29 Weeks

So the belly is HUGE and I still have 11 weeks to go at this point... I'm thinking I might not make it to the end of March, but we will see...  As large as the belly is, my weight gain is still hovering right around 12-13 pounds.  As most people have told me, the weight is all in my belly which is a good thing.  Especially since my brother and his fiance just set the date for their wedding to be August 6th - that's only five months after my due date!  It's is not that I am actually in the wedding party, but one must still look good as the sister of the groom.  I mean, there will be photos taken! ;) But I digress...

So at 29 weeks, I went for my regular doctor's visit and everything looked good.  I passed my second glucose tolerance test (the yucky 3-hour one) and was very happy about that.  At the end of the appointment my doctor said "We'll see you in 2 weeks".  This caught me off guard... What?  I'm not that far along yet, am I?  Well, I guess I am because I am going to see the doctor on Monday for my now "Every 2 weeks" checkup (I am a bit behind in blogging because I am now 31 weeks hence why I am going to the doctor in two days)... I know this means that the remainder of my pregnancy will begin to fly by.  While part of me is anxious and excited to finally hold our little bundle of joy, there is a small part of me that loves being pregnant and doesn't want to give up the special moments that I get to share with the baby - you know, the flutters and kicks that you feel all of the time and the closeness that you have because she is with you, a part of you, I'm not really sure how to describe it but I know that all of you Moms out there know what I am talking about.  Maybe I am just feeling this way because I know 100% that she is the last baby that I will carry and while I am very settled with that decision, it is still just a little sad.  However, I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to experience pregnancy one more time.  Many of you know, Brock and I thought that our family was complete and had made plans and appointments made to have permanent measures taken.  But one month before those plans were to be carried out, we were given a wonderful surprise!  I believe that we were meant to have three children and that God has special plans for each of them.

Our Trip to Babyland General

While we were in Atlanta for the Christmas holidays, Claire decided that she wanted to go to Babyland General in Cleveland, Georgia and adopt a baby!  For those of you who may not be familiar with Babyland General, it is the home of the Cabbage Patch Kids!  So on the morning of her 5th birthday, Claire, Brock and I ate the  breakfast of her choice - Chick-fil-A.  Then we went to Gran and Grandaddy's house (Brock's parents) to pick up Gran, who was having a "Girls Day" with us at Babyland General and drop off Brock, who was having a "Father/Son Day" with his dad.

Babyland General moved since the last time I visited with Audrey six years ago.  The new facility is huge and beautiful!  It sits on over 650 acres in the mountains of North Georgia!  Very picturesque!  The new hospital has the look of an old Southern plantation which adds even more charm to the experience.

One thing I will say about Babyland General is that they take all of this VERY seriously!  There are rules and procedures to follow.  The No. 1 rule is that the Cabbage Patch Kids/Babies are BABIES, not dolls!!! In fact, that four-letter word is known as a bad word at Babyland General.  So it was no surprise when we got to the front doors and it looked very much like a real hospital.

Once we passed through the "Admitting" doors, we were in the lobby, where a very nice, grandmotherly woman was sitting behind the registration desk... dressed in a complete nurse uniform, of course!

Claire signed in and told the nurse that it was her birthday and she wanted to adopt a new baby!  The nurse explained where everything was and told us that new babies were born throughout the day in the cabbage patch.

After leaving Registration, we walked through the Nursery, where we saw some of the Cabbage Patch Babies that had already been born.  Claire was so excited as she walked by each of the cribs filled with babies.

We then went to the main room, where the cabbage patch is located.  Mother Cabbage is in the middle of this room and had just delivered a new baby when we were walking in.  Claire walked around and admired all of the babies that were still in their cabbages and those that were freshly delivered from the patch!

She found a "Lullaby" baby, which is a baby that is found in one of the cabbage heads in the cabbage patch, and fell in love with her.  She named the baby "Crystal".  She has blond hair and blue eyes just like her new mom, but her new mom (Claire) has a few issues with her wild and crazy newborn hair!

While Claire and Crystal bonded on the bench close to Mother Cabbage, we heard the announcement that Mother Cabbage was in labor - 9 leaves dilated actually (I told you they take this very seriously).  We moved over to be close to Mother Cabbage and watch the delivery.  It was a special one because it was a new delivery specially planned for Claire.  It is called "Planned Parenthood".  It was very cute!  There is a little bit of background noise in the video from people chatting and kids playing in other parts of the room, but you are able to experience the delivery of Claire's baby "Natalie"... the nurse calls her "Crystal" but Claire decided after the delivery that she wanted the baby born that day to be Natalie and the Lullaby baby to be Crystal.

Once Natalie was checked out in the Newborn Nursery, Claire was able to complete her adoption papers and take the official Adoption Oath.  The nurse got started a little faster then I was able to have the camera rolling but I was able to capture the majority of the oath.

Claire really enjoyed her trip to Babyland General (and if I am being honest, Gran and I really enjoyed it too).  Thanks Gran for helping make this trip a lot of fun!

If you are ever in the North Georgia area or just want to plan something fun for your daughter/granddaughter, then a trip to Babyland General is definitely something that you should look into doing.