And, a late Merry Christmas to you!

This year is quite possibly the smoothest Christmas we have experienced in our 10 years of being together.  Who would have thought I'd say that for Ethan's first Christmas?  It took having a baby.  Go figure!

I do hope everyone had a great Christmas (or whatever other holiday you like to celebrate!).

This month has come and gone way too fast.  I feel like we ran out of time for everything.  We didn't even get to decorate the tree until Christmas Eve, and it was after we put Ethan to bed.  Guess I lost my Mother-of-the-Year award.  I really wanted to make it a big family affair, so we kept putting it off.  Couldn't do it during the week because one of us was always getting home too late, and then it would be time for Ethan's bedtime routine.  Every weekend it was something else; we were all sick, my work Christmas party, Ethan's baptism, etc. etc...  I caved and let us get a fake tree this year.  Guess next year I'll have to cave and start decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  :-/  Other than that, everything went ahead well.  As you can see, we were able to get Ethan's first picture with Santa (or, Bum Santa, as we affectionately call him).  Koopa's epic yawn gave us a fantastic Christmas card this year.

So, I have started Crossfit.  The first week left me unable to sit right to piss.  This week has been better.  I had planned to go back tonight, but ended up running over with my work obligations.  Tomorrow will probably not be any better, as we are going out of town to Lake Charles after Michael gets off of work.  I knew December was going to suck to start this stuff.  But, my intro marked the start of my month, which I did not realize before I did it.  Oh well, it's been an interesting jump start back into the fitness world!

Other than the tried and true lose weight goal, I don't have much figured out as far as New Year's resolutions.  Not care about people opinions as much?  Meh.  Who says you have to have a resolution anyway! ;)  Blog more? :D

UGH.

I feel like this post should be on my weight loss blog, but since I haven't been able to lose weight I guess it doesn't matter where it goes!

I'm so frustrated.  Everyone said that breastfeeding would burn so many calories.  I gained 30lbs while I was pregnant.  I lost 10lbs within the first two weeks.  Since then I have been at a hault.  Honestly, I want a quick fix.  Nursing Ethan means that I can't do that - which is good.  I don't need to crash diet.  I just hate being back at that place where I hate seeing pictures of myself and I hate looking in the mirror.  It is so depressing.

I went to my Crossfit intro, and I'm going back tonight.  I am not looking forward to it.  It's not that I'm lazy or don't want to get my sh!t together... It's that I feel like that fat chick that everyone will be staring at.

You are your own worst critic.  For me, that's a definite.

Our first ear infection

Sick babies suck.

Well, actually, sick babies are really sweet (at least mine is).  They snuggle and just want to be held.  It melts my heart.  But, knowing that my little nugget doesn't feel well really sucks for me.  He did really well this weekend for his baptism.  He napped on the ride over, was perfect through the ceremony and only started to get a little fussy at the end of picture taking because it was his lunch time.  Once I fed him, he was all smiles through lunch and then just watched the sky on the way home.  Sunday, he seemed like his normal self for most of the day (minus a runny nose), but started to feel warm that afternoon.  By the time we swung by Michael's parents house, he was fussy.  We gave him some children's Tylenol and kept him in bed with us last night.  This morning he seemed better, but still not 100%.  I made an appointment for him with the pediatrician this afternoon, and upon examination he found a small ear infection in his right ear.  I should have known because he was a little irritable nursing while on his right side a couple of times yesterday.  I'm just glad we caught it early.

So, I guess it's another first for my little guy.  Just wish it had been a happy one!

Where have the past 4 1/2 months gone?

Ethan is getting baptized on Saturday.  Yay!  Michael is so not excited to see his little man in a gown, but it's tradition.  And we all know how this Mommy is about traditions.  I did make a concession to have a second "boyish" outfit for him to wear for the family pictures afterwards.  The same priest that married us is doing a private ceremony for our family at his church.  It's out in BFE, but it's going to be extra special!

Moving on...
There is this thing called the 4 month wakeful.  I call it hell.  I kind of feel like if I hadn't read about it, it would have never happened - like I jinxed myself.  It all started when I made the STUPID mistake of being excited over a night of 10 hours straight of sleep.  The next night we lost count of how many times he woke up.  The next night dwindled to about 4.  Then, last night was only once, but he didn't go down until 10:30pm (two hours past his bedtime).  I can only imagine what kind of fun we get to have tonight.  We're trying to ween him off of the night feeding.  The first time he wakes up, he just gets some belly rubs and his pacifier.  If he wakes up a second time, I feed him.  I'm hoping that we grow out of this nighttime fun soon..

I can't help but to think that part of the problem is that we started rice cereal.  The pediatrician told us that if I want to continue to breastfeed, then I will need to supplement with iron in one way or another.  This means a) one bottle of formula fortified with iron, b) an iron vitamin supplement in a dropper, or c) rice cereal.  I thought we were taking the best route by going with rice cereal since that would give him some practice with a spoon.  Because of the two nights of issues, we skipped the cereal last night.  We'll skip again tonight and try back on Friday night.

One positive: Since Ethan was born, I was always the one to get up with him at night because I am nursing him.  Monday night, Michael got up with him since we are trying to ween the night feeding.  One of the several times he came back to bed, he curled up to me and said, "I have such a new respect for you after tonight!"  :)  I don't mind getting up with my little guy at all, but it was nice to feel appreciated!

Adventures in Nursing

We're talking about boobies, not the occupation. :)

So, as previously stated, I had the heebie-jeebies when it came to the thought of nursing while I was pregnant.  And, as previously mentioned, that all changed once our little guy arrived.  I thought the drama was going to end there.  Oooooh no.  That was just the beginning.

Let me tell you a little something about nursing.  Babies supposedly have a "natural instinct" about it, but their "natural instinct" sucks - as did mine.  I guess I thought that breastfeeding was the "cheap and easy" way to feed your child.  Well, it is cheap, but it sure ain't easy!  First of all, newborns need to eat every 2 hours, at least - including at night.  So, figure that around the clock for the first several weeks.  That means every time baby needs to eat, it's Mommy's job.  There isn't much that Daddy can do to help, besides being super supportive.  I am so grateful that Michael was!  The first two weeks were filled with lots of tears when it came time for Ethan to eat.  I felt like I was starving my child because he couldn't seem to stay with a good latch.  At his 2-week check-up, he hadn't gained all of his birth weight back, and that only made it worse.

The mornings were the worst because of being so engorged.  My titties became 2-ton round boulders.  Seriously.  The 3rd week of life, Michael went back to work and my mom came over every day to help me out.  I will never be able to thank her enough for everything she did.  She was the emotional and physical support I needed.  Because of the whole weight thing with Ethan, our pediatrician instructed me to pump and feed him for every other feeding, then breastfeed the others.  Within five days his weight was just where it needed to be.  It turned out to be a good thing, because it gave me a mini break from the emotional toll.  Once I knew my baby was perfectly fine, I could be more emotionally prepared to get back to breastfeeding.  It is so very true when they say that your baby can sense and feel your stress.  It's like Ethan was completely tuned in to everything I was going through.  When I was upset, he was fussy.  When I was happy, he was content.

By the time Ethan hit the 1-month mark, everything seemed to be flowing smoothly.  I was very fortunate that we had no issues with "nipple confusion".  Even now that I'm back at work, he nurses in the mornings and at night with me, and takes a bottle with my dad just fine.  I was blessed with the most laid back baby - as long as he's fed, he doesn't care where it comes from!  He must get it from his Daddy!

Now, onto the funny stuff.  Being a breastfeeding Mommy means getting creative.  So far, I have had to feed Ethan in a public bathroom twice and the car several times.  I'm not the type of mom who will whip her boob out and breastfeed anywhere at anytime, so those were interesting for me.  The first bathroom stint was because I forgot the nipple for the bottle we brought - then it turned out that I really didn't forget it!  That's the other beautiful thing about breastfeeding - ready-to-go meals, no supplies necessary!  In the car was a little easier because I could park out of the way and use a blanket.  The only "real" problem I have found is the possible squirting.  I have squirted Ethan in the face from being engorged, losing the latch for a split second, and on purpose just because he was being a turd. :)  In fact, one morning he had dried milk all over the side of his face from the drowsy 4am feeding.  All I could do was laugh.

We have been in the "sweet spot" of nursing for a couple of months now.  We're both confident in our skills and everything flows smoothly (no pun intended!).  Now that I'm back at work, I've been pumping to keep my supply going.  Over the past month and a half, I was pumping every single night.  This helped me build up a supply of over 200 ounces in our freezer.  Now, as long as I'm at least replacing what he eats while he's with my dad, I'm happy.  Breastfeeding won't last forever, and I want to be prepared in case I start to "dry up".  In the case that I don't, we haven't quite decided when to stop.  I'm thinking 6 months or at the first tooth! ;)

Breastfeeding is a very personal decision for any mom, but after my experience I am a very strong advocate for it.  I would never look down on anyone for not - hey, I didn't think I would!  But, I would say to give it a shot if you even think you might be up for it.  One thing that I treasure about it is the fact that it is the one thing that I can do for my child that no one else can.

Announcement card

Modern Aqua Birth Announcement

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Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am!

That pretty much describes the whole labor and delivery process for me.

I spent the several weeks before Ethan's birthday going through extremely mild prelabor, or Braxton Hicks.  This included no pain and absolutely no preview of true labor WHATSOEVER.  At my last prenatal appointment, we scheduled an induction date of August 1st.  I, however, was hoping for all of the surprise and wonderment of sporadically occurring labor.  How ignorant was I?  Thankfully, there was a higher power that knew better for me.

So, at 2:30am on August 1st, Michael and I checked into Woman's Hospital to begin the adventure of becoming a foursome (we include Koopa as part of our little family).  At 3:30am, I was all cute in my designer hospital gown (because, yes, I was too vain for the frumpy ones they supply) and hooked up to a drip with the oxytocin rolling. 

About 30 minutes later, the nurse came back and told me to lay back down and turn on my side - the baby was not liking the drip.  We took a break from it, and resumed at 4:30am.  The drip did all of nothing.  My contraction still felt completely painless, and, to me, were still irregular.  At that point, I figured we were in for the long haul.  The nurse said Perch would be in around 7 or 8am to break my water.  Since the whole process had been pretty uneventful so far, I figured we could let our parents come back and say hi.  Michael had taken all of our room passes for visitors - the best decision we ever made, thanks to Betsy and Jeff's suggestion/warning.  Michael's parents were happy with whatever updates we wanted to share.  Mine on the other hand...were....very excited.  Trust me, looking back on my aggravations now, I realize they are minor compared to the amazing event that took place.  About the same time, I decided that since I loved my nursing staff, I would go ahead and give them the goodie bag I made for them.  Weeks before, figuring that I would be a difficult patient, I planned candy, gummies and granola for the wonderful ladies who would be saddled with dealing with me.  In the end, I don't think I was half as bad as I was anticipating.  Around 7:30am, Perch showed up to check in on me.  At 7:45am, he broke my water.  Holy hell.  This process alone made me more than grateful that I did not go into labor in Wal-Mart or any other extremely public, or even private, venue.  I'm pretty sure my vagina unloaded enough water to fill a car trunk.  Perch tells me he will be back around noon to see how it's going.  The nurse tells me to try to give her a 20 minute window when requesting an epidural.  Apparently, I was not the only chick having a baby that morning.  How dare those other women.  Being the total wannabe-badass that I am, I decided that I would go AT LEAST an hour from that point before requesting the needle.  I was 4cm dilated now.  7cm is what everyone says is the point of no return.  The staff told me that as long as I could sit still and was not crowning, I could get the epidural.  Nice.  Oh, and by the way... You have to get pumped with at least 2 bags of fluid before the epidural, too.  The nurse told me I might want to take my rings off unless I didn't mind them being cut off later.  Swollen for days much?

So, here come the contractions.  This is what they feel like?  Meh.. Not so bad.  A few more.  Hmm..this is uncomfortable.  I need my music.  Michael gets me set up with my phone and I settle in with my appropriated play list.  We're about 30 minutes in, and I'm very uncomfortable.  Michael is holding my hand through each contraction, and talking me through them.  At 45 minutes, I'm pretty much telling him to shut up because he's trying to make me laugh - and this shit ain't funny.  Right as he's asking me if I want to buzz the nurse, she comes in.  I guess it was obvious.  We call for the epidural.  Before that, she checks me - 6cm.  Turns out she wasn't lying - 20 minutes later the anesthesiologist comes rolling in.  At this point, I am whimpering and unloading crocodile tears in a strangely quiet manner.  Real labor contractions feel like the worst shit cramp you've ever had while someone is slicing your stomach open with a hot butter knife.  Fun!  I didn't get at all vocal until they told me I needed to get out of bed (with all the wires attached) and make one final trip to the bathroom before he could stick me.  I had about 3 contractions in the 4 minutes it took me to go piss and crawl back.  Michael was sent out to the waiting room until they were done with me.  The epidural was NOTHING.  Easiest shot I've ever had. 

zOMG. Thank you baby Jesus for epidurals!

So they lay me back down, and check me again.  8cm.  "Oh, honey, you're about to have a baby - we need to call your doctor to come back!"  Umm...what?!  I thought this was supposed to take all day!  Here comes Michael back from the waiting room.  Uh-oh.  Here comes the urge to push!  They weren't kidding!  All of a sudden, the bright lights are on and my legs go up.  So a few pushes later, and they're telling me to stop.  UH, WTF?!  They're calling my doc again.  They can see the head.  "There's a full head of hair!"  Seriously?  Don't push?!  *Whoosh!*  He comes Perch!  Alrighty, back to work!  "PushPushPushPushPushPushPush!  You're doing great!"  Funny thing was that it happened so fast my epidural hadn't taken full affect; so I could still move my legs and feel all the pressure - pushing was pretty easy! 

Just a few more pushes and we heard those unforgettable, life changing words: "It's a boy!"

And, then the world stood still.  There he was.  I was in complete shock.  Everything happened so fast.  After more than nine months of growing this precious little being inside of me, here he was.  They whisked him off to be cleaned, but within moments, he was back in my arms.  Wow, he was beautiful..  He had pretty pink skin and his eyes were wide open.  And, all that blond hair!  Did this really just happen?  Are we really parents?  In a matter of seconds, I became a mom.  The whole event was wild and incredible.  I don't know how anyone could experience the miracle of childbirth and not come away knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God exists.

Ethan Michael Hathcox was born at 10:24am after 2 1/2 hours of active labor.  He weighed 7lbs, 12.1oz and was 21 1/4" long.  He had all ten fingers and ten toes, and his daddy's nose.  I did not realize that my heart could grow any bigger.

We spent the next two hours getting to know our son.  The hospital staff took some measurements and a few footprints.  And, I shocked myself by wanting to try breastfeeding.  Most people who've had any baby talks with me know that I was really freaked out by the thought of BFing - I understand it's a very natural thing, but I personally found it quite foreign.  My plan was to pump and try to stay away from formula that way.  However, I also stated that I would keep an open mind.  Well, the maternal urge turned out to be very strong for me.  It felt natural, and for that I am very thankful.  Once everything was ok'ed, we were whisked away to our Mother/Baby suite for visitors.  My doc even went out to visit my parents after he delivered Ethan, but we requested he not share the news yet so that Michael could when we were ready.  Once I was comfortably set up in the suite (and we had a few sweet moments to ourselves), he went out to the waiting room.  My mom asked how many centimeters dilated I was, and he responded with, "Would you all like to come meet Ethan?"  I am so happy that he was able to have that.  Best moment ever!

The days at the hospital were filled with visitors and an amazing amount of love.  We are truly blessed!  And, so in love!

Our little Who Dat!

Uncle Matt

Cousins, JC & Layne

flowers from Michael, our parents and work

When it was finally time to go home, we were more than ready.  Ethan's trip into the world was complete, and we were ready to get into a new groove with our little family. 

Look out world!  Here comes Trouble!  I mean, Ethan! :)

OMG! I just got born!

Well, hello there!

All strapped in and ready to go!

Let's blow this popsicle stand!

I should be sleeping...

After all, Ethan is! :-P
At 10:24am on August 1st, we heard those magic words: "It's a boy!"  And, with that, our lives were forever changed.  It has been almost 6 weeks since then, and I would be lying if I didn't say that they have flown right by.  I'm a Mommy!  That is wild.

So, I decided to change the blog up a little bit.  I doubt I will be updating it very often for now, but I hope to use it as a way to document my baby's first year(s) of life - all of the ups, downs, smiles and WTF moments.  While I am on maternity leave, I am doing some work from home.  So, to say I have no time in the day for much else between that and Ethan would be an understatement.  Honestly, I should be in bed right now.  However, once I return to work at the end of October, I hope to start maintaining this more.

Since I should be sleeping, I'll give you a teaser of the upcoming posts. :)  I will post our labor & delivery story next, along with some pictures from Ethan's first day outside of my uterus.  After that I will probably give you some stories from our adventures in nursing and schedules.  (spoiler alert: Schedules in the first month of life are a crock of shit.  That is, unless your baby came flying out of your vagina with a magic instruction manual.  Otherwise, you're remembering it wrong (highly likely) or a fat liar if you say you had your child on a schedule that early.  Liar, liar, pants on fire to you.)

Alrighty, off to bed!  I will be up feeding the booger in about 3 hours, and those 3 hours of sleep are golden to me.

604,800 seconds

We are on a final countdown.  I will be holding our precious little sweet pea one week from today at the latest!  We decided last week that August 1st would be our induction date, unless baby decides to come earlier.  Honestly, I hope that s/he comes on its own....but I'm not holding my breath.  I want to max out the time I have with him or her, and this is my last week at work.  Judge me if you like. ;)

Right now I am thisclose to just chugging some castor oil and hoping for the best! lol

In the meantime, let me entertain you with some updated pictures of the nursery!

I think we are finally ready for the baby!  Obviously, there will be some additions/changes to the nursery once we know pink or blue.  Plus, I plan to commission a name painting to match the owl/quote painting above the crib.

I'm actually more excited to post pictures once the baby has been here for a couple of weeks and we've been able to theme it more. :)  I'm quite happy with everything so far!  I really wanted a calm, but fun environment, and I feel like this is a great start.

The waiting game

And, that's where we are now.

I started having contractions yesterday, and really thought that I might go into active labor.  Turns out, not so much.  My contractions have not stayed consistently regular and close enough together.  For most of the day, they were 4-9 minutes apart.  Then, last night they were 10 minutes apart for a little over an hour.  I went to bed thinking that we might be making a run for the hospital before the morning.

Well, morning came.  No baby.

The little booger is still moving around, so no worries that anything is wrong.  Guess my body is just getting ready.  Koopa has been really clingy with me the past few days, too.  Plus all of the other signs/symptoms from over the weekend have had me convinced that I will have a baby before this week is over.  I hope I'm not wrong!

I would really like for this baby to come on its own.  I have my 38 week appointment tomorrow, and I'm hoping for some good progress news!

Couch Potato

I have officially transitioned from the bed to the couch for sleeping purposes.  Last night was the second time, and I definitely notice a difference in the physical quality of my sleep.  I do miss my bed though - VERY MUCH.  Michael is such a sweetheart.  He made a pallet on the floor next to me and refuses to sleep in the bed unless I'm there with him.  And, since I've slept better on the couch, he thinks we should continue this until the baby arrives.  I love my man.

I am officially full-term today!  Eek!  And, today was the first time in three weeks that I've had no progress.  I am still 70% effaced and 2cm dilated - not a bad thing.  I am just ready to meet our little booger!  He said we can talk about induction dates next week.  Michael and I can pick any day between the 27th and August 3rd to have our baby (if I don't go into labor on my own).  I was kind of thinking maybe we could go in on Sunday, July 31st; and then baby can decide if he or she will squeeze out on the last day of July or the first day of August.  Decisions, decisions. ;)  The more I read about the months and days, the more I lean towards August 1st.  In all honesty, I hope the baby decides to come on its own and not make me pick a birthday!

In the meantime, I just sit and wait!

Ugh.

Today is just one of those days.  Seems like "those days" happen more often than not now!

Sleep does not exist anymore.  I had coffee this morning.  I was quietly daring someone to say something.. lol  So, please excuse any ramblings below that may not sound rational or make any sense whatsoever.

I learned something this weekend - In the last month of pregnancy, Chinese food might taste like heaven, but it will make you hate yourself the next day.

We have 3 weeks and 2 days until our due date.  That's 23 days until I have a little person who knows me as "mommy".  552 hours until I am 100% responsible for the care of another life in this world.  And, for some reason (possibly the level of "over it" I am at), I'm not terrified.

I updated my iTunes and created my labor play list last night.  I hope those songs don't come back later and make me twitch from the memories of pushing a child out of my lady part.

I think that's all for today.

Maternity pics are up!

So, I have to turn into a little attention whore for a second. :D  Our maternity session has been posted!  Our friend/photographer featured us in a blog (amandablythe.com) and I also have a link to the rest of them for anyone that is interested.  I cannot express enough how much I love them!  She did such an amazing job, and I could be more pleased with the result.  We will treasure these for many years, and now I am even more excited for the baby to arrive!  I cannot wait to see the beautiful work she will do with our little one.

Down for the count!

So, yesterday was 35/35 (35 weeks pregnant and 35 days left to D-Day)!  I also had my first weekly "check" at the doc's.  Turns out I am 70% effaced, but not dialating yet.  That could mean baby is coming sooner than we anticipated, or it could mean nothing at all.  Fun, right?!  And, if labor does start at any point from now on, they will not stop it.

I guess what freaked me out the most about it is that my mom's best friend's daughter-in-law was two weeks ahead of me, and after being given the same news, went into labor about 2-3 days later.  She had more going on than me (i.e. diabetes, older), but still.  It definitely sent me into a little bit of overdrive!  The bedding arrived yesterday, so I got that and all of the initial clothes washed.  I set up the bedding, and LOVE IT!  Thank God! lol!! (see below)

Please excuse the small black spot/stain on my floor. :)

The carseat will be installed & inspected on Friday after work, and we have already started packing.  I also went ahead and ordered the pack'n play and video monitor.  I had planned to wait a little longer, but the sale will be over on Saturday; plus I had received my completion coupon from Target.

Michael is so excited and I am still extremely nervous!  Work is not quite set up for me to leave, but I am taking no chances now.  Eval numbers will be turned in today, and the manager binders I started will be thisclose to finished by tomorrow afternoon.  The last thing I want to do is stress out now!  I need to relax as much as possible to keep this kid inside me for at least another week or 2! :)

Well, that's just swell!

And, I do mean SWELL!
I have definitely started to have a little bit of water retention going on.  I can still fit my rings on and off without trouble, so that's a good sign.  However, I woke up this morning feeling like I had a hangover without the fun party the night before.  That sucked.

According to our countdown to D-Day, we are 44 days away.  That means that at any point in time from now until the baby decides to make an appearance, we can go register at the hospital!  When I realized that this morning, I about peed myself.  Literally.  I already had the urge to go anyway. ;)  But, really.  That was kind of crazy to realize.  I mean, I know that we're close to the end, but the hospital is a scary place!

On to a happier note - we took maternity pictures this past weekend!  I am so excited to see how they came out!  I really wanted something kind of different in addition to the stereotypical, slightly romantic maternity shots.  And, I definitely knew I didn't want any bare belly ones.  Thankfully, I have developed zero stretch marks so far, but I'm still not a big fan of the naked belly pics.  I guess I just think that unless you are or have been pregnant, those can make people uncomfortable.  I don't know, maybe I'm weird!
Anyway... I wanted something quirky and fun - like us! ;)  I really liked the idea of having a graffiti wall that we could spray something about the baby on.  The usual spot for that downtown is kind of sketchy, so our wonderful photographer (Amanda of amandablythe.com) suggested checking out another spot.  We did, and to our pleasant surprise, there was a huge graffiti display of the word "Bunches" in blue with pink around it!!  Talk about awesome!  We had brought along some sidewalk chalk as another idea, so we added our own twist to the wall.  I used pink chalk and Michael used blue to write "We love you" on top of the "Bunches", and then we wrote out Ethan and Aubrey.  Seriously, I could not have asked for anything better.  After we got home, I wished that I would have snapped a pic of the wall, but oh well.  I'm sure we'll see the pics soon enough!  We also got some over by the old arsenal that were a little softer.  I changed into a maxi dress and we took some with baby books and booties.  And, of course, we got a couple of Michael kissing my belly. :)  I forgot to mention that Koopa came along for the ride!  We were able to get some "family" pictures as well, which made me very happy. :)  Koopa is just as much a part of our family as our baby!

Then, yesterday was Father's Day.  I had a nifty basket delivered to Michael last week with assorted nuts and Dad's root beer.  He loved it!  Then, Sunday morning I made him pancakes before we went to church.  Once we got back to the house, I told him that I had a dream that the baby left him a present in the crib.  (Silly, I know.)  I filmed him going to the nursery to find his gift.  "The baby" left him a note and pictures of Mommy. :)  I was FINALLY able to give him the boudoir album I did at the end of January!  I was 13 weeks pregnant at the time, but I felt incredibly sexy.  I told him that I would capture that sexiness again, promise! :)  He was quite the happy daddy-to-be.

I think that about wraps it up for now.  Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

The importance of self

If you've spoken to me lately, you know that work has been a stressful environment for me.  I have been working like a mad woman trying to get everything prepared for my leave, and not neglect the immediate projects at hand.  By the time I would get home, all I wanted to do was lounge and go to bed.  I was letting myself go.  I hadn't had my hair taken care of or airbrush tanned since January, a mani/pedi since November, a massage since September or a facial since last summer.  (And, yes, I find it sad that I remember those things - but I only remember them because they were based on important dates/events).

Well, my amazing husband gave me a spa day for part of my birthday.  Originally, he had set an appointment for me to go on the day of my birthday.  However, I kind of ruined that with working and an unplanned trip to the doctor.  It ended up being for the best, because saving it for last week could not have been a better plan.  With the Bunco shower on Thursday and the *big* shower on Saturday, I was in desperate need of a make-over.  I had my hair cut and highlighted on Thursday before Bunco, so I was looking fresh for that night.  Then, on Friday I had an amazing 4 1/2 hours of relaxation and pampering.  By the time I arrived home, I felt like a brand new person.  I did not realize how weighted and negative I had been feeling until it was all lifted away.  I realized even more the importance of taking care of your *self*, even while trying to focus and sacrifice for a new life.  This does not mean I'm going to be having weekly spa days, but I definitely won't have the same level of guilt for the times that I do splurge a little.  Michael could not believe the difference it made in my demeanor.  I was literally coming home every day looking and feeling like someone beat me up.  It was not pretty. lol

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base on that, because I honestly did not realize how badly I had let myself feel and go for so long.

Showered with blesssings

Over the past week, we've been given two baby showers.  I cannot express my thanks enough to the amazing people in our lives that have come together for the love of this baby.  It's amazing to me because no one has met this little person yet, but there is already so much love for him or her.

The Bunco shower was last Thursday night.  Bunco is always a night I look forward to, and this was no exception.  These ladies are wild and fun, and it was nice that my mom was invited as well.

Bunco Shower - 6/9/11

The Saturday was our *big* family and friends shower held at my parents' church.  I had not been to the new hall yet, and I couldn't believe how pretty it was.  There were tall windows so that lots of natural light could come in, and thankfully the day stayed beautiful long enough for the shower.  We had so many people come to share in the joy of our pending arrival, and the hostesses did a fabulous job.  It was more than I could have ever imagined or asked for.  I had tears within 5 minutes of walking in! lol  The food was delicious and everything was just perfect.  I am so grateful for the friends and family that a part of our lives, and will be a part of this little one's life as well.

Family & Friends Shower sign-in table - 6/11/11

Family & Friends Shower hostesses - 6/11/11

Family & Friends Shower gifts 6/11/11

"Ok, now it feels like a real person is going to be here!"

So, Michael had a moment last night. :)

I had my first shower with my Bunco ladies last night!  They are all so awesome!!  I am so blessed and thankful for such wonderful people in my life.  I always look forward to our once-a-month get-together, and this was really special.  My mom was invited, and I think she had a great time meeting everyone, too.

We received lots of wonderful gifts, some of which were clothes (we had none before)!  Once I got home, Michael helped me unload and put everything away.  We hung the clothes up in the closet, and when I turned around he was just standing there looking at the little onesies and robes with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. 

"Ok, now it feels like a real person is going to be here.  This room isn't just for storage anymore.  The clothes make it real."

It was such a sweet moment for us, and I am so grateful to these wonderful ladies for doing that for us.  Our baby has so much love already and s/he hasn't even arrived yet! :)

Maternity Leave, where are you?

Only 35 days of work left...  I can make it.  I can make it...

I've been mentally broken for a while, and now the physical drain is beating on me.  My lower back constantly aches, and I know that a major reason is my desk job.  I try to get up and walk around at least every hour, but I'm sure I go over sometimes.  I have a lot of prep work left to do for my leave, and that requires me to type things up, print, set up the materials, etc.  All of which have nothing to do with leaving my desk.  Plus, once I'm in the middle of working on something, I always get interrupted.  I usually try to just go ahead and take a walk break after that happens...

I'm just over it.  I'm not happy.

TGIF

I am so out of it today!  I started keeping a countdown on my dry-erase board at work.  Currently, 61 days until our due date and 39 work days left!  Woohoo!

I feel like there is something going on this weekend that I am forgetting about.  Right now we were just planning to finish up the landscape in the front, and I was thinking about hitting up the Farmer's Market in the morning.  We also need to do a "quick clean" since Michael took care of the "deep clean" on my birthday. :)  I want to make sure the house and nursery are ready for the shower next weekend.  I cannot wait!!  I also set up my hair appointment and a spa day/afternoon for the days before.  I am sooooo excited!  I think the reality of how close we are to the end will come once we have everything set up in the nursery.

Michael's time with Home Depot has come to an end.  They let all of their seasonal help go.  They said the next round of seasonal work would be around Christmas time, but Michael is definitely not interested in that.  We did not save up enough to cover the entire fence (he thought the seasonal work might last longer), but it definitely put a dent in it.  This is a big if, but IF we don't have to touch the money we've been saving for my maternity leave.....we might dip into that for it.  However, I like the idea of having a nice nest egg to fall back on in case of an emergency...so, we'll see. :)  If we don't, then I think we'll start back saving for the fence only when I come back to work from maternity leave.

I guess that's it for now.  So sleepy!  I hope everyone has a nice weekend! :)

Some gave all.

Happy Memorial Day.  I hope everyone takes a moment from their day to say a "thank you" prayer to those who have fallen to keep our country free.

For the first time, last night, I was truly tired of being pregnant.  Actually, just tired of trying to shave my legs and lady parts with a belly in the way.  I don't even feel like my belly is that big!  It was such a pain, and I was totally out of breath by the time I made it out of the tub and onto the bed to cool down.  I guess I'm going to have to enlist Michael's help from now on. lol

We are 65 days from our due date now.  That's a wild thought.  In two months, we will be parents.  Isn't that scary?  I've decided that I have no idea what I *feel* like we're having anymore.  In the long run, I know it doesn't really matter.  This child will be the light of our lives, whether it be a boy or girl. :)

I updated the baby website earlier today.  I added the shower section and a place to RSVP, just in case.  I need to add some pictures, but I may wait until after the shower.  I haven't been keeping up like I wanted with the belly bump pictures.  Definitely going to make an extra effort starting this week.

I guess that's all for now.  Michael is off for the holiday, and has been working around the inside and outside of the house.  I know he started on the landscape and planted our Asian pear tree.  I can't wait to go home and see it. :)

Getting anxious (& a little personal)

So, I'm definitely starting to feel a little bit of anxiety.  We are under 10 weeks away, and have not done much more with the nursery since the 20 week mark.  I realize that is because we've been waiting on showers, but that does not help my feelings of "holy sh!t I hope this baby doesn't make an early appearance!".  Plus, I am in the middle of evaluations at work, and that has caused every other maternity leave "project" to sit on the back burner for a few weeks.  I still have so much to do to prepare everyone to not freak out when I leave.  They got through my vacation week last year, so hopefully they won't have a problem with multiplying that by 12! lol  After next week, I should be able to get back to hammering out all of the memos, notes, prep, etc. for when I'm gone.  I can't lie, though... I'm terrified!

We had what should be our last ultrasound yesterday.  It was the quickest one yet!  The tech wasn't rude, but she left something to be desired.  She did say that because the baby is so big at this point, it's hard to get really good shots like with the previous visits.  We got a few profile and straight-on face shots.  I still have a hard time figuring u/s pictures out!  Anyway, baby is growing ahead of schedule by almost a week - weighs 3lbs 4oz so far.  At this point, baby should be gaining about 1/2 a pound a week!!  That would make baby over 8lbs at our due date!  I guess that's not too big for some people, but I'd be so grateful for a 7lb baby! lol  Regardless, as long as s/he is healthy, mommy will be happy.  My mom seems to think that I won't make it to 40 weeks.  She had my older brother a week early, and I've had a couple of episodes where I needed to go in to be checked.  While part of me wouldn't mind being a week or 2 early, I worry about things like work.  My goal is to have everything in place no later than July 1st.  This way, I can spend a few weeks watching and helping everyone who will be taking over my duties before I'm really gone.

Another reason I guess I'm feeling anxious is because I recently realized that our Short Term Disability (STD) coverage will only pay for the amount of time the physician writes for you to have medical leave.  Of course, I will still have my 12 weeks of protected leave under FMLA, but STD will only cover 6 weeks for vaginal birth or 10 weeks for C-section.  Plus, you have a 15 day waiting period, so it's actually less.  I have vacation and sick leave that I have been accruing, but it will be tight with this.  One good thing is that I am pre-paying for the 12 weeks on all of my benefits before I leave.  This way, my benefits are safe and it's a little extra in my check while I'm gone.  After my next maternity meeting with my boss, I'm going to sit down and really hammer out the numbers to make sure I have everything set to where I can have my full 12 weeks off without having to worry about my paycheck.  Plus, if you've been reading, you know we're saving for my leave.  Our goal is to not have to touch the money we've saved unless we absolutely have to - just pretend it does not exist.  Of course, it's intended purpose is to make sure we do not run into any financial snags due to me being off of work, but it would be fantastic if we did not have to use it.  If we continue as we have been, then we'll have enough to cover 50% of my pay per month for the 3 months I'll be out.  With absolutely no other benefits (STD, work from home, etc), I will have enough vacation/sick to cover 5-6 weeks off.  Add in the other benefits, and that number will increase.  I know everything will be fine, but I will definitely rest much easier after that next meeting. :)

Some of you might think I just got a little too personal.  However, I share the above because I think that many women/couples do not realize the financial aspect of maternity leave when it comes to their job.  I have worked with a few other employees in the past who had no idea exactly how their benefits worked until it was almost time to deliver.  While you definitely want to prepare on the back-end (saving money, buying necessities ahead of time), you also need to be very aware of whether or not you will be getting paid while you're away from work and for how long.  Do not be afraid to ask questions.  It has broken my heart the couple of times when I've dealt with women who did not think or prepare beforehand, and were having to figure out how in the world they were going to survive and take care of their baby without receiving a full paycheck for the amount of time they needed off.

I feel loved.

And very blessed.
I recently discovered more about a situation with someone I know.  You would never think, just by looking at her, what kind of hard life she has lived.  It made me sit back and think about the life I have lived.  Honestly, I've had a charmed life compared to most.  I think everyone can agree that no one is perfect, and neither is their life.  However, I have come to appreciate the good and bad even more than ever in just the past day or two.  I have an amazing family, wonderful friends, and a husband that adores me.  I cannot imagine going through this time in my life without one of those elements.  I have more love and support than most, and I treasure that.  I feel so fortunate to be able to bring a new life into such a warm and loving place.

These are the things that I try to remember when life gets stressful.

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

Holy crap.  We're in the final stretch!  Only 12 weeks to go!  I've had it pretty easy-peasy so far, and now I'm sure I'll be paying dearly for it.  Goodbye "comfortably happy" pregnant, hello "spitting cherry pits moon bat crazy" pregnant!

So, I had some blood work done last week to double check my blood type.  I thought that I had  O+, but turns out I have O- .  If Michael was a positive blood, then I would need a rhogam shot to make sure that my body does not treat this pregnancy or subsequent ones as a foreign body.  However, since we are both negative blood types, all is well.  No shot! :)  However, it did show that I am still on the anemic side.  I've been taking an iron supplement with my prenatal, but looks like I still need more. :-/  Guess that would explain part of the reason that I feel like I could sleep through the rest of this pregnancy with no problems!

I had a little "trouble" (nothing major, but worth calling about) yesterday, so they told me to come on in to be checked.  I ended up getting an ultrasound, too.  Long story short, everything is just fine and the baby is doing well.  S/he weighs in at 2lbs 11oz, which sounded high to me (compared to the charts on my pregnancy apps), but Perch said that is at the 54th percentile range - which is good.  I'm really starting to wonder if this baby will hold out until August 3rd!

I have updated the website with a few more pictures.  I can't wait to update the pictures of the nursery after the shower.  Very excite! :)  I'll leave you with this 3d shot of Baby Hathcox from yesterday:

28 weeks

I want a Babymoon!

But, I have to save my vacation hours for maternity leave... *sigh*
Really though, I just want to get away.  I feel like every day that I walk into work, I'm taking another step closer to biting someone's head clean off.  And, it's not always necessarily anything that they or someone else may have done.  I just feel like my weekends are too short, and I need a breath of fresh air - beach air.  Haha!  Maybe we can do something before I return from maternity leave.  Doubtful, though!

I guess I'm just a little envious of some of the women on TheBump pregnancy boards and all of their talk about their Babymoons and whatnot. :-P

Starting to feel "big"

I read somewhere that between 27 and 28 weeks you'll have a spike in weight gain.  I'll be 28 weeks on Wednesday, and I don't necessarily feel like I've had a spike.  I just feel bigger.  At my appointment last week, I was up 13lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I can still fit into my prepregnancy jeans (with a rubber band instead of buttoning them), but I think the time has come to buy a few key maternity pieces. *sigh*  I made it to the third trimester without needing maternity clothes (minus the bras)!  I think I'm going to check a few consignment shops first.  I am not spending a fortune on clothes that I will only be able to wear for 12 weeks.  I realize that I'll still be "puffy" after the baby is born, but I think I might be back in some of my pre-pregnancy clothes fairly soon.  Everyone has said that you still look 5-6 months pregnant after the baby.  Well, my 5-6 months were still in my normal clothes! lol

I hope all of the mothers and mothers-to-be had a great Mother's Day yesterday!

I feel broke.

Today, I realized that I feel broke.  I am not broke, but being in the strict mindset of saving for a baby makes me feel that way.  That's a good thing, right?  I've gotten into the habit of "paying the baby" like I do a bill.  When I got paid last week, I set all of my bills through the 15th to come out today.  And, I pay extra on important things, like my car.  "Paying for the baby" includes money into savings, plus diapers.  Maybe it's just the stress of thinking about/planning our money, but I can't help but feel broke! lol!

We went to Baby Grand on Saturday, and that was interesting.  I wish they would have held more than one of each class, though.  It was hard to hit all of the booths (to make sure your door prize form was complete), attend the classes you wanted, and then try to make one of the hospital tour sessions.  We were there no later than 9:15a (started at 9a), and only made it to 3 classes (2 for me, 1 for him) out of the 5 we were hoping for, and the last tour session.  Then, everyone who won a door prize acted like you just kicked their new puppy.  Guess free stuff for your baby isn't exciting for everyone! ;)  We did get some great info and good samples.  I haven't made it through all of the "stuff" in the registration bag, but hopefully there are some coupons!  (I started clipping newspaper coupons last night - PIA!)

Today, I went to buy a baby shower gift for a co-worker, and picked out/up our baby book.  I had a coupon, plus I figured it would be needed for the shower.  I haven't bought anything in quite a while!  LOL  Then, another co-worker got onto me for buying this.  I can't win. ;)  I'll just call this my early Mother's Day gift from and to myself.  Haha!

I'm gearing up for a busy month ahead!  We have birthdays, a wedding, baby showers, baby classes, the church fair....Whew!  Plus I have plenty to do at work with the upcoming evaluations and continuing to get everything in order for my maternity leave.  Only 13 weeks left!! Eek!

Only 100 Days Left!

I cannot believe we are 100 days away from our due date!  SO exciting & so scary! haha!  I feel like we still have plenty of time and are running out of time at the same time! :)

Baby Grand is this weekend!  I'm excited to attend.  I feel like there is so much that we haven't learned or read about, and this event will offer us a lot of knowledge.  And, freebies!  --> Always a good thing. ;)

I have decided to revamp my diet.  And, by "diet", I mean just what I eat.  I was still cautious in the beginning, then I was not too concerned.  Now, I feel like I am always hungry and just eating whatever I find.  Not good.  I have plenty of boiled eggs available from Easter this past weekend, plus salad and protein leftovers.  Dinner will be where I can make or break it.  I am so tired in the mornings and evenings now.  I'm all about easy.  Spaghetti is my back-up plan, and to be honest, it was what I planned for the menu tonight.  I am going to sit down and figure out a few healthy dinner recipes for this week when I get home.  I know the baby is growing and fattening up right now, but I don't want to fatten up with it anymore than I have to!  Plus, I don't want to lose my healthy habits completely.  I definitely let myself indulge more now that I have in the past few years, but that is not the "norm" for me, and I definitely don't want it to become that!  Can someone just hire a healthy chef for me?!  lol

I do not think I have mentioned this before, but Michael picked up a side job at Home Depot a few weeks ago.  The whole point was to get an employee discount and make some cash to put up our fence, but we discovered that they no longer offer employee discounts.  Instead, they offer employees an option to buy company stock.  Ugh.  Michael decided to keep it anyway.  We have been steadily saving for the baby's arrival, but he does not want to dip into that for the fence.  And, he's pretty determined to get the fence up before our due date, or very soon after.  I appreciate him so much.  He has been 100% focused on the baby and making sure everything is taken care of in a timely manner.  I cannot say enough how amazing of a father he is going to be. :)

I know I keep bringing it up, but if I don't, I might break! lol  I am fighting the urges to buy the new crib bedding set!  I went to look at it this morning, and the link didn't work.  So, I emailed the company to make sure it was still available (the one I really want is considered a variation - Matthew-2).  I'm awful.  I know. :-P

It needs to be shared.

** Disclaimer: I am in no way complaining about being pregnant.  I truly feel this is one of the most fulfilling and amazing times in my life.  I have never felt so beautiful and comfortable with myself and my body.  However, everyone has a bad day here and there.  I feel like it is important to share this so that people understand that.

Hormones suck.  Don't get me wrong, some are great.  I love the ones that give you nice skin, hair & nails.  But then there are the others.  The others can rush through and totally screw your day.  I had a run-in with the "others" this morning.

I did not sleep well last night.  I kept having awful dreams about fighting with my dad.  The first one I remember was in Babies R Us, and he kept sending me to grab items while he kept the buggy and chit-chatted with a friend.  A couple of the things he sent me for were cases of Diet Sprite.  Then I woke up, and fell back to sleep fairly quickly.  In the next dream I remember, I woke up in my parents bed.  Dad was in the living room, and mom had left for work.  Michael showed up and told me that his work meeting was moved to Sunday (he had a meeting downtown this morning).  It all seemed very strange, but at this point I thought I was awake.  Then, Dad was yelling at me in front of two older guests.  I think it was my Uncle Ken & Aunt Patsy, but then I want to say it may have been my two great aunts that passed away.  Then I woke up again for good.  My body felt rested, but my mind was still exhausted.  My head ached horribly.

I rolled out of bed and showered.  While putting on my make-up and drying my hair, I still felt completely out of it.  I was starting to wonder if I was still dreaming.  Then, while I was getting dressed, I started to break down crying.  I was so upset with my body and how everything felt out of control.  I feel like I'm carrying two boulders on my chest, and my weight is completely out of my hands.  I know that I am carrying a baby inside of me, but nothing I told myself felt justified enough to make the feelings go away.  The last thing I wanted to do was go to work feeling like that.  But, I pulled myself together and headed out.

On the way to work, every song that popped up on my iPhone was about breaking up or some other sad event.  I skipped past them all and hit "Get Your Roll On" and "Ain't Nothing but a G Thang", and those helped a little. :)  Once I got to work, I tried to avoid talking to anyone.  I felt like I might come across wrong, and I didn't want anyone to know I was upset over anything.  I was at my desk for about an hour or so when Michael walked in.  He decided to stop by for a quick, surprise "hey, I love you" after his meeting.  I immediately burst into tears.  I'm sure everyone who passed my door thought we were fighting.  He was shocked at how upset I was.  He had left the house before I woke up, so he had no idea.  That was all I needed at that moment - a hug & kiss and to hear "I love you".

I am still feeling a little blue, but I know everything will be ok.  As wonderful as this pregnancy has been, and as amazing as I have been feeling, I was bound to have a bad day pop up.  I find myself getting so aggravated to read and/or hear about women who just hate being pregnant and complain about every little part.  Going through a day like this definitely reminds me that every pregnancy is different, and some women feel the way I did this morning through their entire nine months.  I cannot imagine that, and hope that none of my pregnancies are like that.

Pillow Talk

I have never been so attached to my bed in my life.  Ok, maybe when I was going through that phase in high school, but other than that, never.  It doesn't help that Koopa curls up in my spot and looks just absolutely adorable and so very snuggle-able. :)  I've been sleeping deeper and more soundly.  It is uh-mazing.  It makes me want to start my maternity leave even earlier, just so I can take advantage of the last few quiet mornings I have left to just sleep, sleep and sleep some more! lol

Our annual HOA meeting is tomorrow night.  Michael is dead-set on attending - mainly to tell them how much they suck.  In the last newsletter they sent out, they said that only 5 residents were in attendance last year.  And, apparently they have been sending out violation notices again.  We've seen more fences pop up in the last few weeks than in the entire time we've been living there (almost 5 years).  Funny thing is, all of those houses that have recently added a fence have boats.  It's considered a resident violation for your boat to be "in the front yard".  One of these neighbors is on a corner lot, and they always had their boat on the side, but not past the front of their house.  Guess they got tired of getting notices.  I think it's a total crock.  Our neighborhood does not look trashy, and no one there (minus about 5 people) even want an HOA - at least not in its current state.  Plus, if I read our restrictions correctly, we have to get their approval before we put up our fence.  WTF.  I don't need a committee to approve for me to put a fence around the yard I pay for.  That is ridiculous.

Anyway, enough ranting about our worthless HOA.

Michael and I started watching Game of Thrones on HBO last night.  Wow.  And, I thought Nip/Tuck was twisted!  Michael read the books a while back, and they are his favorite series ever.  After that first episode, I'm thinking that will be my maternity leave book. :)  I'm hooked!

Oh!  This past weekend, Michael was able to see the baby move from the outside!  Talk about crazy looking! lol  VERY alien-esque.  Our little bisquit is very active at night, so it's been fun to lay on the couch or soak in the tub and watch it bounce around.  I can't wait until it's even more obvious! lol
I also added the decals I ordered to the nursery:

I'm still fighting the urge to order the new crib set! lol

Ouch!

Well, I passed my glucose test!  The tech couldn't get my blood flowing well at first.  And that medicine tasted like thick, extra strength Benadryl.  Gross.  It literally made me sick to my stomach.  I was worried I was going to hurl for a few minutes afterwards.  Other than that, the appointment went well and baby is still growing right on schedule.

Moving right along...

The crib bedding sold!  Yay!  I found a different set that I LOVE now:

Close up

I am not going to run out and buy it though.  I'm afraid I'll change my mind again! lol  I think I'm pretty set on this one, but I'll wait until after my showers to buy ANYTHING else.  I do really want to go ahead and get it though! lol  I love that I could just get a pink fitted crib sheet & pillow and it would look adorably girly, or leave as is for a boy.

Baby Grand is in a couple of weeks, and then we have three classes to attend - Baby & You Orientation Tour, Special Delivery & After Baby Comes.  Then, the shower is on June 11th and maternity pictures are the 18th.  Whew!  Lots of things going on for our little angel!  Plus, we have plenty of friends with their own little bundles of joy to celebrate with!  Several showers for friends coming up, too.  Love it!  Now through June will be very busy, but then July will be our break to relax and do any last minute preparations for the little booger. *sigh* :)

Bought more diapers today!  Michael will be happy! lol  I forgot to a couple of weeks ago, and he was asking me why our diapers hadn't come in yet!  I think now that my 30% cash back program is over, I might start buying gift cards for diapers.  Not sure.

Yesterday, I was cleaning out old pictures, and I came across some from my fitness progress documentation.  It was partly depressing, but also inspiring.  I worked so hard to get healthy, slim down and feel damn good about myself.  So far, at 24 weeks, I have gained about 9 lbs.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but I still have 16 weeks to go.  And, you're supposed to gain faster the closer you get to the end.  I'm not obsessive over it, but I am very aware.  I don't want to gain too fast, and I want to make sure that I can lose it afterwards.  I want to look like this again (when nothing really pinched or "hung out"), but better:

I will be my own inspiration!! ;)

So sleepy...

Lately, I feel like I could literally sleep the day away.  I am so grateful for a 3-day weekend next week!

Things are pretty quiet on the baby front.  I went to the Strawberry Festival with Melody and Doris this past weekend, and realized I need to stay far, far away from baby shops more than ever now!  They had a shop called The Flourless Bakery with some absolutely precious Saints diaper cakes & diaper wreaths (and other themes!).  They even had diaper cupcakes!  SOOO CUTE!  I was able to stop myself though! :)  That is where not knowing the gender of our baby has been quite helpful - keeping my spending at bay!  The hard part about this was that they had gender neutral cakes and wreaths!  However, I also had two friends there to remind me that I have showers and that there will be plenty of time to shop after those.

Speaking of diapers, my mom shared a little tidbit of info with me the other day.  She said that cloth diapers make the best burp cloths!  She said they are usually made of extremely soft material - softer than some "burp cloths".  Who knew!  The thought of washing poopy diapers kind of turns my stomach, but I can jump on board using them as burp clothes! lol

I have my next prenatal appointment this week.  This time I get to go through the glucose test.  Yay.  Fasting, drinking a nasty sugar concoction and getting my blood drawn were exactly what I wanted to add to my to-do list!  (note the sarcasm)  Recently, I made the mistake of watching a video of an epidural needle being inserted.  While I am still likely to request one, I am not sure how soon I will be!  This made me realize that I definitely need to ask Perch about developing a birth plan.  I had printed one out from TheBump website last week, but some of the options/questions on there have me a little taken aback.  Labor augmentation?  Membrane stripping??  I have yet to be introduced to these topics in the baby books!  While I have become pretty comfortable with the pregnancy, the thought of labor scares the sh!t out of me.  I know women go through it every day, but for someone who hasn't yet, it's a scary place.

For now, I'm just hoping for a smooth sailing week. :)

Let's play Pick the Perfect Pediatrician!

Michael and I had our Pediatrician Meet & Greet Luncheon today.  It was very nice and informal.  They have eight pediatricians on staff in the practice, and three of them were at the luncheon to talk about the practice.  Dr. Hutchinson is the one that had been recommended to us, so I was happy to get to meet him.  The facility was very nice and clean, and I really like that it's next door to our Lake After Hours Kids location.  The only bad thing is that it's on Perkins, and not close to the house.  I'm going to be making several trips there while I'm on maternity leave, so that will blow a bit.  But, I'm willing to drive a little for a better doctor.  Guess I'll just have to make in-town plans for those days! :)  They gave  us goodie bags with some freebies and lots of info.  Thankfully, one of the doctors covered the basics of what info was included because it would have been total information overload.  They even gave us the first appointment packets to pre-fill before the baby's first appointment.  LOTS of paperwork.  I get it though; it's a brand new person!  I just really liked the vibe I got there, and I appreciate their connection with the Lake.  If our baby ends up in the ER, our pediatrician will be able to monitor them remotely at their clinic to keep up with what's going on.  I'm 99.9% sure that we will go with Dr. Hutchinson.  His name came to us with a lot of positive feedback.  Plus, Perch (my OB) loves him.

I had my maternity meeting at work yesterday.  It went well, and I can now breathe a big sigh of relief.  I think that everything will be fine.  We are meeting again next month to tweak the plan and try to start setting it into motion.  I am hoping that while I am busy with evaluations that some of the delegations can be tested out.  Fingers crossed that everything continues to run smoothly! :)

Nursery

So, we've added a few more items to the nursery decor :)



I had to paint the mirror and letters.  The mirror was originally black, but it was the exact style I was looking for.  And, it was $30.  The paint & primer was like $8, so I saved A LOT on that front.  All of the white mirrors I have looked at like that were between $150-$200.  o_O

The white bonnet was made for me by my Granny on my dad's side.  She passed away when I was one.  The blanket she made to match the bonnet is drapped across the front of the crib (below).  The owl was just because I felt like that was the only "animal" that matched for the room.  And, the changing pad was from an Etsy shop.  I am totally addicted to that website!  I love that practically everything on it is handmade.  Plus, I could not find a lime green changing pad cover anywhere else to buy or register for.

You can kind of see the white blinds that we swapped out ---->
I think it works better with the white mirror and shelf. 

I have also decided that I do not like our crib bedding as much anymore (selling the 10-piece set on eBay).  I found something else I like better, but even that's not exactly what I was hoping for in my vision.  I am thinking about trying to find the material myself and either make it (with the help of my mom) or commission someone to make it for us.  Basically, I want something brighter and that pulls the lime green in more.

I have also decided that I want to make a quilt!  I have contacted a place in Denham to see if they offer a beginners class since I am completely clueless!  I also need to print out some of the pictures I have saved for painting ideas.  I want to do some canvases for the nursery.  I feel like if I occupy my time "making" things for the nursery, I'll spend less time "buying" things instead! Haha!!  Plus, it adds much more meaning to the room if I make it.

I know that the more we add to the room, the more I will love it.  Right now I just feel like it's bare and a completely unmatched mess. lol