Nursery Debut!

We fiiiiiiiiiinally have enough done where I felt comfortable arranging the nursery to show off our hard work! So a picture heavy post of our craftsmanship awaits you below!


Before we ever knew the sex, I was really drawn to rooms that didn't look "babyish". I wanted something our child could grow with, emphasis on bright colors and design. 

I loved the gray color because it was perfect to offset all the colors we intended to incorporate. 

With no real "theme" we basically just wanted to use alot of chevron and a hodge podge of art, both purchased from stores like Pier 1 and Hobby Lobby - and some of our own framed family photos. 

Hobby Lobby animal masks (left), Pier 1 bird print (right)

We also were gifted some goodies from Grandma

My mom had this painted for us at a craft show in West Virginia

$4.00 Lamp from the Christmas Tree Shoppe in West Virginia

One of the first "big" purchases was a changing table we got off of Craigslist $75.00. It was brand new, and just the factory-stock boring brown. I was dead-set on painting it a pretty blue (for either girl or boy) and it was one of the first exciting projects we got underway for the nursery. 

Glenn deglossed it, sanded it and painted it this pretty blue all in one weekend - super love it!

The knobs were on sale at Pier 1 (I think $2.00 each?) which is a pretty good price considering I was thinking about getting some from Anthropologie that went for $8.00

Close up of knobs - purtttyyyy

I got these tie backs from Pier 1 also for $2.00 each, but they haven't been affixed to the wall (requires nails and a hammer and things I don't have patience for currently)

This mirror is one of my favorite parts of the room - we got it at a flea market in West Virginia for a mere $25.00. We hemmed and hawed at whether or not it was a decent price for the mirror...obviously very glad we got it!


My mom sanded and painted it white (to stand out against the gray in the room) but originally it looked like this:

Ahh, to be summertime and have skinny legs again!


Other than chevron, I knew I really wanted to have an artsy wall filled with different photos of family, some framed artwork from children's books, and whatever other random art I could find via Etsy or Ebay. I scored some sweet prints that were vintage, and got a book at Goodwill that had flashcards with baby sign language cards that were perfect for the frames. 

The majority of the frames came from Hobby Lobby (always 1/2 off!), although some were picked up at Marshalls or were old frames I had laying around the house. The gold frames on the bottom we used as table numbers at our wedding. I really loved adding some family photos (baby Leah and baby Glenn) as well as a bitching photo of my dad on his Harley, and my mom standing in front of a 1970 Dodge Challenger. 

Kiddo has 2 large skylights in his room, so everything is super bright -- hopefully he will be able to take some neep naps in here comfortably!


Glenn found the netting at Ikea and affixed it to the ceiling with a super secure hook..right now it is just for looks but as soon as this ginormo baby is big enough to yank at things we will take it down. 

My mom (the craft genius she is) made not only the baby's mobile, but also these pennants. Seriously we are thinking of starting our own Etsy shop!

I should also mention she made the Chevron quilt....her talents know no ends! 

We had a blast picking out fabrics from Joannes, and the mobile was pretty easy to put together (devised from ideas gleaned off of pinterest)

The pennants were a big hit at our baby shower!

Staying true to form, my grandmother (baby's great grandmother) made us an afghan (in chevron). She started before we knew the sex, so while it is gender-neutral it is pretty feminine...perfect for my mama/nursing chair!

Also with a pillow from Pier 1 and a lovey gift from a friend!

The glider and ottoman we got on Craigslist for $80.00, in perfect condition! I can't wait til little big man is here to sit and feed him!


My family has had a cradle that was made before my brother was born, my mom painted the family name on the side -- it currently holds another awesome quilt she made and some chevron pillows we can use for tummy time later on

Alot of people have asked where we got the chevron rug from -- Urban Outfitters for (I think?) $75.00. It also comes in a heather gray/blue color that would look awesome in a nursery!


The final piece de resistance is the cornice -- I got a crib sheet from Ikea that did NOT fit a standard mattress so we used that for the cover...the curtains are also from Ikea. Glenn made the wooden portion and my mom padded and sewed the rest. Tada!

Before prepping his room, I got rid of about 7 big bags of clothes/shoes/random stuff we had in "storage" in his room. I do miss using this closet for my clothes, but seeing his in there is so much cuter!

Hopefully he gets to fit into some of his gear before he outgrows it!

One final adorable bit : this giraffe lightswitch from Etsy I pinned forever ago!

Really, I am blessed with such a talented grandma and husband who put such great work into making his room come to fruition! Now we just need him to arrive and enjoy it!

34 to almost 35 weeks preggo!

Trying to eke in this late entry while I'm still in my 34th week! (35 weeks tomorrow!) We've been growing big and strong and have been very busy - the days have flown by and every night I had something going on and neglected this precious update. Alot of big milestones hit: baby is the size of a (large) cantaloupe, I hit 30 lbs of weight gain, had another doctor's visit, decided when I want to leave work, and the culmination of our social calendar....Baby Boy Lovelace's Baltimore Bonanza! 

I'm thinking homeboy is more like a solid 6 at this point

After a nice respite from the wonky sick feeling, I got hit like a ton of bricks midweek. I felt nauseous and dizzy again...and something that felt suspiciously like period cramps. Nothing too painful, but..."different". It was one of the busier weeks I have had in awhile work-wise and I had been doing alot of prep for getting myself/the house ready for guests to come into town for the shower. I think I over extended myself and with this ginormo baby's big growth and being so busy at work I couldn't eat my bevy of healthy snacks, everything just took the wind out of my sails. 

Sunburned and pink, an excellent combo

We did work out a few times this week (including a nice 3 mile walk in beautiful West Virginia!) and I think that helped alot with our (my) mental stability and general feeling-goodness. I feel so much better as long as I do some sort of exercise. With it being Easter we spent some time with family doing a ton of projects at Niter's house, as well as finishing the cornice for the nursery! The only thing left to do is have her come hem and put up the curtains! HOORAY!

Baby Boy will be riding trikes down Grandma's hill in no time!

Glenn made the wood part of the cornice, Mom did the fabric (made out of an Ikea crib sheet)

I had my 34th week appointment with the only doctor I hadn't yet met at the practice I've been going to. He is a teeny tiny Indian man who weighs about 92 lbs. soaking wet. He came in and said, "ooh, multiples?" in reference to this bump and I for a moment was afraid he had the wrong patient. He did say I seemed to have alot of fluid and that the measurements are big. Just how big you ask? Well, seems that earlier ultrasound may be on point, because Baby Boy is growing large and strong ahead of his gestational age. 


For the longest time (well, since I've been pregnant) each week my fundal height matched perfectly for where I was gestationally. 17 weeks was 17 cms. 24 weeks was 24, etc. For the first time I am measuring large, which seemed pretty telling to me. At 34 weeks he is measuring 36 weeks, which is why I think he may be a good 6 lbs in there already. The Doctor didn't seem too concerned about my feeling ill and crampy, because "you're already so big already and measuring ahead"...so I guess that must explain it? He wouldn't make any guesses at the baby's weight, saying that he delivered a 10 lber that morning but didn't realize how big the baby was until it was on the scale. Well then. 

Although I have been doing my hypnobabies quite religiously and steady reading my Ina Mae, I am getting nervous. The bigger I get, the feeling of sickness, the measurements being high....I'm worried that my hard work will be for naught and I will end up with a dreaded C Section from a 10 lb baby. Trying to stay positive and calm for the duration because he's the one in charge...he is the one in there growing and mashing my bladder and rocking and rolling about. He will decide when and how he wants to come and I am just the carrier for this whole process. 

Baby might have got a spray tan

I really do feel like the bump is getting alot bigger...and pointier if at all possible. I'm really curious as to what I am measuring at now, but unfortunately won't know until week 36, which seems like forever from now. 

Good golly....

Usually for ultrasounds they give you a specific week on the prescription - but this Dr. did not. I want to sneak ahead and see if I can go at 35 weeks...I will call the practice tomorrow and play dumb like they didn't "tell" me 36 weeks, cross your fingers for us! My emotional state sort of depends on the measurements right now, because if he really is as big as they say...mama is going to need more than some self-guided hypnosis. 

I don't feel like he has "dropped" into my pelvis like people talk about, but I'll be damned if he isn't pointing "down"

How far along? In these pictures, I think 34 weeks 3 days...today is 34 weeks 4 days. SO BASICALLY I'M LATE AND ALMOST 35 G.D. WEEKS PREGNANT. WHAT. 

Total weight gain: up to my total of 30 lbs. It's been steady at 180.6-180.8. Large and in charge, indeed. 
Maternity clothes? I wore a size small maxi dress to my shower....so no, not all maternity clothes this late in the game. 

snacking on some carrots and gatorade to help with nausea pre-shower

Some other shower favorites:

Glenn and I before the big party!

Some sweet ladies who have awesome matching abilities

baby has alot of sassy uncles!

We had visitors in all the way from NY, friends from college and beyond, and perhaps my favorite coworker ever!

Dean and Meredith and their baby to be (I'm guessing niece!) came through as well!

Tom and Dan have a beautiful house, and some beautiful friends!

We had some special "Blue Punch" made of rum, lychee liquor and soda water that gave people some raging hangovers!

We are so blessed to have so many great friends from NY who are part of our lives and excited for us....really thankful to have them travel our way to celebrate!

Baby wore blue and looked all sorts of big!

The gorgeous Shineza who gifted baby an expensive ass Northface!

Seriously so spoiled!

The gorgeous decor via Tom & Dan's fireplace, Tanner's planning skills, and Niter's pennants!

My amazing hostess, Tanner! She went all out for Baby Love and we are thrilled with how everything turned out!

Ridic attractive baby favva

Jackie is an awesome friend from Clarion & beyond!

Darling Michael who traveled in from Philly!

Uncle Bee Why helped Bodie get his balloon!

And this crew shut the night DOWN! :)

Stretch marks? Verdict is out. I have no stretch marks (that I can see) on my body to compare them to...but I see some faint lines that are sort of a light purple (?) below my belly button. I had Glenn look at them tonight and he tried to pull at my skin to see if they changed (apparently this is his test for stretch marks as he has some on his chest/arms from lifting weights) and said they didn't look like legitimate stretch marks to him. They still feel smooth like my normal skin. Regardless they are very light and not big and red and scary like I thought they are supposed to be, so if they are indeed stretch marks, mehh so be it. I did also get a spray tan and I think my big veiny belly could be making things look different. 

Sleep: Hypnobabies knocks me out some nights! I have still be having leg pain up the wazoo, regardless of whether or not I work out (so there, nurse practitioner!). I did have my first official calf cramp, where I shot up right out of bed woke up screaming. Glenn thought I was in labor and was relieved he only had to massage the rock hard muscle pain away :) .

Best moment this week: Getting to spend time with so many great friends, and family! We had multiple people come in from out of town and it was really special to us to be able to have one big room full of lovely people celebration the upcoming birth of this baby boy!

Awesome Twilight Turtle and Humidifier we got as gifts!

Just a little glimpse at Baby's Loot!

Almost all unpacked!

Miss Anything? Feeling calm? Wait, that happens never. My team and I met earlier this week to discuss what will happen while I'm out. Originally they were supposed to hire someone new because the team is so busy they essentially NEED a brand new person. That unfortunately fell by the wayside due to a low talent pool and lack of good talent/time to recruit. SO...the current team will be inheriting my clients. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I don't want the birth of my child to be a burden to others in the form of extra work. We are working on transitioning my clients shortly...I just don't have enough hours in the day. I am trying to update client files, book client conference transition calls, all while arranging things for the month of May and still conducing trainings and events. Somehow it will need to be finished. My last official day is May 4th! I have 12 working days to get this accomplished. I know it's best for me and baby stress wise to be home once I hit full term the 1st week of May, but I'll be darned if it isn't going to be a bear getting ready. Wish me luck!

Movement:
He is still super active, I feel him alot when I am hypnobabying it up...maybe because I am more in tuned with my body when that happens? Alot of people wanted to feel him kick at the shower this weekend but he gets shy in big, loud social situations I think.

Food cravings: sweets (surprise!) Mama and baby have had something chocolate everyday. Other than that, pineapple and fresh fruit of the citrus variety taste amazing to me...still going ham on the salads as well.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Baby has chilled out with the nausea, but I have a feeling with as busy as I'm going to be, that it may come back. I also managed to bonk myself in the head with a metal pole this week which was quite painful. I have a super sweet bruise above my eye now. 

day 1

Day 3

Gender: Girl. Made ya look.

Labor Signs: Nahh. Hoping to keep it this way. Everything is READY for him to come, minus some replacement parts for a breast pump...but I don't WANT him to come until May 20th or later. GEMINI BABY ALL THE WAY.

Symptoms: Just feeling like a crazy person running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Seriously not enough hours in the day.

Belly Button in or out? She's still a halfer



Wedding rings on or off? On...for now. Doctors are still impressed with my lack of swelling.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy now that I have a gameplan for my end of work schedule....and the showers are all done and most of everything is unpacked! And of course crazy excited, with a mix of holy crap, 5ish weeks more to go!!

Looking forward to: Winding down at work, and hopefully being able to fully just concentrate on my health, and baby! Final ultrasound booked 04/26 at 2:30PM....I think this will be the big determiner of how the rest of things will go! EEEEEEEK!


Hopefully things calm down and I can be better about updating for week 35 -- thanks as always, for reading and for your feedback!