Day ~167

Miss Belly's nickname has evolved this past week from "Wiggles" to "Thumper." All of a sudden, those little taps have become serious pokes! I love each and every one.

She seems to move most about mid-morning, when I'm at work. Then right before lunch, I'll get a few bumps. And then, usually, nothing until late evening, once I'm lying on the couch. That seems to be when her most vigorous dancing happens. On the weekends, it's less predictable - she seems to move less at home, though as I've hypothesized before, this could be simply because I'm sitting still a lot more at work, and noticing her.

Sunday night, I watched, with wide eyes, my belly jump around for about 10 minutes; not wanting to talk and make her stop, I tried to send psychic messages to DTB, who was outside washing the car. Didn't work - he's felt a few little movements here and there, but I can't wait for him to share some of the really exciting ones!

I did notice today that when I drink cold water, she shimmies around a little bit. I'm sure she must be able to feel it ...

The nursery is starting to happen. We now have a changing table, cradle, and crib - all purchased from craigslist, totaling under $200. The crib is waiting to be assembled, and we need a dresser and all the various accoutrements - changing pad, bedding, storage baskets ... Oma is going to sew a crib skirt and diaper stacker from fabric I picked out last night. As I wandered the rows and rows of every print and texture known to man, I had to smirk at myself. This, surely, will be the first and last time I ever spend three hours agonizing over just the right colors and prints for a crib skirt! I know that someday, I'll look back (a little longingly) and laugh at the luxury of those long moments.

I finally revealed our short name list to my best friends. I thought this would be a good idea, since one friend is just 6 weeks behind me with her second baby - and she just found out it's another girl! So rather than have any names inadvertantly "stolen" from each other, I thought it prudent to share. We have just one in common - though I do think it's a favorite for both of us, so we'll see if either of us takes it. It's DTB's top choice, actually. I did, reassuringly, get the stamp of approval on using the name I've agonized over - which is so similar to my coworker's new baby's name. They seem to think it's different enough that it won't matter ... I love my friends!

Other than feeling really exhausted yesterday - to the point of wanting to kill anyone who crossed me, I was so cranky (this reminded me of the importance of getting to bed on time) - I feel wonderful. I never knew I would enjoy being pregnant so much. Just 16 weeks to go!

Although for the first time today, I did feel really irritable about having to pee again ...