The Nursery

The nursery has been a work-in-progress for about 5 months. We hemmed and hawed over which room to convert (the guest room or the Steelers room) and when Ben finally agreed that the Steelers room made the most sense, I wasn't about to argue. He began the (slow) process of cleaning it out sometime shortly after the holidays, and my mom & Christian (AKA "Gigi" and "Sweetie") came down to paint in early February. I knew I wanted gray walls regardless of the gender, and we decided on Voyage by Valspar. It actually ended up a bit blue for my liking, but once the furniture went in, I was good with it.

In the meantime, we've been slowly purchasing her furniture (ouch!) and putting things together ... and then completely rearranging them because my pregnancy hormones make me indecisive.

The Nursery, Before:

I know what you're thinking - why wouldn't you just leave it as is? What baby WOULDN'T want this room? (Yes, my husband actually said those things)

I'd love to use this post to tell you about all the great crafts I did for her room, or the designs I used that were inspired by Pinterest, but honestly ... I got pretty lazy. I guess there's still time, and I'm going to need something to keep my mind occupied for the next few weeks!

The Nursery, During:

We did a few renovation projects (besides just the paint). We bought her crib (very similar to this one) from a consignment sale, so Ben touched it up before putting it together with his dad. I forced asked Ben to paint the closet, which he then took to the next level by adding an additional bar and shelf - so grateful for all that space!

After several failed attempts at ordering cute bedding sets online, I finally gave up and ordered plain white separates and bought some pink patterned sheets at Target. Just a head's up:

• Tadpoles Pink Gingham is a dusty pink, not baby pink
• Pottery Barn Kids Dahlia is fuschia and taupe, not lavender and gray
• Tadpoles Pink Tulle is lavender, not baby pink
• Land of Nod Pink With a Flourish is salmon, not baby pink

I finally landed on Tadpoles White Tulle curtain and crib skirt, Super Soft Dot Crib Bumper from Carter's and a variety of Circo pink crib sheets (stripe is pictured, and we got the gingham and the lattice)


As you might remember, the dresser search was one of my greatest pregnancy woes, but I am so pleased with what we finally settled on. The pink gingham knobs Ben put on (to match the pink gingham curtain rod finials and pull-back) are some of my favorite touches! We decided that, given the small space of the nursery, it made sense to use the dresser as a changing table rather than having two pieces of furniture, so we added a changing pad (passed down from Sloan) and we're good to go!

The "final" touches were all the wall-hangings. Actually, that's not true, the final touch will be the rocker recliner that is scheduled to arrive about a week after her due date (oops! #parentfail). But before that, and before putting together the nightstand (that I decided we needed after rearranging the room ... yes, I moved a 150lb dresser at 8 months pregnant!), we needed to hang all the beautiful wall-hangings. The letters were something I've wanted forever, but Ben was very particular about the font, so I found a custom site where he could order something to his liking and I painted them white and attached pink ribbon with a glue gun. The distressed wood sign came from "Aunt Kiki" (my best friend Kelly) with one of my favorite verses. She was there for me during the devastation from my ectopic pregnancy last year and knows very well how much this little one means to us - and to her! It was actually ordered before we found out we were having a girl - that's how sure she was that she was going to have a niece. The prints actually started as a contest that I won from a friend's blog several months back. I contacted the etsy vendor and asked if we could wait until we had picked nursery decor, and she gave us a wonderful deal on the additional custom prints so we could do a set of three.


The Nursery, After:
I'm so pleased with the way it all came out. It is such a calming feeling to walk in there and just "be" - anticipating the precious girl that will soon inhabit those walls. The room is just as much for me as it is for her at this point, and I feel very serene when I walk in. And it's feminine without being too girly, young without being too babyish, and easily convertible to a guest room (if we sell) or another baby's room (if we don't sell) should the time come.

the view walking in

the view from where the chair will go

Lucy seems to enjoy it too - we've left the door open so she can get used to the changes and she has yet to mess with all of our sweet girl's toys - I'll take that as a win!

37 Weeks - Full Term

Before you go any further, let me warn you that this might not be the most positive post. I'm in a sour mood and on the verge of tears, so I'm not going to try to cover that up during this update. And so help me, if you tell me to just relax  - I'll punch you in the face. Or whatever the virtual version of face-punching is. 

I'll try to start with some positives. I hit 15K blog views last night so that's fun. We had a delicious meal with good friends, and a wonderful weekend in the sun, and I got Starbucks this morning. Um ... yeah. That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll think of something else. Or I might not today, whatever.

Before I get any more negative, let's get to the update, shall we?

1. How far along? 37 weeks 1 day - officially full term.
2. How big is baby? According to What to Expect, she's still the size of a watermelon, she's still anywhere from 19-22 inches long, and she's still about 6.5 lbs. She's measuring at 36 weeks, instead of 37, but she's been measuring a little bit behind for several weeks now and the doctors aren't worried. It may mean she's going to be late or that she's going to be small or that she's in a weird position. Or it may mean nothing, because that's pretty much the gist of their "guesses" these days.

   

   This is exactly what I needed to see right now
   Nobody puts London in a corner

3. Weight gain? 19 lbs. I'm not excited to have gained 3lbs in two weeks but, let's be honest, I'm not going to change anything about my eating habits either. 
4. Stretch marks? None. I did, however, notice a slight "linea negra" for the first time this wknd when I *gasp* put on a bikini. It's not that noticeable and it's mostly under my belly so other people probably didn't even really see it. And really, I just don't care at this point.
5. Maternity Clothes? Today, wearing my regular leggings (from Express - they have a wide waist band, which is a Godsend in pregnancy!, and have been my staple throughout the whole thing) and a tunic-style blouse from H&M that I bought several months ago. It's getting questionably short in the front to be worn with leggings but - again - I just don't care (are you noticing a theme yet?).
6. Sleep? I have finally entered the phase of waking up every night / morning to pee. I can no longer avoid it no matter how hard I try. And sometimes I get up so suddenly that it startles Ben into thinking something is wrong / has happened, which of course it hasn't. Luckily, he can fall right back asleep. I am not so lucky. I'm alternating between sleeping sitting straight up and sleeping like a normal person, depending on how bad the heartburn is.
7. Best moment of last week? This weekend was pretty nice and relaxing, honestly. We did a lot - not in a sense of getting things done, but in a sense of just going and doing what sounded fun. The highlight for me was going to the zoo Sunday, just the two of us. The NC Zoo is pretty awesome, if you haven't checked it out.

   

   Baby chimpanzees at the zoo - so cute!

8. Food cravings? Finally indulged my Indian food craving last night - it was spicy deliciousness and it absolutely hit the spot. Unfortunately it did nothing to progress the labor process, as the old wives tales say, but it was delightful and I imagine it will be for lunch today as well.
9. Symptoms? Everything has been happening for so long at this point, I can't remember what's normal and what's because of the pregnancy. But I have a bacterial infection that I learned about this morning, which I'll be taking antibiotics for, so that's really fun.
10. Exercise? In addition to my weekly yoga, I walked five miles on Sunday. FIVE. Without resting. Yeah, I was impressed, too. And then I was too tired to be impressed, because HELLO I'm a full-term pregnant woman who just walked five miles in the heat. Also spent some time in the pool this weekend but I don't know if that's really exercise so much as it was just waddling around.

    

    Jesse's pregnant, too!

11. Movement? No changes here. We know now that she is, in fact, head down and the doctor is not at all concerned about her flipping breech so that's a good sign. Still lots of pressure in the ribs, and her body parts are becoming more difficult to identify. Heart rate has slowed to 140 and may go as low as 120 by the time she's ready to come out!
12. Belly button? Ben is somewhat preoccupied with it. I just hate it. I also have giant blue veins along either side of my stomach (and my boobs) that I'm sure were a bit scary to those that had to witness what 9 months pregnant in a bikini looks like this weekend. I'll blame all the stares I got on those veins, and not on the fact that I'm huge and disgusting.

    

    If you look closely, you can see the external belly button

13. What I miss? Today, being in check with my emotions. In general, everything.
14. Labor signs? No sense in mentioning anything I've had to this point because it obviously means nothing. I am not even remotely dilated and my cervix is still very posterior, so if I'm having anything that I think is a contraction, it's pointless as of yet. And she's certainly not dropping.
15. What I'm looking forward to? One less week until we meet her. Five weeks at the very most that I have to be pregnant. 

My eyes look sleepier and sleepier each week
Might as well get used to it, I guess

And then, amid my self-pity and disappointment in my current circumstances, my anxiety about the impending birth of my first born and my impatient desire to meet her, a dear friend sends a devotional that is chock-full of wonderful verses and advice, but especially this:

2 Corinthians 3:4-5, "Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God."

Praise God that He's getting me through this, His will is greater than my own, He knows the desires of my heart. Praise Him that He has given us this child, that He has chosen her and chosen us. I pray some variation of these things approximately 40 times a day but it's never enough. Praise Him for gentle reminders, just when we need them most.

36 Weeks: 9 Months?!

It's come to my attention that the way you count the length of your pregnancy is quite a hot topic among mamas-in-progress. As most people know, pregnancy is (typically) 40 weeks long. Interesting notes for non-pregnant women: Those 40 weeks start before conception occurs, so at any given time a woman could technically be "2 weeks pregnant"; Most, however, don't find out they're pregnant until around 4-5 weeks along. Anyway, I've been measuring my pregnancy pretty much the same way we measure age. For example, when you celebrate your 5th birthday, you've been alive for five full years, and you're beginning your sixth year. Not everyone equates it this way, but it makes more sense to me. 

Long story short, I have been pregnant for 36 weeks and I'm beginning my 9th month of pregnancy. Or something like that. Whatever, no matter how you slice it, it's a long freakin' time. But, as everyone keeps telling me, we're in the home stretch. At most, I'll be pregnant for another 40 days. At the very very most.

So what does it mean to be 36 weeks pregnant (AKA Huge!)?

1. How far along? 36 weeks 3 days
2. How big is baby? According to What to Expect, she's the size of a watermelon! HOLY COW! I definitely feel like I'm carrying around a watermelon in my abdomen these days. She's anywhere from 19-22 inches long (she has most likely reached her full birth length and is just putting on fat - hooray for chubby cheeks!) and weighs about 6.5lbs.
   
   

   

   What I feel like

   

   Slightly more accurate 

3. Weight gain? I'm going to assume 17lbs because I haven't weighed myself or been to the doctor this week.
4. Stretch marks? None
5. Maternity clothes? A girl at work just asked if this was a maternity shirt because it fit so well across my belly. What's funny to me, is that Mom bought me this shirt the weekend we found out we were having a girl, and I wore it with leggings (see below). Now, I have to wear a tank underneath to make sure my belly isn't showing! But to answer the question, it's not a maternity shirt, but it's soft and cozy and pink so I love it. I am wearing maternity jeans today, these Gap jeans have done me so well.
6. Sleep? Oh man, today is NOT the day to ask me that. I woke up at 3am because Ben was not in the bed. Wandered downstairs, no husband. Wandered back upstairs, poor thing was sick in the bathroom. And let me just tell you, I could NOT get back into good sleep. Left side, stomach gurgling. Right side, coughing from reflux. Sitting straight up, hips aching. I am exhausted today.
7. Best moment of last week? A sales rep took us for a spa day and I got a prenatal hot stone massage on Monday - holy moly that was amazing. 
8. Food cravings? The weird thing is, I never really know what I want. But I still eat, even if I'm not hungry, and then I end up too full and having my typical horrible heartburn. 
9. Symptoms? I had an awful calf cramp this morning, not sure if that counts. On a recommendation from a co-worker, I started seeing a chiropractor this week to try to help with the rib pain. Turns out, my hips were out of line, so hopefully the adjustment will help make sure everything is in optimal position to let this kid out. Go towards the light, London!
10. Exercise? We had a substitute teacher in yoga this week and she kicked my butt a bit. She kept thinking I was only in my second trimester for some reason, and gave me (and the other 36-weekers) a high-five when we told her how far along we were. Killing it with the wall sits and squats! I'm also trying to walk more, and doing stretches in the evenings if I start to get uncomfortable on the couch.
11. Movement? I've heard that baby's movement typically slows when you get close to delivery, and if that's true, we are no where close. Lately, I can tell she's getting really cramped in there because the stretching and rolling movements, while not sharp, are painful. My stomach has been really tight, with more braxton hicks contractions. Not exactly fun.
12. Belly button? It's just so weird. It's not completely protruding, it just seems to have given up hope. I really really hate seeing it through my shirts.
13. What I miss? This list is too long. I'm just ready for this monster to be here!
14. Labor signs? I have been having pains every so often that I think are maybe contractions but nothing regular or significant. 
15. What I'm looking forward to? The long weekend! Hoping to get in some pool time, a cookout with friends, and I'm really trying to convince Ben that we should go to the zoo.

21 weeks - I miss that tiny belly!

36 weeks - Getting huge

Letters to London: The Art of Negotiation

"Some teachers are trying to low-ball me, Daddy. And I know how you say, 'Never accept a first offer,' so I figure these grades are just a jumping off point to start negotiations." 

-Cher, Clueless*

Baby Girl,

I want to be your friend, and I would love to, someday, be considered your best friend, but first and foremost, I want to be your mother. Sometimes that will mean I say or do things you don't like - I guaran-damn-tee you'll do or say things I don't like, too. Sometimes you will think (or even say!) that you hate me. That will be awful for me, but it is part of life. However, as your mother, I do not want to get into the habit of negotiations. What I say goes, and I plan to use - often - "Because I said so!" as rationale for any decisions I make.

But just this one time, I'd like to make a deal with you.
Because desperate times call for desperate measures and I just cannot be pregnant until July.

If you come on time, I will:

• Eat wherever you want for dinner on your birthday each year
• Take you on vacations
• Do your hair
• Schedule regular doctor and dentist appointments for you
• Get pony rides for your first birthday party
• Pierce your ears when you ask
• Hold you until you fall asleep if you're sick or have a bad dream
• Allow whatever color rubber bands you want on your braces
• Regret making silly promises to a little girl who's not even here yet
• Love you forever

Please. For the love of all things holy. Even if it's just this one time in your life ... do your mama a kindness and be on time?

And not just because I don't want to be pregnant until July.
But because your Daddy and I just cannot wait to meet you.

All my love,
Your Mom

*PS: I cannot wait until you are old enough to watch Clueless. It's pretty much the greatest movie of all time. When my friends and I were younger, we used to have sleepovers and crimp each other's hair (long after it was cool) and watch it. We all know, pretty much, the entire script. I once had an Easter outfit - that I made! - inspired by Cher. Yeah, it's that good.

Recipe: Penne Rosa with Shrimp

After several failed recipes recently, this one was a big win. Pretty easy, and makes a ton of food - so I froze the leftovers to have after baby comes and I don't feel like cooking! Trying to do more of that, and not doing the greatest job so far... You could easily halve the recipe if you're only cooking for two people / don't want leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1 box penne pasta (most likely 16 oz)
• 1 bag medium raw shrimp, thawed and peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (or more, if you like spicy! a little goes a long way)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup alfredo sauce
• Parmesan cheese to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook and drain the pasta according to the box
   
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat
3. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to skillet; cook for about 2 minutes (until garlic begins to soften, but not brown!)
4. Add in tomatoes, salt and pepper; cook for about 5 minutes (until tomatoes release juices)
   
5. Turn up heat to medium-high and add shrimp; cook for 2 minutes (until shrimp are pink and opaque)
6. Remove from heat
7. Rip spinach leaves from stems and add to skillet; cover and let steam for 2 minutes (until spinach is wilted)
   
8. Place skillet back over low heat; add pasta, tomato sauce and alfredo sauce and stir until everything is coated and heated through
9. Serve and top with parmesan cheese

Recipe: Key Lime Ice Cream Sandwiches

I'm torn on these. I liked them, but I'm not sure many people would. You have to really be in the mood for lime. But if you're craving something sweet and don't want the calories, they will hit the spot. The original recipe is for just two, but I made a ton for a cookout - I think I multiplied everything by 6?

Ingredients

• 3 cups plain greek yogurt
• 9 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp rose's sweetened lime juice (you can find it near the soft drinks, but regular lime juice will do the trick if you have it already!)
• 1 box graham crackers

Directions

1. Mix the yogurt, sugar and lime juice in a bowl until smooth

   

   This isn't exactly smooth
   Maybe if you use a hand mixer?

2. Freeze for approximately 1 hour or until taking a more solid consistency (but not frozen solid!)
3. Place half the graham crackers on a tray or cookie sheet, cinnamon side down
4. Scoop a hearty spoonful of the yogurt mixture onto each cracker (about 1/8 - 1/4 cup each)
5. Cover each with another cracker, smooshing slightly to even out the yogurt mixture
6. Return to freezer for at least 1 hour or until frozen through

It's that easy!

PS - I didn't really take any pictures while I was making this one, so here's a photo from the original recipe

Maternity Photos

which could also be called we are so blessed to have such talented friends


A few weeks ago, our good friend Emily did a maternity photo session for us. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we wandered around Fletcher Park and laughed and were silly and had a great time.

Emily is a phenomenal photographer - she also did our Christmas card picture when we announced the pregnancy! And she is doing a newborn session for us after L is born as our baby gift - seriously, could she be any more awesome / generous?

But back to the maternity photos. She was wonderful, and it was so nice to just be comfortable with her and not feel stiff or posed the whole time. She took my ideas (most of which I've gotten from Pinterest, of course) and had plenty of her own, and I think we came out with some great results. Here were our favorites (apologies to those of you who have already seen them on Facebook):