HDBD - 23 weeks

It's Hump Day Bump Day once again!  23 weeks and counting!!!!  Nicolette is definitely out of hiding now!!!!!

I still haven't bought any maternity clothes but my selections in my closet are limited.  I think I have 3 dresses that I can wear to work (God bless A-line and shift dresses).  So, sorry co-workers, but you're gonna have to get used to my outfit recycling...promise that I do laundry on a regular basis!  

Nicolette is kicking up a storm - she really likes to sit up by my right ribs.  When we went to the doctor Tuesday the nurse even commented about how she's curled up in a little ball way up high on the right.  She had a strong heartbeat at 147 BpM.  Hubs still hasn't felt the kick - she'll be going at it for a little while so I'll have him come over and put his hand on her and I guess she's either shy or trying to make a liar out of me and she totally stops.  Hopefully he'll feel her in the next couple of weeks.  She either absolutely LOVES fruit or is totally irritated by it so that is pretty much always guaranteed to get a reaction.  I guess I'll just keep downing oranges and pineapple to see if daddy can feel her sometime soon.  

Hoping hubby will make some more progress painting the nursery this weekend - I'm still frustrated that I can't help with the painting. That is one home improvement task that I actually CAN do (and usually enjoy it too)!  I know there are mixed thoughts on whether women should paint or not.  I have girlfriends who have painted and everything has been perfectly fine however I logged on to the American Pregnancy Association's website to check out their thoughts just before I was ready to open a can of paint and read that they really don't recommend it.  Specifically they state that "Avoiding paints and solvents is the safest course of action" Then to make it worse I logged on to a message board and read a message from a mother who said that as the mother of a handicapped child she will wonder for the rest of her life it it had to do with the painting that she did while she was pregnant.  ACK!  That scared the living daylights out of me and I literally RAN away from the paint can.  For the rest of the day I wouldn't come near the Italian or the fume infested room...still haven't stepped into it fully 4 days later as I want all of the paint fumes gone.  We used low VOC paint, but still...with all that we've been through to bring little Nicolette here we'd rather be safe than sorry.  Luckily the Italian's a pretty handy guy so he's got it under control (he just doesn't always operate on my time schedule). 

That's all for now...feeling blessed beyond belief and loving every moment of this pregnancy (even the 14 weeks of constant sickness in the very beginning). Hard to believe that she'll be here in just a few months!!!