[Nursery] All we need is a baby!

Our crib bedding finally arrived earlier this week, and I couldn't love it more! We had quite the debacle with getting it ordered and finished, but I finally found a great vendor on Etsy, thanks to the referral of a sorority sister. Her work is impeccable, and it is exactly what we were hoping for. Here are some updated photos with everything... all we need now is the baby! :)

They can't wait to meet their sister! <3

[Pregnancy] Gender reveal party!

Just getting things ready to take to the hospital, and realized I never uploaded the video from finding out we were having a girl! My Great Aunt Whit hosted a family get together, and we had taken a sealed envelope from the doctor's office to a bakery to have a cake made either pink or blue inside, pending the ultrasound results that even Wes and I didn't know. It was so much fun to be surprised while surrounded by our loved ones!

[Pregnancy] Three options...

We saw Dr. H this morning, and I'm still not dilated at all, and seem to be stuck at 80% effaced. The doctor is a little concerned about Whitney's movement, so he's ordered additional testing later today, and an ultrasound. Pending results, I'll go back in for more testing on Friday, and another appointment with him. At this point, I see there being three options for how things will go:

Option 1

Whitney is already Daddy's Little Girl, and she'll give him his wish of a Leap Year baby tomorrow!

Option 2

Whitney is already a Justin Bieber fan, and she's holding out to share his birthday on March 1st!

Option 3

Whitney knows the doctor knows best, and is following his "worst case scenario" that there's no baby by Saturday, and we get induced. If that happens, we'd check in Saturday night to the hospital, and induction would be on Sunday. In which case, there's a good possibility Whitney could share her birthday with her Cousin Noah on March 5th!

While I was hoping to avoid being induced, it is nice to know there's an end in sight! All I want is what is best for the baby. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers - we're so thankful for the support from everyone! <3

[Whitney] Easter fun!

My mom escorted me to a doctor appointment earlier today, and we made an afternoon of it by going to lunch and doing a little shopping (walking is supposed to be good to bring on labor, and what better place to walk on a rainy day than the mall?!). We ventured into Baby Gap together, which we should've known was going to cause some damage. I had gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, and we immediately shopped the darling Easter collection they have out. I've already decided that I am not allowed in Baby Gap unattended, as I will buy every last thing they have... so thankfully I was appropriately chaperoned, but my chaperone was easily swayed today, too!

Whitney will be sporting this darling ruffled dress for her first Easter:

And because we never know what the weather will be like, she got a darling white sweater to go along with it. And what outfit is complete without some shoes? Sparkly gold ballet flats go perfectly with the dress, sweater and some white tights, don't you think? :)

And then Grandma couldn't resist pink bunny pajamas, and a darling knitted bunny hat. I can't find photos of it online, but promise to take some of Whitney in it in just a few weeks!

Thanks, Mom, for a fun day (even though they didn't send us straight from the doctor's office to the hospital to give birth... you know, since I'll be pregnant FOREVER.)!

[Pregnancy] Forever and a day...

It appears as though I'll be pregnant forever... okay, I know that's impossible, but we're just excited to meet this little baby, and she's keeping us waiting and guessing! Figures she'd be fashionably late - she is her mother's daughter, right? :)

Thank you for all of the good thoughts, prayers, texts, emails, calls, and Facebook posts to check in... our standard response to the two questions we're hearing most ("How are  you?" and "How's Wendy?") these days is: "Still pregnant."

Wes says his co-workers comment every morning he's at work... "no baby yet?" I told him he should tell them I had the baby, but it wasn't that big of a deal, so he came to work. ;) 

We're now seeing our OB fairly often to keep an eye on things, so at this point, here are the highlights of where we are:

• As of last Wednesday, I was 80% effaced, and wasn't dilated at all
• We're trying most safe labor induction techniques out there, with no luck! I've had three cycles of acupuncture even, and nothing!
• Well, maybe not nothing... on Saturday afternoon I did start having contractions that grew fairly strong and consistent. I was up most of the night because of them, and thought, "This is it!" I finally fell asleep about 5 a.m., and woke up to absolutely NOTHING. I've had minor, mild contractions since, but nothing noteworthy or regular
• I had a Non-Stress Test (NST) this afternoon, and there couldn't have been less activity... Whitney's heartbeat is strong and clear, but there were no signs of contractions
• We see the doctor tomorrow morning, and I hope I'm at least dilated...!

I have a feeling she's already "Daddy's Girl," and Wes will get his wish of a Leap Year baby! We've already decided if she is born February 29th, we'll tell her that her birthday is the last day of February so she isn't sad or confused when she doesn't see her birth date on the calendar!

The doctor will let us go as much as two weeks past my due date as long as everything looks good and is safe for her... but I'm starting to think I will go NUTS if I have to wait until March 10th! You can still enter a guess in our arrival pool if you'd like! :)

And last, but not least... here's a recent photo of me at 40 weeks, 2 days pregnant:

Hee, okay, maybe not THAT bad, but Wes does like to imitate my waddling every now and again. And while I do feel like the photo above most of the time, it's not that I'm done, it's just that I cannot wait to meet this precious little girl!

[Whitney] I have an addiction

I have an addiction... to baby shoes. They're just so cute! As you may have seen, we got a darling pair of pink, sparkly shoes as a gift from my friend Alicia, and I just can't get enough of them! In fact, they were front and center for our maternity photo shoot:

 

Aren't they just the cutest?! I have had them sitting out in Whitney's room for months, and secretly wishing I could find a matching pair in my size (just kidding... kind of). Anyway, last week I was moving things around and getting organized, and the shoes were sitting on the floor. Unbeknownst to me, Jager got a hold of one and took it outside. She's been known to be grabbing baby things, but hadn't destroyed anything, just run around with baby socks or toys in her mouth.

She came back in the room and I had clothespins sitting out that I was using, and she grabbed one and ran out... I followed to get it back from her, and that's when I came upon the Destruction of the Pink Sparkly Shoe:

My pregnancy hormones got the best of me, and I started bawling. The dogs got to the shoe before I did, and proceeded to play tug-o-war with it while I chased them around the backyard crying. It was a pretty pitiful sight.

Alicia has been checking stores to try and find another pair for me, and today it dawned on me to try Googling "pink sequin baby shoes." SUCCESS! I found the exact same pair, and discovered that they come in other colors... so now, instead of crying, I'm very thankful to the Desctructo Doggy for getting Wes to take pity on me and allowing me to use one of our gift cards to buy FIVE PAIRS OF SPARKLY SHOES!

It's the best day EVER! Okay, maybe not, but shoes make everything better, don't they? :) Whitney will be sporting sparkly shoes in various colors and sizes, and I CANNOT WAIT!

[Whitney] Guess her arrival!

Click on the image to log your guess on Whitney's arrival date & time, length and weight! Everyone should guess her gender correctly...! :)

[Pregnancy] Wordless Wednesday

[Fun] Birthday weekend... and not BIRTH DAY weekend!

We had a relaxing and fun weekend, and celebrated my birthday... Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at the Anaheim White House. They surprised us with free champagne (ginger ale for me!) and a lovely dessert plate. The food was fantastic, and it was a lovely way to celebrate!

My actual birthday was Super Bowl Sunday... wasn't it nice of Madonna to perform for me? :) My birthday is also Jager's birthday, so we started the day with brunch at the Lazy Dog Cafe. She and Latte split a bowl of rice, and relaxed in the sun. Happy 2nd birthday, Jagey!

That afternoon we headed to join the Glazes for Charlotte's annual Super Bowl party. It was fun to hang out with friends and watch everyone's kids run around - we can't wait to add one more kid to the mix next year! We had fun visiting with a darling 3 month old who was at the party - Wes can't wait to introduce his daughter to football next season! :) We ended the day by winning the Super Bowl pool, so we walked away $80 richer! Happy birthday to me!


While I would've loved to share a birthday with Whitney, she stayed put, and will get her own special day in the next few weeks. We can't wait to meet her!

[Pregnancy] Diary of working from home

We had an appointment with our OB last Friday, and it was decided to put me on modified bedrest until February 17th, when I'll be off work entirely (unless, of course, Whitney has other ideas and comes sooner!). We had another ultrasound, and there wasn't any change in the levels of my amniotic fluid from the previous week (actually, it was slightly lower), so Dr. H still wants to keep an eye on things. Bedrest should help, and I'll have another ultrasound this Friday to check. I noticed a major difference in my swelling from taking it easy for the past few days, so that's good!

Yesterday I had a snoring Jager curled up on my left, and today I have Latte on my left (not snoring), and Sophie on my right (snoring louder than Jager). It's pretty funny. Even the dogs are perplexed by the noise coming from her! They have another thing coming when there's a baby in my arms in the near future!

[Pregnancy] Wordless Wednesday

[Nursery] More progress

We have progress! We found the perfect teal colored curtains at Target, and got them hung last night... this then allowed for us to hang the "whitney" letters I've been so excited about, too! It turned out great!

[Pregnancy] A visit to labor & delivery...

Saturday started out as any other day, until we had a bit of a scare and decided to check in with our doctor... the OB on call said we should come immediately to labor & delivery. We both panicked, laughed, panicked again... and went to the hospital. Thankfully it was a false alarm, but we were able to get paperwork completed and questions answered that we won't have to do again, so we're thankful we did it! Before we were released, I did start having some contractions, so that was exciting, but they sent us home to see what happens.

The interesting thing is that the nurse said, "So I bet you're ready to have this baby, and you don't want to leave the hospital without her, right?" 

"Uhh, actually, we're just fine staying pregnant for a little while longer," I replied. She gave me a weird look and I explained... I know it's in Whitney's best interest to stay cooking at least one week longer, if not two weeks, for the best chance of lung development being completed. Plus, this may be the only time in my life that I am pregnant, and it took a LOT to get us pregnant, so I'm perfectly content! 

I know this attitude differs from a lot of pregnant women at this point in pregnancy, and although the exhaustion, puffiness, and soreness are annoying at times, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

We had maternity photos done earlier today with a girl whom I "met" online in a fertility/trying to conceive group. She had her miracle baby 11 months ago, and is a very talented photographer. It turns out we have several friends in common, so we've had fun connecting throughout the past few years. We finally met today, and she was so much fun! It was very special to have her capture this amazing time in our life. While I hoped to reenact every single awkward maternity pose I've seen online, we ran out of time. ;)

We took the photos at my Great Aunt Whit's house, in her gorgeous backyard and surrounding property. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

[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