[Pregnancy] "Glowing" while "showering"

Three of my amazing girlfriends threw me an incredible "Tickled Pink" baby shower earlier this month, and it was such a fun day! Friends from every aspect of my life - from high school, work, college, sorority, book club, etc. - were part of the celebration.

I've gotten to the point where I just laugh when people comment on pictures saying that I'm "glowing" during this pregnancy. Let's be honest, I'm sweating. My body runs hot to begin with, and add on the fact that I'm cooking a tiny human, I've been in a constant state of "glow" for the past nine months. :)

Aside from the "glow" you'll see in the photos, the day was just perfect. Everyone kept commenting on how "me" the shower was, and I couldn't agree more! 

To Alicia, Holly and Susan: thank you from the bottom of my heart. You each have been such an important part of my life, and incredible friends through the good times, and the bad. You've been by my side through this 3+ year journey to motherhood, and I am so lucky to have you in my life. Whitney is a lucky little girl to have "aunties" like you! xo

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

[Pregnancy] 4.5 weeks to go!

Today marks being 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant. In a week and 2 days, Whitney will be considered full term! She is growing right on schedule, and could feasibly arrive anytime between now and the next 6.5 weeks... EEK!

We've been discussing packing our hospital bag for the past few weeks, and today we got some news that has definitely lit the fire for us to get it done...

We had an appointment with our OB, and also had an ultrasound... while everything looked good, they followed up with a call after the ultrasound to share that the doctor was a little bit concerned about my amniotic fluid level. Often times this can be influenced by hydration (or actually, lack thereof), but I am diligent about drinking water all day long. While they assured us this is nothing to be concerned about, it's hard not to worry...!

They would like to do another ultrasound next week to check how things look, and I would guess that if the fluid level is still low, we could be meeting Whitney much sooner than we imagined! There's a chance Whitney and I could share a birthday week! Our hope is that things will look good, and she'll stay cooking for a few more weeks, however, so we'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers. :)

[Nursery] Progress and setbacks

I've totally procrastinated posting updates on the nursery (and in general) for several reasons:

1. I'm freaking exhausted all the time! :) I went to bed at 7 two nights last week, and could easily do it most nights, but life gets in the way
2. I was hoping to have our crib bedding, curtains, etc. to share, as they were due to be done January 7th

Unfortunately we've had a major setback with the bedding and everything... we initially placed the order back in November, and everything was to be ready at the beginning of this month. After several phone calls to check in after the new year went unreturned, I started to get worried. Then we've gotten a total runaround for the past three weeks since then... stories have included: the fabric was on backorder, the curtains were ready/not ready, the other fabric hasn't shipped yet and they don't know why, no one will return their emails, woah is them, it's not their fault, etc. Well, today was the final straw when they were supposed to call me with tracking numbers for the fabric that had yet to be ordered last Friday, and I still hadn't heard from them today. There's no excuse for not returning phone calls!

We had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and decided to go by their factory to see if they were there, since they weren't answering their phone and returning our calls. Sure enough, still no proof that the fabric was even ordered, and I was OVER IT. We asked if they were prepared to give us a discount on the balance due since things were so late, and they said no. We asked for our deposit back (and received it).

It turned out they did have our glider covers done, and just before we left, they decided to give them to us at no charge... which was VERY nice. Low and behold, we got home and discovered they'd also had the pillow covers done and they were in the bag with the glider covers. Granted, they were done in the wrong fabric (they were supposed to be floral), but they look really nice on the grey couch, so I can't complain.

Wes and I realized tonight that the cost of the glider cover and pillow covers were what would've made us happy if they'd agreed to discount our order... so essentially they gave them to us for FREE, and LOST our order. If they'd given us that amount off of the order, we would've waited on the other items. Silly!

That being said, I strongly recommend that you NOT use The Baby Guy for anything bedding related! He has a factory shop in Santa Fe Springs, but sells mostly out of the OC Swap Meet/OC Marketplace on the weekends. While his work is gorgeous, his business practices are incredibly sketchy.

So now the search is on to find a seamstress or someone on Etsy to make the rest of the stuff... know anyone? Let me know!

But in the mean time, things are certainly starting to come together... some photos:

We love how the pink pops off the grey walls!

We spruced up a plain white bookcase with fabric along the back!

Eventually the crib will have bedding...!

We put shelves up on the tree. Love it!

Hopefully we can get bedding and curtains done in the next few weeks, but regardless, Whitney will be in a bassinet in our room for a few months, so we have time!

[Fun] Horton Family bassinet

We've been planning to have Whitney in our bedroom when she first comes home, and had registered for a pack-n-play with a built in bassinet and changing table. About a month ago, my girlfriend Juliana contacted me to ask if we had a bassinet...

I met Juliana and her then boyfriend/now husband my sophomore year at Sonoma, and she is my sorority sister. We were in one other's weddings, and have always had an amazing connection. She's mom to four handsome boys, and has a heart of gold. Her husband and his family are equally fabulous, and his mother-in-law heard I was pregnant, and asked Juliana if I would be interested in using the Horton Family bassinet.

Now this isn't any old bassinet... it's been in their family since 1956! Every child and grandchild born since then has slept in it, and it is not only incredibly meaningful, it's absolutely precious! Juliana & John bought new bedding for it when their oldest son was born, and it is all darling. I mentioned it to Wes, and we were both overcome with how sweet of an offer it was. We gladly accepted, and can't wait to bring Whitney home to sleep in it!

[Wordless Wednesday] Date night at the Staples Center

[Wordless Wednesday] He's a cat person after all?

[Fun] New year

I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't wait for the calendar to turn to 2012! Now we're just weeks away from meeting our baby girl. Ack! Even typing that seems crazy! In just 52ish days, Whitney will make her arrival! We spent a lot of time during our holiday break doing things to prepare for her arrival... I think Wes has gotten the 'nesting' bug more than I have at this point, and it was awesome to get some random projects completed around the house.

Pregnancy has been treating me well, although I'm definitely exhausted most of the time. Having two weeks off was a huge blessing, and I took advantage of napping whenever possible, and living in slippers as much as I could! My feet and hands are starting to swell pretty badly... not surprising given our 80+ degree temperatures lately, too! I thought I would luck out being pregnant through the winter, but Mother Nature's giving me a little does of heat to keep things interesting. :)

We saw our doctor over the break, and things are progressing just as they should be! I'm measuring right on track for our due date - fun fact... did you know that the measurement of a woman's belly from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone should be exactly how many weeks pregnant she is in centimeters? It can be plus/minus three centimeters, but I measured right at 32 centimeters when I was two days shy of being 32 weeks along. Interesting!

We toured the hospital during the break, and I'm very thankful to be delivering where I am... all of their labor & delivery rooms are private, and so are the mother/baby rooms! The whole maternity wing was redone just a few years ago, and it's very nice. We went back a few days later and met with one of the L&D nurses, whose daughter I went to high school with. She was great to answer questions we had and give us some great advice about delivery and recovery.

We can't wait for the holidays this next year to have Whitney here with us... life is about to change, and we cannot wait! <3

[Fun] New (to us) car!

We started doing some research on where to put a car seat in our car, and made the icky discovery that our car was one of the worst for child seat friendliness! Solutions included moving the driver and/or passenger seats up all the way (not an option for long legged folks!), or using towels or other items to get the car seat in the right place. To us, also not an option (especially since it negates the warranty on the car seat if you do something like that!).

So we did some research and started looking online at cars for the past few weeks. Thankfully there was a nearby dealership that had several cars we were interested in, and they're owned by a family at my school! We reached out to them and went down yesterday... and left with a new (to us) car!

It's a 2008 Buick Enclave, and it's rated in the top three for family-friendly and child-safe cars. It has a third row seat that folds flat, and gives lots of space for carrying baby gear and bringing Latte & Jager along, too. I've never been a fan of "colored" cars, but this red color is very pretty, and unique. And it matches our front door, so it looks nice parked in front of our house. :) 

An interesting fun fact about the color is that it was manufactured in a facility that was completely destroyed by the tsunami in Japan earlier this year... so they don't make cars in this color anymore! They have enough supply for touch ups, but no new cars will be made in exactly this color ever again. Interesting!

[Nursery] Mural

Our dear friend Stephanie and her mom Diana gave us the incredible gift of their time and talent... and painted a mural in Whit's nursery! We fell in love with the idea of having a tree on one wall, and found some really fun ideas to work from thanks to Pinterest. We'll eventually have shelves on three of the tree branches that are more flat and long. We'll use the shelves to put little trinkets and photos.

Diana will also be painting a Disney quote on canvas for us to hang over the crib. We love that the nursery is coming together, and can't wait to have Whitney here to enjoy it! <3

The tree as it came together:

  

  

[Pups] Wordless Wednesday

[Pregnancy] Graduation... from childbirth class!

Last night marked our final childbirth class in a series of 12. We've spent every Monday night since the end of September with a group of other pregnant couples, and our fantastic instructor, Danielle, learning everything we could possibly ever want/need to know! Several friends recommended these classes to us, and we couldn't be more thankful that we went to them. We find ourselves not only feeling confident and excited about labor, but definitely more in touch with what's happening during my pregnancy, and with long lists of questions for our doctor every time we see him.

The classes focused on husband-coached childbirth, and it's called the Bradley Method. We wanted to be armed with as much information as possible to make decisions regarding how we'll deliver. We know the questions to ask regarding side effects of medications, possible complications during delivery, etc. Of course we have every confidence in the doctors and nursing staff, but it's nice to be more aware of what might happen. Our classes also focused a lot on relaxation techniques during labor, and Wes got to practice lots of massages each week - I didn't complain. :)

We're so thankful to our Bradley instructor, Danielle, for her patience, knowledge and resources. And we're so excited for our reunion with our other classmates after we all have our babies! One couple is missing from the photo, because her due date was last Monday and she's still waiting to deliver... so they didn't make it to our last class. We're thinking good thoughts for them as they wait to meet their baby! Another couple is due at the end of January, and then the other two couples are due in February. 

[Pregnancy] Wordless Wednesday

[Pregnancy] Showered with love

Yesterday was incredibly meaningful to have some of the women in my mom's and my life with us to celebrate Whitney's impending arrival. My mom and her friend Jill hosted a lovely baby shower for our side of the family, and some life-long friends. It was surreal to be sitting there at my own baby shower! It was a lovely day, and proof that Baby Whitney is loved by SO many people already. She's one lucky baby!

 

Our first letter for the alphabet wall!

 

  

 

 

With Whitney's awesome Grandmas!

[Random Thoughts] Yes, I can!

A few weeks ago we had a guest speaker at school, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. Akbar is one of our assistant football coaches at Sage, and this summer he appeared on ABC's Expedition Impossible with some of his football buddies (he played at San Diego State and in the NFL for several years). He is a Pac-12 football sideline commentator, and aspiring motivational speaker.

He spoke during the assembly at school about the power of positive thinking. He showed several video clips of well-known athletes who'd experienced failures and setbacks in their lives, but yet they became heroes and role models, and found incredible success.

He asked us to think of a time we were told we couldn't do something... and call it the pregnancy hormones, but I was taken to the time when one of the many doctors we encountered in our quest to get pregnant told me, "Oh, you'll never get pregnant." 

As I listened to Akbar speak, I quietly rubbed my belly and started to tear up. If I'd listened to that doctor -- or anyone who ever told me I couldn't do something in my life -- who knows where I'd be today? If I can teach anything to Whitney in her life, I hope it's that a positive attitude and tenacity will take her far.

Akbar wrapped up his time with us by sharing a poem that was his life motto. My several tears turned into full on bawling as I listened to him recite this from memory:

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But soon or late the man who wins,

Is the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~

I know that Wes and I were meant to be parents, and we stopped at nothing to make this dream come true. Whether we got pregnant or adopted a child (or children!), positive thinking helped us get there. 

A while ago we decided to have a quote stenciled on to the wall of our child's nursery, and the one we picked goes along with this post. I can't wait for Whitney to wake up every day and read this as a reminder to dream, think positively, and believe "Yes, I can!"

[Pups] Wordless Wednesday

[Nursery] Bedding

After going back and forth 1,712,345 times, I *think* we've finalized the fabric choices for the bedding, curtains, etc.! We're going to see the "Baby Guy" this weekend who will be making the bedding (his prices are more reasonable than buying pre-made stuff in a store, and his quality is fantastic!). The photo above shows the fabrics we're going with (the pink is slightly off, but it will coordinate with the bright pink in the print).

I can't wait to see it come together!

[Nursery] Alphabet Wall

 

Thanks to my new favorite website (it's totally addicting, so click carefully!), Pinterest, we've gotten a lot of wonderful ideas for baby stuff and nursery decor. One of the ideas we like the most is having an alphabet wall in Whitney's nursery. We've mentioned this concept to a few family members and friends, and we love that people are now "letter shopping!" If you happen to find any fun, colorful or creative letters out there, let us know! We'll have everyone sign the back of the letter they give us, and it will be a wonderful addition to Whit's nursery.

A few questions people have asked...

• How big should the letters be? No more than 12" high.
• What color should the letters be? Anything! If they happen to be raw wood, then we can paint them with colors based on what will look best. But if they're already finished wood, a color, metallic, etc., leave it that way!
• Does it have to be an actual letter? Not at all! Some of the pictures we've seen as inspiration show the "O" as a life preserver, a big button, or a round mirror; or the "U" as a horseshoe. We love that!
• Some other inspiration photos for ideas:

 

Just keep us posted if you find a specific letter so we don't get duplicates! Thanks for helping to make this fun wall for the nursery!

Letters we still need:
D
I
T
U
X
Y

Letters done/people are working on:

A

B

C
E

F

G
H
J
K
L
M
N
O
P

Q
R
S
V
W
Z

[Nursery] Furniture!

First "Daddy Duty," building the crib!

We went shopping on Saturday to check out nursery furniture... we had no idea we'd hit the jackpot over the weekend, and take nursery preparation from zero to a hundred this week! We went and looked at a few stores and found the perfect set at Bergstrom's, a local baby & children's store in Orange County. We absolutely love the set we selected! The dresser and changing table came already assembled, and Wes was excited to put together the crib. It came together perfectly!

We also met with the "Baby Guy" to discuss custom bedding for the nursery, and narrowed down our choices for fabrics and color combinations. We ordered a few fabric swatches to make sure we like what we picked, and should be ready to place the order next week! It will take six weeks to complete everything, so it's perfect timing!

On Sunday we spent a fun day together up in Oak Glen apple country, and on the way home we looked for a loveseat for the nursery - we wanted one that folds out into a twin or full size bed. The first place we went had the perfect option, but we looked a few more places just to be sure... we ended up calling and ordering the one we saw first, and it will be delivered before Thanksgiving! It is a grey color similar to the walls.

Then Sunday night we were browsing online for a rocker/glider, and couldn't find anything in the colors we wanted... then it struck me that the "Baby Guy" could probably do a custom cover for us to match the bedding in the room. But why buy a new glider just to cover it? I went onto Craigslist and found a Dutalier glider in great condition being sold for only $50! The couple lived in Lake Forest so we went to check it out, and it was perfect for what we need! We'll have it recovered to match the room, and the original price on it was around $400... score!

We realized that all we need now is a mattress for the crib, bedding, a stroller and a carseat, and Whitney can come anytime! :) It feels great to have accomplished so much this week, and I get giddy every time I walk by the nursery and realize I'm not dreaming - it really is all coming together!

[Pregnancy] It's (still) a girl!

I started having some totally insane dreams over the past few weeks that perhaps Baby W was in fact a boy... and I think it stems from the fact that we didn't get to see the gender during our ultrasound. Several friends recommended a local place that does 3D and 4D ultrasounds, so we decided to give it a shot on Friday! Our Moms and Alicia joined us, and it was really neat! They have a "baby viewing room" we were in and projected the ultrasound up onto the wall. The tech was very thorough and sweet, and Whitney was moving around and kicking like crazy! We confirmed it truly is a girl, so that was a relief (I'd hate to have to give up all of the cute clothes people have already given us - girl stuff is so much cuter than boy stuff! Haha!).

And we've decided Whitney has a future career in anything using flexibility and/or kicking - she had her legs pulled up around her head the entire time during the ultrasound! She's one flexible little baby! And she's been kicking like crazy lately, and it was no different during the ultrasound! 

Unfortunately her feet and legs were in the way of her face most of the time, so they've invited us to come back another time to see if we can get better face shots. We got a DVD of the entire ultrasound, so that will be fun to show her future dates to embarrass her. :)

[Nursery] Paint!

We kicked off Whitney's nursery decorating today! It was so exciting to come home to the walls painted. We dabbled with doing the paint ourselves, but then decided to put a call into our buddy Paul, who did all of our house painting when we bought the house. He came by yesterday, and gave us a price we couldn't refuse. He asked when we wanted it done, and I told him by the end of November... his response was, "How's tomorrow morning? I'll be done by noon." Love it! Thanks, Paul - you're amazing!

Boring before... 

Dazzling after!

  

Of course the pictures are much more telling when they have subjects in them... look how sad the pups look in the boring white room. And don't they look pretty in the gray room? Hee.

 

Next up: furniture! We're going shopping for the crib, dresser and changing table this weekend - we can't wait! We're on the lookout for a loveseat w/ twin or full sleeper sofa, too. I've found a few I like, but not necessarily in the right color or price range.