Baby Wilson Update and 35 Week Bump

Long story short...Baby Wilson wants out. Over the past two weeks, my blood pressure has spiked and I've become very swollen, which basically means I have signs of preeclampsia. 

Last week we went to the doctor and the diastolic number of my blood pressure had spiked from the low 70s to 87. The doctor said that his cutoff (basically he would want to deliver) was 90. Well, when I went again today, that bottom number was 95. He is concerned about delivering me before 38 weeks due to lung development so I'm now on bed rest. I thought being on bed rest would be super cool and relaxing but I'm finding that it isn't due to the fact that I have a ton of stuff to wrap up at work, tons of errands and tasks on my to do lists and lots of stuff to clean. Good news is, though, that I can still get up and do stuff - I've just been ordered to stay off of my feet as much as possible. Bad news is that Shane has now inherited my to do list. :) 

With that said, I'm 37 weeks tomorrow and if the doc induces at 38 weeks, then that means that Baby Wilson could be here in a little over a week! So crazy! I know that we've been preparing for this event for the past almost 10 months but it still feels so surreal...and scary...and exciting! 

The 35 week bump:

I'll keep you posted!

Pregnancy Questionnaire

I found this questionnaire on another blog and thought it provided a pretty neat little snapshot of my pregnancy...wish I'd done this all along! 

How big is baby? Baby Wilson is about 5 ½ pounds. BabyCenter.com compares it to a cantaloupe.

Total weight gain/loss? About 35 pounds. Holy crap.

Maternity clothes? Um, hell yes. I know some women opt not to do maternity clothes but, for me, anything that doesn’t have a ‘secret belly panel’ is absolutely the most uncomfortable thing in this world. And since I’m still having to do this full-time job thing, I have to dress a little more conservatively which leaves out a bunch of the maxi-dress and tank top options.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? Ha – I wish! I go to bed by 9:30 p.m. but am up at 11 p.m.; 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 6 a.m. (yeah, I go back to bed after this) to go to the bathroom. I used to be able to get up, pee, then go back to sleep. Now, it takes me a good 15 minutes to get back to sleep. I consider calling in sick to work every single day. No joke.

Movement? Lots! He/She really gets going when I lay down on my side or if I’m sitting straight up. So, I guess that means it doesn’t move when I’m laying on my back or doing handstands? Wow, like I said, not a lot of sleep.

Food cravings? Not really anymore. It used to be Kraft powder macaroni and cheese, and then it was strawberry ice cream (with no strawberry chunks, gross), then it was Arby’s roast beef ‘n cheddar sandwiches…now, it’s just anything that doesn’t give me blazing heartburn.

Gender? It's a surprise! But I think it’s a boy. :)

Labor Signs? I’ve had some pretty mean Braxton Hicks contractions but let’s hope that labor pains hold off for another couple of weeks.

Belly Button in or out? What belly button? It’s flush.

What I miss? Sleep. Energy. I would love to be able to knock out a to-do list like I used to. I could knock through 10 things (or more) in a weekend. Now, I assign one thing a day and it takes an inordinate amount of time. Very frustrating.

What I am looking forward to? Having my house in order and then having a baby!

Best moment this week? I’m not 100% but I think the baby has ‘dropped.’ On Thursday, I noticed that my stomach was hanging a little lower…so I did about two hours of internet research, asked Shane for confirmation and then deemed the baby ‘dropped.’

Milestones? One more week until we are considered full term! 

33 Week Baby Bump

As usual I'm a little behind on posting my pics, but I'm 35 weeks today - only 5 more weeks until we meet Baby Wilson! 

32 Week Baby Bump

I'm 33 weeks today...only 7 more weeks to go!

No other thoughts for today. Thankyouverymuch.

31 Week Baby Bump and Woes

I forgot to take my 30 week shot. But just as with the missed 28 week shot - it looked a lot like this:

We got our BabyCenter update yesterday and we have 56 days to go until we meet Baby Wilson! I hope and pray that he/she stays in 'til the end! (stays in? is that gross? whatever.)

Things are definitely starting to get a little uncomfortable. I feel huge but know that I'm going to be growing a lot over the next 8 weeks. Baby moves a lot, especially when I lay down on my side. I have some pretty mean indigestion...like the kind that wakes me up at night. I pee ALL.THE.TIME. If I'm not peeing, I'm thinking about eating and the next time that I might have to pee. The lower back pain is starting to become a little painful. And I now have a hand or a foot that likes to just chill at the very top of my stomach, pretty much under my ribs. I imagine that it is either kicking my ribs or playing them like a harp - either way, it's a little painful. But all worth it! 

Happy Friday!

Couples Baby Shower!

This past weekend, my mom and Goffery threw Shane and I our first baby shower! It was a couples shower and there was BBQ, beer/wine and cupcakes - um, does it get more perfect than that? 

I didn't get a lot of pictures but here are a few to recap:

 Me and Shane in front of all the onesies that everyone made - they all turned out so cute! (Side note: Check out that summer cardigan.)

 Me and my mom (aka Wandawg). Thanks, Mom!

 Loved the red and white checkered tablecloths with the sunflowers

 Cupcakes (the most delicious ones from The Atlanta Cupcake Factory) and a couple of prezzies!

 Mmm...beer. 

 Group shot - from left - Jason, Mike, Branden, Chris, Lindsay, Shane, Mandy, Danielle and Jennifer

 Another group shot - with me included this time. :)

 Prezzies! We seriously have the most generous and sweet family and friends!

 Me trying on the 'My Breast Friend' and Shane holding a baby hat like it has Ebola on it. 

Our gifts unloaded in our living room. Seriously...the most generous family and friends ever. This baby is pretty much set! 

Thanks so much to my Mom for planning the shower and for all of our family and friends who were able to attend and share in this special time with us! We love you all! 

Beau, Brother and Baby

We obviously love our dogs very much - they are our babies. So, when our actual baby is brought into this world, we want to make sure that everyone gets along...and are friends...and love each other. 


However, this post really has nothing to do with how we plan to acclimate our dogs to our baby. It has to do with the photos that I want to take with them. 


Prepare yourself for the cutest, sweetest photos you've ever seen:

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 I mean, just stop. Are these not the cutest pics ever? 


I'm certain Beau will be down for a dog/baby photo shoot, however, we may have to persuade Brother to participate. But, he WILL participate.  

Nursery Art

The nursery art is now complete! I'm really pleased with how they all turned out - now we just need to get them hung up!


Images of the prints:

In the frames (excuse the awful BlackBerry photos):

 

Baby Bump and Bacne

That title just sounds delicious. 


First, here is the 29 week baby bump shot:

I forgot to take my 28 week shot...oops. :( Trust me when I say that it looked a lot like this picture. 


And now on to a very serious issue I'm facing, bacne. It's out of control. 


I typically have pretty clear skin, with the occasional breakout on my face, but I have NEVER had anything on my body - until now. My shoulders and upper back are riddled (riddled, I tell you!) with bumps - some are red and swollen and others are just little bumps that I can scratch off. 


Note, this grossness isn't new as I've had it since about 12 weeks. However, it's become a serious issue in my life as I've purchased a dress for an upcoming baby shower that exposes my shoulders. And what does the bacne decide to do? Rear it's ugly head with more red bumps than I have seen in my entire 31 weeks of pregnancy. It's gotten serious and I've had to get Shane involved to help 'extinguish' some of them, if you know what I mean. 


I have purchased my dress and it isn't going back because it took me hours to find one that fit right (e.g., didn't accentuate my, now, flat butt too much, was light, airy, comfortable, etc.). So, now I have to go out and find a lightweight cardigan to wear over my dress...yes, a freaking cardigan to be worn in the month of August...while pregnant - you know, because I'm not sweating like a pig 95% of the time anyway.  


Oh, the drama. I used to go shopping for 'weekend outfits' that were cute and didn't make me look fat...now I look for outfits that cover as much skin as possible and don't accentuate my bacne. 


But, I do have to say that I know all of this is worth it and I am very lucky to even have these problems. Only 9 weeks left!

New Curtains and Book Ledges

It's coming along! Over the past week, we've:

• Gotten the room straightened up
• Ordered and received the curtain fabric
• Purchased and hung book ledges
• Bought a crap load of baby books!
• Started buying diapers and organized them in the dresser drawers

Check it out!

Excuse the dog tail. They think this is their new room.

Curtains - still need to be ironed and hemmed. 

Dresser drawers - holy crap we actually own diapers, that will go on a baby, in like 9 weeks:

Still finalizing the art for above the crib and a gallery wall for above the dresser...but almost done!

More Nursery Pics!

As I mentioned, the nursery painting was hard. Really hard. Here are some photos to specifically document our painting process:

Don't forget the before shot. 

 Did I mention 5 coats of paint on the trim? 

 Two coats for the gray - love, love, love it!

 Just ignore that huge black spot on the floor. That was a surprise that the former owners covered up with carpet. 

A little bit of a messy shot but here is the new rug (covering up said black spot), a possible ottoman (we'll see how it works with the glider that is coming soon) and other nonsense scattered about. Just keeping it real here, folks. Next pic will be cuter, promise. 

Baby Bump: 26 and 27 Weeks

I completely spaced and didn't take a 25 week bump shot. Oops. But I did get 26 and 27!


26 weeks:

 27 Weeks: 

I'm 29 weeks today - only 11 more weeks to go!!

24 Week Bump

I'm 26 weeks today (who believes that?!) but I'm, again, a little behind on the bump photos. 


Check out 24 weeks:

Nursery: Officially IN PROGRESS!

Happy Monday. Hope you all had great weekends...as for Shane and I, we are exhausted. My hands hurt, my feet hurt, my back hurts, I'm sleepy...BUUUUTTTT we kicked some arse in the nursery this weekend so it's worth it. 


Let me remind you of what this space looked like before:

And then this weekend, we decided to get moving and did the following:

• Sanded all of the puttied holes
• Vacuumed the walls and corners - because painting over spiderwebs is gross.
• Spent eight hours painting the trim white. Five coats, people. Five coats. 
• Spent another three hours painting the top Glidden's Pebble Grey. It's a true grey and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
• Then we cleaned the floors again because I got a little slaphappy with the trim paint after about the third coat and got it on the floor. Gasp. 
• And then put the crib and dresser together and voila...THE AFTER:

 The bedding is a custom design from Carousel Designs and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it too! It is so well made and, for a custom order, was reasonably priced and was on my doorstep five days after I ordered it. 

And this is the other side of the room with the always popular IKEA Hemnes dresser. 

And, unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have on my phone - better ones to come soon!

While we still have a lot left to do (e.g., curtains, rug, art, chair, etc.), I'm feeling good that this was SOLID progress. And, it's crazy, I keep just going in this room and looking at the crib...partly because I just so love that bedding and then because I can't believe that in three months a little human is going to be sleeping in there! Is it going to be a boy or a girl? What are they going to look like? Will they have my lips and cheeks? And Shane's eyelashes and toes? Crazy!