24 weeks and nursery update

I am currently at 24.5 weeks and growing more every day! One of my books says the baby is over a pound now, and as big as a banana. I find these comparisons interesting, but still hard to imagine. I have a little banana inside me? Fitting that we chose monkeys for the nursery. My mom came down yesterday because I had one of the 20% off coupons for Babys R Us that needed to be put to good use. We had planned to use it towards the dresser, which yes, they do let you do. I HIGHLY recommend to all the pregnant or will someday be pregnant girls out there to sign up for a Babys R Us rewards card so that you get the coupons and 20% off one item coupon each month. I signed up for the credit card too, which gets you 10% off everything for the day you sign up plus points for the dollars you spend and they send you gift certificates. Anyways, they were currently out of the dresser in the warehouse, but the lady assured me they were getting more and a new coupon would be in the mail soon. I did get to use the coupon on my glider though! Very exciting! The one I picked happened to be on sale anyways, then with the extra 20% off, it was a great deal! I think I've said this before, but I'm so excited with all of my savings so far! The glider is coming from the Cleveland warehouse, so it should be here sometime next week. The nursery is all painted and looks great. Crib is still unassembled, but one thing at a time. Supposedly it is not hard or time consuming to put together. As the not quite all there associate told us, "even I could put it together."

I can't believe how fast the time is going by now. I know it sounds cliche or dumb, but I am having fun being pregnant now! You may think I'm crazy, and if you asked me in the first trimester, I would have said no way. My face broke out like crazy and I felt sick and had no desire to eat. I'm somewhat thankful for those 10 pounds like in the first trimester, since they are all back now plus an additional few. I like having my belly, now that it looks more pregnant and not just bloated or fat. Sleeping is still an adjustment and not the most comfortable, but for the most part hasn't been horrible. Patrick is amazed by the pillows I use, but he's adjusting as well. I've been doing much better working out and going to the gym too. It makes me feel better, even if I'm just riding the bike or walking around the track. I know moderate exercise is good for me and the baby, and could even make the delivery easier. Let's hope so!

Oh another interesting thing to note concerns my first baby. My chihuahua Bella that is. I've been doing some reading about getting her prepared for the baby since it can be quite a shock for dogs. I think she is going to have a hard time since she really is like our baby now and gets all the attention. Anyways, my mom got this doll that makes baby sounds that you are supposed to wrap up like a baby and hold it and see how she reacts and reward her for being good or curious. I felt sooo silly carrying around a doll, but it has been interesting. She seemed somewhat interested, but Bella is pretty smart. Pretty sure she realizes it's not real. Oh well. It's just supposed to get the image in her head. They say you also need to bring home a blanket from the hospital with the baby's scent before you actually come home to get her used to the smell. We'll see how it goes! I suppose I will stop for the night as it is getting late and I will be exhausted in the morning!