April 06, 2012

Mementos

10:13 AM 2 Comments
As Ben was preparing for his last days at the country club, he began bringing home boxes of stuff from his desk, as well as goodbye/thank you cards from members and coworkers. It struck me how long 5 years really is...and what can happen in that time.

In a unique workplace like a private country club, Ben had the opportunity to form relationships with the staff as well as the members. Many of these folks came to our wedding!! I knew I couldn't let these mementos end up sitting in a box in our basement.

Although a shadow box is far from the most creative project, I still think this old standby is a great way to display special items! I put this together in about 10 minutes.

Hobby Lobby Shadow Box (1/2 off=$12!)

All the stuff

Finished product

Ben was very excited to come home and find this in his <new> home office. I know he cherished his time at the country club, so it's nice to have these mementos on display.


April 03, 2012

30 Weeks

12:11 PM 0 Comments
It's weird to think about being in the 30's of gestational weeks. We had a great checkup this morning at the doctor- I am measuring right on schedule and the heart rate is in the 150's. I received my test results from my 3-hour glucose tolerance test...good news! Although I don't have an official 'gestational diabetes' diagnosis, the doc said "It's clear that your pregnant body doesn't like carbs." So, I just need to be aware of my carb intake and try to reduce it, focusing on proteins. I have to admit...I am a carb LOVER! I did The South Beach Diet for about 8 weeks one time and thought I was dying. I can do this though-it's not completely cutting them out, just a reduction!

30 Week Stats:

Size: Cucumber (about 16 inches and 3 pounds)

New Development: Smoother baby skin (one of my favorite parts about babies!); Junebug is now strong enough to grasp a finger!

Symptoms: The heart palpitations have not resolved (even with no caffeine for 6 weeks!) so the doctor ordered a round of basic tests to make sure things were ok. If I am still having trouble at my next visit, I will see a cardiologist.
Oh...and these 'basic tests' required more blood-2 more venous sticks! That's 6 sticks in 4 days-I've had enough of that...

What I'm looking forward to: Although the nesting hasn't begun, I am still pretty excited about getting things put away in the nursery now that it's painted!



April 02, 2012

Nursery Update

4:56 PM 2 Comments
I just love that Ben has more time to do things around the house...the 40 hour work week certainly beats his old 60+ week!

I had to work this weekend, but Ben promised to "finish the nursery" while I was gone. I had to laugh at this, because we had not even started working on it. Let's just say he made a LOT of progress this weekend!

We began with some paint samples! I am notorious for getting 4 or 5 samples and staring at them for weeks. However, Ben insisted I choose quickly so he could get to work.
At first, I was really leaning towards the green, but our fabric has a lot of green in it, and I plan to accent with green, so I thought it would be a bit too much. We went with the khaki color on the right: Behr Pecan Sandie


Ben also had to patch part of the ceiling, and therefore had to paint it! I love the contrast of the bright white ceiling (rather than builder beige) with the wall paint


On Sunday, he spent the day assembling furniture. We opted to buy our pieces separately rather than as a room package for a variety of reasons:
-I wanted to have fun in this room, and thought that "matching" furniture would become boring-I decided to find coordinating pieces
-I did not want to buy a changing table, or "baby" dresser or some other item that Junebug will outgrow in the first year
-BUDGET!


For our crib, I found the DaVinci Jayden 4 in 1 (Espresso) to suit our needs perfectly. It converts from a crib to a toddler bed, then to a full size bed. We're not sure, yet, if we plan on keeping this a crib for future kids or if it will stay with Junebug...but overall a smart investment I think!
                               
                         Ben's best bud, Keenan-testing it out for us!

Finished!


For the dresser, we took a trip to my favorite place ever-IKEA! Ben was initially skeptical about buying an adult-sized dresser for little bug, but I assured him that we would use every bit of the space! Babies need a lot of supplies!

"Very tedious" Ben said

This is the Hemnes 8-drawer in Grey-Brown

I think the colors coordinate very nicely!
(I can't wait to reveal our plans for that corner wall)

Side table (also from Ikea)

What's left to finish the nursery:
-Crib mattress (any advice on this would be great!)
-Crib skirt/Valance/Quilt- Grandma Starr is busy working on these!
-Glider & Ottoman
-Accessorize & decorate
-Changing pad for dresser
-Junebug!


March 30, 2012

29 Weeks

8:56 PM 0 Comments
Well, I completed my 3-hour glucose test today-it certainly wasn't the most pleasant experience. I'm not sure which was worse- the 4 venous sticks or the 3 hours of waiting in the office lobby in between. At least I got some reading done :)

29 Week Stats:

Size: Acorn Squash (around 16 inches and 3 pounds)

New Development: Brain is taking on characteristic grooves (instead of being smooth)= increased amount of brain tissue! Lanugo is starting to disappear.

Symptoms: Cankles are the name of the game, folks. My feet have love handles and it's not cute. Luckily, the swelling goes away at night, so it's mostly a result of being on my feet so much.

What I'm looking forward to: Ben is painting the nursery this weekend! (Can you believe he actually has a weekend off?! I love his new job)

I don't think I should wear white anymore...


Two sticks in each arm







March 26, 2012

Proud Wife

8:41 AM 0 Comments
Sometimes, you just feel the need to brag on your husband, right?

Around the first of the year, Ben's work began a "Biggest Loser" challenge among the employees. As a manager, Ben is almost obligated to participate, but this year he decided to really take on the challenge. He decided that cutting portions and just "watching" what he ate would not be enough, so he decided to join Weight Watchers online. "Hey, if Charles Barkley can do it..."

Overall, he has lost 20 pounds (in 3 months) and continues to lose each week. What an accomplishment! I'm very excited, too, that he now understands the concept and system of WW so he can be there to support me when it's time to lose baby weight!

Another huge change in his (our!) life is a career change. After nearly 5 years of working at the country club, Ben took a new job with a great company.

Although he (we) will greatly miss all of the staff and club members, this new opportunity has excellent hours and the ability for him to work from home. This new job is truly an answered prayer for our growing family.

"Before Picture"-Ben was very offended that I was trying to find a 'fat' picture of him ;)

The last St. Paddy's event for Ben :(

His first day of work! (Also a great "after" WW picture!)
(Can you tell who buys all of his clothes? I have an unhealthy obsession with green)

I am so proud of my hubby for many things, but these achievements are huge and deserved a little extra attention!


March 24, 2012

28 Weeks

7:54 AM 0 Comments
YAY-third trimester! I can't believe we are already here! My body, however, has a different story to tell. We've had a rough week...

28 Week Stats:

Size: Rutabaga (around 2 lbs and 14 inches)

New Development: Getting fatter! More developed lungs, and permanent teeth buds :D

Symptoms: BRAXTON HICKS!

What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower this weekend!! Yay!

My week went a little like this:
I went for my checkup and glucose tolerance test on Tuesday. I told the midwife I had been having a few braxton hicks contractions (which are totally normal "practice" contractions). With all of these new sensations, I asked her advice on when I should be concerned. "More than 8 of them in an hour, call me".

So...the next day at work was busy-I was running around like crazy, while attempting to stay hydrated. I saw my midwife on the unit (she was rounding that day) and she even commented that I needed to slow it down. Hmph. So, around 10am...here came the Braxton Hicks. Or wait...? They were a lot stronger and pretty frequent. I sat down as soon as I could and chugged my water. It helped a little.

Around 1:30pm, I was having the contractions about every 10 minutes consistently, and they were quite strong. As an OB nurse, I felt silly because I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to make a big fuss for them to tell me it was nothing, but I also didn't want to ignore it and have a bad outcome. So...I decided to walk downstairs to L&D (another perk of my work) and talk to my midwife. She decided I should go ahead and get on a monitor.

So...after 40 minutes of this, the midwife said "Well, I'm not seeing any activity" Yes, I could have told you that. The only thing Junebug is doing now is attempting to kick these monitors off which gave him/her the hiccups! Child is making a liar out of me. She told me not to worry! "I would rather see you 50 times at 1:30 in the afternoon than once at 1:30 in the morning with a true emergency"

This...coupled with the news that I did not pass my one-hour glucose test (meaning I have to take a 3-hour test) equals a rough week for us. But I am so excited to be headed out today for my first baby shower in Chattanooga!! Wahoooo

A happy photo! Although I look like a whale :)

Sorry for all the dialogue this week...I promised to tell all!

March 12, 2012

27 Weeks

9:02 AM 0 Comments
As I near the end of the 2nd trimester, I am getting more and more excited-and scared! My to-do list seems to be growing along with my belly-there is so much to do.

27 Week Stats

Size: Cauliflower (About 15 inches long and 2.5lbs)

New Development: Showing brain wave activity, including different sleep cycles and dreaming! Coughing, more intense sucking (umm...hiccups!), and better "breathing"

Symptoms: Starting to become uncomfortable at night-I am rotating about every 2 hours. Junebug has been SO active the last 2 days, and I feel like my insides are a new toy for him/her!

What I'm looking forward to: Completing some tasks on my to-do list!

So there are lots of advantages to working in an OB unit-including a short walk to Labor & Delivery to have a coworker scan me! It is interesting to see pictures of Junebug at 27 weeks, because s/he is so much bigger and can barely fit in the screen! Also, because bones are more dense, it causes more shadows for a standard ultrasound. A VERY squirmy baby doesn't help either :-)