34 Weeks!

A few days late, but here it is. I can't believe we're less than 6 weeks away from meeting our little girl! I think I say that every single week, but time is flying by and Hubs and I are getting super anxious to meet her! 

We had a productive weekend- we rearranged the furniture in the nursery (for the last time, I swear!) so that the glider can fit in the room. Once we had that situated, we ordered new cushions for the glider and hung the mirror, pictures and art in baby girl's room. I can't wait to show the final product- it looks awesome! 

We moved one of the chairs from our living room into the attic until the basement is finished, so that we could make space for the pack and play, bouncer and swing, AKA the baby girl takeover. Her things look so cute sitting there in the corner. :)

Saturday morning I got my hair did, with some low lights and more caramel highlights than my standard light blonde. It's a change, but I like it! I didn't go for a cut because I think I'll appreciate the ease of a pony tail/top knot once baby girl arrives. My next appointment is April 20, 2 weeks from my due date! It was kind of nerve-wracking/exciting to hear my stylist say "Good luck in case I don't see you!"- Ah! 

On Sunday, I ran some errands and did some final exchanges from the shower. Hubs worked like a maniac in the basement so that the plumber can come and install the new drains. Fingers crossed the framing gets started in the next week! I really would like a finished basement to do laundry in once little one gets here. 

Here's another update on our to do list:

Paint glider and buy cushions

Purchase swing

Purchase breast pump

Hang mirror, pictures and art

Hang shelves

Have local police install car seats 

Pack hospital bag (In progress! Need to purchase some things still...)

Make labor & delivery baskets

Purchase nursing bras and tops

Pick up bassinet & purchase sheet

Prenatal Massage  Appointment made! 

Purchase wood for under mattress (for monitor)

FINISH OUR BASEMENT

Now for this weeks bumpdate:

I swear some maternity shirts make you look bigger than others. Feeling huge! 

How far along?: 34 weeks

Weight gained?: 20+ lbs

Showing yet?: Yes

Stretch Marks?: I keep inspecting my belly but I'm not sure if I have any yet!

Clothes?: Maternity. All. The. Way.

Cravings?: None, really...

Aversions?: None, just hating that I get full really quickly

Sleep?:  Great, unless I get up to pee 2+ times, then I'm exhausted

Gender?:  Girl (we're for sure, now!)

Movement?: Like crazy. Lately she's been more active at night and less active during the day

Symptoms?: Stuffy nose, back pain, cramping

Miss Anything?: A good workout & not wearing a coat

Wedding Rings on or off?: On

Belly Button in or out?: In- but if I pull on my belly button it pops out!

Labor Signs?: Yep- Braxton Hicks are back, along with some of the cramping and backaches.

Looking Forward To: Spring! And meeting our baby girl! 

Baby Brine & Nursery To-Do Update!

We had a follow up appointment on Tuesday afternoon with my OB to make sure all is well with both baby girl and I after our hospital visit last Friday. 

We saw the same OB that had expressed concern over my small belly and wanted to make sure that our princess was measuring on track, so she sent us for an ultrasound. We were told that our anatomy scan would be our last unless they had any concerns, so while we were a little alarmed, we were excited to see how much she's grown and developed over the last 14 weeks. 

They also wanted to check on the growth of my fibroid tumor to make sure it hadn't grown since the anatomy scan. It had grown by 2 cm between our 6 week dating ultrasound and the 19 week anatomy scan, so in my head I thought it had become the size of a softball! ;)

Squished face and chubby cheeks. 

We are excited that our little one is measuring right on track, and they estimate her current weight is around 4 pounds, 9 ounces. There is a margin of error, but our technician was really great so I'm thinking she didn't skew the numbers too much. She's weighing in at the 35th percentile, and looks so so sweet and squished in my belly. 

Hubs had her double, and triple check to make sure that it's still a girl (ha!) and there she was, all kinds of conservative (unlike at our anatomy scan....)

About 15 minutes later, she showed all three of us her goods, letting her Daddy know that she's all girl and he shouldn't have doubted it.

She's head down and is laying on the right side of my  belly button. I can feel her bum all the time. We're so excited that she's healthy and even though she's already squished up in my pelvic bone, we're hoping she stays in there just a little bit longer. Our Dr. said that after 34 weeks (which comes on Sunday!) they won't do anything to stop labor. I think she's going to be early, but probably only by a week or so. 

This weekend we're hoping to cross more items off our to do list. Here's an update on what's left...

Determine if glider fits in nursery 

Paint glider and buy cushions

Pick out an ottoman 

Purchase swing

Purchase breast pump

Contact insurance about breast pump

Hang mirror, pictures and art

Hang shelves

Have local police install car seats

Pack hospital bag (started this...)

Make labor & delivery baskets

Prenatal Massage 

Buy mittens 

Purchase iPod/iPad dock 

Finalize Day Care plans

FINISH OUR BASEMENT

Surprisingly our list is relatively small and besides the basement and painting the glider, they're mostly small tasks. I'm SO excited for our baby girl's arrival and after seeing her squishy little face yesterday, it seems like the next 6 weeks are going to take FOR-EV-ER to get here! 

Hair Changes

Since 2007, I've identified myself as a blonde. In college, I used to dye my hair dark in the fall, and highlight in the spring and summer. The summer that Hubs and I met, I went full on blonde mode and never looked back. I LOVE having blonde hair, and I think in the winter it helps me feel less pale, if that makes any sense. 

My "natural" hair color is a light brown, and I've been convinced that I have to either dye it darker or highlight it since it's not a pretty shade on it's own. It's been over 6 years since I've seen my "real" hair color, and I've been irking for a change. 

Since I got pregnant, I swear my natural hair color has gotten even darker. It's made the upkeep of highlights really time consuming and expensive. The prenatal vitamins have made it really thick and heavy, so I'm not getting as much volume as I like.

Hubs and I have discussed the possibility of me going dark. I think he's skeptical, but knows I'll go right back to blonde if I hate it ;)

I can only imagine how little time I'll want to spend in the salon chair once our baby girl gets here, so I've been researching some options.

I think if I opt for a cut change this go round, I can do a color change at the next. I'm not sure I'm ready to make two huge changes at once! 

1-2-3-4-5-6

Hospital Bag Checklist!

After our hospital run on Friday night, I got to thinking that it's probably a good time to start making a list of all the items we'll be needing to pack in our hospital bag. 

I found some great inspiration on Pinterest, and tweaked those for our own needs. One of the items I never would have thought to pack was dry shampoo- you never know how long you'll be in labor and how long you'll have to go without getting a shower! 

As you can see, Hubs needs a reminder to grab his wallet and phone. The man always forgets these items, so they made their way onto our list. 

So, are we forgetting anything? I imagine we will, and if not, that means we've I've over-packed, once again. 

33 Weeks!

I think I'm always going to be one of those people who has the case of the Monday's. I loathe Monday's and dread the start of a new work week. (Note: this was meant to post yesterday!) 

I always look forward to the weekend, but have learned that I need to make every day count. Each one is a blessing. 

On Friday morning, I started getting really bad menstrual like cramps and a constant back pain. I couldn't get comfortable at work, and ended up elevating my desk so I could stand. I left work about an hour early, and started feeling a little bit better on the drive home. The pain continued although it would peak at times, and I started to get worried thinking maybe I was having some contractions. 

After having the constant pain for almost 10 hours, I called my doctor. She said to take some Tylenol and drink a bunch of water as sometimes dehydration causes contractions. After an hour, I called back and she advised us to go to the hospital for monitoring. 

Note to self: Bring warmer blankets

I was so nervous and scared, thinking that our baby girl can' t be making an early arrival. I'm so anxious to meet her, but just not yet. 

We got to triage around 10:30, and were seen relatively quickly. They placed a monitor around my belly to ensure that the littlest Brine wasn't in distress. After a pelvic exam, the doctor decided to place me on IV fluids and said that I was slightly dilated so they ran a test to see if the contractions were likely to put me into pre-term labor. 

After an hour, we were given the boot, as the test results came back negative and I wasn't in pre-term labor. 

I was still in extreme pain and experiencing contractions periodically, and was told I could take up to 3,000 mg of Tylenol a day to help with the pain. We finally got home around 1:00 am, and as exhausted as I was, couldn't sleep through the pain. 

I ended up taking some Tylenol around 4:00 am, and fell asleep. I had two or three contractions on Saturday, and had to use my Lamaze techniques to get me through. I definitely had "back labor" contractions, which made it so so painful.

I took it easy most of the weekend, and am now thinking that our baby girl re-positioned herself into the downward position, causing the contractions. I also think I'm struggling with some sciatic pain, since I get excruciating pain in my back when I stand. 

I'm hoping this all passes once she settles down, but I'm definitely happy that she's happy and healthy. It's going to be a long 7 weeks if she decides to hang on my nerve the rest of the time. 

Here is this weeks bumpdate:

How far along?: 33 weeks

Weight gained?: 20 lbs

Showing yet?: Yes

Stretch Marks?: I think I found one...

Clothes?: Maternity

Cravings?: Coffee (decaf, of course!)

Aversions?: Lately nothing has sounded appetizing

Sleep?:  Great, minus the pain on Friday night

Gender?:  Girl

Movement?: Like crazy. I think she's re-positioned herself because I'm feeling more cramped and her movements are more fluid and less jabby (does that even make sense?) 

Symptoms?: Sciatica, stuffy nose

Miss Anything?: A good workout! 

Wedding Rings on or off?: On

Belly Button in or out?: In

Labor Signs?: Yep- contractions mixed with Braxton Hicks

Looking Forward To: Meeting our baby girl! 

Labor & Delivery Thank You's

It never occurred to me to bring a little "Thank You" gift for our labor and delivery nurses. 

I've read that many first time mom's don't even think about doing this since we don't realize how much they do for us. 

I first saw the trend on Kelle Hampton's blog when she posted a picture of the thank you's that her and her daughter's made for when she would deliver her son. 

I perused Pinterest and came across some other great ideas that I thought I'd share, since I'm still debating on what I'd like to do! 

I love the idea of individual bags of things for the nurses, like this:

image

I started making a list of things to include in each bag. Here's what I have so far:

-gum
-chocolate bar
-hand sanitizer
-chapstick
-altoids/mints
-hand lotion
-nuts/trail mix

The only problem is, I don't and won't know how many different nurses will be helping us. I thought about making 12, just to be on the safe side, but that is going to get pretty costly. 

I also came across this idea, where you make a few baskets to put out at the nurse's station for them all to share:

image 

These baskets have different cheese and peanut butter crackers, breakfast bars, trail mix and chips/pretzels for all the nurses to share. 

I went to google, and found a lot of nurses and moms posting their opinions on "Thank You" gifts, food especially. Here's what I found:

. 

-Homemade food items will be pitched, no one knows how sanitary your kitchen is. Baked goods from a bakery are much better

-While chocolate and cookies are delicious, healthy options like fruit baskets/Edible Arrangements are always welcome

- They cannot use scented lotion (who knew!?)

-Include salty and sweet items if making a basket

- Resealable packaging and/or snack size items work best

-Subway/Quizno party trays are always a hit

So, I think I may try to make some baskets for the nurse's station after our tour on Tuesday. It'll give me a good idea of how many I'll need and how many goodies to put in. If I run out of time, I'll probably go the Edible Arrangements/Bakery route. Depends on my cravings ;)

Update!: Nursery To Do's

I think it's safe to say that we're in full on nesting mode right now. I think it's still early, and I keep asking myself what I'll do in the next 7.5 weeks if I do it all now! Something about getting a lot of Baby Girl's items at our baby shower this weekend really set the fire under our asses :)

Before I get into some nursery updates and items left on the to-do list, I wanted to follow up on my 32 week appoint, which we had last night. 

Our practice has been going through some doctor changes, and we finally were able to get an appointment with one of the new doctor's that could possibly be the one delivery the wee one. 

A little dark...PB Rose Flower Shade 

I was excited because I had met so many other wonderful physicians in the office before they all left, and I figured their replacements would be just as great. 

It wasn't that she wasn't knowledgeable or nice...it's just that she was very vague in her answers, and sometimes seemed to answer our questions with what we wanted to hear. I don't want to be surprised in the delivery room, so I wanted to know the exact answer that would be thrown in my face on the big day. 

After my 29 week 8 pound gain, I ended up not gaining any weight over the last 3 weeks. I was sure she'd say something, but when she looked at my chart, said she wasn't concerned at all. Really? I find that hard to believe. I know I can't go back on the gain I had at my last appointment, but I expected at least a 3 pound gain since then. 

She said I should expect to gain another 6 pounds and then taper off in my 39th and 40th weeks, as most women do. That would put my total weight gain at 26 weeks. I'd be extremely happy with that, but honestly wasn't thinking it'd ever be that low. 

PB Maya Crib Bedding

She got out her measuring tape and after much feeling around, and measuring twice, she said the fundal height was 31 cm. I think the first measurement was much less than that, since the second time around she got much closer to my pelvis. She was feeling around and said she couldn't get a good grasp on how big the baby was since it seems I'm hiding her well. Then she asked how much I weighed at birth, which was over 8 pounds. She discussed a possible ultrasound to see her growth, and then decided (after Hubs inquired further) that we'd wait until my next appointment at 34 weeks to see if the fundal height increases as it should. 

This left me concerned. I want to know if she is measuring on track or not. If there is something to be concerned about, I want to know. I think I'm going to give a call back this morning to get some reassurance. 

Baby Girl's HB was 138, and she's still breech. She said that they still move around a lot at this point so it's nothing to be concerned about. I guess what I thought was a foot in my rib is actually her head! 

 Finished DIY Ombré Art

We had a busy weekend putting together a lot of the nursery. We organized the changing table, washed blankets, towels, burp cloths, bibs and socks, and figured out if we had too many clothes in one size. I think we have a good amount of 0-3 months and 3-6 months, with only a few newborn outfits and those over 6 months. I think it's hard to gauge what size she'll be come fall, and considering there aren't any fall clothes out there, I think we did alright! 

As you can see above, we put together the crib bedding and got her sheets washed. The bumper will be removed temporarily once she's in her crib, but for aesthetic purposes, I thought it was best to put it in for now :)

We have a load of laundry to do with all her newborn and 0-3 month clothes, which I'll probably do this weekend. I still can't get over how tiny her clothes are! 

Teeny Tiny baby clothes

Here's what's left on our Baby Brine to-do list:

Determine if glider fits in nursery

If it fits, paint glider and find cushions for it

Pick out an ottoman

Purchase swing

Contact insurance about breast pump

Hang mirror, pictures and art

Hang shelves

Have local police install car seats

Pack hospital bag

Make labor & delivery thank you bags

Buy mittens 

Purchase iPod/iPad dock 

Finalize Day Care plans

FINISH OUR BASEMENT

Ya, that last one has me all worried. A lot of her older baby gear will need to be stored in the basement since our colonial home closets don't offer much space. Right now, a lot of the bigger items are in our spare bedroom, and it irks me to see it so disorganized. Maybe it's time to learn to live with the mess, since most of our house will be come May! 

32 Weeks!

What a weekend! I am so beyond speechless at the AMAZING baby shower that the little one and I were thrown! It's such a wonderful feeling to know so many people are excited for her arrival. She certainly is one spoiled little girl! 

Saturday was such a special day, one I'll never forget thanks to my wonderful family. Hubs couldn't believe the amount of stuff we got, clothes especially, and we spent Sunday and Monday sorting, organizing, returning and purchasing most of the items left on our Babies 'R Us Registry. 

I don't have any pictures of the shower at the moment, but once I have some, I'll post more details. The food was so delicious, which is key at any of our family functions. The dessert spread was to die for, and I'm still thinking about the cakes in all their glory. 

My sister and cousin came up with a cute art project for the baby- decorated hangers from all the guests! There was glitter, flowers, beads, pearls, ribbon, tiaras, and more for them to decorate with! Lucky for us we have enough clothes to hang on them :) 

So here is this weeks bumpdate, only 7 more to go (I hope)!: 

How far along?: 32 weeks

Weight gained?: 23 pounds? Appointment tonight so we'll see...

Showing yet?: Yes

Stretch Marks?: Nope

Clothes?: Maternity

Cravings?: Coffee. Specifically McDonald's. I think it's the cream!

Aversions?: None

Sleep?:  Great lately!

Gender?:  Girl...I panicked yesterday thinking about all the things we'd washed that were pink...you never know!

Movement?: Yes...baby girl is so fun to watch. I swear she did a somersault at church on Sunday. 

Symptoms?: Stuffy nose has been replaced by a cold/allergies. My legs get tired really quickly, and I think my toes swell after being on my feet, but otherwise feeling great! 

Miss Anything?: Good vino...and I was quite jealous of the mimosas at the baby shower! 

Wedding Rings on or off?: On

Belly Button in or out?: In, not thinking it's going to pop at this point

Labor Signs?: Had some Braxton Hicks yesterday...could be my body telling me to relax a little! 

Looking Forward To: Meeting our baby girl! 

DIY Ombré Crib Mobile

I'm so excited with the outcome of our baby girl's crib mobile. I used this crib mobile as inspiration, and since I wanted to continue the ombré theme from the DIY Ombré Art canvas, I decided against an all white mobile. 

Supplies:

Fiskar's 1 inch circle punch (I got mine at Joann's for $7.50 with a coupon)

8 sheets of chosen scrapbook paper, 12x12 (I used 2 sheets of each shade of pink, and 2 white)

2 spools of fishing line/any clear jewelry string 

2 Metal Macrame Rings, 1 large and 1 medium (I found these by the feathers in my Joann's)

Hot glue gun

White ribbon

1 sewing needle, large

Crib mobile attachment

 Circle Punch + 4 colors

To start, I used the circle punch to cut out the circles from all 4 colors. I ended up using 2 sheets of the two darker pinks, and 1 sheet each of the lightest pink and white. I didn't use the two lighter shades around the largest ring, so I didn't need as many circles for those colors. 

Circles ready to be strung! 

I stacked 5 of the dark circles and using a large sewing needle, poked a hole through the center of the circle, just wide enough to get the fishing wire through. Depending on how long you want the mobile to be, you may need more or less circles. I repeated with the other three colors. Tying a knot at the top of the fishing wire, I started to string and knot each circle onto the wire. After each circle, I tied a double knot to secure it in it's place. I made about 6 strands that had 5 circles per color. 

I made a few longer strands for the center by creating a cross pattern in the center of the smallest ring. 

Once I had these strands completed, I used a hot glue gun to glue them onto the smallest Macrame ring, evenly gluing them around. 

After those were secure, I made another 5-7 shorter strands that had the three shades of pink and glued those in between the longer strands, all along the smallest ring. 

The inner ring should now be complete. If you have any holes in between the strands, feel free to add more so that it looks full and complete. 

Along the outer ring, I made 10 strands of the two darker shades of pink, and 10 strands of just the darkest pink. I glued the longer of the two strands around the outer ring, and in between each of those, glued the shorter strands to fill in the gaps. 

My macrame rings looked like a hot mess once I had all the strands glued onto them, so I wrapped them with a white satin ribbon.

Using the clear fishing wire, Hubs and I attached the completed mobile onto the attachment that I ordered from Amazon. 

 Voila! Final result! 

Sorry if the instructions are extremely poor/vague, but it was kind of trial and error at first in order to get the length and ombré effect I wanted. 

Baby Brine Style: Nursery Updates!

As I mentioned yesterday, I had quite a successful Target shopping trip on Friday. Here is an updated inspiration board, even though most of these items have already been purchased! 

Starburst Mirror-White Shelf-Dark Brown Milk Crate Basket-Urchin

I bought one large Milk Crate Basket, two small, and one longer rectangular basket for toiletries. The color matches our hardwood floors to a T, which is perfect. I didn't want to do white (the changing table is white) or pink, since many of the shades are off from our paint color. I also didn't want to drag in any more colors, as I wanted to keep the palette at pink, white and antique gold. 

I'm not sure if I shared the bedding we registered for. We chose the Maya Floral Nursery Bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. I felt it was the least baby-like and very subtle. 

I'm really excited to put everything together once it's all purchased and cleaned! I think my vision is coming together quite nicely, and it's not always easy to accomplish that! 

31 Weeks!

I can't believe we're 2 months (and 1 day) away from baby girl's due date!! I feel like time is flying by and I'm trying to soak up the last 9 weeks of my pregnancy. I know it's crazy to say, but the more active she is in my belly, the more I think I'll miss being pregnant. I just can't wait to meet her. I just want to know who she looks like and what her personality will be like. 

Friday afternoon I left work early as I wasn't feeling well. I didn't sleep well Thursday night and I felt like I was struggling with a hangover. It wasn't pretty. I ran to Target on my way home because I wanted to cross some nursery decor items off my to-do list. I purchased the mirror, baskets for the changing table and two floating shelves. I came home and took a 2.5 hour nap and somehow managed to fall asleep at 10:00 without any trouble. Hubs got home around 6, and I showed him all the purchases I made. 

Next thing I know, Hubs gets up to grab a beer. I thought we would head down to watch some TV. Nope. He brought that glass up to the nursery and we sat on her amazingly comfortable sheepskin rug while I organized the baskets and we chatted about our days. I'm so excited about how excited he is for her to arrive. I swear he's been as cool as a cucumber about becoming a dad. Let's hope he's the same way during labor and delivery ;)

We also installed the crib mobile hanger attachment that I purchased from Amazon and hung the crib mobile. I'll post the final outcome tomorrow! :) 

Once we have the layout finalized (we're really just waiting to see if the glider fits in the room...) we can start hanging everything! 

I'm also super excited for this upcoming weekend since it's our Baby Shower Weekend!! We're super blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who are going out of their way to shower us with love. Apparently my sister has been told she's going overboard with gifts. What's not to love about little girls clothes!?

So here's this weeks bumpdate (it's a little dark...):

How far along?: 31 weeks

Weight gained?: 20+ pounds

Showing yet?: Yes

Stretch Marks?: Not yet!

Clothes?: Maternity clothes all the way. 

Cravings?: Decaf coffee. Yep. That's a weird one.

Aversions?: None

Sleep?:  Great lately!

Gender?:  Girl...although I have this fear about them being wrong! 

Movement?: Yes...girlfriend is crazy. I think I feel her feet in my ribs this morning

Symptoms?: Stuffy nose, linea nigra, back pain, a little swelling in my feet last night, probably prompted by my wearing of 4 inch heels all day Saturday...

Miss Anything?: Cute spring and summer clothes, sitting for long periods of time without feeling any back pain, especially on the couch, not spending all day peeing...

Wedding Rings on or off?: On

Belly Button in or out?: In

Labor Signs?: None, just some cramping and pressure in my lower belly

Looking Forward To: Baby Girl's shower this weekend!! Got an e-mail from Pottery Barn Kids last night asking me to add items since almost everything off the registry has been purchased...YIKES!