Mom (and lil duck too, of course)