Packing our bags

All of my regular readers know that I had a bit of a crisis last month when I started fretting about hospital bags in the throes of full-blown nesting.  It ended with me walking in circles before collapsing in resignation that Everything Will Be Ok, and I didn't need to worry about it right then.  Since that time I have been slowly accumulating the things that I need and gradually packing them in three different bags.  For Christmas I received several of the items that I needed, which gave me plenty of time to wash and pack them without rushing.  I also cruised Goodwill for some pjs and a robe that I could wear and lose/stain, as all the books suggested I do.  I grabbed some travel toiletries, packed my favorite DVDs to pass the time, and then breathed out.

I also had some fun with packing the Bun's bag.  After all of the 0-3 clothes were washed I picked out two outfits, one in Newborn sizes and one in 0-3.  Both are fairly pink-centric and SO tiny.  I think I just stood there staring at the Newborn ensemble for a few minutes, trying to get my brain around the idea that a human being potentially that small would be coming home with us in the very near future.  Made me both unspeakably happy, and just a little nervous!  I lovingly added some items I knitted for her and again, breathed out a little more.

Sure feels good!

There they are, ready at a moment's notice.  

I just hope that moment doesn't come for another couple of weeks!

Finishing touches on the nursery

I think it's official, the nursery is done!

Well, as done as it can be pre-baby and pre-tweaks that actually supporting a tiny human being in there will require.  But my to-do list is to-done :-).

About a month ago, after the mural was completed and I could see the spacing that was needed visually, I hung the mobile over the crib.  I wanted it to be movable in case I changed my mind about placement later, so I went with a Command hook on the ceiling.  Unfortunately all of the hooks that they make have a slight downslope, meaning that the mobile could easily slide off of the hook when it is mounted on the ceiling.  To solve this little issue I used a huge blob of my old friend, Sticky Tac to secure the yarn to the hook.  So it was very simple indeed!

A long shot of the mobile hanging

I also took this opportunity to get a slightly closer look at the animals.  I tried to hang each at a different height to create some visual interest, and to keep them high enough that she can't quite grab them.

I think the bear in the scarf is my favorite :-)

Over the holidays, my dad was nice enough to help out with hanging the Ikea spice racks turned bookshelves, which was the last major installation to be done.  He and Jeremy both worked together to get them hung safely and placed exactly where I pictured them, which I very much appreciated.  Then I had fun setting up all her little books and creating a fun, colorful corner in the nursery.

Thanks to Pinterest for the idea!

Isn't this the most fun little spot in the room?!

For Christmas my brother got me my closet organizing system (thanks, Kenny!), so I finally got to set my mind at ease and get the thing set up and ready for her.

Am I the only one that gets physically soothed by such an organized sight?

I washed all of her 0-3 month clothes, color coordinated hangers by size, washed and folded all of her linens, bought and filled three canvas boxes that I decorated with inexpensive wall stickers, and labeled the whole thing with our new label maker.  It should be very easy to put laundry away in here now, or to grab a going out outfit quickly.  Most of all I can sleep a little better without images of disorganization dancing in my head, taunting me with their messiness. (Who's nesting? Not me!)

So all of that, plus the Diaper Genie and humidifier that I received at my Florida baby shower and my parents graciously delivered over the holidays means that I can sit in there with a mind at ease.  I can feel good that if she were to come tomorrow, at least this is ready for her.  We still need to assemble her swing, install her car seat, and adjust the height of the co-sleeper to our bed, but those should be completed by the end of the week.  As Jeremy says, we are officially "in play," so we better get these items off the list while we still have non-baby time!

Christmas 2013

Well, folks, I can officially breathe out a little because the Bun did not come at Christmas.  Phew!  As many of you know, my brother has his birthday on Christmas Day (despite being due January 14), and he's not a huge fan.  Growing up it was always a hassle to organize a birthday party with friends involved, and he always refused to celebrate his birthday on any other day.  So when I was given a due date of January 18, I held my breath and said a prayer that she wouldn't come on Christmas, not only sharing Kenny's fate but making the poor kid share his special day with yet another big event.  Well, it didn't happen, so thank goodness for that!

What did happen was lots of rest for me, time with the people I love most in the world, and getting to spend my first Christmas in our home.  It really meant a lot that I got to spend the holiday in a house that I decorated, wrapped gifts in, and generally got to spend all of the Christmas season in one place.  No need to ship gifts to or from a place.  No need to strip the tree of my favorite ornaments or grab all of our stockings so that they could be there on the big day.  It was also nice to have stockings hung above our fireplace while we watched It's a Wonderful Life.  Something small, but so reminiscent of Christmas that I felt all warm and toasty inside.

My family and I also got to engage in the Klein tradition of lots of movies, both in the theater and Christmas themed ones at home.  In the rotation this year were White Christmas (only watched a little before everyone got bored and went their separate ways, but oh well), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (of course), It's a Wonderful Life, Muppet Christmas Carol, and Jeremy and I watched Bad Santa while we took decorations down yesterday.  We also saw the second installment of the Hobbit in the theater, and Jeremy, Kenny, and I saw Anchorman 2 in the theater while my parents saw 47 Ronin.  I highly recommend both of the movies that I saw, so overall it was a great movie vacation.

In regards to gifts, I was gifted lots of very useful things to help me get ready for the Bun, as well as a few fun things.  My favorite item is probably my new iPhone case from Jeremy, depicting Hello Kitty dressed as Daryl Dixon, complete with squirrels and zombie ear necklace.  It's pretty epic.  I most enjoyed giving all the hand knitted things I made, especially the Star Wars themed hats for Sahil and Lark, and the Norwegian patterned hat for Jeremy.  Jeremy's hat took me about two weeks, and I only finished on the 23rd, so I was quite proud when I wove in the last end.

Overall it was a great holiday.  Truly I am blessed to have such a loving family, and I can't wait to add the newest member!

Sorry that you can't quite see our tree!

Commemorating baking the Bun

As an early Christmas present, my parents gave Jeremy and I a maternity photo shoot a couple of weeks ago.  We shot around our home and neighborhood on a very sunny and windy day, and had lots of fun with poses I saw on Pinterest.  At a certain point my smiling muscles got a little fatigued (which you can totally tell in one group of shots), but overall it was an awesome time.  The photographer even fit in some shots of our Christmas decorations and nursery, and she made them look so nice!  I included the path to access the photos below for any readers that are curious to see them, since I can't access the digital files to add them here.  I particularly love numbers 13, 30, 36, 38, 45, 48, and 52.

If you want to check them out:

www.imagesbyautumn.com, click "Clients" in the lower right, access code is "baby girl" with a space.


Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

A surprise family addition

Today we took the leap and bought a new car!!

Some of you may know that we have been saving since we moved for a new, larger, more family friendly vehicle.  I was once told (by a dealer) that the best time of year to buy is at the end of December, when salespeople are trying to get their yearly quotas met and are more likely to deal with you.  With the new baby coming in a few weeks, we decided to get a move on (well Jeremy did and I agreed, I think this is his way of nesting).  After weeks of research, test drives of our top two options last weekend, and four hours of negotiation last night, we did it!

Behold, our new ride!

It's a 2014 Nissan Rogue SV, Premium Package, roof rails, sun roof, navigation system, Bluetooth compatible, and a bunch of other bells and whistles for quite a steal, if I do say so myself.  Jeremy did an awesome job handling all the negotiations while I was at work.  Just being in the office to sign off on the trade-in of his vehicle was exhausting for me.  It will primarily be his car, and the first new car he has driven in a long time, if ever.  Judging by the picture, he is quite pleased with our new ride:

Haven't seen a smile this big since Scotland :-)

Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, but I found myself getting emotional about saying goodbye to his old car.  It's the same car that he has been driving since before we met, a 1997 Honda Civic.  It was the car he came to rescue me in during my freshman year of college when I was stranded in the rain at a grocery store.  I called him, as the only person I knew with a car, and with full knowledge that he liked me enough to grant me a huge favor.  He was my knight and it was his steed!  It's where I learned that men sometimes assess the quality of their dates by whether or not they reach over to unlock the driver's side door after opening the passenger side for them (which I totally didn't do the first time, but I did ever since).  It also still had the faded American flag decal that I stuck in the window on September 12, 2001, still hanging strong 12 years later.  The smell of sitting in the car always reminds me of all the grocery trips we took in college, and long car trips to see his family in Niceville.  It's not the nicest car in the world, but it was our ride during the early years.  So I was a little sad to see it go, faded paint, manual windows, limited radio stations, and all.

I just had to take one last picture!  Goodbye, old friend!

8 month state of the pregnancy address

All I have to say at this point in the pregnancy is: whaaaaaaaaaaatttt??

Seriously, this belly alone leaves me stupefied.

But really, where did the time go?  Seems like only a short while ago I was holding my breath before the end of the first trimester, so excited to tell people but keeping the pregnancy quiet.  I still get a little surprised when cashiers ask me about my baby, thinking quietly, "how did they know," only to look down and be like, "the giant watermelon under your jacket, duh!"  I also feel mostly the way I have felt all along, just cruising along without any pain, pressure, or major discomfort.  The Hunger has been a part of my life for so long that it's the new normal, and I have gotten into a pretty good routine with yoga and exercise to keep my joints feeling good.

In mentally preparing this blog post yesterday, I was fully ready to say that sleep is still miraculously easy without a single interruption for a bathroom visit, but I think karma heard me and decided to keep me humble, ala my first (and only) time skiing when I thought, "I'm amazing at this," immediately before taking an awesome tumble down the hill.  Last night was the first night I was physically unable to sleep on my back because of the pain of her pushing on my internal organs.  This was a whole new level of discomfort, compelling me to roll and heft my belly onto the Snoogle for support for the first time.  I'm usually a pretty active sleeper, rolling from one side to the other quite often, but last night I had to fully awaken, consciously heave myself over, and make sure I was properly aligned before I could sleep again.  I was hoping this had something to do with her turning from frank breech position, but sadly, no dice.  She just must be hitting a whole new size.  Given the fact that I have gained about 35 pounds so far, I'd say that's pretty possible!

At my last doctor's visit they said everything continues to be going well.  Her heartrate is strong, my blood pressure is normal, and my weight/belly are right on track.  Since she's head up I'm not dilating at all yet, and I have two weeks for her to turn into launch position before we talk birth options.

No crazy cravings this month, still not crazy hormonal, just a little extra weepy, and Jeremy and I are getting along very well.  As stated in a previous post, birth classes and breastfeeding classes have been accomplished, as has most of the nursery.  The only practical things to accomplish before the end are hanging the nursery bookshelves, organize her closet, wash her 0-3 month clothing, install the car seat bases in each car, assemble the swing, and finish packing the hospital bags.  I'm hoping that after Christmas we will have the time to accomplish these things, and I can distract myself from watching the clock, waiting for her to arrive.

Think head down thoughts for us!!

Graduating from Birth and Baby class

Last night Jeremy and I completed our fifth and final Birth and Baby class through the hospital.  The first four focused on information about labor and delivery, with a fun tour of the hospital in week four.  Last night was all about baby care, complete with little plastic baby dolls and tons of info packets to take home.  I took a backseat in all the practical stuff since the instructor told us to allow the person with less baby experience to get all hands on, and Jeremy rocked it.  Luckily, he's had lots of experience with friends' babies and with our niece, so I wasn't worried, but it warmed my heart to see him getting so involved.

I had some scared feelings since the instructor went over this huge, long list of reasons to call the doctor, all of which I know will have me agonizing someday.  They also showed us a video on "Purple crying, a previously unknown (to me) phenomenon in which babies cry inconsolably for hours (not colic) that tends to pop up between 1 1/2 to 5 months.  The main emphasis in the movie was that it can be so frustrating that it can drive caregivers to shake babies, so it's ok to walk away.  All I can say to this is, yikes.  I'm prepared for crying, but always assume that eventually I'll figure out (and address) the issue.  How does one learn to distinguish between "purple" crying and an issue you need to address that you haven't thought of yet?  I know I'll learn, but add it to the list of Reasons Brie is Anxious.

But despite all this, I'm feeling good.  The end of birth class gets us one step closer to actually doing this thing, by which I mean, getting this baby out of my belly.  So crazy that we're less than five weeks away!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Switching gears from all-baby, all-the-time, I thought I'd do a quick post on our Christmas decorations, now that they are up!  After just a week and a half of daily decking of the halls, here are some shots of my favorite holiday vignettes.  Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a pic of our Christmas tree and outside lights, but if you are burning with curiosity, just check out the posts from last year :-).

I'm a sucker for a good holiday mantel, as seen in our Christmas card this year.  Our stocking holders are all reindeer, three of which look like a little family.  Jeremy got the stag, I got the doe, and there's a reserved sign on the fawn :-).  I added three more classic reindeer to accommodate my parents and brother when they arrive!  I especially love the lighted garland, which reminds me of my favorite Christmas living room set up, as seen in the holiday M'Ms commercial (sounds silly, but pay attention next time, it's perfect!)

This is pretty much the same advent calendar that I had last year, but it was so cute I don't mind reusing it year after year!  I had to replace a couple of items that didn't survive the year in storage, but mostly it consists of ornaments, gift tags/embellishments, and vintage pins that belonged to my grandmother.  Check out my instagram feed from last year if you want any close-ups!

These frames are up year round, but at the holidays I add a little something to each one.  This year I have a little berry wreath, a fox ornament, some extra branches from our Christmas tree, and some fake red berries.

I think the dining room is my favorite space this year.  Somehow a metallics and green theme emerged, and with the chandelier dimmed at night this room positively glows!

For the table centerpiece I gathered all the silver ornaments we had and grouped them on my new gold chargers ($1 a piece at Michaels, score!)

This glittery deer was my Christmas decor splurge of the year at $15.  I decided to start throwing away old, tattered Christmas decor bought on major budget in college (so long Napoleon Dynamite Christmas card and stringy red garland) and replacing it with more tasteful pieces.  I really loved the look and lines of this guy, so I went for it!

And finally, this fun guy.  Yet again I totally stole an idea from Young House Love, who dressed up a moose head for Christmas.  I was smitten with the idea, so I pulled Billy the Bison from our library where he gets very little face time with guests, and decked him out in glitter and gold.  He's quite fabulous, albeit awkward in this space (seriously everyone bumped into him at my last craft night, whoops.)

So that's how the Fowlers are getting into the spirit this year, Merry Christmas!

Feeling large and in charge

It started.  Lately, when I'm not paying close attention, I have been waddling.  We're talking short, stumpy little steps, toes turned slightly out, and walking with hips out front.  Yikes.

I had this moment of realization today as I walked downtown to run some errands as usual and I noticed that my shadow looked not only huge but slow.  I checked in with my body and realized that I was just lumbering along, with much slower steps than usual.  I took a moment to remember how I usually walk, upright with hips swaying, but I could only keep that up for about a block before it got too tiresome and I stopped.  Good grief!

I also had a sad moment when I started to walk from my office to run errands in the downtown area (usually about a mile walk that I enjoy) and I realized that my pregnancy brain forgot my wallet.  Whoops.  After walking back across two streets and up the stairs to my office, I had to talk myself back into walking instead of driving, since parking is horrendous and the bank (the farthest point) was only a third of a mile away.  To my credit, I did end up walking the whole thing, but darn this easily tired body of mine!

Overall, I have to say that I am feeling great, especially relative to other pregnant people at this stage.  However, this lack of stamina is getting a little old.  Someday soon I may have to endure labor and delivery for hours, so I am definitely not allowed to get so tired after only a little walking!  I better keep up with physical activity in these last few weeks, if only to get myself ready.

Until then, if you catch me waddling, please stop me!

So, how have you been sleeping?

I get this question a lot, presumably because quite a few pregnant ladies have trouble sleeping by this point.  My answer, so far, has been pretty normally, thank you very much!  Thanks to the Snoogle I have the right head and back support, and I don't seem to need belly support too much, although its there if/when I do.  I also have benefitted somewhat from the Bun being head up, because most of her weight is concentrated high, aka not on my bladder.  For this reason, I'm guessing, I haven't gotten up during the night to use the bathroom more than a handful of times this whole pregnancy.  I also have been comfortable in most positions, including on my back, and only need a couple of small adjustments with the Snoogle if anything feels uncomfortable.  So, I have been really lucky and sleeping through the night very consistently.

Jeremy, however, has been woken up during the night quite a few times, and here's why.  The Epic Snoring Beast (me).  Pregnancy has led me to be more congested, and some of the adjustments to help me sleep comfortably involve bending my neck and shoulders in a certain way, all of which has led me to be an ESB.  I am so sorry for this.  Whenever he wakes me up to help me adjust, I'm immediately hit with guilt and shame.  I know it's normal, and Jeremy is very sweet about it and never complains, he actually never even mentions it unless I ask about the night before, but geez.  This has got to be rough for him, and I consistently wake up with a sore throat from so much snoring.  Stupid congestion.

But other than that, I'm doing well and saving up memories of long nights of sleep.  Thank goodness for king sized beds and Snoogle!

Nesting

In general I believe I am a nester.  I was the girl in college that would be unpacked and moved into her dorm room in one day.  I even unpacked in my first apartment in Williamsburg in one day, a day that also included painting three walls.  I can't really feel settled in a place until all of my things are completely out of boxes, so I always spend the first week or so focused solely on the house, down to the minutia of decorations and hanging art.  Around Christmas time, the halls are decked in one afternoon (although this year it was spread over a week since I can neither get the boxes from the attic nor put them back solo).  I am the kind of person who makes the bed every morning and straightens the house every night, just because it feels nice to be in a clean home.  So when I read about what it's like to nest, I thought to myself, "uh-oh, if this is my standard, what will nesting be like for me?!"  Or on the other hand, will I even notice if I start to nest?

Last night, I think I got my first glimpse into nesting.  I have a couple of pregnancy apps on my phone that give me updates on common pregnancy symptoms, average baby sizes at each week, and checklists of things to accomplish by a certain time.  Yesterday, I read that one should have four separate bags packed for the hospital by week 34 (aka last week for me) - a labor bag with all of the things one can use while laboring, a postpartum bag for me after the baby is here and I'm staying in the hospital, a baby bag for her to go home with, and a bag for Jeremy since he will be with me during labor and staying there with us overnight.  A few simultaneous thoughts/panics hit me as I read that I should have these packed.  1) I didn't.  2) I should.  3) I like to be prepared.

Allow me to share the aftermath of these thoughts, stream of consciousness style.

OK, I'll pack my favorite duffel bag for labor stuff, right now because I only need a couple of things, all of which I shouldn't end up needing between now and then.  Oh, shoot, I don't have a bunch of things the books say I need, I should add them to my Amazon list.  Will family be comfortable buying me a sports nursing bra?  Oh well, if they don't at least I have it saved in a place that I can buy it from later.  Should I add tiny things like facial lotion and dry shampoo to my Amazon list, or just get them myself from the drugstore?  Let's say Amazon list because it makes me feel better to be keeping track of the things I need and I won't worry about forgetting them.  Dangit, this list is getting long, maybe I need to start a bigger bag.  It sure would be great to have the larger size duffel in this same Vera Bradley pattern, I wonder if I could add that to my Amazon list since people need gift ideas for me.  Crap, it's a retired pattern.  Ebay? Nope.  Nothing that's big enough.  Ok, I have two pieces in this color pattern, I'll just pare down what I need for labor in the small tote bag and just focus on packing the postpartum bag.  Let me walk to every corner of my house as inefficiently as possible to grab lots of random tiny things I could possibly need, since it's impractical to pack the clothes I would want to wear home as I will likely want to wear them again in the last six weeks of my pregnancy.  Well, maybe I could pack them and always remember that they are in there so that if they are not being worn or washed, they are packed and ready to go.  No, that's silly.  Or maybe not.  Ugh!  Ok, focusing on baby stuff since I know I won't be using that in the next six weeks.  Which bag should I pack?  How about the future diaper bag?  Brilliant!  Oh wait, that's my current work bag.  Can't pack that yet.  But I'm so anxious!  I have to pack something!  I know, I'll pick out her coming home outfit.  Double brilliant!  Oh wait, I only washed the newborn sizes, what if she needs 0-3 because she's too tall/big?  Did I waste money buying newborn stuff?  Should I wash all the 0-3 stuff RIGHT NOW?

You get the idea.

My you-are-a-crazy-nester self awareness moment came when I was literally walking in circles in the bedroom while Jeremy stared at me from the bed.  I took a breath.  I thought about what they said in the birthing class about the time early labor can take.  I thought about the fact that I would be pacing the house impatiently waiting for the right time to go to the hospital, needing something to occupy myself.  I thought about the fact that the hospital is less than a mile from our house, so if I desperately need something Jeremy can very easily pop home to get it. I reminded myself that I have six weeks left.  Then I collapsed in bed.

I know that everything will be ok and I won't be in a situation where I don't have what I need.  I also know that when it comes time to organize her closet (hopefully after I get the closet organizers I want for Christmas!) this will all start again, and it's totally normal.  Better buy a hat and hold onto it, I guess!

33 week doctor's appointment

At this regularly scheduled appointment I got to have another ultrasound to check her position, after the doctor two weeks ago noted that she was "concerned" that she couldn't tell if the bump she was feeling was head or tail.  I was a little frustrated with this doctor, who I know has a sub-par bedside manner (she's not mean, just all business and no softness) for using the word "concerned" when I know that it shouldn't be a concern whether she is in the right position until week 37, and this was at week 31!  But oh well, I'll take any excuse to see my little girl before the big day :-).

The appointment yesterday went fine, turns out she is in the "frank breech" position, which means she has her head and feet up, and her tush down.  She has plenty of room and amniotic fluid to turn, not to mention time to turn, so I'm not too worried.  The doctor that I saw this time, who I love, was very positive and comforting.  She also mentioned that she was unhappy with the last doctor for being "concerned," and even told her that!  Ha!  Anyway, she has until 37 weeks to do the flip before we start talking about options.  Until then, I did a little bit of research about yoga poses I can do to encourage her giant head to do the bouyant thing and float where it needs to go (lots of head down/hips up stuff) although the book says to do it 20 minutes a day, three times a day!  Um, yeah, no.  We'll see how desperate I get by the end, but for now if I do it once a day I'll be excited with myself.  She should turn on her own anyway, the doctor that I like said that only 3% of babies aren't in the right position by the end.  Also, a labor-free scheduled C-section on a pre-determined day, followed by four days in the hospital with lactation consultants and lots of support doesn't sound like the worst delivery to have ;-).

Until then I will try to take everything one day at a time, and enjoy this little gem, obtained through the miracle of modern sound wave imaging!

I may be a little biased, but this is honestly the most angelic baby face ever!

Thanksgiving with more than just the dressing in the oven

Sorry for the long delay, what a fun holiday at the Fowler homestead! 

This year I was blessed to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving in our home, meaning I got to avoid the whole crazy holiday travel thing, cook in my own kitchen, and, of course, enjoy smoked turkey courtesy of my talented husband.  It was our year to spend turkey day with the Fowler side of the family, meaning Jeremy's sister, her husband, their daughter, and Jeremy's parents.  Usually we go to his parents' home in Florida, but this year (due to obvious constraints) they were gracious enough to come to us.  I was very much looking forward to this, but found that I had less energy than usual to prep the house with decorations and to clean it thoroughly, so I am eternally grateful that a) Jeremy rocks and picked up the cleaning slack and b) I took lots of pictures of the decorations last year so I just had to recreate instead of shop/create. 

The days before Thanksgiving were a blur of parenting classes, grocery shopping, and bleary-eyed family members who traveled on busy travel days.  I made pies, wrapped Christmas gifts to be taken home instead of shipped, and felt guilty about sitting with my feet up so often (which I know is silly, my family was so understanding and sweet!).

On Thanksgiving Day, Jeremy and Katie were the MVPs, knocking out all the food and encouraging me to sit and hydrate.  I got to watch the whole parade (!!!), peruse the Black Friday ads, and anticipate a tasty meal.  Even though I didn't cook, I didn't have to do the dishes (big up to Sahil on that one), so it was pretty much a perfect afternoon.

I also did a little bit of shopping on Thursday (I know), and hear me out.  Black Friday has always been the perfect combination of shopping conditions: first, I have to buy Christmas gifts for pretty much everyone, so there are lots of things I am justified in buying.  Second, there are tons of deals to be scored, so I feel less guilty because I am saving so much.  Third, there is a good degree of strategizing to do, so it's like a fun puzzle to figure out where to go and when.  And finally, there is something to be said for finding exactly what you are looking for, it's like a little rush to grab your coveted item off the shelf!  The one draw back was always having to start at 4 am, which meant getting up at 3:30 after only a couple of hours of sleep.  It may be a horrible sign of our times, but for me, stores opening at 8 on Thanksgiving Thursday is a blessing for that reason.

I usually hit up Kohls, Best Buy, and Target first, all of which were open Thursday evening.  This year both Kohls and Best Buy had their doorbusters available online, so I was able to avoid their lines/crowds completely.  Since I didn't want to miss out on the experience completely, and because only a couple of the items I wanted from Target were available online, Katie and I braved Target right at 8pm.  Because we came armed with a plan and I spend more time in that Target than I would like to admit, we were in and out in 15 minutes, all of the coveted deals in hand!

On Friday we went out to the outlets and I found that I had a lot less energy than usual (surprise, surprise!), but was able to score a sweater dress and earrings from Banana Republic, as well as a couple of Christmas gifts.  After a lunch and sitting break at home I got myself out to Kohls again to score some jewelry deals and a little toy for Lark to occupy her at dinner.  After that, I collapsed!  Maybe next year I will have more energy, or maybe my most active Black Fridays are behind me :-).

All in all, a truly awesome Thanksgiving. I'm definitely looking forward to the Christmas season, starting with  a little bit of decorating every day since I (again) don't have my usual energy for seasonal festivities.

Happy holidays, everyone!!

Second breastfeeding class experience

Oh man, that one was much better.  The main subject material was pumping, using bottles, and going back to work, and the teacher was a different person.  She also seemed to have a much different attitude and was more open and flexible.  Jeremy also went with me, which helped me to moderate my reactions.  I also felt a little proud that I already knew some of the stuff she shared since I have been communicating to friends about pumping (y'know, what most people talk about, right?), and then a little abashed when I wasn't sure how the actual machine worked or fit together.  Oh well, I guess that balances nicely.

Overall I left feeling much better than I did after the other one, and even made a couple of introductions to people I may see in the breastfeeding support group post-baby.

I may actually be able to do this!

First birthing class experience

Last Tuesday started our five week course of Birth and Baby classes through the hospital where I will deliver.  I had a little bit of apprehension about going after my negative experience with the breastfeeding class, but I decided to be hopeful since 1) Jeremy would be going with me and 2) my boss is in a Bible study group with the teacher, and she said that she's a lovely person, so I wouldn't need to worry.  So, I grabbed our pillows, dressed in clothes that were both comfy and appropriate for work (since I would have to take off immediately after work to make it on time), and hoped for the best.

I am happy to say that things went well!  The teacher was very nice and informative, and didn't scare me with anything she had to say.  Actually, I felt a little like the nerdy couple since we already knew a lot of the information that she had to share and answered questions that she asked about 60% of the time. (But seriously, who doesn't know that we dilate to 10 cm, or that labor can take many, many hours?!)  Thanks to one episode of the Office, I even knew that you shouldn't go to the hospital right away, only once the contractions are 4-5 minutes apart, and that water breaking doesn't have to be a dramatic gush.  Thanks to my mom friends, I also knew that they won't often accept you into Labor and Delivery until you are 5 cm dilated (especially on busy nights) and that they are super strict with security at our particular hospital.  Overall, because I wasn't learning too much new stuff, I left the class feeling confident instead of angry and scared.

Something else worth noting, I'm not as scared of labor and delivery as I am of parenting in the first month or so.  My mom and her friends have scoffed at this, but I think it's valid.  Labor and delivery, regardless of how painful/scary in the moment/surgically involved has a beginning time and an end time.  I will most likely be in the hospital, surrounded by staff and machines who see this sort of thing every day (barring some crazy we-delivered-on-the-way thing, but since we live less than a mile from the hospital, that's highly doubtful, ::knockonwood::).  Even if I forget everything I learn in birthing class, at some point she will come out of me.  If things aren't working out, they will go in and get her.  And then it will be over and I won't have to worry about delivering her ever again.

But parenting in that first month?  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Transitions are always tricky, and this will be the biggest one of my life, now and forevermore.  Everything I know about life will change.  Forever.  And there is no point where this will be over and I can go back to things the way they were.  And I won't have professionals around me at all times in case things go wrong, it's all Jeremy and I.  Yes, I can have help here and there, but most of the time it'll be just us.  Trying like crazy to keep her alive and well and developing normally.  I know we'll be able to do it, but it'll be a lot of work and a lot of intimidating changes to make.  I know it'll all be worth it, but boy, does it scare me way more than labor!!

Sentimental art

In two of the baby showers I hosted, I facilitated an art activity in which all of the guests painted something wooden to be attached to a canvas for nursery art.  For Erin we did crabs on a chevron background, and for Sandi we did the alphabet and a little dino.

I loved both the process and the result, but struggled about the actual figure to be painted.  There's no real theme in the room, just sort of a motif maybe, so my first thought was a simple shape.  I tried to find triangles in the hopes of gluing them on the canvas like flag garland, but sadly I couldn't find any the right size in a reasonable price range.  What I did find were circles, some very large, others in a pack of a variety of small sizes.  I was thinking I could do a sort of Chinese paper lantern design at the end, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

At my Florida shower, I had my aunts, cousin, mom, mother-in-law, Jeremy, and myself paint some the night before the shower when we all had time together.  People were reluctant at first, but once the creative juices were flowing, there was no stopping us!  I originally bought enough for everyone at both showers to do one, but people were having so much fun being creative that I figured I could just buy more circles later and choose one per person.

Here are a couple done at that shower, the fox by my mom, the orange and blue by Jeremy, the small rose by Jeremy's mom, and the rainbow by me

At our North Carolina shower I introduced the activity after most of the guests had left, but all of my closest were still there since they were all staying with us (except Erin, she was sent home with homework!).  Again with the amazing creativity, a few people chose to do a couple of them, Julian decided to go 3D, and Sandi whipped up a couple that can only be described as amazing, including Sailor Moon and a replica of the cat quilt I made her years ago!

Even Lark got in on the fun, proudly painting no less than five circles (I made five, Aunt Bee!!), and she was no doubt inspired by her talented parents.  Sahil, of course, did three Star Wars characters, and Katie made us a forest scene featuring a sweet little fox.  Even her initials are in the tree trunk, can you stand it?!

In the end I decided to get a bigger canvas so that I could incorporate as many of the circles as possible, and abandoned the Chinese Lantern pattern idea for the layout.  I just arranged them according to color and size, although I did try to group by family a little.  I labeled all of them with names or titles, writing "Mom" by mine, "Dad" by Jeremy's, "Aunt Katie" by Katie's, etc (which, let me tell you, was nutty!  I think that may be the first time I officially referred to us by those names, but anyway).  

Here it is, in all it's lovely beauty!!

I will add Erin's to the lower right corner whenever she gets it to me, but I know with two little ones there is no rush :-).  Right now it is hanging to the left of the crib above what will be her little reading nook, once we get the bookshelves up and the pouf in that spot.

Special thanks to everyone that contributed!  

Lookin' good, Monsieur Fox!

My mom was gracious enough to come last week, not only for the baby shower, but for a full week to knock out this bad boy.  She has been a mural artist for years, painting everything from a giant Bucs mural in our local mall back in the 70s to my own nursery, in which she painted several scenes from Bambi.  When I told her I was pregnant, the first reaction was, "what do you want the mural to be?"  This is how generous of an artist she is :-).

The design itself is not original, but based on the July 2013 teapot from Crate and Barrel designed by Andrew Bannecker.  I couldn't quite afford the $300 price tag, but I could certainly commission a replica!

Our walls were already blue, so bonus!!

After a lot of tinkering, we settled on a simple oval design around his portrait.  We tried to figure out how to incorporate some flag garland, but the scale and sizing never quite came together in a satisfactory way.  No worries, simplicity works for this design!

After day one, it looked like this:

Hard to see it, but it was just the rough pencil sketch of the design.  She worked so hard, all day, to make sure that everything was laid out well and the right scale for the room.

After day two, we arrived here:

Six, yes SIX coats of white paint were needed to cover the blue.  Notice the thoughtful addition of a layer of ivory on the fox's face to make it different from the brilliant white of the star, and to make it a more of a white that would occur in nature.

After day three, she was nearly there:

We went to the craft store to ensure the perfect red and orange and she spent the rest of the day painting like crazy to accomplish as much as possible (she was leaving the evening of day four).

And finally, halfway through day four, he was here!

I think the eyes are my favorite part

Monsieur Fox, looking dapper and dreamy, watching over her crib with lidded eyes, which conveniently avoids any creepy feelings of being watched.  I love how it ties the colors, patterns, and characters in the room into one cohesive focal point.  I truly couldn't be any happier with the way he turned out!  Again, I have to be mindful of how lucky I am to have this woman in my life, as my mother.  It certainly gives me hope about my own chances of successfully raising a daughter.

Thanks, Mom!!!!!

7 month state of the pregnancy address

Well, hello, home stretch!

So very round!!

So, how is this pregnancy treating me?  So far, so good.  I find myself getting tired faster and having flashbacks to the first trimester when climbing our stairs was a real decision about whether or not what was on the second floor was worth the effort.  My back hurts more often from the strain, and I now have to get my kids to pick up anything on the ground in my office.  I also have to limit the time I spend bending over the little table in my office to play games, much to their dismay.  I think it must be the 30 pound weight gain!

Other than that I'm still feeling pretty normal.  No swelling yet, no weird cravings (although I could still eat Mexican food every day without complaint), no trouble sleeping, no crazy mood swings.

The Bun is kicking up a storm every day, and I love to feel her little body parts as they poke up at me.  She is most active after lunch and dinner, or when the room is full of talking voices, like in my therapy sessions or in class.  We are still reading her book to her and playing her song every day, although she has stopped responding with activity.  I'm hoping this is a sign that it is more of a calming influence than boring!

The nursery is 95% done, just have to hang bookshelves and the mobile this weekend before we declare it Bun-ready.  Yes, this means that the mural is done (thanks, Mom!), and I will do a post about that process shortly.

For now I am trying to let the reality of the situation I have gotten myself into sink in slowly so as not to succumb to sheer panic all the time.  Audrey had her baby on Tuesday, a little girl named Petra Caroleena, and since I found out I was pregnant the day after she told me she was, this is certainly a wake up call!  This little one will come out!  Soon!  With needs!  Luckily I have the fact that we get to host the holidays this year to distract me.  I just hope I have the energy for my usual holiday fun!

Take what you want and leave the rest

This is very sage advice from a friend that I vented to after my first breastfeeding class this past Saturday.  I will use it as I go through the next five weeks of birthing classes (which start tonight) as well as the more advanced breastfeeding class scheduled for next Monday.  I say this because instead of reassuring me, the basic breastfeeding class left me feeling angry and scared.

It took a lot of processing for me to fully understand why I felt angry and scared, and I think it boils down to this - the reality of just how much work parenting will be.  Not only that, but since I am not supposed to use a bottle with her for the first three weeks, how exhausted I will be handling every. single. feeding.  I know that Jeremy can help with many other useful tasks, and he wants to be as involved as possible, but the idea of not even having one break in the almost 200 feedings in the first three weeks is intimidating.

The lactation consultant who taught the class was also very, VERY pro-breastfeeding, to the point of saying that there shouldn't be any visitors in the hospital that might distract me from feeding cues, never use lanolin (for some reason that wasn't clear), never resort to formula, and giving me a strange look when I said that mothers shouldn't feel guilty if they can't breastfeed for some reason.  She also told us to stick to the super strict pregnancy diet, which excludes sushi, cold lunchmeat, and alcohol (of course on that one, but the other two, sheesh!).

The class also gave me about 8 million more things for me to worry about. I honestly thought that I would be able to breathe out, at least a little bit, when the pregnancy was over and I had her in my arms to make sure she was ok.  Now I have a whole new list of ways that I could hurt my baby, and warning signs that I'm sure I will agonize over for at least the first few weeks.  I know that all the parents reading this will tell me I was silly/naive not to already be in this state, and that I will get my footing once I get to know her, but I will forever associate the onset of sheer parental panic with this class/woman.

I'm hoping that since Jeremy will be with me for the next few classes I will have his steady head to help me keep calm through this process.  Here's hoping I like the teacher of the Birth and Baby class more!

Cute as a Button

OK, guys, it's time for a loooong post about one of the best days of my life!  I already gave you a behind the scenes breakdown of the lead-up and the wind-down, but here are a few (dozen) of my favorite shots of the day, compliments of Julian and Sandi!

First, the woman responsible for it all, my dear sister-in-law, Katie

The overall theme was "Cute as a  Button", seen here in a handmade banner and wreath by Nikki

Sandi made two, yes TWO diaper cakes with the button theme!!

The spread was quite lovely, with button themed sandwiches, mini-pizza, and cookies,                         among other tasty snacks

All of the details were so thoughtful and beautiful!

I especially loved that so many people came to celebrate with us, and some of my favorite shots are just of the group of us talking and enjoying each other's company.  I also like that Sandi and Julian had so much fun photographing everything!

The games, Price is Right Baby Edition and baby trivia, were a big hit and a great excuse for me to get off my feet for a little while.  I'm not too proud to say that I won the Price is Right game :-).

During cake time, the Bun kicked up quite a fuss and my fellow preggo, Lindzy got to feel!

Everyone was also very generous with the gifts that they gave, here are some highlights:

Reversible Gator outfit from Juliana, so glad not to have to dress her as a cheerleader!

Lark was very helpful in passing out gifts and listened intently

Audrey and Lindzy had been gathering meaningful fabric from various family and friends, and this is the start of a very precious quilt!

Anita was thoughtful enough to give us both gift cards to Target, and me a gift card to my favorite yarn store!

Again with the thoughtful handmade gifts, Nikki made us a rug for the nursery

Sandi and Erin each had babies over the summer, but still contributed to the set up and drove hours to be there!

All of the gifts displayed on the co-sleeper handed down from Sandi

Lark helped us open the gifts from her and her parents

At the end I was quite emotional in saying my thanks, silly hormones!

The rest of the pictures were some of my favorite moments from the day, shot beautifully by our friends.

What a beautiful, blessed day it was.  I am one lucky girl to have these people in my life!