I am officially in the third trimester! Whoo hoo!
Something I always thought was a myth, or at least greatly over exaggerated, was "pregnancy brain." FYI...it isn't a myth. It totally happens. I thought of something while sitting at my desk this morning at work. I stood up, walked around the desk to do whatever I had thought of, then just stood there with my hands on my hips trying to figure out why I had stood up to begin with. This all happened within about a 30 second interval. I eventually remembered what I was going to do, but it took a while. Thirteen more weeks until my due date, and I'm scared to see what pregnancy brain will do to me within that time.
I spent most of my evening getting the nursery ready for painting and ceiling scraping next week. I was a tad bit depressed. For those of you who don't know, when we moved into our house, I made one guest room girly (Mary Poppins theme) and one boy-ish (hunting theme mainly) with the intentions of one of those rooms becoming the nursery. Obviously, we would be putting a girl in the girly room, and a boy in the boyish room. Therefore, we should be putting Brayden in the hunting themed nursery, but we have a couple of draw backs. 1 - Nick's office is in that room currently. He doesn't really want to office out of a Mary Poppins themed room, and I can't say I necessarily blame him. 2 - The boy room was closer to the road, and the girl room faces the backyard. I think that it may be less noisy (even though our street is not busy) in the back of the house. So, with those thoughts on my mind, we decided to redo the Mary Poppins room and put Brayden there. It was sad to pack up all of my Mary Poppins items, but they aren't going anywhere for too long. I told Nick that once he moves all of his office to the building one day, we are making that front room into a Mary Poppins guest room.
Monday, July 29, 2013 - 27 weeks, 4 days
The painter was supposed to start today, but that's been put off till tomorrow. Probably a good thing because Nick was able to go to sleep at a decent hour last night instead of staying up to finish the last minute details I needed him to do. We'll tackle those this evening.
I'm proud of all we accomplished this weekend though! We:
- Moved the day bed and trundle to the garage to store until Sister can get it;
- Moved the full bed to the front bedroom for guests;
- Moved all of the nursery furniture to be stored in the living room until the painting is done;
- Moved all of my Barbie stuff to under the bed in the guest room;
- Moved all of the gift-wrapping things to our master closet;
- Cleaned out our clothes and bagged up for donation; and,
- Put linen box from Memaw in guest room closet and loaded it up with blankets, sheets, etc.
Whew! That makes me tired just looking at the list! My husband is a rock star and did most of this himself. Thanks to some help from Alan and Joe, he was able to get the rest done. I had different plans for all of the clothes and what not I was going to donate, but I think I'm going to take them to McGuire~Dyke in Mt. Pleasant. They are gathering items for a garage sale to help a family with medical expenses of their little girl who is having to have a lot of surgeries at Johns Hopkins in Maryland. All the proceeds from the garage sale will go to help the family. So, I think I'm going to take all of those items to them from here on out. I should call and give McCall and Brian a heads up. I have A LOT I'm getting rid of. :)
Monday, August 5, 2013 - 28 weeks, 4 days
Painting is done, new fan/light fixture is hung, and we bought lots of decor for Brayden's nursery this weekend. This was the first time in existence that I had to tell Nick to reign it in at Hobby Lobby. My mother-in-love had texted me a few days ago with a picture of some fishing and hunting items that would go well in Brayden's nursery, and Sister had texted me a while back with some really cute letters made out of antlers also at Hobby Lobby. Nick & I went on Saturday, and I think he would have bought the whole section if I would have let him. :) I loved watching him get so excited about his son's room. I love that I have a spouse who is equally as excited about our upcoming bundle of joy as I am. Here are a few pictures of the progress of the nursery so far. I'm doing an entire blog dedicated to Bray's nursery, so you'll have to go here to see the finished project. :)
We are slowly but surely getting everything in place for little man's arrival. My Dad found us an old, red wagon that Nick is going to transform into a bookshelf. I've got to recover a glider and ottoman. Sister is making the bedding for us. We are marking things off our list one by one.
I had an appointment today. It was the glucola test day. I thought the drink wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of people made it out to be. No, it's not something I want to drink all the time, but it just tasted like extremely sweet Kool-Aid. I'll be finding out the results sometime soon. I forgot to ask when that will be exactly. I had a whole list of things to ask her, and completely forgot to ask when those results would be in. Brayden's heartbeat was a little up today around the mid 150s. I said it was probably because of that sugary drink. :) But everything looks perfect, and Dr. Slovak said everything was right on track. We are now into the every two week appointments. So, my next appointment will be August 19th. I'll have another ultrasound that day. I can't wait to see Bray again. :)
I did find out at that one of my pregnancy ailments is very common (I figured it would be). Every night, some nights are worse than others, I have an area on the bottom of my stomach that hurts (more like soreness) terribly. It's hard for me to turn over in the bed because it will hurt so badly. Dr. Slovak said that it is round ligaments that are being stretched. For people who are up and down a lot and on their feet, the pain can be worse. Yes, I have a desk job, but I'm up and down all the time. I take the stairs as often as possible at work, deliver supplies to different locations, then I make service calls with Nick after work sometimes. I try not to be sedentary at home because I'll sleep the evenings away. So, normally I can be found cleaning, decorating, organizing, or just nesting in general. She said that a maternity belt would help a lot. So, looks like that's the next thing to be purchased during this pregnancy. I hope it will give me some relief.
AND EXCITING NEWS!!! One of my very best friends, Hannah Ruth Davis, thinks she and her hubby may be expecting. We texted a lot today. She had some questions, and I'm a good person to ask since I'm currently going through it. I so hope she is pregnant. Her due date would be around the beginning of April.
Thursday, August 8, 2013 - 29 weeks
I have to give a major pat on the back, standing ovation for my sweet husband.
Tuesday, I had not been feeling well. I had thought it was just typical pregnancy aches and pains. I got home from work and immediately took a bath thinking that might help ease the soreness and pain I was having. Dr. Slovak had told me at my appointment on Monday that a warm bath would help soothe the round ligament pains I've been getting. While soaking in the tub, hubby made dinner. We ate, then watched a movie. By this time, it was time for bed. My pain was getting stronger, not better, but I still thought it was pregnancy stuff. We went to bed at 10:00, and at 11:00, I got back up to take another bath. I just couldn't get comfortable and the pain was mounting. At midnight, I told Nick, "I think I need to go to the ER." I probably should have phrased that differently. His head popped off the pillow and looked at me frantically. I said, "Brayden's fine! I think I have a bladder infection." I've had these before, and I finally realized that's what this was. I called my doctor's hotline before we went anywhere, and my doctor was actually on call. So, I was able to speak with Dr. Slovak at midnight. She told me to go get AZO Standard at Wal-Mart to help with the pain until the morning and then she'd call me in some antibiotics. I'm so very glad I got to speak with her before I racked up a bill at an ER. So, at midnight, Nick trudged off to Wal-Mart with me to get medicine and cranberry juice. We finally got into bed again around 1:00. He was up and off by 6:00 the next morning. I spent all day yesterday in bed/on the couch recooping. He called to check on me, would swing by and make sure I had everything I needed, and still worked till past 10:00 last night. Husband, I love you and thank you for taking such good care of me and Brayden!
Sunday, August 11, 2013 - 29 weeks, 3 days
Oy vey. I got sick tonight for the first time in a while. I guess morning sickness can rear its ugly head at any time during pregnancy. On the plus side, Nick's parents bought Alan & Tovah's swing they used for Owen to the house tonight. We're borrowing their's instead of buying one. The dogs weren't too sure about that contraption. Oh, they are in for a surprise come the end of October. :)
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - 29 weeks, 5 days
I've started hanging things in Bray's room. I can't wait to have it all here and put together. Nick said I really need to work on getting blinds for the window. Apparently, he can't handle the nothing over the window look.
Melanie & I went to Longview tonight to pick out some coordinating fabric for Brayden's quilt she is making for him. She already has two printed fabrics that I found on fabric.com. I love them and I think all will go really well together!
Now, these would obviously be entirely too busy for the whole quilt to be made out of these two alone. We got four solid colors to mix in with these. I'm super excited! We also got some fabric for Brayden's stocking. Melanie has made our stockings that we hang at Christmas, and I asked if she could make one for Bray as well. She, of course, said yes. We got some really cute Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fabric and simple white fabric to go with it. I know it will be perfect for our little man. :)
Thursday, August 15, 2013 - 30 weeks
I am 30 weeks pregnant today!!!
Monday, August 19, 2013 - 30 weeks, 4 days
Well, Brayden is still Brayden! We went for my 30 week ultrasound and an appointment today. I asked the sono tech, he's still a boy, right? And he is. Thank goodness. The sono tech also said that he has his head shoved into my pelvis way down low. I don't know if I'll be able to tell when he "drops" or not because of how low he always is. We got to see his profile, foot, face, and all other types of body parts. He wasn't very happy with the sono tech though. He kept hitting her wand thing while it was pushing down on him. :) After my time at Open Imaging, I headed across the street to Dr. Slovak. I got to see my friend, Cassana, who is due about a week after me also with a little boy. :) I'm almost back up to my prepregnancy weight. She listened to his heartbeat with the doppler. She said she's very happy with the way everything is progressing. I'm still on a two week appointment rotation, but my next appointment is actually three weeks away. Two weeks from today will be Labor Day, and they're closed that day. The rest of her week is booked up. So, I go back three weeks from today. No problems there. :) Here are my sono pics from today. I spared y'all from any "boy part" pictures.
UPDATE: Called the nurse on Tuesday. She started off the conversation great with, "The sonogram looked great. Everything looks fine. And the baby weighs 3 ounces." I said, "Umm, I'm 30 weeks, he should be a lot bigger than that." She said, "You're right. That's wrong. Let me convert it." So, she converted it and said, "Ok. He's 5 pounds 3 ounces." I said, "Really? That seems large." I know the numbers they tell you on the pregnancy blogs are just averages, but everything was saying 2.5 to 3 pounds. I didn't think he'd be a full two plus pounds larger than that. The nurse said, "Yeah, that doesn't seem right, does it?" So, long story short, I was told to call again on Wednesday, and she'd talk to the doctor. It's now Wednesday, and I called and left a voicemail. She just called back and said that Dr. Slovak will be in surgery until about 2:30. So, hopefully we'll find out his actual weight this afternoon. Update: He's apparently just a big, ole boy. He is measuring 5 pounds, 3 ounces. I still have nine weeks to go until my due date. I'm apparently growing a line backer. :)
Wednesday, August 21, 2013 - 30 weeks, 6 days
I made an appointment at the 4D Peanut Gallery in Texarkana today for September 7th. I'm really excited to get a 4D and hopefully see Brayden's features!
Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 31 weeks, 3 days
Whew! This has been a productive weekend in the baby department!
Friday morning, I went to a big garage sale that was happening in Mount Pleasant to benefit a little girl who is having to have numerous surgeries. The money made from the sale was going to help her family pay for medical and travel expenses. I picked up lots of clothes for Mr. Brayden.
Friday evening, Nick & I made a trip to Longview. We went to Home Depot to buy some blinds for Brayden's nursery. Then we headed to Target. I needed a shirt for maternity pictures. We also walked through the baby section. I registered at Target, but online. I wanted to have some fun perusing the aisles, and Nick was ok with that. :) Target's app also has a fun tool to where I can add items to my registry from my phone. I added just a few things that aren't offered online. We also bought Brayden's first outfit from a store. I couldn't resist! Let's just hope he makes it here before Halloween, and he can actually wear it!
Saturday, we hung the blinds and started the work on the wood wall in the nursery that we finished up on Sunday. Find out more about that on the nursery blog, but you can see pictures of the process below.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 32 weeks, 5 days
We had maternity pictures today, and I'm so excited to see them! Jessica Brummel at Treasured Moments took them. It was HOT, but I know Jessica got some great shots. :) We used some of our own personal props - Tarleton quilt Sister made, little Frankenstein hat we bought for Brayden (since he'll, hopefully, be born in October), and a letter "B" we're using in his nursery. Jessica brought a few props as well - some of Trey's baby Sperrys, a book, and a little toy truck. We took lots of pictures behind Jason & Jessica's house, then we headed out to the winery to take some there too. She said it may take up to two weeks to finish all the editing on them, and I'm already anxious to see them! Eek! Once we get them, I'm going to do a blog of just those. So I'll link that up here.
We were supposed to take the pictures last week, but we had to reschedule. I'm glad that happened because what I was going to wear ended up being all wrong. I had a "girl" moment. I went home last Tuesday night to try on what I had planned on wearing. I didn't like it. I changed. I didn't like it. Nick tried to help me pick something out of my existing wardrobe - bless him. I didn't like it. We went to the only store in MP that carries maternity to try and find something to buy. I didn't like any of it. I think I had just gotten to a point that I was too frustrated and wasn't going to like anything I put on my body. So, once the shoot was rescheduled, I had time to run to Longview and find an outfit. I happened to get an e-mail from Zulily one day that had a really cute outfit. I decided to channel that look. I bought the black skinny jeans at Kohl's (for a great deal because of a $10 off coupon and an extra 20% off they gave me on top of the already 30% markdown) and the chambray tunic at Target. I already had the boots and belt. I had to take a photo of my outfit to send to one of my coworkers. :)
Speaking of maternity clothes, Hannah asked me to help her out on where to shop for clothes. So, I compiled a list on where I had the most luck with clothes for a good price.
Yesterday was quite fun! We had our first baby shower. Blogged that all here.
I want to add a little bit of advice for any preggers out there. When registering, register at Amazon too. You can add items from other websites (such as Etsy). When someone purchases something off of your Amazon registry, a "Thank You List" is compiled with what that person bought you along with their address which makes writing cards very easy! They can choose to ship it directly to you, or ship it to themselves and bring it to your shower. Plus, if they have Prime!, they get free 2-day shipping on most items. Just wanted to put that little plug in. No, Amazon did not pay me to advertise for them. Wish they would though. Ha! :)
After the shower Nick, myself, my parents, Sister, and Nick's parents all headed to Texarkana to go to 4D Peanut Gallery for a 4D Sonogram of little Brayden. It was so much fun! If you are pregnant and are able, you HAVE to do a 4D sonogram. We saw that Brayden has mine and my Sister's nose and mouth and at least one of my dimples! He is quite the chunk and already has some fat rolls. :) His mouth moved the entire time, so it seems he'll be quite the little talker and fit right in with the Bray and Robertson families. I was able to upload the sonogram to YouTube, so all you have to do is click on this link to see it. Be forewarned, it's ~40 minutes long and set to lullaby music. It will kinda make you sleepy. We received a turtle stuffed animal that plays Brayden's heartbeat when you squeeze it, a DVD of the entire sonogram, still pictures of the sonogram, and lots of freebies from Similac. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
After our sonogram, we went and ate at Copeland's in Texarkana followed by a trip to Sam's and Lowe's. At Sam's, Sister & I each bought Brayden a little outfit. He's going to be well clothed. :) We just couldn't resist. The one I got him has bears on it, and the one Sister got had a moose with a little hood on it. Let's hope it's nice and cold this winter, and we can fit his fat rolls in size 3-6 month clothes. Ha!
Monday, September 9, 2013 - 33 weeks, 4 days
Had another appointment today. Brayden is perfect and growing just as he should! I met with Dr. Mason today instead of Dr. Slovak. Dr. Slovak was out sick. He measured me and listened to Brayden's heartbeat which was holding steady at 142. My next appointment is two weeks away then I start every week appointments. Eeek! We're getting so close!!!
Sunday, September 15, 2013 - 34 weeks, 3 days
Nesting, nesting, nesting. That is what is going on in our house. :) Nick "nested" by cleaning out the garage today. It's not totally cleaned out, but we got our new-to-us camper to fit, and hopefully my car will fit by the end of the week. I nested by washing, sorting, and putting up all of the garage sale clothes I've bought/we've received. Brayden's dresser is almost full! But don't worry, the closet is free for more. I also washed all of the burp cloths, towels, swaddle blankets, and bibs. They've been folded and put away, just waiting for Brayden to arrive.
I've written my thank you notes for the gifts we received at our Pittsburg shower. We've gotten mostly everything we received from that shower in it's proper place. We have our New Boston shower this upcoming weekend, so Brayden will get more goodies to stash away. I think next week, I'll start the process of packing at least one diaper bag (I'm one of those people who will probably have two or three) and getting our hospital bag ready. With only 5 and a half weeks left, I want to be prepared at any time. We picked up Mitchell & Casey's bassinet from when the kids were babies. We're borrowing it for our bedroom for Brayden. We set it up and put the sheets on it.
Yesterday, Amazon delivered our baby monitor. I bought it with some of the giftcards we received from our Pittsburg shower. We set it up and started playing with it. :) It's a video monitor and has a night vision mode. To test it, Nick set it up in the nursery pointing to where the crib will sit. Then he turned the lights out and held Satchel in front of it while I looked at the hand-held screen in the living room. It was such a funny sight! I definitely got a good laugh out of it. The monitor also has sound on it. It has this function called "VOX" where it will go into hibernation after so many minutes of your child being still/quiet. However, if your baby wakes up and starts crying or starts moving around a lot, the monitor will wake back up and let you know they're up. We wanted to be able to test this monitor out a bit before Brayden gets here. That way, if we dislike it, we can return it and try a different one. It looks like a baby is coming to the Robertson household!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 34 weeks, 6 days
Well, so much for getting through my pregnancy without having any swelling feet.
I spent a good amount of time on my feet yesterday including a trip to Wal-Mart. We celebrated little Kenlie's 6th birthday at Peralta's, then husband & I went home. He had pulled the camper out of the garage to work on a few odds and ends inside. I went in it, sat on the couch and pulled my feet up on the couch with me. I then shed my shoes. I said, "Oh my goodness!" Nick, who had been standing outside the pop-up, bursted through the door. He thought something was wrong, and I said, "I can't see my right ankle anymore!" I've got to tone down the drama in my voice because he keeps thinking I'm going into labor. Poor husband! But, needless to say, I've stayed off my feet as much as possible since this little occurence. They're still swelling, but not as badly. Nick said I have to start taking it easy. Will do husband, will do.
Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 35 weeks
I am 35 weeks pregnant today! Hard to believe that there are only 5 weeks left until my due date. Wonder if he'll stay in that entire time?!
Monday, September 23, 2013 - 35 weeks, 4 days
We had a baby shower in New Boston this past Saturday. Blogged that all here.
I had an appointment today. Brayden is doing good, still head down, heart rate in the 140s, and I'm dilated to a one! She said that that means I could go into labor tomorrow, or I could hang out at a one for a month. But, she said my body, and the baby, are getting ready for delivery. Eek! I'm starting every week appointments now, so I'll have an update a week from now on whether or not I've dilated any more.
I've had some funnot pregnancy things happening to me. I've already written about the swelling feet. Thank goodness they've gone down and not been as bad since last week.
A new side effect is this thing called Relaxin. It's a hormone that my body releases to get ready for labor. I've read about this, so I knew it was coming, I just didn't know it would do this. When I'm walkingor standing my hip randomly gives out or locks up. I normally have to stop and readjust or rotate my hips a bit until it all goes back into place. Apparently, this is my body's way of getting ready for delivery. Sometimes it hurts, other times, it's funny. Just depends on what I'm doing at the time. Wal-Mart, for instance, is not a fun place for your hip to keep locking up. Dr. Slovak said to just be careful that I don't fall over when this happens. Thank the good Lord that I've been beside someone or something to hold onto every time it's happened so far. Hopefully, that will continue to be the case.
Using the restroom during the night has increased exponentially in the past few weeks. I guess I'll be really good at waking up to feed a baby by the time Brayden gets here. Of course, Nick is going to help with Bray. :)
Nick put the crib that we received from the NB hostesses together Saturday evening. I love it and can't wait to work on the baby bedding with Sister this upcoming weekend!
Yesterday, Nick was learning how to operate the new camcorder that Mom & Dad got for us. Background story: Nick says that Sister and I have the most documented lives ever. He's probably right. My Dad has recorded every Christmas, birthday, band competition, Easter egg hunt, Christmas musical, vacation etc. that we've ever had. Mom has always taken lots of pictures. So, Mom & Dad bought us a new camcorder as a baby present to start documenting Brayden's life the moment he arrives. I told Nick that the camcorder would be his job. So, he's started learning all of the fun things our's does. One of the options is having a projector built directly into the camera. He would record things then project it onto the wall. The dogs were confused as to why we were on the wall and why there were dogs on the wall. It was a funny experience.
Husband went on a "nesting" spree yesterday morning. I got up to get ready for church at 8:00am, and Nick was in the kitchen finishing cooking breakfast. I asked him, "How long have you been up?!" He said, "Since about 6:30. My eyes popped open, and I decided to get somethings done around the house instead of go back to bed." So, between 6:30 and 8:00am, he had: showered, cleaned the fish bowl, hung the baby monitor, put the baby dishes in the kitchen, tidyed up the nursery, put away shower gifts, made breakfast, and fed the dogs! Go husband!
Of course, I went on a "nesting" spree this evening. Nick was working in Longview, so I was at home with the pups. I mainly did laundry, worked on getting everything in it's proper place in the nursery, opening Brayden's toys, and cleaned/straightened Nick's office. Sister is coming to spend the weekend with us, and if she wants to sleep in a bed, I needed to make a path to the one in the guest room. That room has been neglected since we've started working on the nursery. But, it looks much better now. :)
I'm seeing a potential problem these days. As I was opening all of Bray's toys (rattles, teethers, etc.), I've realized how much these things look like dog toys. Satchel specifically likes an owl toy. He just likes to carry it around. I've sequestered all of the toys into the crib for the time being because Satch can't get to them there. I have a feeling Satch will be stealing them from Bray before long.
Monday, September 30, 2013 - 36 weeks, 4 days
Sister and I had a #marathonsewing weekend. We also watched the Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake video and now can't stop saying "hashtag" and using the hand gesture. :)
She was going to come down Friday evening, but ended up getting a headache and coming down Saturday morning instead. We had cinnamon rolls to start the morning, then got to work. It was a long and tedious process, but by yesterday afternoon, we had basically finished Brayden's bedding! Yay! So excited to see it all coming together.
Sister's best friend, Sarah, made an awesomely cute mobile for us for Brayden's room. I was originally going to hang it over his changing table, but have decided to move this one to over his crib and make a different one for over the changing table out of Nick's Pepaw's old fishing lures. I can't wait to get both hung. :) Sarah is super crafty and has her own Etsy store called SJPiccadilly. Go browse and buy something cute. :)
Nick also worked on one of his nursery projects...a floating shelf. It's almost finished! Just needs paint and then he'll hang it. It looks really good. I'll post a picture once it's finished. He only has one more honey-do thing left to do, a shelf out of an old red wagon.
Nick asked me to please pack a hospital bag, so I did that Saturday night before going to bed. I think we were both having a weird feeling. I don't know if it is because it is getting so close to his due date, but we both want to be better prepared. I didn't get everything in it that we'll need, but I've started making my list of things to add to it. I'm charging our camcorder batteries, so I can go ahead and have that packed. I've made a shopping list for Wal-Mart for travel size toiletry items so I can have all of that packed and only have to grab my make up bag. I'll have a list of the last minute items to grab: phone charger, pillow, iPod, etc. I don't have anything packed for Nick or Brayden yet. I know that the hospital provides practically everything for the baby, so I really only need his going home outfit (a newborn and a 0-3 month because I don't know how big he'll be). We'll install his car seat in my car once the car seat protector I ordered last week comes in. Then, we should be as prepared as we'll get for Mr. Brayden's arrival. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that our son will be here within the next month. Our lives are about to change forever!
We had a doctor's appointment today. It took us longer than normal, but I completely understand. Dr. Slovak had four women in labor all at once. So, she was running back and forth between labor and delivery and the office patients. I told her I didn't mind in the least because I want her over there with me when I'm in labor. I'm still only dilated to a one, but she said my cervix has thinned to about 50%. She also said she doesn't think he'll be as big as we originally thought. Definitely in the 8 pound range but probably not over 9. Hallelujah! I asked her if she thought he'd make it to his due date, and she said, "I honestly don't think so. However, you can never trust a pregnant woman because you don't know what they're going to do." So, he could come in the next week or hang out until November, I guess we'll see. :) Mom and Melanie have started putting their guesses in as to when he'll be here and how much he'll weigh. We should get a pot going.
After work today, my precious coworkers threw an ice cream baby shower for us. It was super cute and had a delicious ice cream bar. I blogged all of that here.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - 36 weeks, 5 days
Baby month is here!!! I cannot believe we'll be welcoming little Brayden into the world this month. And....FREAK OUT! Just kidding. I'm not really freaking out, but I do realize there's lots left to do.
We send off the carpet remnant Nick's cousin gave us tomorrow to be bound for Bray's nursery. I'm doing lots of laundry to get all of these burp cloths, bibs, clothes, sheets, towels, blankets, etc. ready for when he comes home.
Nick hung the floating shelf tonight. As I was taking pictures he said, "Are you really documenting this?" I said, "Of course! I have a blog I have to update!" It looks awesome! I'm now looking for a cute, battery powered lamp/lantern of some type to give us a little light up there. I've also got to work on a mobile we are making out of old fishing lures to hang from the shelf above his changing pad. Everything is coming together quite nicely.
We also hung the awesome mobile Sarah made for us. I LOVE it!!
We've been ordering the final items we'll needwill probably never use for once Brayden arrives. You know: bath water thermometer, movement & sound monitor, stroller fan, etc. All the things a baby can't live without. I'm excited to be getting all of these items and putting them in place. I know that it won't be the end of the world if Brayden comes before the room and his items are ready, but I'm such a perfectionist and love for everything to be in their proper spot. :)
I was thinking about how one year ago today I received a phone call letting me know that the blood work showed positive, and I was pregnant. There are days I feel like this pregnancy has flown by, others I feel like they've been the longest months of my life, and then I think about how I've practically been pregnant for a whole year. It's so hard not knowing God's plan, but I'm doing my best to trust in Him and know that everything is for a reason. I'm ecstatic to get to hold Brayden in my arms soon. I pray everything continues to go smoothly with this pregnancy and that God will bless us with an easy (well as easy as it can be) labor and delivery.
Monday, October 7, 2013 - 37 weeks, 4 days
Had another appointment today. Everything is good. Still dilated to a one but thinned out to 70%. Doctor Slovak said that she is going out of town this weekend so asked that I put my feet up and take it easy so she can be here for this baby's birth. :) Love that she's excited to be here for me. Casey also told me that she and Mitchell are going to the UT game on Saturday, and I needed to wait until at least Sunday to go into labor. Ha! You'd think I was about to pop this baby out at any minute. His heart rate was 131. I'm measuring between 36 and 37 weeks. I've gained 5 lbs so far. All is well in pregnancy world. Now if only I could sleep all night and quit getting kicked in the ribs. I took a tour of labor & delivery after my appointment. I got to see the rooms, where we'll be, and where I'll be after Bray's born. Now I feel a little more prepared for that part.
I've ordered fabric for the glider and ottoman. That should be in this week so I can get my final project complete in the nursery. I got the batting when Maegan and I went to Longview a few weeks back. I can't wait to see what the finished product will look like.
Nick & I went to Target on Saturday to buy Brayden's coming home from the hospital outfit. When Maegan & Randall brought Callen home from the hospital, he almost couldn't wear the newborn outfit she had packed for him, so I wanted to have a size newborn and a size 0-3 month outfit just in case. I really hope Brayden can wear newborn because the outfit we got him is too cute! The 0-3 month outfit is really cute as well, but I really love the little overalls. :)
I also washed all of Brayden's little socks and packed his hospital bag. I've got some clothes and a couple of blankets. I was really trying not to pack too much because I know the hospital will have mostly everything he needs. However, I'm pretty sure I probably packed too much. Oh well!
Nick got the car seat installed in my car along with the sun shade and mirror. We are almost completely ready for Mr. Brayden to make his appearance!
We had a remnant piece of carpet from Nick's cousin's house bound for the nursery. We decided to put it in the living room instead. For one, the carpet was bigger than what I anticipated (not a bad thing). It would have almost been wall to wall in the nursery. But Nick made a valid point, he said, "Where will we be spending the most time? Probably the living room." So, we decided it would get more use in the living room. I had a nesting moment right before we were supposed to be heading to the Mayben's cabin for dinner last night. Nick walked in and I was vacuuming the living room to prepare for the carpet. He said, "Guess we're putting the carpet down before we leave?" I said, "Yep! Sure are!" It completely changed the look of the living room and will be awesome for tummy time in the floor.
Also, the ladies at Bible Study threw a book shower for Brayden tonight. I did a separate blog for that here.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 - 37 weeks, 6 days
I'm in an organization in Mount Pleasant called Pilot Club. The sweet ladies who are members of that club threw a surprise diaper shower for me today at our meeting. I was definitley surprised. I walked in right at noon, and immediately said, "I'll be right back! I have to go to the restroom." Go figure, huh? I got back into the room and noticed a table (that I had walked right past the first time), loaded with a diaper cake, boxes of diapers, and yummy cupcakes! I stopped and pointed, and all of the ladies started laughing. They said, "You walked right past it when you came in earlier! We thought we were going to have to point it out to you!" Apparently, my bladder was at the front of my mind. I felt so loved. Thank you Pilot ladies! It means the world to me!
We finally finished Brayden's nursery! I blogged it all, and you can read that here.
We've also taken newborn pictures. I'm going to do a post of that on its own. I'm sure I'll have it posted soon. We love our little man so much already. Thanks for sticking with me through the end of this pregnancy. Hope I didn't bore you too much!
Monday, August 5, 2013 - 28 weeks, 4 days
Painting is done, new fan/light fixture is hung, and we bought lots of decor for Brayden's nursery this weekend. This was the first time in existence that I had to tell Nick to reign it in at Hobby Lobby. My mother-in-love had texted me a few days ago with a picture of some fishing and hunting items that would go well in Brayden's nursery, and Sister had texted me a while back with some really cute letters made out of antlers also at Hobby Lobby. Nick & I went on Saturday, and I think he would have bought the whole section if I would have let him. :) I loved watching him get so excited about his son's room. I love that I have a spouse who is equally as excited about our upcoming bundle of joy as I am. Here are a few pictures of the progress of the nursery so far. I'm doing an entire blog dedicated to Bray's nursery, so you'll have to go here to see the finished project. :)
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| Work in progress! |
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| New ceiling fan. |
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| New texture on the ceiling. |
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| Some decor that Nick & I picked out. |
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| Nick really liked these. :) |
I had an appointment today. It was the glucola test day. I thought the drink wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of people made it out to be. No, it's not something I want to drink all the time, but it just tasted like extremely sweet Kool-Aid. I'll be finding out the results sometime soon. I forgot to ask when that will be exactly. I had a whole list of things to ask her, and completely forgot to ask when those results would be in. Brayden's heartbeat was a little up today around the mid 150s. I said it was probably because of that sugary drink. :) But everything looks perfect, and Dr. Slovak said everything was right on track. We are now into the every two week appointments. So, my next appointment will be August 19th. I'll have another ultrasound that day. I can't wait to see Bray again. :)
I did find out at that one of my pregnancy ailments is very common (I figured it would be). Every night, some nights are worse than others, I have an area on the bottom of my stomach that hurts (more like soreness) terribly. It's hard for me to turn over in the bed because it will hurt so badly. Dr. Slovak said that it is round ligaments that are being stretched. For people who are up and down a lot and on their feet, the pain can be worse. Yes, I have a desk job, but I'm up and down all the time. I take the stairs as often as possible at work, deliver supplies to different locations, then I make service calls with Nick after work sometimes. I try not to be sedentary at home because I'll sleep the evenings away. So, normally I can be found cleaning, decorating, organizing, or just nesting in general. She said that a maternity belt would help a lot. So, looks like that's the next thing to be purchased during this pregnancy. I hope it will give me some relief.
AND EXCITING NEWS!!! One of my very best friends, Hannah Ruth Davis, thinks she and her hubby may be expecting. We texted a lot today. She had some questions, and I'm a good person to ask since I'm currently going through it. I so hope she is pregnant. Her due date would be around the beginning of April.
Thursday, August 8, 2013 - 29 weeks
I have to give a major pat on the back, standing ovation for my sweet husband.
Tuesday, I had not been feeling well. I had thought it was just typical pregnancy aches and pains. I got home from work and immediately took a bath thinking that might help ease the soreness and pain I was having. Dr. Slovak had told me at my appointment on Monday that a warm bath would help soothe the round ligament pains I've been getting. While soaking in the tub, hubby made dinner. We ate, then watched a movie. By this time, it was time for bed. My pain was getting stronger, not better, but I still thought it was pregnancy stuff. We went to bed at 10:00, and at 11:00, I got back up to take another bath. I just couldn't get comfortable and the pain was mounting. At midnight, I told Nick, "I think I need to go to the ER." I probably should have phrased that differently. His head popped off the pillow and looked at me frantically. I said, "Brayden's fine! I think I have a bladder infection." I've had these before, and I finally realized that's what this was. I called my doctor's hotline before we went anywhere, and my doctor was actually on call. So, I was able to speak with Dr. Slovak at midnight. She told me to go get AZO Standard at Wal-Mart to help with the pain until the morning and then she'd call me in some antibiotics. I'm so very glad I got to speak with her before I racked up a bill at an ER. So, at midnight, Nick trudged off to Wal-Mart with me to get medicine and cranberry juice. We finally got into bed again around 1:00. He was up and off by 6:00 the next morning. I spent all day yesterday in bed/on the couch recooping. He called to check on me, would swing by and make sure I had everything I needed, and still worked till past 10:00 last night. Husband, I love you and thank you for taking such good care of me and Brayden!
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| My nurses taking care of me while Nick was away. |
Sunday, August 11, 2013 - 29 weeks, 3 days
Oy vey. I got sick tonight for the first time in a while. I guess morning sickness can rear its ugly head at any time during pregnancy. On the plus side, Nick's parents bought Alan & Tovah's swing they used for Owen to the house tonight. We're borrowing their's instead of buying one. The dogs weren't too sure about that contraption. Oh, they are in for a surprise come the end of October. :)
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 - 29 weeks, 5 days
I've started hanging things in Bray's room. I can't wait to have it all here and put together. Nick said I really need to work on getting blinds for the window. Apparently, he can't handle the nothing over the window look.
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| The brown paper is there as a place holder until the actual print comes in. |
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| Left: Norman Rockwell Vintage Bait Box Brown Right: Norman Rockwell Vintage Fishing Tackles Natural |
Thursday, August 15, 2013 - 30 weeks
I am 30 weeks pregnant today!!!
Monday, August 19, 2013 - 30 weeks, 4 days
Well, Brayden is still Brayden! We went for my 30 week ultrasound and an appointment today. I asked the sono tech, he's still a boy, right? And he is. Thank goodness. The sono tech also said that he has his head shoved into my pelvis way down low. I don't know if I'll be able to tell when he "drops" or not because of how low he always is. We got to see his profile, foot, face, and all other types of body parts. He wasn't very happy with the sono tech though. He kept hitting her wand thing while it was pushing down on him. :) After my time at Open Imaging, I headed across the street to Dr. Slovak. I got to see my friend, Cassana, who is due about a week after me also with a little boy. :) I'm almost back up to my prepregnancy weight. She listened to his heartbeat with the doppler. She said she's very happy with the way everything is progressing. I'm still on a two week appointment rotation, but my next appointment is actually three weeks away. Two weeks from today will be Labor Day, and they're closed that day. The rest of her week is booked up. So, I go back three weeks from today. No problems there. :) Here are my sono pics from today. I spared y'all from any "boy part" pictures.
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| Click on this and it will be bigger. :) Left: Profile shot but he had his hand up next to his face. Middle: Brayden's little foot. Right: Better profile shot. He kept sucking, and you could see it while we watched him. |
Wednesday, August 21, 2013 - 30 weeks, 6 days
I made an appointment at the 4D Peanut Gallery in Texarkana today for September 7th. I'm really excited to get a 4D and hopefully see Brayden's features!
Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 31 weeks, 3 days
Whew! This has been a productive weekend in the baby department!
Friday morning, I went to a big garage sale that was happening in Mount Pleasant to benefit a little girl who is having to have numerous surgeries. The money made from the sale was going to help her family pay for medical and travel expenses. I picked up lots of clothes for Mr. Brayden.
Friday evening, Nick & I made a trip to Longview. We went to Home Depot to buy some blinds for Brayden's nursery. Then we headed to Target. I needed a shirt for maternity pictures. We also walked through the baby section. I registered at Target, but online. I wanted to have some fun perusing the aisles, and Nick was ok with that. :) Target's app also has a fun tool to where I can add items to my registry from my phone. I added just a few things that aren't offered online. We also bought Brayden's first outfit from a store. I couldn't resist! Let's just hope he makes it here before Halloween, and he can actually wear it!
Saturday, we hung the blinds and started the work on the wood wall in the nursery that we finished up on Sunday. Find out more about that on the nursery blog, but you can see pictures of the process below.
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| Husband diligently working. I didn't do too much but sit in the glider and hand him things as he needed them. |
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| My "baby" cuddling with my baby. :) Satchel was excited we finally sat down. |
We had maternity pictures today, and I'm so excited to see them! Jessica Brummel at Treasured Moments took them. It was HOT, but I know Jessica got some great shots. :) We used some of our own personal props - Tarleton quilt Sister made, little Frankenstein hat we bought for Brayden (since he'll, hopefully, be born in October), and a letter "B" we're using in his nursery. Jessica brought a few props as well - some of Trey's baby Sperrys, a book, and a little toy truck. We took lots of pictures behind Jason & Jessica's house, then we headed out to the winery to take some there too. She said it may take up to two weeks to finish all the editing on them, and I'm already anxious to see them! Eek! Once we get them, I'm going to do a blog of just those. So I'll link that up here.
We were supposed to take the pictures last week, but we had to reschedule. I'm glad that happened because what I was going to wear ended up being all wrong. I had a "girl" moment. I went home last Tuesday night to try on what I had planned on wearing. I didn't like it. I changed. I didn't like it. Nick tried to help me pick something out of my existing wardrobe - bless him. I didn't like it. We went to the only store in MP that carries maternity to try and find something to buy. I didn't like any of it. I think I had just gotten to a point that I was too frustrated and wasn't going to like anything I put on my body. So, once the shoot was rescheduled, I had time to run to Longview and find an outfit. I happened to get an e-mail from Zulily one day that had a really cute outfit. I decided to channel that look. I bought the black skinny jeans at Kohl's (for a great deal because of a $10 off coupon and an extra 20% off they gave me on top of the already 30% markdown) and the chambray tunic at Target. I already had the boots and belt. I had to take a photo of my outfit to send to one of my coworkers. :)
Speaking of maternity clothes, Hannah asked me to help her out on where to shop for clothes. So, I compiled a list on where I had the most luck with clothes for a good price.
- Kohl's - Favorite pants. I signed up for e-mails and get coupons all the time. You can get things at a really good price (or at least cheaper than other places).
- Consignment stores - These were big for me. I have no problem with wearing second hand clothes. Maternity clothes are especially good because most women don't wear them for very long, so most are in really good shape.
- Target - Liz Lange t-shirts are my favorite! I'd wear those every day with a pair of jeans if I could.
- Motherhood - More expensive but tank tops and dresses here. I bought a dress for a wedding here, and they are very reasonably priced on tanks.
- Wal-Mart - Maxi dresses. At the end of summer, Wal-Mart puts all of their maxis on clearance for super cheap (~$5). I bought three last year a little bigger than what I normally wear. I wear those dresses all. the. time.
- JBF or Rhea Lana - If you live in an area that has JBF or Rhea Lana, hit those up. I got a lot of clothes that I wear to work from the JBF in Weatherford this past spring.
Yesterday was quite fun! We had our first baby shower. Blogged that all here.
I want to add a little bit of advice for any preggers out there. When registering, register at Amazon too. You can add items from other websites (such as Etsy). When someone purchases something off of your Amazon registry, a "Thank You List" is compiled with what that person bought you along with their address which makes writing cards very easy! They can choose to ship it directly to you, or ship it to themselves and bring it to your shower. Plus, if they have Prime!, they get free 2-day shipping on most items. Just wanted to put that little plug in. No, Amazon did not pay me to advertise for them. Wish they would though. Ha! :)
After the shower Nick, myself, my parents, Sister, and Nick's parents all headed to Texarkana to go to 4D Peanut Gallery for a 4D Sonogram of little Brayden. It was so much fun! If you are pregnant and are able, you HAVE to do a 4D sonogram. We saw that Brayden has mine and my Sister's nose and mouth and at least one of my dimples! He is quite the chunk and already has some fat rolls. :) His mouth moved the entire time, so it seems he'll be quite the little talker and fit right in with the Bray and Robertson families. I was able to upload the sonogram to YouTube, so all you have to do is click on this link to see it. Be forewarned, it's ~40 minutes long and set to lullaby music. It will kinda make you sleepy. We received a turtle stuffed animal that plays Brayden's heartbeat when you squeeze it, a DVD of the entire sonogram, still pictures of the sonogram, and lots of freebies from Similac. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
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| Here's a collage of the stills from the 4D sonogram. Ack! He's so cute. |
Monday, September 9, 2013 - 33 weeks, 4 days
Had another appointment today. Brayden is perfect and growing just as he should! I met with Dr. Mason today instead of Dr. Slovak. Dr. Slovak was out sick. He measured me and listened to Brayden's heartbeat which was holding steady at 142. My next appointment is two weeks away then I start every week appointments. Eeek! We're getting so close!!!
Sunday, September 15, 2013 - 34 weeks, 3 days
Nesting, nesting, nesting. That is what is going on in our house. :) Nick "nested" by cleaning out the garage today. It's not totally cleaned out, but we got our new-to-us camper to fit, and hopefully my car will fit by the end of the week. I nested by washing, sorting, and putting up all of the garage sale clothes I've bought/we've received. Brayden's dresser is almost full! But don't worry, the closet is free for more. I also washed all of the burp cloths, towels, swaddle blankets, and bibs. They've been folded and put away, just waiting for Brayden to arrive.
I've written my thank you notes for the gifts we received at our Pittsburg shower. We've gotten mostly everything we received from that shower in it's proper place. We have our New Boston shower this upcoming weekend, so Brayden will get more goodies to stash away. I think next week, I'll start the process of packing at least one diaper bag (I'm one of those people who will probably have two or three) and getting our hospital bag ready. With only 5 and a half weeks left, I want to be prepared at any time. We picked up Mitchell & Casey's bassinet from when the kids were babies. We're borrowing it for our bedroom for Brayden. We set it up and put the sheets on it.
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| Perfect little spot for late night feedings. |
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 34 weeks, 6 days
Well, so much for getting through my pregnancy without having any swelling feet.
I spent a good amount of time on my feet yesterday including a trip to Wal-Mart. We celebrated little Kenlie's 6th birthday at Peralta's, then husband & I went home. He had pulled the camper out of the garage to work on a few odds and ends inside. I went in it, sat on the couch and pulled my feet up on the couch with me. I then shed my shoes. I said, "Oh my goodness!" Nick, who had been standing outside the pop-up, bursted through the door. He thought something was wrong, and I said, "I can't see my right ankle anymore!" I've got to tone down the drama in my voice because he keeps thinking I'm going into labor. Poor husband! But, needless to say, I've stayed off my feet as much as possible since this little occurence. They're still swelling, but not as badly. Nick said I have to start taking it easy. Will do husband, will do.
Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 35 weeks
I am 35 weeks pregnant today! Hard to believe that there are only 5 weeks left until my due date. Wonder if he'll stay in that entire time?!
Monday, September 23, 2013 - 35 weeks, 4 days
We had a baby shower in New Boston this past Saturday. Blogged that all here.
I had an appointment today. Brayden is doing good, still head down, heart rate in the 140s, and I'm dilated to a one! She said that that means I could go into labor tomorrow, or I could hang out at a one for a month. But, she said my body, and the baby, are getting ready for delivery. Eek! I'm starting every week appointments now, so I'll have an update a week from now on whether or not I've dilated any more.
I've had some fun
A new side effect is this thing called Relaxin. It's a hormone that my body releases to get ready for labor. I've read about this, so I knew it was coming, I just didn't know it would do this. When I'm walking
Using the restroom during the night has increased exponentially in the past few weeks. I guess I'll be really good at waking up to feed a baby by the time Brayden gets here. Of course, Nick is going to help with Bray. :)
Nick put the crib that we received from the NB hostesses together Saturday evening. I love it and can't wait to work on the baby bedding with Sister this upcoming weekend!
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| Gifts from the NB shower. |
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| Dogs checking out all the stuff in the nursery. |
Yesterday, Nick was learning how to operate the new camcorder that Mom & Dad got for us. Background story: Nick says that Sister and I have the most documented lives ever. He's probably right. My Dad has recorded every Christmas, birthday, band competition, Easter egg hunt, Christmas musical, vacation etc. that we've ever had. Mom has always taken lots of pictures. So, Mom & Dad bought us a new camcorder as a baby present to start documenting Brayden's life the moment he arrives. I told Nick that the camcorder would be his job. So, he's started learning all of the fun things our's does. One of the options is having a projector built directly into the camera. He would record things then project it onto the wall. The dogs were confused as to why we were on the wall and why there were dogs on the wall. It was a funny experience.
Husband went on a "nesting" spree yesterday morning. I got up to get ready for church at 8:00am, and Nick was in the kitchen finishing cooking breakfast. I asked him, "How long have you been up?!" He said, "Since about 6:30. My eyes popped open, and I decided to get somethings done around the house instead of go back to bed." So, between 6:30 and 8:00am, he had: showered, cleaned the fish bowl, hung the baby monitor, put the baby dishes in the kitchen, tidyed up the nursery, put away shower gifts, made breakfast, and fed the dogs! Go husband!
Of course, I went on a "nesting" spree this evening. Nick was working in Longview, so I was at home with the pups. I mainly did laundry, worked on getting everything in it's proper place in the nursery, opening Brayden's toys, and cleaned/straightened Nick's office. Sister is coming to spend the weekend with us, and if she wants to sleep in a bed, I needed to make a path to the one in the guest room. That room has been neglected since we've started working on the nursery. But, it looks much better now. :)
I'm seeing a potential problem these days. As I was opening all of Bray's toys (rattles, teethers, etc.), I've realized how much these things look like dog toys. Satchel specifically likes an owl toy. He just likes to carry it around. I've sequestered all of the toys into the crib for the time being because Satch can't get to them there. I have a feeling Satch will be stealing them from Bray before long.
Monday, September 30, 2013 - 36 weeks, 4 days
Sister and I had a #marathonsewing weekend. We also watched the Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake video and now can't stop saying "hashtag" and using the hand gesture. :)
She was going to come down Friday evening, but ended up getting a headache and coming down Saturday morning instead. We had cinnamon rolls to start the morning, then got to work. It was a long and tedious process, but by yesterday afternoon, we had basically finished Brayden's bedding! Yay! So excited to see it all coming together.
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| Sister working on the crib skirt. |
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| One of our helpers...who was constantly in the way. |
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| We ironed a lot. |
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| Almost finished with the first bumper. |
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| Our other two helpers...who were also constantly in the way. |
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| Practically finished project!!! |
Sister's best friend, Sarah, made an awesomely cute mobile for us for Brayden's room. I was originally going to hang it over his changing table, but have decided to move this one to over his crib and make a different one for over the changing table out of Nick's Pepaw's old fishing lures. I can't wait to get both hung. :) Sarah is super crafty and has her own Etsy store called SJPiccadilly. Go browse and buy something cute. :)
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| I haven't hung it yet. We'll do that as soon as I get a hook. |
Nick asked me to please pack a hospital bag, so I did that Saturday night before going to bed. I think we were both having a weird feeling. I don't know if it is because it is getting so close to his due date, but we both want to be better prepared. I didn't get everything in it that we'll need, but I've started making my list of things to add to it. I'm charging our camcorder batteries, so I can go ahead and have that packed. I've made a shopping list for Wal-Mart for travel size toiletry items so I can have all of that packed and only have to grab my make up bag. I'll have a list of the last minute items to grab: phone charger, pillow, iPod, etc. I don't have anything packed for Nick or Brayden yet. I know that the hospital provides practically everything for the baby, so I really only need his going home outfit (a newborn and a 0-3 month because I don't know how big he'll be). We'll install his car seat in my car once the car seat protector I ordered last week comes in. Then, we should be as prepared as we'll get for Mr. Brayden's arrival. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that our son will be here within the next month. Our lives are about to change forever!
We had a doctor's appointment today. It took us longer than normal, but I completely understand. Dr. Slovak had four women in labor all at once. So, she was running back and forth between labor and delivery and the office patients. I told her I didn't mind in the least because I want her over there with me when I'm in labor. I'm still only dilated to a one, but she said my cervix has thinned to about 50%. She also said she doesn't think he'll be as big as we originally thought. Definitely in the 8 pound range but probably not over 9. Hallelujah! I asked her if she thought he'd make it to his due date, and she said, "I honestly don't think so. However, you can never trust a pregnant woman because you don't know what they're going to do." So, he could come in the next week or hang out until November, I guess we'll see. :) Mom and Melanie have started putting their guesses in as to when he'll be here and how much he'll weigh. We should get a pot going.
After work today, my precious coworkers threw an ice cream baby shower for us. It was super cute and had a delicious ice cream bar. I blogged all of that here.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - 36 weeks, 5 days
Baby month is here!!! I cannot believe we'll be welcoming little Brayden into the world this month. And....FREAK OUT! Just kidding. I'm not really freaking out, but I do realize there's lots left to do.
We send off the carpet remnant Nick's cousin gave us tomorrow to be bound for Bray's nursery. I'm doing lots of laundry to get all of these burp cloths, bibs, clothes, sheets, towels, blankets, etc. ready for when he comes home.
Nick hung the floating shelf tonight. As I was taking pictures he said, "Are you really documenting this?" I said, "Of course! I have a blog I have to update!" It looks awesome! I'm now looking for a cute, battery powered lamp/lantern of some type to give us a little light up there. I've also got to work on a mobile we are making out of old fishing lures to hang from the shelf above his changing pad. Everything is coming together quite nicely.
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| Before... |
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| During... |
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| During... |
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| During...and you have to go to the finished nursery blog to see the after because I forgot to take a picture. :) |
We've been ordering the final items we'll need
I was thinking about how one year ago today I received a phone call letting me know that the blood work showed positive, and I was pregnant. There are days I feel like this pregnancy has flown by, others I feel like they've been the longest months of my life, and then I think about how I've practically been pregnant for a whole year. It's so hard not knowing God's plan, but I'm doing my best to trust in Him and know that everything is for a reason. I'm ecstatic to get to hold Brayden in my arms soon. I pray everything continues to go smoothly with this pregnancy and that God will bless us with an easy (well as easy as it can be) labor and delivery.
Monday, October 7, 2013 - 37 weeks, 4 days
Had another appointment today. Everything is good. Still dilated to a one but thinned out to 70%. Doctor Slovak said that she is going out of town this weekend so asked that I put my feet up and take it easy so she can be here for this baby's birth. :) Love that she's excited to be here for me. Casey also told me that she and Mitchell are going to the UT game on Saturday, and I needed to wait until at least Sunday to go into labor. Ha! You'd think I was about to pop this baby out at any minute. His heart rate was 131. I'm measuring between 36 and 37 weeks. I've gained 5 lbs so far. All is well in pregnancy world. Now if only I could sleep all night and quit getting kicked in the ribs. I took a tour of labor & delivery after my appointment. I got to see the rooms, where we'll be, and where I'll be after Bray's born. Now I feel a little more prepared for that part.
I've ordered fabric for the glider and ottoman. That should be in this week so I can get my final project complete in the nursery. I got the batting when Maegan and I went to Longview a few weeks back. I can't wait to see what the finished product will look like.
Nick & I went to Target on Saturday to buy Brayden's coming home from the hospital outfit. When Maegan & Randall brought Callen home from the hospital, he almost couldn't wear the newborn outfit she had packed for him, so I wanted to have a size newborn and a size 0-3 month outfit just in case. I really hope Brayden can wear newborn because the outfit we got him is too cute! The 0-3 month outfit is really cute as well, but I really love the little overalls. :)
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| Newborn outfit. |
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| 0-3 month outfit. |
Nick got the car seat installed in my car along with the sun shade and mirror. We are almost completely ready for Mr. Brayden to make his appearance!
We had a remnant piece of carpet from Nick's cousin's house bound for the nursery. We decided to put it in the living room instead. For one, the carpet was bigger than what I anticipated (not a bad thing). It would have almost been wall to wall in the nursery. But Nick made a valid point, he said, "Where will we be spending the most time? Probably the living room." So, we decided it would get more use in the living room. I had a nesting moment right before we were supposed to be heading to the Mayben's cabin for dinner last night. Nick walked in and I was vacuuming the living room to prepare for the carpet. He said, "Guess we're putting the carpet down before we leave?" I said, "Yep! Sure are!" It completely changed the look of the living room and will be awesome for tummy time in the floor.
Also, the ladies at Bible Study threw a book shower for Brayden tonight. I did a separate blog for that here.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 - 37 weeks, 6 days
I'm in an organization in Mount Pleasant called Pilot Club. The sweet ladies who are members of that club threw a surprise diaper shower for me today at our meeting. I was definitley surprised. I walked in right at noon, and immediately said, "I'll be right back! I have to go to the restroom." Go figure, huh? I got back into the room and noticed a table (that I had walked right past the first time), loaded with a diaper cake, boxes of diapers, and yummy cupcakes! I stopped and pointed, and all of the ladies started laughing. They said, "You walked right past it when you came in earlier! We thought we were going to have to point it out to you!" Apparently, my bladder was at the front of my mind. I felt so loved. Thank you Pilot ladies! It means the world to me!
Thursday, October 10, 2013 - 38 weeks
What did I do to celebrate being 38 weeks today? I finished recovering the glider and ottoman for the nursery! I got the fabric at fabric.com. It's a bit more lime than what I had originally wanted, but it still turned out really well. I can say I'm not near as much of a perfectionist as Sister. Her seams look way better than mine. But, it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Excited to almost be done with Bray's room. Nick has to build a wagon shelf this weekend, I have to hang two pictures, and that's pretty much it. I think we'll be done by Sunday for sure!
Sunday, October 13, 2013 - 38 weeks, 3 days
We finally finished Brayden's nursery! I blogged it all, and you can read that here.
I'm feeling more comfortable about Brayden coming now. I just knew he was going to come last night. As Nick & I were getting into bed, I said, "I just having this feeling he's coming tonight." I'm glad he didn't because Dr. Slovak is still out of town. :) My parents and Sister have tickets to go see The Lion King at the State Fair on Tuesday, so it would be nice if he could wait until at least Wednesday to come. Of course, I'm all concerned about him coming early, but he'll probably end up hanging out for a while. :)
I've not had any Braxton hicks. I had to ask Casey today if a pain I had felt twice (once yesterday and once this morning) if they were contractions. She said that it was probably just him stretching and sitting on a nerve or something similar. I also had to ask Mom yesterday if a pain I was feeling was normal. Pretty much, it feels like I pulled a muscle. Mom said it's just everything loosening up and getting ready for him to "head on out" (thanks Lance!). I'm getting to the point that I'm ready for him to be here. I understand why the Lord gives us 9 months to be pregnant. Once you get to the end, you're ready, no matter how scary labor and delivery sounds.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 38 weeks, 6 days
Well, I had an appointment yesterday. To begin with, Brayden and I are ok, but I have been put on complete bed rest until I deliver. Did I mention that could be tomorrow?! My appointment was Tuesday instead of Monday like normal because the office was closed for Columbus Day. It was pouring rain yesterday, and I headed to my appointment as always. When I got there, they did the normal stuff - test blood pressure, have me pee in a cup, weight, etc. My blood pressure was a little high (150/80) and there was a very small amount of protein in my urine. They tested my blood pressure four different times. When Dr. Slovak came in after the fourth time, she said, "You're probably freaking out. Don't. You're ok and so is Brayden. However, you're not going back to work because I'm putting you on bed rest." These signs could be preeclampsia. My doctor has had me do a 24-hour urine sample that started 7:00am today through 7:00am tomorrow. I have an appointment at her office tomorrow morning at 8:30. I will bring my sample and have blood work done at that time. She said to bring my husband and my hospital bag. She said if my blood pressure was still high and/or there was more protein, we would induce. She has a feeling I'll be having Bray on Thursday. She said not to worry, that I'm doing fine but I haven't had any protein and my blood pressure has been normal the rest of the pregnancy. So the fact that it went up and protein is now present, she just wants to be proactive. I am supposed to only get up and down to use the restroom or take a shower. I need to be sitting/laying down the rest of the time. But, looks like we'll probably be welcoming Brayden Dale into the world tomorrow! It is crazy hard for me to wrap my head around this fact!
For the record, I dislike being on bed rest. Some days I may have liked it, but knowing that I could be bringing my son home in a few days' time, all I want to do is vacuum, dust, and straighten my home! Thank goodness I had Monday off for Columbus day because I was able to do all of my laundry and have it put away already, and I vacuumed and dusted our bed room.
Nick & I have amazing friends and family. Everyone has offered their help in any way they could think of. One of my sweet friends even offered to come paint my toenails today. :) I thought that was super sweet of her! Melanie and Joe came over last night to help Nick with dinner.
I've literally been laying in bed all day today. Nick has been in and out of the house all day. His guys didn't work because it rained like crazy yesterday and the ground was too wet to work today. But, Nick was able to get a lot of stuff done and prepped for Thursday and Friday (for if we're at the hospital). I've had a Harry Potter marathon and am on movie five out of eight.
I think we've got everything ready to head to the hospital tomorrow. I've always been told, with children, it feels like you're moving any time you leave the house. Well, having a child makes me feel like I'm moving. I've got clothes, boppy pillow, bibs, burb cloths, blanket, snacks for the hospital room (so we don't spend a fortune on vending machine), snacks for nurses, clothes, toiletries, car seat, among a host of other things!
We'll see what Dr. Slovak says tomorrow. The family is on stand-by, waiting to hear if Mr. Brayden is coming tomorrow. Lord help my nerves!!!
Thursday, October 24, 2013 - Bray is a week old!!!
Well, I went to the appointment last Thursday morning, and my blood pressure was up. I think it was 150/100, but I'm not completely positive (I have a lot of numbers running around in my head from the past week). My urine sample needed to have a protein level of less than 300 and it was 419. So, Dr. Slovak said, "Go grab your bags out of your car, and call your family, we're inducing today." Because of the high blood pressure, protein in urine, and the fact that my feet had been swelling, I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. This means that I could have had seizures during labor and delivery and up to 24 hours after Bray was born.
We let family know and started the process of getting settled into our room. I wrote out the schedule of the Brayden's birthday (Thursday, October 17th) on Friday so I wouldn't forget it.
- 8:30 am - Blood work and turn in sample, bp high
- 9:30 am - Protein is 419, we are inducing, dilated to 2 cm
- 11:30 am - Started magnesium drip to lower bp and keep from having seizures, given inducement pill
- 3:30 pm - Water broke, dilated to 3 cm, given Stadol for pain, and Pitocin to further induce
- 5:30 pm - Epidural put in, dilated to 5 cm
- 7:30 pm - Dilated to ~9 1/2 cm, pushed a little and decided to turn epidural down a bit, sit up to let gravity help, and get ready for labor
- 8:30 pm - Started pushing
- 9:55 pm - Brayden Dale was born, 9 lb 6 oz, 21 inches long
My sweet husband and Sister were with me for the labor and delivery. Sister was just supposed to be there to take pictures for us, but she ended up being much more involved than she had anticipated. She and Nick were so helpful, and I was so thankful for both of them. Dr. Slovak was the best doctor ever! I know I have nothing to compare her too, but she was with me from the moment I started pushing to the time Brayden arrived. She was so encouraging, and helped me welcome our son into this world. Nick even cut Brayden's cord. Nick snapped the most perfect picture right after he was born as they laid Brayden on my chest. I believe it will be one of my most treasured, favorite pictures of all time.
Nick & I cried as we looked at our perfect boy. I just held onto him while Dr. Slovak got everything cleaned up. The nursery nurse eventually came and took him from me to weigh and measure him. He surprised all of us with being 9 pounds 6 ounces. We had a lot of friends and family visit while we were in the hospital. I feel so loved and blessed by everyone. :) Sister also made us a precious wreath for our hospital door that we've now hung on our front door.
Here are pictures that Sister took and of people visiting at the hospital.
We've had lots of visitors, and I've taken many pictures of a sleeping baby. :) Oh, and story on the t-shirts. This is from a note my mother-in-love wrote on facebook. "DeAnna is so creative that she always gets the job of designing t-shirts for our family. I came up with the idea of having one designed for her & Brayden. I'm not very creative, so I asked her sister, Ashley, what she thought of the idea and would she design the shirt. Since it was going to be fall when the baby came, I thought a baseball tee would be perfect. Ashley took the idea and ran with it. She came up with the "Birth of a Legend" design. Good job, Ashley! When Nick came out to report to us, he could see that Joe & I were in matching shirts. Then he read what was on them. He looked at us and told us we were silly. I told him that the "queen of t-shirts" needed to have a shirt in her honor. Nick then asked, "Does everybody have t-shirt?" "Yep, and even little Brayden has a onesie." He laughed and then he wanted his & DeAnna's shirt to take back to show her."
We've also taken newborn pictures. I'm going to do a post of that on its own. I'm sure I'll have it posted soon. We love our little man so much already. Thanks for sticking with me through the end of this pregnancy. Hope I didn't bore you too much!
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