34 Week Update

I went to the doctor on Thursday (33 weeks 6 days) and everything was great!  My blood pressure has been steadily normal the entire pregnancy, but Christmas did me in and I had some high blood pressure issues at my visit on Dec. 27th.  Since then I have been praying that it would go back down because I really don’t want to have to go on bed rest or anything.  I’d like to be able to work as long as I can so that I can stay out with Caroline for as long as I’m planning to.  (Actually, let’s be honest – if I had $1,000,000 I would GLADLY go on bed rest for the rest of the time and then stay out with Caroline as long as I need to.  BUT, we all live in the real world.)  Well this past Thursday my blood pressure was back down to 120/80 and I really was excited!  Caroline’s little heart was just beating away at 155 beats per minute and my fundal height was right on at 34 cm.  Everything is going swimmingly and I hope it does for the next 6 weeks!  The doctor did ask me if I had any questions and I told her I had begun swelling in my feet (I’m lucky that I haven’t started before now!) and that I feel like my pelvic bone is going to break in half.  I’m having this pain that runs from hip bone to hip bone and throughout my nether regions and when I told her about she just kind of laughed and told me that it was all part of the game.  That it was completely normal and is just my body getting ready for what is coming.  So, looks like I’ll be walking funny for the next six weeks while everything stretches out!!

We completed our third birthing class last Monday and they finally discussed all of the medicinal options you have for delivery.  Up to this point everyone had been going natural in the movies and situations and I was starting to feel judged a little bit because I was planning on using an epidural.  The teacher asked who was planning to use an epidural and half the women raised their hands.  The other half said they would just see how it went.  Then the teacher told us that no matter how it happened, as long as the end result was a happy, healthy baby and a happy, healthy mom, it didn’t matter.  I was really glad to hear her say that.  Tomorrow we go in for a make up session and we get to tour the hospital!  Then Monday night we’ll meet for our final session (CRAZY!!) and we’ll go over infant care.  I think it has been a great class and a great time for Ja and I to spend together.  I’m going to be a little bit sad it’s over!  Next month, though, we have a couple of breastfeeding classes, so that will keep us busy!!

Thursday was also a big day for Leslie.  She went to the doctor in the morning (she was 38 weeks 6 days) and when they checked her she was already 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced!  They have the induction scheduled for February 3rd (which would be awesome because that was Gramps’ birthday!) just in case he doesn’t come before then.  So I think everyone is sitting around holding their breath a little bit and waiting for Baby Jack to come out and see us!!!

Let It Rain!

Back in July/August when I first found out I was pregnant, one of my best friends, Sherry, broke out her planner and we picked a weekend to have my baby shower.  We picked a weekend in January and at the time it felt like it was a lifetime away.  We talked about it here and there, but for the most part we knew that it was months and months away.  Well months and months turned to weeks and weeks and then suddenly it was days away.  So on January 15th, Leslie + Sherry hosted a FANTASTIC shower at Big Shotz Tavern in Winston.  I knew that Leslie would be 37 weeks pregnant and Sherry has two little ones and I didn’t want either one of them to have to worry about cleaning their house or cooking a bunch.  So this just seemed like the easiest way to have a really nice baby shower without anyone having to be stressed out or having a ton of work to do.  Leslie did a great post with the pictures she took here.  I think there are more pictures out there, so when I get them I’ll post them, also.  It was a great afternoon with family and some of my dearest college and Winston friends.  The presents were OVERWHELMING but phenomenal and I was SOO glad I was able to give into my nesting urge and wash clothes and towels and wash cloths and bottles and everything else and find a spot for it.  One of the funniest parts of the shower was that half of the people there had children (most have pretty young kids) and the other half aren’t even married yet and kids are far away in their plans.  So I would open something and the moms would all ooh and aah and talk about how much they loved whatever it was.  Then the non-kid people would all stare at it and then ask, ‘What is that?’  It was fun to see both sides of it.  There was also some pretty fierce competition with the word scramble!  Thanks so much for a great shower, Leslie + Sherry!

The next weekend, January 22, some of my mom’s closest friends, Pam, Bobbie, Jean, and Amy, gave me a shower in Wilmington.  It was another GREAT afternoon and it was absolutely hilarious.   Jean was in charge of the entertainment and it was a hoot to watch all of those women do relay races!  We had a nice brunch with delicious food and some great time to catch up with everyone and an awesome cake!  After everyone was full, we got down to business with the games and then I spent a lot of time opening some GREAT presents!!  The craziest thing was that the whole time we were there, it was SNOWING!!  I left Winston to head east and it snowed!  It was beautiful!!

Mom and me at the shower.

Mimi giving Caroline some love!

The AWESOME cake that Heather made for us!!

Hanging out and chatting before the shower started!

Carroll tried to run from me so she didn’t get attention, but I got her!!

Everyone lined up and ready to drop our quarters from our knees into the bowl.  Hysterical!

Mrs. Pam’s girl who has been a bride plenty of times (once for me!) and she is now finally pregnant!

The fabulous hostesses and me after the shower.  Pam, Bobbie, Jean, and Amy!  Thanks so much for a great shower!!!

Part of the Game

One of the things that I was very aware of throughout this pregnancy was the tightness of my wedding rings.  I didn’t want them to get stuck and I definitely didn’t want to get them cut off.  I did pretty well until around Christmas and one day I went to pull them off and they didn’t come.  So I went to the bathroom and wet my fingers and pulled and pulled and they finally came off.  I knew they wouldn’t go back on until Caroline was here.  They maybe could have, but I didn’t want to risk it.  Then I felt naked.  I had nothing on to show to onlookers that I was a married pregnant chick.  So we looked around for a cheap band and everything was more than we wanted to spend.  So I was trying to talk to myself and make myself believe that I’d be just fine with nothing.  I knew I was married and so did everyone else I’m close to.  What did it matter to show people around me that I was married?

A few days later it was time for our Collins Christmas in Winston.  I was talking to my mom about it and she said, ‘Why don’t you wear your dad’s ring?’  Mom has been wearing my dad’s wedding ring for years because as an engineer he can’t wear a ring to work.  So she has worn his ring and her 10th anniversary band on her ring finger.  She pulled them both off and I put my dad’s band on and it was the perfect size.  A little bit big, but perfect to grow into. 

My rings are the white gold rings and my dad’s is the in middle.  You can see part of the inscription with ‘9-6’, which is my parent’s anniversary.  The inside inscription is ‘JLO to JDC 9-6-75’.  I asked Jason if he was ok with me wearing my dad’s ring (since he is kind of a part of what goes onto that finger!) and he told he thought it was really cool.  So I’m proud to be wearing my dad’s wedding ring until my fingers go down enough to get mine back on!

Countdown

'Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'!' - Pretty Woman

There are big events in life to keep things interesting and give you something to work towards.  If every day was your birthday, that would get boring.  If Christmas lasted all year it would not be nearly as wonderful as it is for those few days of family gathering for the big event.

I feel like I am always on a countdown for something.  During the school year, I am on a countdown until summer or the next break.  When I have a get together with good friends planned, I count down the days and look forward to it with lots of excitement.  A few years ago, I was on a major countdown to my wedding.  Every day the Big Day got closer and closer and I could feel it.  The anticipation was just about more than I could stand. 

The countdown for my next big life event is seriously on.  Even though I feel like I have been pregnant for a really long time, she's getting close!  I looked today and there are 63 days until my due date!  That is crazy!  In the meantime, I have showers to look forward to in the next few weeks, Baby Jack will be here before we know it, and then it will be time to meet our baby!

Bodies...

There are some women in this world that are obsessed with their bodies.  Every inch has to be perfectly manicured and toned and tanned and beautiful.

I am certainly not one of these women.  I take pride in my body and try to treat it well, but I am far from perfect.  I have had a pooch since I was probably 7, stretch marks have been around since I can remember, and my legs have long since been athletically toned like they once were.  I would much rather watch a movie than go work out.  I would much rather give myself something to eat that I want, than deprive myself and get angry.

My mom did a great job of instilling confidence in me.  We are beautiful for who we are, not what we look like.  I have always been a fairly confident person and even though my body is no where near perfect, I've always been happy with who I am.  Along with that confidence came the ability to set my standards when choosing a husband.  I did a great job of finding a man that loves me 100% of the time and loves me for exactly who I am.  If I lose 20 pounds he is proud of me and right there if I want to keep going.  If I gain 20 pounds, he will be supportive when I'm ready to get it off, but he still tells me I'm beautiful.  There is no image to uphold and no empty promise to try to live up to.

Since my body is not perfect, being pregnant has been awesome.  I have given a purpose to my pooch.  It is now a loving cushion of protection for my little girl.  The stretch marks now have a purpose because they are proof that my belly once grew and supported a new life. 

I was happy with myself before I got pregnant, but I have never felt better.  My husband thinks I'm beautiful, I think I look great, and at the end of it all I'm going to have a new life to show for it!

Preggo Update

Since it has been a good few weeks since I've blogged about anything, let me do a little pregnancy update. 

*I am currently 30 weeks pregnant!  The countdown is really on since we are down to single digit weeks left!!

*I had my 28 week testing done (glucose, STDs, AIDS, iron, blood work, etc.) and everything came back normal!  That was great to hear so I knew that Caroline and I were doing well!!

*At my last doctors appointment (29 weeks), I had high blood pressure.  It was the Monday after Christmas and I had spent the past 5 days eating anything and everything I wanted.  It was all DELICIOUS, but I don't think all the sodium did me any good!  I go back next week and I'm praying it's back down because as much as I would love to be at home right now, I want to have all the time I can with Caroline when she gets here!

*At this point I would LOVE to have another ultrasound.  It's been so long since we've seen our little girl and I would love to know that everything really is going well in there.

*She is growing and growing...and I have a belly to prove it!  There is certainly no denying that I am pregnant.  I need to post some more pictures!  At the last visit my fundal height was right on and her heart beat was good, so sounds like things are moving right along!

*She moves around a lot, but I can also tell that she is sleeping a lot.  PLEASE let that be the case once she gets out here!

*She LOVES a basketball game!  Anytime I go to one of Jason's basketball games she is wil'n out the whole time!!  I thought it was just the loud noises, but Jason and I recently spent New Year's with some of my best friends from college and poor Patrick kept trying to feel her move and she didn't move a lick when he was around and the music was pretty bumping.  Guess she only performs for her daddy!!

*We started our Birth and Beginnings class last night.  It was quite the interesting evening with a video on the different stages of labor, visuals for the sizes of dilation, and different relaxation techniques that we can use during labor.  The instructor would say something and Jason would turn to me and say, 'Write that down.'  We have some good notes for him to review once the day gets here!  To sum up the first night of class, all I can say is, 'Give me an epidural right now!'  I have no need to prove to anyone how much of a woman I am!  We have four more classes to attend and I'm pretty sure by the end we will be faced with realization that she is close to being here!

*After the Birth and Beginnings class we are going to take a breastfeeding class.  A friend of one of my good friends said she took one and it did wonders for her.  Maybe it will make me a little more confident about the whole breastfeeding idea.  I have all intentions of breastfeeding for the first good few months.  I am also aware of the fact that breastfeeding is not easy and I'm not going to put any unnecessary pressure on myself.  I am going to do the very best that I can, but formula feeding a baby is not the end of the world!

*We have our Pac 'N Play and our travel system!  Our parents have been so great and we already have a couple of big ticket items that are ready to go.  Showers start in the next couple of weeks.  I can't wait to see and get to spend time with everyone and begin to get things ready!  I'm sure the nesting instinct will kick in pretty soon after we start getting stuff!!

I feel like I have been pregnant for forever.  Between the miscarriage and any pregnancy being 10 months long, I am ready for her to get here.  I'm sure these next few weeks are going to fly.  Between school, birthing classes, showers, softball, and Leslie's Jack being on the way, we'll get to March in no time!

Caroline’s Nursery

We have been working for weeks on Caroline’s nursery.  Between teaching, coaching, families, traveling, social lives, and sleeping – we don’t have huge chunks of time to designate to a single project.  But, we are both anal retentive and like to have things the right way.  As soon as we found out we were having a girl, we ordered the bedding.  We had had the crib and the dresser since earlier in the year when we got pregnant the first time.  They have been in their boxes in the garage and calling to me every single day to get them out and put them together.  So instead of writing this whole long story, I’m going to let the pictures tell you what we’ve been through over these past weeks!

 

We started out with a beige room (ceiling and walls) with a huge eye sore of a fake attic entrance in the ceiling.  It had crown molding around it and it was all I saw when I walked into the room.  We knew that had to go away if we wanted to have the room we really had in mind.

So Ja pulled off the crown molding, bought some sheet rock and plastered that hole up.  He did such a good job and you can’t even tell there was something there!  We also did away with that heinous light fixture!

Documented proof that we did enjoy ourselves in between trying to rip each other’s head off.  We knew if we could make it through the nursery remodel…we would be just fine!

Once we got the ceiling patched, it was time to paint.  The ceilings got a fresh coat of bright white paint and the walls are a bright teal.  In the bedding we got there were all sorts of colors, including baby pink and hot pink, but since I can’t really get into the whole baby pink thing, we figured this teal would be something bright, fun, and different.  I LOVED it instantly.

We painted the whole room, but left a little bit at the top because Ja was going to attempt to put crown molding up around the room. 

Ja working away!

And he did a GREAT job!  The crown molding and the white contrasted to the teal looks amazing!  Exactly what we had in mind!

We got rid of the light fixture that was in there and got a new white fan.  It will help keep in cool in the summer time and helps to hide the spot on the ceiling.

These poor dogs have no idea what is about to happen to them.  They can’t stand to not be in the room with us and helping us with EVERYTHING that we do.  They are going to be great big brothers, though, and I can’t wait to see them with Caroline.

This is our dresser.  It is Baby Cache and it was different than a lot of cribs and dressers we had found.  We thought we’d go espresso like our bedroom furniture, but for some reason, we both instantly loved this.  It is extremely well made and very sturdy and well worth every penny.  This will soon house the changing pad and supplies, as well as a Diaper Genie, once we get closer!

Ja has been so excited about getting this room together and has had some GREAT ideas that have just added so much color and personality to the room.  He got these letters and the dragonfly as plain wooden figures at Michael’s for about $1.  He then used the wall color and our hot pink accent paint to make those match the room.  Her initials and the dragonfly are on the door to her room.

We knew we wanted to put her name up in the room somehow.  We had thought about getting letters and hanging them with ribbon like we had seen before.  We started talking about different ideas and eventually came up with this.  We got the letters at Michael’s for about $2 each and Ja painted each one with our hot pink paint.  We then bought a picture frame that was bright white.  We mounted just the frame to the wall and then put the letters inside attached to the wall.  And, voila!, Caroline has a home!

This is our crib and bedding and I LOVE LOVE it.  We looked and looked and looked and just didn’t love any of the girl bedding.  Some of it is absolutely HEINOUS and someone thinks that it is beautiful.  Since I’m not into girly, pinky, princessy stuff, it made it a little difficult.  But when we saw this, it was very simple and perfect.  It is from Pottery Barn Kids, which we had to justify spending that much money, but we figured this is our first child and if we want to splurge a little bit, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, and Happy Anniversary for the next year or so.  That is for the bedding and all the other stuff we got for the room!

This is the crib side of the room in all it’s lovely goodness!

Another crib view.  At Target we found this beanbag chair.  It has floppy antennae and feet and is the cutest thing!  We have names her Lucy the Ladybug and we’re sure we’ll have more than a few pictures of Caroline sitting on that beanbag chair when she is a little thing!

This is one of my favorite things that we have found at Target.  We have named him Scooter.  He is a night light and he is covered with soft baby clue silicone and to turn him on and off you just tap him on the head!

Another piece of Target goodness.  This is an alphabet print for above the book shelf.  We loved the selection for all the letters and it will be fun to use that to teach Caroline her ABCs!

We also got this bookshelf at Target.  It is a Closet Maid cube and the baskets are Closet Maid, also.  We used stuffed animals that we had from our childhood and a few things that we have already been given as gifts.  I’m sure we’ll add a lot of books to that collection!  The teddy bear on top we got at Cracker Barrel for $10!  Love that place!  And that’s Scooter glowing on top of the shelf!

We knew we wanted a rocker/glider of some sort, but we just couldn’t pay the prices that people were asking for them.  So we went to American Furniture Warehouse in Greensboro and got this chocolate brown recliner for a steal.  The bedding quilt is on it, as well as a pillow we got from my Aunt JoAnn.  The side table is another Closet Maid cube and the lamp we got at Target. 

Ja taking a break and enjoying his hard work.  He is also catching up on some What To Expect!  We feel pretty good about where the nursery is right now, but I’m sure we’ll have PLENTY of additions by the time Caroline gets here!  I hope she loves it as much as we do!!