Happy Mother’s Day

I wanted to take the time to wish all the mothers, fur-mothers, and mothers-to-be a very happy Mother’s Day.  This year it was especially near and dear to my heart since technically it is my first Mother’s Day.  While I haven’t had the chance to hold my daughter and she her beautiful little face, I am blessed to feel her daily kicks and reminders that she is very real inside of me. 

The picture above taken this week at 6 1/2 months pregnant sums it all up:  I may not have met you yet, but the love I have for you already is so incredible that I cannot put it into words.  At the same time, I cannot believe that in 3 short months I will meet you for the first time.  I’m so anxious, yet overwhelmingly nervous at the same time.  I’m nervous about the whole birth experience, nervous about how to take care of a newborn, and nervous about whether or not I’ll be a good enough mother to you.  I know that raising a daughter is not going to be easy, but my one wish is that we have a better relationship than my own mother and I have.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love my mom dearly, but we’ve just never been really close nor do we know how to communicate with one another.  I want so much more for you, and for our relationship.

My wonderful hubby D also did not let me forget that this was my first Mother’s Day either.  He sent flowers to my work, which were gorgeous!  If you knew our past with flowers you’d laugh.  The first time he tried to send them to me they turned my name into a male name, and given this was about 10 years ago in a small town in NC I can only imagine what the flower delivery guy thought.  Then three years ago the flowers just simply never showed up and he had to fight the flower company to get his money back.  This year they were fashionably late. 

I leave work at 4:00 and around 3:50 the florist starts calling work.  First time no message, second time message no call back number, third time call back number and they’re lost.  Finally at 4:10 I get my flowers, then I’m trying to drive home with them and they had spilled water in the box which is now leaking out the side.  I’m driving one-handed on my hour trip home trying to hold the water in the corner of the box through TERRIBLE traffic, and by the time I get home I’m a mess.  I calmly tell D, “look, I really love the flowers. they are beautiful and I’m going to sound like a bitch, but please never ever send me flowers at work again.”  I felt horrible, but my hormones were in overdrive, so immediately after I burst into tears.  Then I wanted to take pictures of my flowers so I go upstairs to not only find that my rechargeable battery is dead, but one of the dogs has vomited all over the upstairs.  Afterwards D takes me out to Maggiano’s for dinner because I’ve wanted lobster ravioli for 2 weeks, and yup, it’s no longer on the menu.  Thank goodness today was a better day!

Missing in action…I’ve been found!

So lately I’ve been kind of a slacker when it comes to posting on here.  Rest assured, everything is still A-okay.  It’s just that I’ve been kind of overwhelmed with work and life, and sometimes the last thing I want to do is get on the computer (except to shop!).  So I guess in terms of big events not much has happened since we last spoke.  Baby girl is still movin’ and groovin’ up a storm, and besides my sciatica pain things have been pretty easy. 

I had a doctor’s appointment last night and they have on their charts that I’ve gained 21 pounds!  I’ll be 6 1/2 months this Sunday (ack! where is the time going).  I am going to go ahead and not believe the doctor’s office though on that one.  The doctor said that it was fine, and I’ll probably end up gaining about 35 pounds total, but like I said I have doubts.  I weighed myself at home completely naked in the morning when I found out I was pregnant, and then promised myself that I would not step on the scale again until this was all over.  Based on what the doctor said I had to go back on the promise and weigh myself this morning.  I once again stepped on the scale this morning naked and according to my scale I have gained 16 pounds which seems more like it.  You see, my first doctor’s appointment was in the morning and I had not eaten anything, thus original weight was a good starting point EXCEPT that I had on clothes.  All appointments thereafter have been in the late afternoon after I’ve had both breakfast and lunch, and of course am wearing clothes.  I didn’t want to get out of hand with the weight gain while pregnant and I think I’m doing a pretty good job of it.  I truly believe it’s all in my belly and maybe some in my hips.  The first place I gain weight when it’s a bad weight gain is in my face.  I can safely say that SO FAR that has not happened yet, and once I found out I was having a girl, I did worry a little about that!

Anyways, enough rambling about me being Fatty McFat Pants, we finally ordered and received our furniture (well most of it anyways)!  The long dresser/changing table was not in stock in the espresso so we’re waiting on that to be delivered.  We decided to go with Munire Majestic, and I couldn’t be happier!  It really looks beautiful in the room.  Here’s a picture of baby girl’s crib, and you can just barely make out the light silvery walls, which I told D I swore were too light and look white, but he loves them.

I still have a way to go on the nursery, but the furniture was the most important part.  Now we’re just waiting on the La-Z-Boy to come into stock, and of course the long dresser and we’ll be set in that department!

I’m also trying to be strong because we registered at Babies R Us, and looking at the registry was becoming an obsession.  My shower is June 5, and my sister-in-law is supposed to be sending out invitations the beginning of May.  She has forbidden me to look at the registry and it’s killing me!  I know some things have already been purchased, and since I already know about my shower I’m trying to at least keep the gifts somewhat of a surprise.  I mean, I know you register and basically pick out what you want, but I don’t want to go into opening each gift already trying to guess what it is.  We’ll see how that works out, but I am anxious to see who purchased the gifts I know are already marked off despite not having the invitation yet.  Whoever they are, I’m sure they’re exactly like me.  Type A planners who like to be on top of things!  Oh, and I’ve decided I want a strawberry shortcake from the local bakery for my shower because in a word it is:  AMAZING!

Yet another ultrasound…

So I’m a little late in posting this, but after visiting the doctor’s office for the second time for an ultrasound in which baby girl refused to cooperate we were sent to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Center at the hospital for another ultrasound.  The machine there was like day and night compared to the doctor’s office.  You could really make out so much more, it was amazing.  I had the day off so we went for an early morning scan on March 31.  Baby girl was definitely awake and moving around, which had felt her doing all morning so I had  a good feeling about this one.  She behaved perfectly and they were able to get all the measurements that they needed, yay!  They also confirmed that she is a girl, and the tech said she didn’t see any boy parts but did see the magical 3 lines. 

I was surprisingly laid back for this visit, even though I’m usually the neurotic one.  It’s funny because D is the complete opposite, he’s so laid back that I am envious of him.  Well, apparently during this appointment that wasn’t the case (but thankfully he didn’t tell me until after it was over!).  When the tech was doing the scan she pointed at the first hand and all 5 fingers, then she showed us the second-hand but didn’t count the fingers.  I didn’t think anything of it, but apparently D noticed it right away.  Then after she was finished getting all the scans she told us the doctor would be in to see us (again I thought this was normal, D did not).  While we were waiting for the doctor there was a younger tech who was still in training so they asked if she could practice on me for a little while.  I didn’t mind because hey, I got to see my baby for a longer period of time!  That was until my back started killing me from laying there, then I just wanted to get up.  D told me later that inside he was freaking out a little.  The combination of not counting the fingers, having to see the doctor, and having someone practice on me had him so worried.  He was afraid something was wrong, and they had the girl practicing on me as sort of a test to see if she could find out what it was.  ACK!  I’m so glad he kept that info to himself until the appointment was over!

The doctor came in to see us and he was really nice.  He said that everything looked really good, and it was developing perfectly the way he wanted to see it develop.  D asked him how big she was and he told him that she was on the larger side of normal, but that’d he rather see that than too small.  With me at 21 weeks she was 9 inches long and 1.2 lbs already!  He said that it was probably related to D’s genetics (he’s 6’4 and 230, and I’m 5’7, but we’ll leave my weight out of this)!  At my doctor’s appointment the following week the nurse practitioner told me that she’s in the 88th percentile for size.  Yikes!  She also agreed that everything looked good, but also let me know that I have a small cyst on each of my ovaries.  She said they were nothing to worry about and that the one they knew about was shrinking the that both of them would go away on their own.

I just have to share the most recent picture of my daughter, I just love her little nose and profile!

 

The closet is no longer empty!

After finding out we’re having a little girl I couldn’t resist doing just a little shopping at Old Navy.  Last weekend they had their Friends and Family Weekend which meant 30% off all purchases.  I found our little girl’s going home outfit, and it is seriously adorable.  I chose a little green sundress and a green cardigan to go over the top of it.  Since she’s coming in August I figured it was fitting for the season.  Of course I’ll have some blankets just in case!  I also got some really good deals on sleepers and onesies so I couldn’t resist those either.  Oh, and the socks!  At 0-3 months, the socks are so cute I almost want to eat them…not quite, but almost!

Going home outfit:

Pink in the closet!

Our first furniture purchase

So we pretty much have the nursery furniture picked out, we’re just waiting until the room is painted to order it.  Luckily the place we have picked it out from keeps all furniture in stock, so it only takes about 2 weeks for delivery instead of the standard 6-8 weeks to get it from the manufacturer.  We’ve been up in the air about whether we needed a glider for the room though, which was a whole different story.  I figured since the nursery is upstairs it only made since to have a chair in the room.  However gliders to me look, well, very glider-ish.  I’m not a fan of the style, and I feel like it’s not a piece that can easily transition to another part of the house once we’re done with it in the nursery.  Add to that the fact that most of the time they are expensive!  The place where we’re ordering the nursery furniture sells the Dutailer brand and with an ottoman it was almost $900!  Besides the price, I wasn’t too sold on having the extra clutter of an ottoman in the room. 

Now I know that when it’s 2:00 in the morning and I’m up feeding an infant I’m going to want something comfortable that I can put my feet up on, I’m not arguing that part one bit!  I just wanted something that was compact, comfortable, and stylish without costing $900.  Is that too much for a girl to ask?  After speaking with a pregnant friend she told me about a really good deal she got at La-Z-Boy.  She choose to go with something a little more traditional looking, even though that’s not my style.  At first I was hesitant, I mean I haven’t been in a La-Z-Boy in years.  When I think of the type of chairs they sell no doubt they’re comfortable, I just wasn’t sure I wanted your typical La-Z-Boy in the nursery.  I decided to just browse their website to see what I could find, and little did I know I’d find just what I was looking for.

The Terra Recliner:

We went into the store yesterday to check it out, and it is just as lovely in person.  The dark wood arms match our nursery furniture perfectly, and the fabric (in the picture) that we chose goes wonderfully with our bedding but it still neutral enough to use in another nursery if we choose, and move it to another room in the house.  Not to mention this bad boy is super comfy!  They were having a promotion yesterday and today that gave you $100 off with a food donation, so today we dropped off what the girl described as a “very generous food donation” and placed our order.  We chose to only have the rocking and reclining option, and leave off the swivel base.  I figure I don’t need anything in the nursery that spins!  Bonus that we live close enough to DE to drive to the warehouse to pick it up, thus saving on shipping and no sales tax!  All of this, and it’s still $300 cheaper than the glider, AND we can get a lot more use out of it.  All in all, I’m really happy with this purchase.

Did you feel that?

Baby girl must have realized what a bad day I had yesterday and felt the need to make herself known to both me and her father.  Yes, you heard that right, last night the 23rd of March, I finally felt out little girl move!  I was sitting at work this morning and a couple of times I felt what I could only describe as my stomach dropping like I was on a roller coaster only it was quick and didn’t last long at all.  I thought that maybe it was baby, but I was still pretty unsure.

I’m still struggling with serious allergies right now, and it’s left me with a most lovely cough.  Later that night I went to bed a little earlier than D and had a serious coughing fit.  Well, apparently baby girl did not like this one bit because she started moving up a storm and it was undeniably baby.  I layed on my back in bed with my hands on my tummy and could feel her from both the inside and the outside.  It was a magical feeling, and once D came to bed I told him, “you just missed feeling your daughter move for the first time.”  Of course I spoke before the coughing was over and she started moving again so he quickly put his hand on my tummy.  At first he was a little weirded out, I guess such feelings must freak a man out a little for the first time.  He said it felt like skin stretched over the ocean.  Then, I think she really fed up because she kicked him, and pretty hard too for me being 20 weeks along.  It was amazing to share such a wonderfully intimate moment like that.  I think it finally hit home for him that in about 20 weeks he’s really going to be a father.  I never thought a ordinary Tuesday night could leave me feeling so amazing and so comforted at the same time.

Ultrasound Take 2

Yesterday I had to go for my second ultrasound in an attempt to get 20 weeks measurements.  At the last ultrasound where we found out the gender the baby refused to stretch out from her tight little ball, so I went back to the doctor’s office to give it another try.  This time I had a little bit of Coke before the appointment in hopes of waking her up, but it was useless.  She is still curled in her little ball, only moving an arm or a leg in reaction to the ultrasound machine.  I got to see her little heart again last night, nice and strong, and they were able to get the spine measurement.  The tech said that she is still unable to get all of the head and the face since she is tucking her head in.  They are setting me up with an appointment at the hospital in order to get another ultrasound with more advanced equipment that will hopefully allow them to get all the measurements.

Once I left the appointment I was a little bummed.  I had received a text earlier in the day from a “friend” who is two weeks behind me.  She was bragging about feeling her baby move, despite asking me beforehand and knowing that I had not yet felt my baby move.  This on top of the fact that she was not cooperating in the ultrasound was too much to handle and I just burst into tears on the way home.  D is away at a meeting, so once I talked to him I was a blubbering idiot convinced something was wrong.  Thankfully my sister-in-law was able to calm me down since she’s been through all of this before.

Today I called the doctor’s office to get the ultrasound scheduled with the hospital and I told the woman how freaked out I was that something was wrong.  She reassured me that they didn’t see anything wrong, they just couldn’t get all the measurements.  She told me that at 20 weeks they are fanatical about getting the measurements because that’s when they really start tracking development.  I did feel better after our conversation, and since our doctor’s office has such a crappy ultrasound machine I am looking forward to seeing the little one on the more advanced machine at the hospital.  Now I just have to wait until next Wednesday, and try to stay calm.

Etsy is Addicting!

I am loving Etsy right now while planning for my little one.  There are so many cool things on there to go in the nursery, and the best thing is that most of them will gladly work with you to customize your order.  I was looking for some funky little stuffed owls to go in the nursery, more as a bookshelf decoration than actual toys.  After much searching and I stumbled across this seller http://www.etsy.com/shop/mqsquare and she was awesome  She makes the CUTEST little owls, and was able to make them 6 inches tall just as requested.  Again, because of the button eyes I realize that these little beauties will have to remain a decoration until the baby is much older.  I ordered “Kelley” (the green one) and “Hawk” (the blue one) and was delighted by their quality and absolutely adorable appearance once they arrived on my doorstep.

It’s a…

So we finally had our big ultrasound tonight, and surprise my name wasn’t erased out of the appointment book this time.  The ultrasound tech was super nice and apologetic about last time.  The baby was curled up in a tight little ball and refused to stretch out, so I have to go back Monday to try to get more spinal measurements.  The tech said, “believe it or not, I was just able to see what you’re having, do you want to know?”  Of course I did!!!  She said, “well, I see 3 lines (D and I also saw them VERY clearly!).”  I said, “it’s a girl!” and she agreed.  So we’re going to be on Team Pink and we couldn’t be happier!

Here’s a picture of our little girl at 19 weeks weighing in at 11 oz.

We Have a Winner!

After our visit to Sherwin Williams a few weeks ago we finally have some winners for our paint selection!  We brought home 4 different colors to test out, and D was able to find a day when I was at work and he was at home to put them up on the wall for me to see.  I honestly love that he was concerned about me being in the house, but I was getting a little impatient.  Plus, we were really shooting at having the painters come Good Friday because again I’ll be at work, and D has the day off so it works out perfectly.  I was afraid that once I saw them on the wall I might hate them and we’d be back at square one. 

Once the colors were on the wall I couldn’t wait to get home and see them.  I decided I wanted to go with a cool silvery gray as our neutral color, and it was D’s awesome idea to pick up the turquoise color in the bedding as the accent wall.  After all these years he is learning about color and design!  Here were the colors we were choosing from:

The top contenders at the store for the gray was Reflection, Misty, and Rock Candy.  I was a little disappointed in Rock Candy (the color at the top) because I thought I would really like it.  In the light and against the accent color  it appeared a little too blue though, and considering this is supposed to be gender neutral this wasn’t going to fly.  Misty was a little too dark (the color to the right) even though it doesn’t really show up that way in the picture.  Reflection on the other hand I absolutely LOVED.  I knew when I saw it that it was the one.  Reflecting Pool will be the color of the accent wall, which is the wall with the two windows.  It goes really great with the turquoise color in the bedding, and I think it looks awesome with the grey.  I picked up some white waffle weave type curtains that I think will look really sharp against the accent wall color.  The painters have been scheduled, and I’m getting so excited at the way things are starting to come together!