Nursery (and name) reveal!

Happy Friday!  Today is my last day of work until I go on maternity leave, and to celebrate I decided it would be a perfect time to share photos of the nursery!  It's finally finished and I'm in love with the end result!

Last time I posted (over 3 months ago) I just teased you all with  our color scheme and a fabric swatch.  Now it's time to share how it all turned out!  But first, I will have to reveal something important that I've been keeping a blog secret: her name.  Since it's all over her nursery I can't really keep it a secret any longer.  Our little girl will be named... Leah Nicole!  

Okay, on to the fun stuff :) 

Pretty in pink (and green)!  

All the bedding was handmade by me

A close up of the window treatment, also made by me

More of the room, you can see the beautiful painting that was made especially for Leah

This painting was made especially for Leah with lots of love by my incredibly talented Aunt Karen.  It's the focal point of the nursery and I am so honored that she painted it for us.  You can see more of her beautiful paintings on her blog: http://karenfieldsgallery.blogspot.com/

The colors match the room perfectly, they are vibrant yet so sweet.  Perfect for our little girl.

The practical stuff!  Lots of room for clothes and a changing station.  I can't bear to take apart the diaper cake yet!

Displaying the adorable block toys and bibs made by my best friend Nichole, plus pictures of the baby.

So, what do you think?  I'm pretty in love with how it turned out!

Doctor's Appointment and Doula Update

On Tuesday I had my weekly doctor's appointment and we also had our second prenatal appointment scheduled with our doula, Cynthia, that evening.

The doctor's appointment was the standard routine: pee in a cup, get weighed, blood pressure taken, then wait for the doctor.  Doctor found the baby's heart beat with the doppler machine and then started checking baby's position and declared that our little stinker is oblique!  Oblique means that the baby is lying at an angle, with her head near my pelvis but not actually in it, and not straight up and down (which is head down, the preferred position).

I was a little upset about this new development, because for the past 2 weeks the doctors have been saying that she was head down.  I don't know if they had it wrong because I don't think she has moved that much or if she changed positions but 38 weeks is pretty late to try to get a baby to move so that didn't make me too happy.

I asked what I could do to help her get into head down position and the doctor said that there wasn't really much and that my contractions would probably push her head down.  That wasn't very comforting to me because all along Cynthia has been emphasizing the importance of the baby being in the right position and how much that helps moms have an easier time in labor.

So, at the appointment with Cynthia I told her all about this new development and she gave us a game plan.  I'm going to see a chiropractor to try to help adjust any tight muscles or ligaments (she thinks my psoaz muscle might be really tight on one side).  I'm also going to do a few different exercises every day like pelvic tilts, inversions, and lunges.  She also suggested taking a bath every night and trying to move the baby with my hands into the right position.

I'm going to try everything I can to get her lined up better because I really want to have a natural birth and especially avoid a c-section.  Let's hope that something works.

Hump Day Bump Day

Good news and bad news:  the good news is that I have my picture to share from last week.  The bad news is that I didn't get a picture from 37 weeks.  I really wish I would have but I completely forgot with our busy weekend until I was already in my pj's on Sunday night (and there's no way that I was changing back!)  and then on Monday night Art wasn't feeling well and I was tired from going to our last childbirth class.  *sigh*  But anyway, here's the one from 36 weeks:

The dress was loaned to me by my aunt!  She just had her baby, an adorable little boy, a few weeks ago and so she graciously let me borrow a bunch of her maternity stuff.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Only 2 more days of work for me...woohoo!!!

38 Weeks

How far along?: 38 weeks, only 14 days to go!

How big is baby?: Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she is over 19 1/2 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb (and our little girl is hiccuping like crazy!).

Any appointments or updates this week?: I have my weekly doctor's appointment this afternoon and tonight we have our second prenatal appointment with the doula.  I'm looking forward to it because Art will be able to make it this time so I'm hoping that he will learn a lot from it and get a better understanding of how he can help me through labor.  

Body changes?: It seems like the baby may have dropped some.  My pubic bone is more sore and I'm feeling mild pressure now, which is something new.  Hopefully this is a sign that she is coming soon!

Maternity clothes?: Yep.

Best moment last week?: Getting lots of things accomplished over the weekend like all the baby laundry done and going to Mass.  It was just really special and meaningful for me, maybe because it was one of the last times we will go as just a couple. 

Food cravings?: Ice cream - I stopped for a turtle sundae the other day!  Shh don't tell the doula ;)

Symptoms?:  Lots of swelling in my feet, ankles and hands, having to go to the bathroom all the time, and now this soreness and pressure and sometimes crampy feeling.

Exercise?: Yoga and trying to walk when it's not too hot outside.

What I miss?: Being able to be outside, I really can't tolerate the heat at all right now.

What I'm looking forward to?: Meeting our baby girl!

Time is Flying!

Wow, time is getting really short!  I can't believe I only have 15 days until my due date and 5 days left of work!!!!  I'm very excited about being done with work, it's going to be great to have a little bit of time off before the baby gets here to do all the last minute cleaning and stuff and just to be able to relax too.

I made myself a giant to do list this weekend and I'm proud to say that I got a lot of it accomplished.  Not everything, but then again it was probably not attainable from the beginning.

On Saturday I did a bunch of cleaning and then went to a bunch of different stores looking for a few more nursery decorations.  I found a shelf at Home Goods and picked up a few plastic Command hooks for some other things that I wanted to hang up on the wall.  I also found a cute picture frame for Art at Kohl's that says Daddy's Girl.  I searched for some more things to decorate the nursery with but ended up empty handed, so I came home and worked on hanging the shelf.  Unfortunately my shelf hanging abilities aren't the best and I got the screws just a little bit too close together.  It was so frustrating!  Luckily Art came home and saved the day and managed to fix it somehow. 

We had planned to have a date night on Saturday night but Art wasn't feeling well and I was exhausted anyway from all the cleaning and shopping and decorating so we just stayed in and watched tv while I worked on a laundry marathon (the other thing I was doing all day long).  Here's a picture of our first load of baby laundry!  So cute!

The first of many, many loads!

On Sunday I was totally worn out from Saturday and Art still felt sick so we mostly stayed at home.  The laundry marathon continued, I washed more baby clothes as well as the swing and bouncy seat inserts and a bunch of baby blankets. 

Our sweet friends heard about Art not feeling well and offered to bring us dinner.  It was so nice not to have to cook and the food was delicious!  Yummy burgers, sweet potato fries and salad.  Thank you Sarah and Corey! 

On Sunday night we went to church and took part in a film project about life from conception to natural death.  We were video taped at Mass and then afterwards we were taped walking around our church grounds.  Luckily it wasn't too awkward and it felt like an honor to get to help with the project. 

Later on after I got back from a grocery trip, we watched tv and I did more laundry.  I suddenly noticed my belly getting really rock hard.  Not just in one or two spots like usual, but the whole thing.  I told Art and he marked it down in a contraction app on his phone.  It happened 3 more times but it wasn't painful and after those few times it just went away so we chalked it up to Braxton-Hicks contractions.  But, I think it made Art think about his to-do's that still weren't done!  Reality is setting in that she could choose to come any day now.  It's so exciting! 

Overall it was a very productive weekend.  I'm happy to be getting everything finished on my list!

Full Term!!! + Father's Day Recap

I'm 37 weeks pregnant today, which is officially full term!  Our little girl is free to come whenever she wants now!  Art and I celebrated it this morning and joked that in a few weeks we are going to give her an eviction notice.  We just can't wait to meet her.  It's crazy that the time left is getting so short!

We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday by going to church and then I gave Art his presents:  a Skip Hop Duo diaper bag (a lot more manly looking than my Vera Bradley bag, and it's smaller and will fit on the stroller) and three kids books to read to the baby.  One was Guess How Much I Love You, a Curious George touch and feel board book, and the last one was a book called Because I'm Your Dad.  He really liked everything and I think he's excited to use it all.

 

Daddy diaper bag

 

Later we went over to Ormond Beach to meet up with some family including my parents and grandparents.  I gave my dad a card and a picture frame that says Grandpa.  He just bought himself a new camera so I'm sure that he will have lots of pictures to fill the frame with pretty soon!  

All in all it was a really nice weekend.  Art and I worked on some more baby to-do's: we got his car seat base installed, packed our hospital bag (minus a few things), and he rearranged the nursery furniture and hung a painting (I'm hoping to share pictures of the nursery soon).  We also got a chance to spend some time with friends on Saturday night.  One of my friends hosted a girls night at her apartment and so Art hosted all the guys at our place and they watched Avengers.  Of course us girls had a bunch of stuff planned and then just ended up talking the whole time!  But it was fun to hang out with friends, it might be the last time we do anything like that for a while. 

How far along?: 37 weeks, only 21 days to go!

How big is baby?: Baby is officially considered full-term, even with three weeks to go. That doesn't mean she's finished growing — in fact, she's still packing on about a half pound a week (at this age, the average baby weighs about 6.5 pounds). That makes it a little crowded in your uterus, so she’s probably not kicking as much, though she’s probably stretching, rolling a bit, and wiggling. Right now, your little superstar is busy rehearsing for her big debut, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid (to get the lungs ready for that first breath), sucking her thumb (to prepare for that first suckle of milk), blinking, and turning from side to side.

Any appointments or updates this week?: Yesterday was our second childbirth class.  We practiced different breathing exercises and learned about different forms of labor induction, augmentation and such.  Then we went for the tour of the hospital - Art and I hadn't done one yet and I was so disappointed because we did not get to go into the Labor and Delivery unit because all of the rooms were full and we were in a large group.  We did get to go into one of the recovery rooms and it was tiny and not as nice as the other hospital that a lot of moms deliver at.  I tried to remind myself that the important thing is the doctors and staff and the care that I receive, but it was still disappointing.  We might try to book another tour because I would really like to see Labor and Delivery before the big day.

Body changes?: My feet and ankles are still really swollen and my hands get swollen sometimes too.  My whole body feels very heavy and it's getting uncomfortable to move around.

Maternity clothes?: I'm still living in dresses and skirts when I have to dress up, otherwise it's tank tops and shorts.  It's getting so hot that I don't really care that much if I don't look very well dressed.

Best moment last week?: Giving Art his gifts on Father's Day.

Food cravings?: Still sweets and sometimes fresh fruit or yogurt - cold stuff is good!

Symptoms?:  Swelling, waking up at night to pee, feeling heavy and tired

Exercise?: Walking and yoga.  Last week's class was awesome and I'm going back this week.

What I miss?: Not feeling so huge

What I'm looking forward to?: Meeting our baby girl!

Belated HDBD!

Whoops, I guess I am a day late getting this post up, I didn't even realize it!  Time is moving faster and I can't keep up too well these days. 

Oh baby (quite literally!),  I am getting big!  This was from last Friday night after we went out to dinner at a yummy Eastern European restaurant called Chef Henry's.  Yum yum!  I could barely walk in those heels but I just felt like dressing up for our date night ;)  

36 Weeks!

  Another week down, and now there's only one week left until I'm officially full-term!  Woohoo!  I also started weekly OB appointments this week.  It's insane that we are going to have our little girl here within the next month or so!

How far along?: 36 weeks, 28 days to go!

How big is baby?: Baby is about 20 inches and about 6 lbs.  She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. 

Any appointments or updates this week?: Monday night was our first childbirth class and it turns out that a friend from college and her husband are also in our class.  She and I chatted and caught up and we are going to a prenatal yoga class together tomorrow!  So fun to be going through this together, she is due with a girl in September.  The class was pretty good, it walked us through the stages of labor and we did some breathing exercises and we ladies all got massages from our hubbies!  I'm looking forward to the next one next week.  I also had my 36 week appointment today and the OB said everything is looking great and she is definitely head down and in a posterior position, which I am so happy about.  They also tested me for Group B strep and I asked about getting the pertussis vaccine (they recommend it but I have to go to the regular doctor's office to get it done).

Body changes?: My feet and ankles have blown up the past few days, they are HUGE.  The doctor says they are within normal range though so nothing to worry about.

Maternity clothes?: I wish I had more dresses because dress pants are so uncomfortable (plus I only have one pair that fit me now) but I refuse to buy any more maternity clothes at this point.

Best moment last week?: Going on a date night with Art to a really yummy restaurant and going to the childbirth class.

Food cravings?:  Sweets...I have kind of fallen off the bandwagon on that one.  I need to get myself motivated again to avoid them for the next few weeks.  Some of it is stress-related eating though, which is really tough to curb.

Symptoms?:  Cankles, swollen feet, back aches from sitting too long, not sleeping too well

Exercise?: Walking, stretching and yoga tomorrow!

What I miss?:  Nothing

What I'm looking forward to?: Getting to full term next week and then holding our little girl pretty soon!

Maternity Pictures!

Our maternity pictures are finally up on our photographer's blog!  You can see them all here.

Here are some of my favorites:

Hump Day Bump Day

Here is my picture from last Sunday, at 34 weeks!  I was dressed up for church, where our friends' little girl Bridget was baptized!  Such a sweet occasion.

I guess there are only about 6 more of these left, huh?  So crazy! 

Another Milestone: 35/35!

I can't believe it...time keeps marching on and I blink my eyes and I'm 35 weeks pregnant with only 35 days to go!  Or 35/35 as we like to abbreviate on The Bump :)  Annnd, I only have 18 work days left!  Wow!  My boss and the person who will be taking over for me while I'm gone are coming tomorrow - it's really getting real now.  Craziness!  Oh, and did I mention that there is also a carseat in my car?  Yep!  Things are totally getting real over here.  I can hardly believe it.

Here's my update (or bumpdate as some of my fellow bloggers call it):

How far along?: 35 weeks, 35 days to go!

How big is baby?: Baby is about 20 inches and continues her steady weight gain (she’s about 5.5 pounds). While she won't get much longer, she will continue to pack on the pounds — including large amounts of baby fat — right up 'til delivery day. Something else that's moving at a mind-boggling pace these day: fetal brain development! There’s a lot going on inside that tiny head, which is, by the way, still soft to allow an easier exit through the birth canal.

Any appointments or updates this week?: No doctors appointments this week, but we did have an appointment to view our maternity pictures!  They turned out amazing, I was in tears looking at them all.  I can't wait to share them once we get them from the photographer!  Tonight we have a breastfeeding class at the hospital and next week we start the child birth classes. 

Body changes?: Nothing really new, everyone is commenting on the bump though and how I don't have much time left!

Maternity clothes?:  Oh yeah.  I've been sticking to dresses mostly because pants are just too uncomfortable with my size plus the heat.

Best moment last week?:  Getting to view our maternity photos.  I didn't expect to get so emotional...everything just hit me that this is really happening (silly, I know!).  We are so blessed.

Food cravings?:  I've been majorly craving sweets like ice cream, chocolate and candy but I'm trying my best to avoid them from now until delivery day.  I find that I can do it if I stick to eating fruit so that I can still have some sweet tasting food and avoid ALL desserts.  The other day I had some bad stuff (flan and cake) and then it made the cravings get a lot worse. 

Symptoms?:  Still swelling, some back aches from sitting at my desk all day.

Exercise?: Walking and doing some stretches

What I miss?:  Totally vain moment here: getting to wear my cute summer clothes.  All my maternity stuff just makes me feel so frumpy!

What I'm looking forward to?: Getting to hold my baby in my arms, I just can't wait. - Yep, still this!