Finished nursery

Part I of our nursery makeover took us from nasty beadboard and blue walls to a neutral and blank slate.

We've spent the last few months making and adding little details and decorations. We wanted to continue the hot air balloon theme and add some subtle color without going overboard. Check it out!

We really struggled with what to do with the curtains ... everything we tried seemed to overpower the room. We ended up repurposing curtains from the downstairs living room and we're happy with the way it makes the window feel finished without being over the top. 

We did add some tie-backs using leftover fabric from the bunting. I was surprised by how easy these were to make. If you need the tutorial, it's here - just adjust the size. I doubled what she had listed because I wanted thicker ones and I'm glad I did.

Hans added some shelves inside the closet and I'm so glad for the extra storage space! And yes, I realize that's a lot of pink clothing. No, we don't know anything, we just have friends who recently had twin girls and sent us a box of all their newborn clothes. 

I couldn't find a crib skirt I liked and they're shockingly expensive! I really loved the bumper that went with our bedding set, but we had already decided not to use bumpers. But it was cheaper and cuter than the crib skirt, so we bought it and decided to put it UNDER the mattress, instead of above. And I really love how it looks there! 

Our frame gallery! I made the "child of god," "places you'll go," and "dream big little one" prints and bought the other three off etsy. The frame will eventually hold baby's going home onesie, which is currently packed in my hospital bag (it also has hot air balloons on it!) 

This was easy, just took forever! I had fun picking out the fabric. I actually made two of these and we were going to cross them over each other, but it was too much. So I have an extra if anyone wants one :)

I am particularly proud of this mobile - it was a project!! But I'm so happy with how it turned out. Hans helped,  of course :) You can buy the pattern from Craft Schmaft, or off etsy.

Thanks to the Schadalees for the giraffe - he matches perfectly! And I finally found this turquoise lamp at Home Goods. Gosh, I love that place.

The only thing missing is that we plan to put the baby's name on the wall above the crib... once we figure out what that is :) Come on baby, we're ready for you!

40 weeks!!!

Well, it's 11:11 PM on my due date and.... no baby. So we're going over due. That's fun.

How Far Along: 40 weeks

Size of the Baby: Jackfruit (what the heck is that?), 20 inches, ~7.5 lbs
Weight gain/loss: Nope. No clue. I think total for pregnancy is in the 20-25 pound range.
Sleep: Actually not sleeping too badly, when I can fall asleep. But it's kinda like the night before Christmas when you were a kid... I'm so anxious and nervous and excited it's hard to fall asleep.
Best Moment of the Week: This weekend wasn't particularly remarkable, but it was still wonderful. Since it was our last weekend just the two of us, we kinda hunkered down and just relaxed together. We went out to dinner Friday (Thai curry, extra spicy) and went for a nice, long walk around Town Lake Saturday. We also did a lot of just napping and relaxing together. It was wonderful - I'll miss this.

Movement: Slowed down considerably. I guess there's just no where to go! But there's definitely a lot of being able to feel very hard, round things poking out.
Symptoms: The swelling has gone down amazingly the past few days!! it feels wonderful.
Food Cravings: French bread with nutella.
Gender: Can't wait to find out.
Belly Button in or out: It's not poking out, but it's definitely not in anymore. I'd say just flush.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Just kinda in general, but I can't pinpoint what's causing it.
Labor Signs: I'm getting a little frustrated, actually. I'm up to 3.5 cm and 90 percent effaced, and I lost my mucus plug over the weekend. But I really don't think I'm having contractions. If I am, I'm not feeling them. I saw the doctor Friday afternoon and again this morning and she was absolutely shocked that I didn't go into labor over the weekend. Why doesn't baby want to come out??
Wedding ring on or off: Mostly not wearing anything still, occasionally the fake.
What I miss: Routine. I kinda feel like I'm just in limbo right now, just waiting for things to start happening. I even missed work today!
What I am looking forward to: One way or another, baby will be here by the end of the week (I'm scheduled for an induction later this week).
Nursery: As of tonight, I'm finished! I'll try and do a whole post on it tomorrow, but we're really happy with how it turned out.
Emotions: I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster. I'm so excited about meeting baby and can't wait to hold him/her. I'm also so terrified of delivery it makes me want to puke if I think about it too much. I'm nervous about being a mom and how much our lives are going to change. I'm anxious just sitting around waiting. I swing back and forth between feeling ready and completely unready so fast I can't even figure out my current status. It makes me want to cry, but not because I'm upset or anything - just emotionally overwhelmed. Definitely time to get this kid out.
Stupid things I have done:  Can't think of anything in particular, just the normal stuff. Bumping into things, not being able to think of words, dropping things. Today I visited Hans at work and when I got to my car, had no clue where I left my keys. Turns out, David Banda's desk had acquired them (i don't know how...)

Still hoping baby makes an appearance on his/her own before my induction at the end of the week. Send some prayers our way!

5 Quirks to Love

Today is one of my favorite days of the year - today we get to celebrate my favorite person. Happy birthday, Hans!

In honor of his big 2-7, I've decided to post five of Hans' cutest and most endearing quirks, if for no other reason than to embarrass him on his birthday.

1). "It's too dry."
He must have some sort of saliva problem, because his chief complaint with most food is that it's too dry. Short of water, pretty much everything is too dry. This is why he won't eat any sort of chips or crackers and he's not the biggest fan of any kind of pastry. Anything that can be covered in something wet will do - this usually involves copious amounts of syrup or ketchup. This is also why our freezer is continually stocked with ice cream - it's passably wet enough.

2). He has a weird obsession with Ikea mini pencils.

I kid you not, we probably have at least a hundred of these around the house. Every time we go to Ikea (which is more often than you might think) he grabs a whole handful of them, probably 25-30. You can find them stashed in any drawer, our night stand, on the kitchen cart, in the garage, in the glove compartment of the car. They're everywhere. He's a hoarder when it comes to these.

3). This is probably driving him crazy right now.

He has some OCD tendencies  Like, for example, it's probably driving him crazy that the extra paper towel roll rack in the bathroom is empty. It must have three in it at all times. Two or one is unacceptable and I'm not sure how this emptiness hasn't consumed him yet. For your birthday, I will make sure it's stocked tonight, sweetie.

4). Cereal monster from birth.

Looking through old photos sure explains a lot about Hans. For example... apparently his cereal obsession is life-long. We still have to buy 2-3 boxes of sugary cereal just for him each week. This week it's cocoa puffs and apple cinnamon cheerios. And he still likes to make the occasional cereal box fort while he eats.

5). He still sleeps this way!

Finding this photo made me laugh so hard. I don't know why he always has to sleep with his arms up like that, but he does. And actually, we noticed on one of the sonograms that baby sweeting lies like that, too. A family trait, I guess.

He has many, many, MANY other adorable quirks that I have yet to obtain photographic evidence of. Maybe next year I'll do 28 of them :) Happy Birthday, sweetheart. Babe and I love you so much and we are lucky to have you in our lives!

39 weeks

How Far Along: 39 weeks, 2 days

Size of the Baby: Watermelon, 20 inches, 7 lbs
Weight gain/loss: Ya.... not keeping track anymore. A pound since last week, I think.
Sleep: Holy crud I can't stay awake.
Best Moment of the Week: My office threw me a little shower last week, which was really sweet. We went to one of my favorite restaurants and had some tasty food and it was fun. My boss got me a beautiful Moses basket and one of my co-workers (who knows us well!) got us some awesome baby gear - a "muggle-born" onesie and a bib with "accio milk." More importantly, my maternity proposal for work was approved this week, which was a HUGE relief. We got pretty much everything we wanted and we feel so blessed that I work for such an amazing boss and for such a flexible company. We are really happy with how everything worked out.

Movement: It's finally slowing down. The movements are a lot slower, but more dramatic. The other night it was like baby was trying to push straight out through my belly button. It would stretch so far forward I couldn't believe it, and it would get all pointy. And then it would sink back down. Hans tried to get it on video, but baby's apparently camera shy. Some of the movements are still quite large and noticeable - it's funny when people across the room can see it.
Symptoms: Nothing new, I don't think. Still hugely swollen. Some back pain. I guess that's it.
Food Cravings: More cereal, very thirsty (drink so much water!), chocolate
Gender: So excited to find out soon!
Belly Button in or out: Come on little guy... stay in! You're so close. You got this.
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of butter. So random.
Labor Signs: Unfortunately, absolutely none. I was pretty bummed by this. I am still a little less than 3 cm dilated and 60 percent effaced. I'm also only at -2 station. I'm having frequent Braxton Hicks, but no real contractions.
Wedding ring on or off: I frequently don't even wear the fake anymore. It's just more comfortable not to have anything on my hand.
What I miss: Feeling like me. I just feel absolutely miserable and I'm really struggling to stay positive.
What I am looking forward to: Baby! Come on, any day now!
Nursery: Finished the curtains! I'm really pleased with how they turned out. We also took out all the furniture upstairs and had a company come deep clean our carpets - they badly needed it. So we did that and then re-assembled the nursery and now it feels sparkling clean and ready to go. I just need to finish that dang mobile...
Emotions: So anxious. I just have this feeling like I'm waiting for the axe to drop. Ticking time bomb. I hate the waiting. I'm also pretty grumpy and miserable - it's hard not to be when I'm so uncomfortable all the time. This last week is going to be rough.
Stupid things I have done: The normal stuff - mostly can't talk. Say words other than what I mean, forget things a lot, stuff like that. Nothing really stupid though.

Today is Tuesday and I am due this coming Monday. My "last" appointment is Friday at 3:30. I am still horribly, horribly swollen. At my last appointment, they sent three people in to look at my feet and ask me a lot of questions. I don't have any other pre-eclampsia signs and my blood pressure was actually decent this week, but the amount of swelling seems more than is normal. So we will see what they say at this week's appointment - I'm a little suspicious that my doctor will want to induce. She's been concerned about the swelling for three or four weeks now and I have a feeling that this week I'll be close enough she'll just want to pull the plug. Plus, she's on call on Sunday and they schedule inductions for when your doc is on call (there's 6 or 7 at this practice). I really, really don't want to be induced - I don't want to force my body to do something it's not ready for and I feel like induction will lead to tearing or c-section. So please keep your fingers crossed that baby will make an appearance before Friday, or my doctor will be ok with letting me go another week! Either way.... baby will be here soon and we are so excited to meet him/her.

38 weeks

How Far Along: 38 weeks, 2 days

Size of the Baby: Pumpkin, 19.5 inches, 6.8 lbs
Weight gain/loss: I've lost track, but I think it was about 1.5 lbs
Sleep: I'm so tired. All I want to do is sleep. But I don't think I'm sleeping well.
Best Moment of the Week: We had a busy and great weekend! Friday we went to my cousin's high school production of "Hair Spray" and it was AMAZING! I swear... I didn't know how high school productions could be that good. So proud of her. Saturday my lovely friend Alissa came over to help clean the house - thank you, thank you! Then we had a double date for yummy Korean food with Danielle and Rob and then spent the rest of the evening with Jenn, Jared, and Andrew. It was a full weekend full of the people we love and we feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

My Friday appointment went much better than the week before. Baby is measuring on track and had a heart beat in the high 160s - it's never gone about the 140s before. Doc says baby was just being particularly active (surprise, surprise). I actually passed the sugar and while my BP was slightly elevated, it didn't set off any warning bells like it did before. All in all, it was an uneventful appointment, which is what I want at this point.

Yesterday was probably the best day in a while. We decided to celebrate 38 weeks. Even though 37 weeks is technically full term, we felt like 38 was that mile marker of "ok, baby, you can come any time now." We celebrated by getting pedicures (do I have the best husband or what?) The foot massage was glorious. And much needed. Then we went to Chuy's. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to celebrate. And now that my toesies look pretty, baby's allowed to come.

Movement: Still plenty! I thought it was supposed to slow down near the end.... when does that happen? Because it's not.
Symptoms: Cannot believe how swollen I am. My feet and ankles look like the Michelin Man. It hurts to bend my toes. I thought the massage therapist was going to pop my foot when he was working on it! On the plus side, no more heartburn or nausea!
Food Cravings: cereal. poptarts. milk.
Gender: The official votes are in - a little more than 60 percent of you think it's a girl, a little less than 40 percent a boy. Something interesting we noticed within the past week or two: Up until this point, every time I've talked to a stranger about the baby, they always told me "oh, it's definitely a girl." Within the past week, that changed and now every stranger says "oh, i'm sure it's a boy." I was thinking it's because the baby dropped, which the doc confirmed at my last appointment. It's funny how that affects what people say!
Belly Button in or out: I'm gonna say it's not out yet... but it's so dang close.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: I am 2.5-3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I'm having some contractions, but they're pretty irregular, mostly about an hour a part and not very strong.
Wedding ring on or off: Oh, how I miss my real ring. This one makes a funny noise, like it's rattling around in its prongs.
What I miss: My ankles. Being able to move. Sleep. Not being miserable.
What I am looking forward to: Valentines Day :) I am really cherishing all the time we get to spend alone together before baby comes.
Nursery: Made some slow progress. We've figured out what to do with the curtains, just need to finish them. I've started the mobile, but it intimidates me so I keep procrastinating finishing it. That's about all we have left though!
Emotions: Mostly just exhausted. I feel a lot more at peace this week than I did last week. Something about changing from 37 weeks to 38 weeks (and the BP scare of a couple weeks ago) just put me more in a mindset of being prepared for this to happen any day. I mean, I'm still scared of the delivery, but more accepting that it's coming.
Stupid things I have done: Nothing. I'm too tired to really do anything, much less anything stupid.

37 weeks

(dude, is it just me or is this twice as big as last week??)

How Far Along: 37 weeks

Size of the Baby: Swiss Chard, 19 inches, 6.5 lbs
Weight gain/loss: Didn't get a good look at the scale, but I'm pretty sure it says I haven't gained anything. Maybe that's just cuz I cut off 2 feet of hair since my last appointment!
Sleep:  It has gotten so bad. I'm so miserable. I wake up about every 30 minutes to an hour, mostly in pain. I'm having horrible back pain in my lower back (this is new). I'll get down on my hands and knees and do yoga cat pose, or I'll kneel by the bed with my weight in my arms/shoulders and rock back and forth and that'll help me get back to sleep, but it happens a couple times a night and it's miserable.
Best Moment of the Week: It's been a rough week - the good moments were very good, but the bad moments were pretty bad. Thursday we watched our fourth and final roomie-boy get married and that was so wonderful. We love Ali and think that she and Edgar are a match made in heaven. I survived the ride to the temple just fine and made it through the sealing and photos without getting too swollen. I didn't make it all the way through the reception, but did last through dinner and toasts and stuff, so that was great. We are so happy for them.

Then Friday was not a great day. I don't know if it's because we were out on Thursday and I got behind  at work or if I just have *that much* on my work to-do list (which, I AM trying to get a ton done before this baby pops out) but I was feeling super stressed and tense. I looked up and realized I was late to my weekly doctor's appointment, so I rushed over there. It was supposed to be just a vitals check, but after taking my vitals they came back concerned. Apparently my blood pressure was quite high and I was showing sugar in my urine (but no protein). Doc says she's concerned I may have preeclampsia and they have to run a bunch of tests and it's possible I may have to come back that night and deliver. I did not head into Friday thinking "Hey, I might have a baby tonight!" They took a bunch of tests and told me they'd call me before the end of the day. They also did a couple other tests (GBS - not comfy) and did my first cervical exam (ow). By the time I left the doctor I'd been thoroughly poked and prodded and was worried out of my mind. I went back to work just because I knew if I went home I'd sit there and worry until they called. They didn't call til 7 and told me that the tests results were fine, I just need to reduce stress (well then don't tell me I may have to have a baby today!) In any event, I was an emotional wreck by Friday night and it was not really a day I want to remember.

Movement: I think baby is finally running out of room, so the movement feels different. It may have lessened a little, but it's hard to say. Now the movement feels big and slow... not so many quick jabs and pangs. Yesterday, we could feel something hard and round that kept moving around my belly button. We think it was a boney behind or maybe a knee. We could track it all day because it was just sticking out!
Symptoms: Still incredibly swollen. Very irritable and short tempered (sorry if you've come in contact with me!) Stretch marks on my thighs :( (but knock on wood, not on my belly or chest!) Horrible back pain. Just awful.
Food Cravings: pizza and strawberry frozen yogurt
Gender: Who knows!
Belly Button in or out: Still holding steady at even with the rest of my belly.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Labor Signs: I am 1.5-2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. This is happening, folks.
Wedding ring on or off: It's funny how many people think my fake rock is real. This thing is ridiculous!
What I miss: Being able to roll over/get out of bed. It's gotten difficult and I truly dread it.
What I am looking forward to: Baby - any day now.
Nursery: Got the lamp! Thank you, Home Goods. Check! I ordered the hard-to-find pack n' play sheets and Hans ordered the baby monitor. Check and check! I've gotten just about everything to fill the frame gallery - just need to design one more piece and then I plan to send 'em for printing tonight, so this should be done tonight or tomorrow. Hans has been building some shelves in the closet and they just need to be painted, then that'll be done, too. I washed EVERYTHING in that room, including all bedding, the cover on the rock n'play, the changing pad cover, and I even took the covers off the glider to wash them (jeez, I never want to do that again. Those things are impossible to get on and off!) So everything is cleaned and put back together. I think all that's left is curtains (I have no idea what to do about that...), finding some baskets for the closet, and making the mobile. I'll do a full nursery post when I'm all done :)
Emotions: Anxious. Worried. Terrified. All normal at this point, I think, but again - finding it very difficult to stay positive. Lots of tears this week.
Stupid things I have done: Many, many this week. I pulled a Rachel this weekend. Washing all the baby's things, there was something red in one of the loads. Let's hope this baby is a girl because now that entire load is tinted pink (lots of tears there!)

And I'm having trouble with words. Apparently, the word I am saying and the word that I am hearing/thinking are not the same. Last week I kept trying to say "Doodle" to my coworker and she says I was really saying "google." I just wasn't hearing it, no matter how many times I said it. She said I was saying google every time. I did it a couple more times this weekend, with other people, but I can't remember what words I was mixing up. It's very strange.

Giggles for your Monday

Last week, I asked Hans' mom and my dad to send us some of our baby photos so that I could hang some in the nursery.

They have arrived and we have been laughing at them all morning. So, for your Monday morning giggles, check out my crazy, crazy hair and Hans' mullet.

Enjoy.