Change of Plans

Our 32 week appointment on September 2 started out just like any other appointment, only this time we knew we would be having an ultrasound to check on the location of my placenta, since it was a partial previa at 20 weeks. The ultrasound went just like any other, and we got several new pictures of our little man...

They did some measurements and they estimated his weight to be just over 5 lbs, which is ahead of schedule and put him in the 87th percentile at 32 weeks. His heart rate was 155. We even got to see some hair he has on the back of his head - my boy is already rocking the horseshoe that my Dad used to have. Nice.

The tech was unable to completely determine the position of my placenta so we had to resort to the ever-popular internal ultrasound. Yuck. She pointed out the cervix, the placenta, etc. and it looked pretty clear to me that the cervix was covered. She didn't really say anything, and I sort of feel like they're not allowed to tell you either way.

After waiting an eternity in the waiting room and in the office waiting for the doctor, she finally came in and told us how everything was perfect with his weight, my weight, his heart rate, my blood pressure, and so on. And then she said it appears as though my placenta did not move up, but in fact moved down so I now have complete placenta previa and that I would be having a c-section. I don't really remember much after that, I just remember that I started crying. A lot. We were so in shock that we didn't get to ask any questions. I remember the doctor saying something about the possibility of him staying in the NICU since he will be born between 36-37 weeks. The only other thing I remember was her telling us to take as much time as we needed in the room before leaving, and that her scheduler would call us to set up the surgery.

To make matters worse, as soon as we left the doctor's office, I had to drop Ryan off at work for an overnight business trip to Atlanta. He NEVER has to leave town for work, but naturally he would have to on the one night that I really didn't want to be alone. Luckily, my brother was in town staying with us so it was good to have him there as someone to talk to and as a distraction. But, obviously, it wasn't the same. I had a million thoughts going through my mind, I couldn't stop crying most of the day, and basically I was scared to death. I will never forgot the love and support we received from our family and friends that day after our news started spreading. I had to keep my phone on the charger all day long due to so many texts and phone calls from people reassuring me that everything will be okay.

Over the next few days, I ran through just about every emotion that you can imagine. I was scared that he won't be fully developed when he's born and will have to stay in the NICU; scared to be cut open; scared of the recovery; scared of having to have a blood transfusion. I felt guilty and that I had done something wrong to cause this; guilty that he won't have a "normal" birth; guilty that I was letting this news of having a c-section cause me to forget that having a baby by any means necessary really is a miracle. I felt angry that many women choose an elective c-section when they could have a normal birth. The list of emotions goes on and on. I prayed and prayed for peace and acceptance and I truly believe I received it. And then something that Ryan said to me really changed my outlook altogether. He said, "When we decided we wanted to have a baby, if someone would have told you that you could get pregnant immediately but you would have to have a c-section, you would have immediately taken that offer." And you know what? He was right. I started to think about couples who spend their entire lives and all of their money trying to have a baby and never succeed. Any of those women would probably tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself and I'm sure they would be happy to trade places with me.

Once we accepted our circumstances, we started making lists of everything we need to buy and do before the most important day of our lives: October 3, 2012. We also worked on a list of questions for the doctor at our next appointment. Speaking of our doctor, we soon got a call that our OBGYN that we absolutely love and trust have complete faith in, would not be able to do my c-section because she herself had to have surgery. Punch to the stomach #2. All my fears were back and I was a complete mess once again. We have never met ANY of the other doctors in the practice, and now one of them would be having a close, personal relationship with a knife and my stomach. Awesome. We talked to several people and did a lot of research on our two options to do the surgery, and finally one of the
ladies in the doctor's office really helped us decide who we should choose. She really went out of her way to make sure I made the right decision, and I can't express how much I appreciate that.

We met with our new doctor yesterday and things couldn't have gone better. We really loved her personality and she spent a lot of time with us answering my onslaught of questions. Ryan loved her because she did "the robot" dance when we were talking about my robotic surgery last year, and also because she confirmed that his operating room outfit does in fact look like what Dexter wears when he takes someone to "his table." That's probably not an image I'm going to forget when I see him from my position strapped down to the OR table.

So we've come a long way from where we were (or specifically where I was) two weeks ago when we got the news about the change of plans. I still have my moments where I cry about it, and I also have moments where I wish the c-section were sooner. I'm all over the place but I know that I can't be so upset or scared about something that I can't change. This is how it was meant to be. Nothing can change the reality of the fact that in two weeks from right now, I will be holding my newborn baby. And that's really the only thing that matters to me.

Batter Up!

On Saturday, September 1 we had a baseball-themed co-ed baby shower thrown by my cousin, mom, sister and aunt. We had baseball food, baseball decorations, and the most awesome baseball jersey cake. It was at our house which made everything SO much easier. Rather than going into lots of detail, I think I will just let the overload of photos speak for themselves!

  

 

Somehow, neither Ryan or I managed to take a single posed picture with anyone all day. We also didn't take any pictures of anything going on in the back yard because it was SO HOT and we were just so busy! One of my favorite pictures is the picture of us opening the blanket above. My cousin Terri worked forever and made us this awesome blanket. As soon as I opened it, Ryan loudly said "Oh, what does that spell??" Everyone had a GOOD laugh because somehow he was the only one that couldn't see that it was the alphabet. Poor thing.

We got SO many amazing gifts from our family and friends, and lots of bigger stuff from both of our parents that we didn't open at the shower. We are so lucky to have so many people that love us and want to help us get ready for our little guy!

30 Weeks!

We finally hit the 30 week mark, which makes me think there might actually be an end to all of this somewhere in the near future! I officially don't remember what its like to NOT be pregnant. I have no recollection of what it is like to put on pants that have a button and a zipper, I couldn't imagine sleeping through the night without getting up to pee 3 times, and walking up the stairs without feeling like I just ran a marathon is just a distant memory. Here is some photo evidence of my current situation:

Yikes. My mom thinks its hilarious that I won't go do mirror aisles in stores anymore, but it's just too scary. I accidentally caught my own profile reflection in a window yesterday and just about fell over. Oh well, I know it will all be worth it in the end.

Two weeks ago we had our 28 week doctor appointment, complete with the "dreaded" Gestational Diabetes test...

 

Everyone seems to make a HUGE deal about drinking this stuff, when in reality it just tastes like flat Sunkist. Like I told my friends on Instagram, I willingly drank way more disgusting stuff on a regular basis in college. (Case in point: Jagermeister.) The worst part of the test for me was waiting to get my blood drawn. We had our doctor appointment during the hour wait, but it was a quick one so Ryan and I still had about 25-30 minutes to wait before they could take my blood. Neither one of us is very good at waiting, so I was not happy about the possibility that I would have to do this again and wait 3 hours if I failed this time. Luckily, my score was just over 100 and you have to be under 130 to pass. The nurse told me I got an A+! This was actually pretty surprising since Ryan and I basically ate an entire cake in the 72 hours prior to the test. 

Everything else at the appointment was normal. The funniest part was when the nurse was trying to get his heart rate and as soon as she would put the doppler on, he would kick right where she put it and move away. This happened 3 or 4 times and I was about to die laughing. She said we have a very stubborn baby (NO idea where that came from... must be a paternal trait???!??!) but he finally gave in and his heart rate was 139. Seems so low compared to the 150s and 160s of before but I know it slows down as he gets bigger. Another GREAT part of the appointment was when they checked my weight and I LOST A POUND! Considering the whole "we ate an entire cake in 72 hours" thing above, I was prepared for her to tell me I gained 10 pounds or something. My weight gain was 11.7 pounds and now it is 10.7. Now if only I can keep that up over the next 2.5 months - HA HA!

Our next appointment is September 4th (32 weeks) and we get to see our little guy one last time before we meet him. I had a "very slight" placenta previa at 20 weeks and our doctor wants to make sure it has moved up since then. I hope it has - and I hope the next 2 months fly by like everyone says they well!

DIY No-Sew Crib Skirt

When we found out we are having a boy and I started shopping for nursery bedding, I immediately fell in love with the Indigo Summer bedding by New Arrivals:

 

I love the entire set, but we eventually decided that we did not want to use a bumper, since they are widely considered to be unsafe now, and in my opinion they serve more of a cosmetic purpose rather than a functional one - at least for infants. We will use a breathable bumper down the road when we have a rolling baby that likes to stick his limbs through his crib, but for now we are going bumper-less. So I decided I would order the crib sheet and the crib skirt until I started shopping around and realized that the sheet is a little pricey and it is also not organic, which is also really important to us. I just feel like if his face and mouth are going to be on that piece of fabric everyday, then it should be as healthy as possible. So then I was left with just buying the skirt, which would be $108 plus shipping. That seemed like a reasonable price, but then I started researching (Googling) the possibility of making a crib skirt without sewing, since my sewing machine and I have a pretty unhealthy relationship. I also have this overwhelming need to get everything I want at the absolute lowest possible price that I can - and then I feel like I have succeeded!

I eventually ran across this video from Young House Love and I was immediately convinced that I could make the skirt on my own. Since our crib hadn't arrived yet, I used the Pottery Barn website to get the dimensions so that I could order the fabric. Once I had the dimensions, I found the fabric on fabric.com for $15.98 a yard, found a 30% off coupon online, and took advantage of their free shipping on orders over $35 and ended up paying right around $35 for 3 yards of the fabric. Call me crazy, but paying $35 sounds better than paying $108 any day.

Once the fabric arrived, I basically used the same steps in the video above for making the skirt. The only difference is that instead of the hem tape, I used Stitch Witchery Fusible Bonding Web in Super Weight. I used to hem pants with this stuff in college so I know that it is reliable and holds up through lots of washing and drying.

The steps are pretty simple. First, add 3" to the length and width of your crib side measurement to allow room for the fusible web, and cut. (This is the back of the fabric)

As you can see, the sides are not perfectly straight. Cut fabric is rarely ever perfectly straight, but you can just straighten the edge based on wherever you put the fusible web. To make the hem on each side, I would rip off a piece of the fusible web that was about 1/3 as long as the side I was working on. That way, I could be more accurate in making sure it stayed straight all the way down the side, since a shorter strip is easier to work with. Once you decide where you want it, you just fold it over and iron.

 

After I finished one side, I would re-measure just to make sure that I was staying on track with my dimensions. If for some reason you still had 2 extra inches on the other end, you could just fold over more fabric and fix it that way. Once all four sides were finished, the back of the fabric looked like this:

Once you have a panel finished, you can attach it to the crib. Just like in the video, I also used velcro to attach the panels since it is washable and adjusts easily. Since velcro is sticky on both sides. I just attached it where I wanted it on the crib, and pressed the skirt panel down on the sticky edge as I went. I also used office clips to act as an extra set of hands so that the panel stayed put as I worked further down each side.

Once I finished attaching the side, the panel looked like this:

 

And then once all the panels were attached, the view looking into the crib was like this:

And here is the finished product:

We haven't bought his mattress yet, so I guess I should say that is the semi-finished product. I also wanted a longer skirt that went all the way to the floor, but obviously that is a matter of personal preference. The video suggests adding another line of velcro on the back so that you can move the skirt up as the crib moves down, but I cross that bridge when I come to it.

I really love how it turned out, and the bonus is that the total cost was about $38 (fabric + fusible web), so we saved $70 off the price that I was going to pay for the skirt online. Definitely worth about 2 hours of work in my book. This method really was so easy - I would highly recommend it and gladly do it again sometime down the road!

DIY Canvas Quote Art for the Bathroom

Whenever we found out that we were having a boy, I immediately had this urge to redecorate the bathroom that will be his bathroom. Yes, I realize he won't be spending too much time in there for awhile, but for some reason I needed it to feel like a little boy's bathroom - without actually feeling like a little boy's bathroom. I've said it a million times: I'm just not that into overly babyish/ kiddish rooms. I want us to be able to go in his bedroom or bathroom and not feel like we're visiting a daycare. So basically my plan was to make the bathroom a little more masculine and add some kid-friendly details. This bathroom is NOWHERE near finished, but we have started making some changes. Here is the bathroom as it was before:

It's a pretty basic bathroom with a tub & shower, and a big awesome closet behind the door. Luckily, it was already painted navy blue - which was perfect for making it fit for a little boy. After buying a shower curtain that I had been eyeing at Target for a few weeks, we decided that the room needed some art. I had seen a lot of projects I loved on Pinterest and Etsy that were basically quotes painted on a canvas in a funky way and decided that would be a good addition to this room.

We decided to go for a VERY subtle ocean theme in here because we have a framed print we bought in Maui several years ago on the wall across from the toilet, and basically I refuse to take it down. I love that print and I especially love it against the navy wall. This is the print:

 

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but it is big and colorful and I just love it. So this is the reason for our subtle ocean theme. Since I loved the quote idea, we spent the next few days trying to think of a good quote that relates to the ocean that would make sense on the other wall. Since Ryan is a big music guy, he listened to a lot of songs at work that he thought might fit until we finally decided on a portion of the song Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay. Ryan is a much bigger fan of Coldplay than I am, but this is by far my favorite Coldplay song. And I think the words of the song kind of work for a child since it's about an enormous love for a person that can't be contained.  

I didn't use any tutorials or anything for this one, I just decided to kind of wing it based on images in my head. The supplies I used were: a large canvas, 6 packs of letter stickers and a bunch of various acrylic paints. The cost was around $25 for everything. 

The hardest part is figuring how how many letters you will need. Technically, you could write out the quote and count, but that wasn't happening for me. I did end up running out of the letter E but I was able to make it work.

The next step is writing out the quote with the stickers on the canvas. You could line it all up and make it neat but I wanted a finished product that looked a little more imperfect, so I just eyeballed it as I went. Mine looked like this:

As you can see, there are some Es missing in the last 3 lines. Instead of going to buy more letters, I just painted the top of the canvas first and when it dried, I peeled off the Es and put them down below where they were needed and then painted over the bottom half. This is the part where I forgot to take a picture, but basically I just used 6 colors of paint, and painted in a slight circle pattern over the letters with a cut up kitchen sponge. It's also important to remember to paint the sides of the canvas, since they will be visible when this is hung on a wall. Once everything was dry, I slowly peeled the letters off, and this was my finished product:

 And here it is with his shower curtain:

 

I have to say, I'm pretty obsessed with how it turned out. I love how it is kind of unfinished/imperfect looking and how all the letters have a rough edge. I also love how it ended up matching his shower curtain really well. As long as Coldplay doesn't sue us, I think this is a DIY piece that we will keep for a very long time! :)

Belly Dancing

We got a little bored on Saturday night after working on some house projects and watching a movie, so we got this idea to play some music on my iPhone for the baby to see what he would react to. It started because I was working on a canvas for his bathroom that uses some of the lyrics to Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay. I figured I should see if he likes the song as much as we do, since I had just spent a lot of time on the project! He didn't react much to that song, but he did to some others. For memory's sake, here's how our little experiment went...

1. Coldplay - Charlie Brown (Ryan's Pick) - Verdict: Basically no movement. I actually think he was trying to move himself away from the phone. I can't blame him... this song is not one of my favorites.

2. Jay-Z - Dirt off Your Shoulder (My Pick) - Verdict: Again, basically no movement. This makes me question his taste. Come on, son, everybody loves Hova.

3. Dave Matthews Band - One Sweet World (Joint Pick) - Ryan wanted to play him some DMB since they're our favorite band and I chose this one because it's my favorite opener to hear when we see them live. It just sounds like Summer to me. Verdict: He is definitely our son. He LOST IT when this song started playing. I don't know if it's the slow intro or what, but he was moving so much that my iPhone was moving up and down on my stomach. I've never been so proud of him!

4. Justin Bieber - Baby (My Pick) - I secretly wanted him to love this song so it would totally freak Ryan out. Verdict: Nothing. Not so much as a flutter. Apparently, he is not a Belieber.

5. Taylor Swift - The Best Day (My Pick) - I thought maybe he liked country and for some reason this song is the one that popped into my head. I really didn't give country music a chance, since this isn't actually country. Verdict: Very little movement. I think he was intrigued, but not exactly a fan. He's probably just heard how bad she is live. 

6. Kings of Leon - Talihina Sky acoustic version (Ryan's Pick) - This is my all-time favorite version of my all-time favorite Kings of Leon song, so Ryan thought our son might like it too. Verdict: We have a winner. He went crazy, kicking up a storm and moving the phone again. I see Bonnaroo in his future.

7. Kings of Leon - Back Down South (Ryan's Pick) - We decided to stick with the Kings and try Ryan's favorite. Verdict: Still moving a little, but slowed down a LOT from the previous song.

8. Dave Barnes - Nothing Fancy (My Pick) - This was our wedding song, so I was hoping he would be a fan. Verdict: He was still moving around a lot but not much kicking. Maybe he was just slow dancing??

9. Kentucky Fight Song (My Pick) - Since this one is a non-negotiable in his life, we thought we would expose him early. I mean that too. He can pick his own religion, he can be a cross-dresser but by God he will NOT be a Louisville fan. (See Also: Tennessee, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, etc. He can ask his parents for the complete list upon arrival) Verdict: He liked it. I wish I could say it was his favorite, but it wasn't. He was moving and rolling and kicking, but it wasn't the biggest reaction of the night. It's okay, I'm sure he won't hear the happy tune of the fight song much until football season is over, so we'll work on it.

So the big winners were Talihina Sky and One Sweet World, and the big losers were Charlie Brown and Bieber. I'd say he has a pretty good ear, seeing as how his ears have only been working for a few weeks now. We strangely had a lot of fun with this, so I'm sure we'll be doing it again. I hope we can show him this one day when he's older and likes music so he can see what we subjected him to before he was born. I have a feeling he'll be pretty proud of himself for the reaction to Bieber!

Updates

I need to write a big hodgepodge post of things I've been thinking about so that I don't forget everything. I know I will thank myself someday for documenting everything!

First, we had our 24 week checkup last week on July 9th. It was one of those boring in-and-out appointments but at least we still got to hear his little heartbeat. His heart rate was 150 and he was moving all over the place when she was trying to monitor it. This is not unusual - this little guy is quite the mover. If I ever feel like he hasn't moved much, I just have to lay back slightly and he goes to town. He has also started responding to Ryan's voice when he talks to him. He has a very deep voice that we think most children are slightly frightened by, so I'm glad our son is getting used to it! Just last night, Ryan put his head on my stomach and said "wake up" and in just a few seconds, he got a kick to the head. I think I already like his sense of humor.

Everything else at the check-up (BP, fundal height, etc) were all normal and my weight gain is up to around 10 pounds. Ugh. Needless to say, I made sure to go to the gym as soon as I left. Going to the gym has actually been one of my favorite things to do even while pregnant. It is definitely frustrating to do lower levels on the treadmill or elliptical when everyone around you is working out like an Olympian but it's better than nothing. This week I finally got back up to doing an hour of cardio, which makes me feel like a normal human being again!

We have also made a LOT of progress on our nursery in the last week. The crib is still on back order from Pottery Barn, but I think it should be shipping next week. I searched and searched for a dresser that we could use as a changing table and finally found this one from Ikea:

Actually, let me back-track. Here is how dresser construction started out:

And this was taken somewhere around hour 4:

Ha Ha Ha! Luckily, it was all worth it. It is exactly what we wanted, and I love that you can buy drawer inserts that fit perfectly inside for OCD organizational purposes:

We also bought a bookshelf, because I am obsessed with books in a nursery. Ours is still pretty bare but I added some little buckets so the emptiness wouldn't stress me out! ha!

The chair we ordered from Buy Buy Baby also came in. We ordered a custom version of the Best Chairs Camilla Glider in lime. I don't know how you describe the fabric we chose, but I really love it. It's really thick and soft and comfortable. The color is actually a little brighter than it is in this picture, but it's really hard to get an accurate color from my iPhone! Someone already enjoys gazing out the window from "his" new chair...

His closet is still a work in progress, but Ryan did get it painted so it looks better already. We still need to put up a second shelf and add some baskets for storage, but we're getting there!

His closet and dresser are already starting to fill up, thanks to our family and friends. My mom and I took our first baby shopping trip one Saturday and loaded up on cute clothes and accessories; and my aunt and cousin also gave us a TON of clothes, blankets, diapers, wipes, etc. that they have been buying for us since they found out that we're having a boy. One of my sweetest friends (who just had her first baby 5 weeks ago) brought me the a gift the other day of necessities that she has been loving since she brought her little one home. It was actually a bunch of items that I had on my list to buy but I was weird about registering for, because they were breastfeeding related. ha!

And lastly, when I was shopping with my Mom, we ordered his going home outfit from a local boutique called The Cottage. I just got to pick it up and I LOVE how it turned out!

I know I have to reign in my "monogram every possible thing" attitude since I'm having a boy, but I couldn't resist this for his going home outfit. Luckily, Ryan loves it too. He is still having an issue with the whole "gown" thing for a little boy, but I keep telling him that he will love them once he has to change multiple diapers a day. When I first showed him a gown that my mom bought, he said "So.. what's going on with the legs?" haha.. I think he now sees the benefits of the gown but refuses to call it as such. He suggested we call them capes or cloaks or robes. Oh my.

I'm so glad we are getting things done and marking things off the to-do list. Only 101 days until I'm due! Ahhhhhh!!!!