Overdue

There's something psychological about a due date that makes you feel, once it's come and gone, that you're in a straight jacket.

Of course that is unless you're one of *those* moms who feel great during pregnancy. One of those moms who "glowed." Well...not I. Though I certainly wish that was the case. I'm fully aware of the wonderful miracle that is taking place and the brand new human who will be here (not) soon (enough). But he needs to be miracling in his bassinet now, not my belly. I'm ready for that transition.

As it is I wake up feeling like I spent the night being beaten up. My back is a joke - my ability to stand upright is progressively declining. My ability to smile it away when people ask how I'm doing -- oh and the "are you still pregnant!?" and "are you sure it's just one?!" -- is rapidly disappearing.

Proceed at your own risk.

Swelling: check (ever-present, no reprieve)

Numbness/carpel tunnel: check (though wearing the splint at night helps the pain)

Sleep: fitful, restless. And when I wake up, pure suffering for a few hours as I reacquaint myself with being awake.

Breathing: shallow at best.

Attitude: getting worse by the day.

Hospital bags: packed a month ago.

Baby's room: ready for baby!!



Photo: me at 40 weeks, 08.31.12

Just Around the Corner

About a week from now, we'll have our baby here.



I went to the doctor for my weekly appointment this Tuesday and he said if we don't have a baby by my next appointment (Wednesday, 8/29) then we'll discuss inducing. Which we'll likely schedule for our due date, Friday, August 31st.



38 weeks [08.17.12]



So I imagine I'll be spending Labor Day weekend in the hospital for a couple days with a brand new little boy.



I'm trying to go into the entire process - labor and delivery, parenthood - as open and blank as possible. So many people are so very eager to toss their 2 coins into the fountain of advice surrounding all new parents. A fountain we most definitely did not build and did not ask to be filled with 2 cents after 2 cents worth of advice that perhaps worked for you.

There is so much information that is in conflict with a majority of the other sources of information out there that I would rather just have a basic understanding of what I've gotten myself into and then do it the way that works for me and for Kevin. I promise, we've done 99% of the grown up, adult stuff of life for the last 7 years entirely on our own. I'm sure we'll manage.



Dinner with Kevin, full term/37 weeks. [08.10.12]

 At the same time there is still a feeling of weightlessness as we dive slowly into the unknown territory of parenthood. No matter how many people think they are helping with their tips and tricks, we are still the ones who will be living the new reality of a tiny, new boy in our house who needs us for everything. And he is not your boy. You are not me. Our circumstance will be entirely different from all the new babies out there. It will be specific to us. There will always be an element of 'winging it'.





Pretty flannel blanket from Grandma H.

 Everything is as ready as it can be. I want to vacuum (again); finish the laundry (it's never finished!), wash some more dishes. The dog needs a bath and the guest room needs to be organized. I picture myself living in dusty, un-vacuumed squalor the first weeks of his life feeling, not only the weight of managing a new life but doing so with crumbs of cat litter underfoot, unwashed dishes in the sink. What an unpleasant thought!

But I know I have a handful of people who are genuinely willing to help. They don't proffer advice like a vending machine, like a broken record. They actually care about me and Kevin and our little boy. Those are the very select few people who will be a relief to have around as needed. To make a meal or wash a dish. Or sweep up cat litter.



For now we just wait! To see when this guy decides to come. Whether he comes this week or we induce, Kevin and I will have our little boy here by August 31st.

Eight. Days. Left.

35 weeks. 35 days to go.

Today marks the completion of my 35th week and the last 35 days of my pregnancy. The first several months went so slowly; I think I judged my progress on whether or not - or how much - I was showing. Once I started showing - around 4 months I think? - it started going faster. It's just a physical way to assess the progress I suppose and makes it feel like its going by faster? The last couple months in particular have flown.

I've felt so huge and clumsy, tired and achy and crampy. But I've been excited and happy about the "big day" getting closer and closer. It's been something of a roller coaster, emotionally. From day to day I am thrilled (yay! My own sweet little boy to take care of!) and then scared shitless (I'm going to be a mom! What was I thinking?!).

It's a good thing there are 9 months to get ready. All the back and forth has finally stabilized and I feel ready. I'm confident and happy and almost completely ready for a new little human to live in my house.

He has a beautiful bedroom waiting for him and a pretty bed and comfy clothes and lots of love. I know it won't always be pretty and I know there will be days and weeks of madness and chaos and freaking out. But I'm ready for him to be here and join out little family. I'm excited to see what he looks like and to figure out his personality and temperament and his likes and dislikes.

It's just hard to believe that we have a month to go before we are "officially" parents. It seems like yesterday was December 22nd and I stepped out of a late-night shower to see "pregnant" on that test.

He'll be joining our little family before we know it!

Can't wait to meet my little guy!!

Not sure how the pets will act but ... they better behave with a new baby in the house! ;)

... We might be a different story. Behaving: sometimes.

A New Chair for Baby

On Wednesday evening I got a call from Daryl at R + L Carriers asking me to call back and reference such-and-such PRO #. I hadn't been expecting any large items shipped via freight carrier so I thought he must have the wrong number. I quickly looked up the pro # on their website but didn't find any info about the shipper or the contents of the container.

As soon as I left work I called him back and found out:

It was our new glider!! For Baby's room!

I was so so excited! The last large piece of furniture needed to complete his room was on its way to my house at that moment! We worked out the logistics for delivery the next morning. When I got home from work I asked Kevin if the chair had arrived. He said "What chair?" ... I was not surprised by this since he loves to tease, so I went into the baby's room and there it sat. =) He easily installed the back of the chair onto the base, since it had shipped in two pieces. We rearranged the room so we could place the chair where we thought would be best and ... now the room is done! I could not be more excited!!

I had to check the registry to see who gifted us this awesome chair since there wasn't any reference on the package - my sweet friend Jennifer was the gifter; I sent her a picture of the chair in the new room right away so she could see how great it looks. What a sweet and generous gift.

Now all we need is a little bit of artwork, a couple wood shelves and to hang the new quilt and curtains. I'm just so pleased to have all the big stuff out of the way - what a huge relief!!

Here's the room in its new layout with the new chair and its pretty chevron pillow. =) (ignore the tools and junk on the dresser!)

Baby's First Quilt!

I have posted previously about the small quilts my neighbor made for the baby - small, "tummy time" quilts, also great for going out, in the car, picnicing, travel. She made them in bright rainbow colors with pretty backing and trim. 

I have always liked very colorful things and wanted a full spectrum of color for the Baby and his room so these little quilts are perfect. Kevin put them on the crib after we got it set up; here is a photo of one of them:

Well, she has finished the larger, wall-hanging quilt and came over last night to give it to us, along with his little pillow for the rocker/glider.

She had shown us all the fabrics a few weeks ago and I loved the colors she chose. I had shown her a photo I found on Pinterest as my inspiration piece and she basically replicated it for me! It looks amazing.

Here is the inspiration quilt:

And MY quilt:

The backing on the quilt and pillow are a very dark charcoal gray with a pebbled pattern:

And the front of the pillow is bright orange (!) and light gray chevrons:

Kind of awesome.

Now I can hardly wait to get the chair so we can see how the pillow looks. And we'll have to figure out the final layout we want for the room so we know where to hang the quilt. *so impatient*

DIY Project: Baby's New Room!

The last several weeks (months!) I've been working on the baby's room. I put together a "pin board" with a lot of inspirational and real life pieces that I envisioned for his new space.

The hardest part has been finding the right paint color. I wanted JUST the right color and didn't want to settle.

I knew I wanted yellow. And I knew I wanted a bright, clear yellow, not a pastel, precious yellow. Almost neon really. 

So the search began.

I would pick up a few paint swatches whenever we were out at Lowe's or Wal Mart. I narrowed it down to 4 favorites and then went to Lowe's to get samples mixed up. I had prepped the room for painting and then applied some primer to seal the old paint - mustardy tan/yellow and dark maroon. Then I painted big squares of the 4 samples onto a couple of the walls so I could see how they behaved in different lights. Then I waited.

Here's how the room looked when we first moved in - the red/maroon is on the left and right walls, and the yellow is on the window and entry walls. Very dark and enclosed...

We'd go into the room during the day, night, clouds, rain. I even went into the backyard and looked at the color from the outside! ;) I liked one of the swatches best so I painted over the other 3, enlarged the favorite remaining swatch and waited some more.

Like I says, I didn't want to settle. :)

I finally decided I officially loved the color. We left for vacation over the 4th of July week, I still hadn't finished painting. So as soon as we got back I went to Lowe's and got a gallon of the color - Sparkling Yellow Shimmer - and finished the room in a weekend, walls trim and doors.

I'm so pleased!! I love that it has a lot of cool green with the yellow, more grellow than yellow: like a tennis ball but toned down.

My parents were nice enough to outfit baby's room with a majority of the large furniture items - dresser, nightstand, crib, rug and yet-to-be-hung curtains - and Kevin built them all for me last weekend once I was done with the painting. I was pretty worthless as an assistant since sitting on the floor, getting back up from the floor and lifting large pieces of furniture are kind of beyond my capacity right now, but I did try. ;)

Here are a few photos of the room progress and how it looks now.

We still need the rocker/glider and the layout is tentative, but it looks so good! I'm really happy with it and am pleased with how my pin board came together so well in real life. :))

Here is my original pin board:

Priming the dark red beadboard paneling on this wall was a nightmare. 

The gallon of paint, ready for the walls!

Finally done painting - walls, trim and doors - and almost done cleaning up.

Cleaned up and read for furniture!!

Getting started on the dresser.

Half way there...

The crib is done and looks amazing!!

Here is the room as it looks today, as complete as possible (the cat seems pleased ;).  

We still need to ...

1. get the glider (brown leather),

2. get the laundry hamper

3. paint and hang the curtains

(I'm going to use this tutorial and paint wide navy stripes onto some of these great, simple curtains from IKEA)

4. get some art for the walls

But it looks beautiful to me, even incomplete.

We put in a lot of time and effort and the energy this room exudes now is so serene and happy and welcoming. I hope Baby likes it, too. ;)

Next up: Baby's first quilt!

Good Friends

Sometimes there is a lot for me to complain about. Or I just make up stuff to complain about? Either way I seem to gripe a lot, at times; not ALL the time.

Lately I've been stressing about getting the baby's room ready, finding the right paint, getting my kitchen updated and looking decent, making sure everything in the house is perfect before he gets here - because he'll know if my kitchen floors are ugly or if there is dust behind the couch. ;)

I've had some really nice experiences lately that have reminded me how great it is to have great friends. It's nice to have new friends, but it seems for me that the old friends are the best friends. It's so great knowing people for years and years and having history and familiarity with them. They are my family.

I just spent the weekend with some of my friends/adopted family to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. An excellent excuse to get together for a proper tea with lots of Earl Gray and goodies and finger sandwiches.

And yesterday once I was back in town, I had a visit from one of my oldest neighbors - she has known me since birth. Crazy. Anyway, she has generously made some beautiful quilts for me and Baby. She is a seasoned and talented quilter/seamstress and does amazing work. Here are the two small quilts she made for Baby ... perfect for "tummy time" (tummy time is great and important but I do hate that term for some reason), in the car, picnicing, travel ... and they are so colorful! She knew I wanted lots of color for the Baby so she went with this beautiful rainbow theme with accenting trim and backing.

She is still working on one for Baby's room - about crib-sized - that will hang on one of his walls. Can't wait to see the finished product! She showed us all the colors she had selected for that and they are perfect.

Square rainbow pattern on the front with musical notes on the back. She said the backing was in honor of Kevin since she knows he loves music:

And a pretty rainbow pinwheel with blue trim and stripes and dots on the back:

I'm very grateful for the friends and 'family' who give their time and energy and love to me and Kevin, and our little man Baby. Even before he is here, I know he is loved and looked forward to by our friends.

 Another friend of mine - whose girls I've babysat since her oldest was just a few months old (she's turning 9 this year!) - is graciously hosting a baby shower for me! I'm so happy to have her do that; she will host a wonderful party.

Here are a few inspiration photos I've gathered for the party ... we're still in planning mode, but soon we'll have everything hammered out and the party will be here before we know it. Can't wait!

Today, I'm 27 weeks 4 days. Baby is about 2 pounds and the size of a cauliflower. And he is moving All. The. Time. Jabbing and punching and headbutting. And stretching and pressing. And squashing.

Sometimes it's really uncomfortable, but I'm reminding myself this is a good thing, and that he won't be able to do this forever. My next appointment is in 3 weeks then my subsequent appointments will be bi-weekly.

This Friday I will be 28 weeks and starting my third trimester! I can't believe I'm almost a third trimester mom-to-be! September will be here before I can blink.